Entrepreneurship News

We loved this visual breakdown from Intuit on what “Startup America” means for small business.

via: What Obama’s “Startup America” Means for Your Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

Thursday afternoon, President Obama signed off the Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS) Act – not only will it be affecting startups, but it will affect investors as well. How so?

Remember when we talked about crowdsourcing a while back? Well the JOBS Act now officially recognizes the impact of a community investment and created some important rules and regulations to address certain needs and responsibilities. The bill is allowing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 270 days to review crowdsourcing and deliver policies for the public. What do these 270 days mean to investors though? It means they may have to wait until 2013 to make a legal investment towards your startup.

Investors waiting until 2013 may have restrictions to the amount of money they can invest and may have to fill out more forms, including a suitability questionnaire which prepares you for the risks associated with crowdfunding investments.

To read more about how crowdsourcing will affect investors, read the full article at Mashable.

The show Shark Tank has taken America by storm, pulling in top viewer numbers and sparking a new interest into small business, entrepreneurs, and big time investors. But whats more interesting than the entertainment factor of Shark Tank is the educational factor – Shark Tank visually shows us what types of pitches grab the attention, and money, of a potential investor.

So what have we learned??

1. Know your numbers.

2. Be a good marketer.

3. Be humble.

4. Understand good timing.

5. Have a good story.

6. Be prepared to walk.

7. Be personable.

To read the full article, with in-depth analysis of each lesson learned, visit FastCompany. And if you are interested in created a pitch deck for potential investors, we at The Startup Garage specialize in doing just that. Contact us today!

Groupon Scheduler has, for the last few months, been offering a free scheduling tool for merchants that allows them to manage simple appointments, cancellations, and no-shows; it is now available for all small businesses.

The Scheduler allows you paste a “Book Now” button on your website that would directly link with the program. With features like adding “Busy Time” to give breaks to employees, as well as allowing for multiple entries for multiple services and staff members, Groupon Scheduler is a very basic yet easy to use system for a small business just starting out – and free!

Groupon Scheduler is still however in beta testing and is likely to change. For more information read the article at: ITWorld

New data coming out of New York is showing that the New York’s technology venture capital (VC) scene is growing at rapid rates. As “Tech VC King of the East”, New York still can’t compare to the tech champion that is California – however, its rapid growth in the last two years proves to be a significant item of thought. The image below, courtesy of CBinsights, shows how New York took over Massachusetts’ reign of technology VC in the East and how their numbers compare to California.

So what does this mean for us? Well, if you are looking into starting a tech company and were vying for a Silicon Valley launch, you may want to set your sights to New York as well. Apparently the VCs there are itching for some emerging technologies, and you could get lucky.

This year’s SXSW Convention, a nine day crossroads of music, film, technology and entrepreneurship, provided us with a great amount of information regarding emerging technologies and entrepreneurial knowledge. One great article we read over at Mashable gave a play by play of some great networking tips we thought we would share here at The Startup Garage.

• Research a Plan of Action – when networking, know your audience. This means the who, the whats, and the whys.
• Attend With an Open Mind – although easier to mingle with people of the same interest or industry, take advantage of the fact that an array of individuals attend conferences and can offer you a wealth of knowledge or introductions.
• Research Some Tech Lingo – if you are a new entrepreneur, chances are you haven’t gotten your feet wet with the jargon that comes along with the startup community. Do some research and know your information, or you will be quickly seen as an amateur.
• Set Up in Hot Spots – find out where people are cycling in and out most often and set up your base camp. Don’t be shy, talk to everyone you can!
• Leave Room for Spontaneity – maintain openness and availability when going to networking events. Too much planning could hinder your chances of new experiences and also cause you unnecessary stress.

Read the full article at Mashable.

A visually stunning online poster courtesy of Wrike.com/Tony Keller, breaks down just how much telecommuting affects businesses in the modern age. While working from home isn’t for everyone, it is a smart idea to keep it in mind depending on the needs and wants of your business.