We’ve all got business ideas, because that’s what drew many of us to BK: a hip new Groundhog Day-themed bar, a sitar music festival, dragon boat pillow fight/cupcake market … whatever. But what we’re lacking is the money to make it happen. This flat world of 2011 is full of ways to dig up the cash that beat ole George Bailey’s bank loans, but where to start? Kickstarter? IndieGoGo? Venture capital? A Twitter campaign? All-night Facebook Like-a-Thon?
If you are trying to figure out funding strategy, put this on your calendar: The BK-based DIY Business Association is hosting a micro conference Sept. 10: “Get Funding ASAP!“ to discuss different avenues of raising money, with expert advice from panelists such as Slava Rubin, co-founder of IndieGoGo, Sara Bacon, founder of Greenpoint Coworking, Natalia Oberti Noguera, founder of the Pipeline Fellowship and more. The cost is $25, which includes cocktails and networking groups. Oh, and what has two thumbs and is moderating this panel? This guy! Read the rest of this entry »
NY vs. SF: the battle rages on
While you can argue the cultural controversies over which city is friendlier to gays or which has the best Chinese food, there’s one thing those left coasters have us beat on, according to biz blog Focus. The site breaks down (in a huge infographic) the costs of launching a start-up in each city, finding SF to be the cheaper choice. If you’re starting a business in New York, you can expect to fork over at least $70 more a month for utilities and about $10,000 more in annual taxes. But numbers never tell the whole story: Software engineers and designers of Brooklyn, are they right? Is SF really cheaper? What about the less tangible differences such as a scrappy Gotham ‘tude versus head-in-the-clouds granola zen? And dirt-cheap, kick-ass pizza? For all those late-night coding sessions, this might be priceless. Read the rest of this entry »
Alexa Von Tobel, 26, left Harvard b-school early and raised over $1M to launch a web site.
Would you take financial advice from someone who dropped out of Harvard Business School in the middle of a recession to start a web site?
It might not be a bad idea. Alexa Von Tobel is a not-even-30 dynamo who managed to raise $1.1 million from major corporations to launch LearnVest.com, an online personal financial planner for women, a kind of Cosmo for checkbooks.
Alexa’s over the bridge in Manhattan, but we’re writing about her because our readers are creative types who love to dream up iPhone apps, start blogs, open online stores and the like—and while you can do all of those things by the seat of your pants, Alexa’s experience in developing a business plan and raising funds is indispensable to anyone hatching a new venture. Read the rest of this entry »
This panel can be one more piece to your funding puzzle
What’s sweeter than a panel designed to help you turn your million-dollar idea into a million-dollar reality? A panel that does all that and gives a discount for Brokelyn readers! The DIY Business Association panel “Get Funding ASAP! (Or Maybe Not Just Yet)” Sept. 10 will be two sections: one featuring angel investors, crowdsourcing and other funders; and the other featuring success stories from people who’ve used funding to get a business running. Tickets to the event at Loosecubes are regularly $30, but use the code “brokelyn” (lower case) and you’ll only pay $20! More details, and check out that moderator. Dude sure looks like he knows how to moderate.
We’ve all got business ideas, because that’s what drew many of us to BK: a hip new Groundhog Day-themed bar, a sitar music festival, dragon boat pillow fight/cupcake market … whatever. But what we’re lacking is the money to make it happen. This flat world of 2011 is full of ways to dig up the cash that beat ole George Bailey’s bank loans, but where to start? Kickstarter? IndieGoGo? Venture capital? A Twitter campaign? All-night Facebook Like-a-Thon?
If you are trying to figure out funding strategy, put this on your calendar: The BK-based DIY Business Association is hosting a micro conference Sept. 10: “Get Funding ASAP!“ to discuss different avenues of raising money, with expert advice from panelists such as Slava Rubin, co-founder of IndieGoGo, Sara Bacon, founder of Greenpoint Coworking, Natalia Oberti Noguera, founder of the Pipeline Fellowship and more. The cost is $25, which includes cocktails and networking groups. Oh, and what has two thumbs and is moderating this panel? This guy! Read the rest of this entry »
NY vs. SF: the battle rages on
While you can argue the cultural controversies over which city is friendlier to gays or which has the best Chinese food, there’s one thing those left coasters have us beat on, according to biz blog Focus. The site breaks down (in a huge infographic) the costs of launching a start-up in each city, finding SF to be the cheaper choice. If you’re starting a business in New York, you can expect to fork over at least $70 more a month for utilities and about $10,000 more in annual taxes. But numbers never tell the whole story: Software engineers and designers of Brooklyn, are they right? Is SF really cheaper? What about the less tangible differences such as a scrappy Gotham ‘tude versus head-in-the-clouds granola zen? And dirt-cheap, kick-ass pizza? For all those late-night coding sessions, this might be priceless. Read the rest of this entry »
Alexa Von Tobel, 26, left Harvard b-school early and raised over $1M to launch a web site.
Would you take financial advice from someone who dropped out of Harvard Business School in the middle of a recession to start a web site?
It might not be a bad idea. Alexa Von Tobel is a not-even-30 dynamo who managed to raise $1.1 million from major corporations to launch LearnVest.com, an online personal financial planner for women, a kind of Cosmo for checkbooks.
Alexa’s over the bridge in Manhattan, but we’re writing about her because our readers are creative types who love to dream up iPhone apps, start blogs, open online stores and the like—and while you can do all of those things by the seat of your pants, Alexa’s experience in developing a business plan and raising funds is indispensable to anyone hatching a new venture. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve all got business ideas, because that’s what drew many of us to BK: a hip new Groundhog Day-themed bar, a sitar music festival, dragon boat pillow fight/cupcake market … whatever. But what we’re lacking is the money to make it happen. This flat world of 2011 is full of ways to dig up the cash that beat ole George Bailey’s bank loans, but where to start? Kickstarter? IndieGoGo? Venture capital? A Twitter campaign? All-night Facebook Like-a-Thon?
