Monthly Archives: September 2015

6 Reasons You’ll Want To Attend The USD Legacy Entrepreneurship Conference

USD Legacy Entrepreneurship Conference From The Startup Garage

6 Reasons You’ll Want To Attend The USD Legacy Entrepreneurship Conference

On Thursday Oct 8 2015 The University of San Diego School of Business Administration and the Center for Peace and Commerce proudly present the 3rd annual USD Legacy Entrepreneurship Conference.

If you find yourself sitting on the fence, debating whether or not you should attend this premier networking and coaching opportunity for entrepreneurs…

Here are The Startup Garage Team’s Top 6 Reasons Attending is a MUST.

1. The Financial Times recently ranked USD’s School of Business Administration’s MBA Program Number Three in the World for Entrepreneurship. An honor that undeniably showcases USD entrepreneurship know how.

The esteemed ranking is based on criteria included the percentage of graduates who created their own company, the percentage of companies still operating at the end of 2014, whether it was their main source of income and how the school and the alumni network helped set things up.

2. USD Entrepreneurship’s purpose is to empower change makers through entrepreneurship.

The event was purposefully created to evolve and sustain a community of aspiring as well as seasoned entrepreneurs/business owners. Ultimately, bringing together students, alumni, investors and entrepreneurs for an interactive evening of coaching and collaboration.

3. Anyone can benefit from attending the conference.
“The USD Legacy Entrepreneurship Conference is one of our biggest events at USD for Entrepreneurs.It is incredible opportunity for anyone who has ever had an inspiration to be an entrepreneur to get the “real” behind the scenes story from some of San Diego’s top Entrepreneurs.

Participants will network with people who have done it before and can share their stories of “If I started my venture today, how would I do it differently” and “What I would tell my 21 year old self”. Making mistakes as an entrepreneur can be very expensive, and an event like ULEC gives people the opportunity to ask questions, get feedback, and gathered some lessons learned from top entrepreneurs.

It is also a great opportunity to meet our current innovative students and the thriving USD startup community. social entrepreneurs who are changing the world and want to share their stories will also be on the panels adding a “changemaker” perspective” Regina Bernal, Entrepreneurship and Experiential Learning

4. There is no cost to attend. It’s a completely FREE event, although space is limited.


*HINT sign up early to reserve your seat.*
When was the last time you got to network in a beautiful setting with highly successful individuals ready and willing to share with you their knowledge and insights at no cost?

5. Conference panelist include a blend of unique entrepreneurs, each with their own story and journey to share.

USD Current Student Entrepreneurs include:

 Nathan Resnick ’16 BA, founder of Yes Man Watches and Corked

USD Alumni Entrepreneurs Include;
 Alex Pascal ’07 BA, co-founder and CEO of CoachLogix

 Cody Nenadal ’08 BA, vice president of Silicon Valley Bank

 Lynn Hijar ’98 BA, ’06 MSGL, founder and CEO of iBz247

 Siyamak Khorrami ’06 BS, president of Skyriker IT

 Teresa Smith ’13 MA, CEO of Dreams for Change

Guest Entrepreneurs include:
 Silvia Mah, founder and CEO of Hera Labs

 Phil Blair, president and CEO of Manpower

 Sneha Jayaprakash, CEO of Giventure

 Ned McMahon, CEO of Primo Win

6. At the conclusion of the event you’ll leave with actionable deliverable information and results in order to turn big ideas into reality.

You’ll leave with 3.5 hours of solid startup advice, tried and tested by successful entrepreneurs.
Plus you’ll have a newfound community of entrepreneurs you can easily connect with online and offline #USDENTREPRENEUR for further discussions.

Now that you’ve decided to join us be sure to say hello to The Startup Garage Team!

Tickets can be reserved here>> USD Legacy Entrepreneurship Conference

How To Optimize Your Board of Advisors

How To Optimize Your Board of Advisors

Every company – from high-growth startups to slow-growth enterprises – can benefit from an advisory board if it is well-structured and well-managed.

Some of the obvious benefits of an advisory board include credibility for you and the company, domain expertise, and/or a well-established professional network.

This blog post will provide guidance for assembling a well-structured advisory board as well as management tips for extracting the most value from your advisors.

Assembling Your Advisory Board

Step 1: Determine Your Needs

Start by looking at the most important functions of your particular business, it may be technology, sales, marketing, financial management, daily operations, etc. Next, look at your and your current team’s expertise and core competencies to identify weaknesses and gaps.

These gaps and weak areas are a good place to start in terms of identifying the types of advisors that would be able to add the most value. Be honest with potential advisors about your strengths and weaknesses and how you are hoping they can help.

Next, get very clear on your short term and long term goals. Do you need investor introductions? Or perhaps you are looking to partner with a major player in your industry? Understanding your goals can help you better understand the type of advisor needed for your board.

Step 2: Determine Compensation and Level of Involvement

Most good advisors, depending on your relationship with them, will likely expect something in return for their time, network, and knowledge. While you can certainly compensate your advisors monetarily, the most common method of compensation is providing a minor percentage of equity (anywhere from less than 1% up to 2% or more).

Some advisors will be willing to commit more of their time, connections, and expertise than others. Before approaching potential advisors, determine levels of involvement with distinct compensation packages for each and present them with options.

Step 3: Passion Is a Must

In order for any advisor relationship to be successful it is important that they are not only capable of providing expertise but they are passionate about you and your company. Without passion their expertise will more than likely fall flat.

Extracting Value from Your Advisory Board

Step 1: Information is King

Your advisors are likely very busy people and you want to respect their time. However, in order for them to be effective advisors they need to be informed on the topics that you are seeking to cover.

Provide them with regular, scheduled newsletter style updates that are uniform, easy to digest, and highly informative. Be sure to set agendas for each meeting with a clear list of action items that you’d like to cover.

Submit the agenda a few weeks prior to the meeting with relevant information so that your advisors have time to prepare. During your meeting be sure to stick to the agenda and keep the conversations on task.

Step 2: Keep Your Ears and Mind Open

Your advisory board was not setup so that you could have a room full of heads nodding up and
down in agreement. The purpose of the advisory board is to offer alternative ways of thinking that you may have yet to consider. Set aside any presumptions you may have and sincerely consider everything thrown on the table.

While you should certainly ask questions and challenge ideas, you don’t want to waste everyone’s time (including your own) by not considering alternative viewpoints.

Step 3: Stay In Touch and Follow Up

Be sure to follow through on any action items that you and your advisors come up with during your meetings. This is not only a sign of respect but seeing that you are taking their insight seriously will encourage your advisors to remain engaged.

Lastly, be sure to follow up with your execution of action items along with any key findings or results. This information can be included as a part of your regular, scheduled newsletter updates discussed above.

If you have a question about your Startup business idea or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!

Furry Innovation: Pets Are Startup Businesses New Best Friends

Furry Innovation: Pets Are Startup Businesses New Best Friends

It’s no denying it, we love our pets and we’re willing to spend countless amounts of money in order to enhance their health, happiness, and even appearance.

According to the American Pet Products Association an estimated $58.5 billion was spent on pets in 2014. With nearly $330 million on pet costumes for Halloween alone.

From OnDemand Pet Adoptions to “Furspray” the newest way to decorate your pet for special occasions, Pet Startups combine the love of animals with a high-growth business opportunity. However, along with business opportunities comes fierce competition.

Currently listed on Angel List, there are 490 Pet Startups with an average valuation of $3.7 million across a pool 1,012 Investors. Leading the pack and setting the investment stage are DogVacay and Bark&Co.

DogVacay offers an on demand approach to petsitting near home, having securing 4 healthy funding infusions since 2012. Including: $1 million dollar seed round in May 2012, $6 million Series A round in Nov. 2012, $15 million dollar Series B round in Oct. 2013, and $25 million in Oct 2014.

Bark & Co. leveraged an untapped business model of a monthly subscription box of dog goodies with BarkBox and continued to expand across several other major properties:

BarkPost: Your daily dose of doggy news
BarkShop: Spoil your pup with the very best
BarkBuddy: Find fluffy adoptable singles in your area
BarkLive: Amazing experiences for you and your dog

Also securing a steady funding infusion including: $25,000 in Jan 2012, $1.7million in July 2012, $5million Series A round in April 2013, and $15million Series B Round in July 2014.

Funding is so red hot for Pets Startups, if the U.S. pet products industry collectively was a Fortune 500 company, it would be bigger than Google, Dell, UPS, or Coca-Cola.

Meanwhile, like any high-growth industry, it’s attracting a new breed of startup entrepreneurs with furry ambitions.

Here are a few “underdogs” that captured our attention here at The Startup Up Garage.

XcDogs: Based out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and it connects people who travel with their pets to locals willing to pet-sit short-term who is actively seeking funding at this time.

CleverPet: a local San Diego Startup which with a “Smart” pet gadget that educates and interacts with your animal companion in your absence. CleverPet had a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign of $180,623 and appears to have a variety of undisclosed funding in Sept 2015.

Urban Leash: offers on demand dog walking and cat-sitting services from anywhere at anytime, who a secured a $99,500 seed round in Nov 2014.

AllPaws is OkCupid for Finding Pets to Adopt, Swiping left and right and sifting through profiles is a regular practice for people looking for love nowadays.

Through the website and app AllPaws, the same approach is being used for those looking for a four-legged soulmate. AllPaws raised $1 million in capital in April 2013.

Will the Pet Startups above disrupt the pet industry as we know it?
Only time will tell, if they’re barking up the right tree.

If you have a question about your Startup business idea or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!