This Week In Startups is a weekly webcast hosted by Jason Calacanis that takes questions from startups, and discusses news events of the day. Jason asked me to be a guest on the show link to the video. The questions were great issues for all startups so it makes sense to share them here.
The show starts with Jason asking me questions about Microsoft, Bing, Zune, and other issues. The show went on for two hours…all of it compelling and insightful :-), but here is a guide to the questions and time marks.
How do I get VC or Angel funding for my business? Investors expect an exit or sale to get their return. But, I don’t want to ever sell the business. Can I get financed? (13:50 mark) This particular business was a newspaper so the answer was slightly different than it would be for a software or web company, but many of the issues are the same for any company.
How do I price sponsorships for my new web site? How do advertisers measure the value of sponsorships? Can I raise the price later? (27:00 mark) Jason uses his own show as an example of how to price sponsorships and how to create value for sponsors.
Our project started out as a 50/50 partnership, but now my partner has lost interest and isn’t working much on it. Technically he owns 50%. How do I work this out so I can move forward and develop the idea? (38:15 mark) This sort of thing happens all the time but you don’t read much about it because it usually gets worked out…or the business just dissolves. Jason and I offered several approaches to working this problem out, and suggested a simple legal agreement to handle this kind of thing.
My CEO has committed us to a program that I don’t agree with. I think it is a big mistake. What should I do about it? (52:00 mark) This was an interesting question. Jason gave some great advice that made the caller really think about his position. I suggested that this happens all the time in startups, and there are usually lots of strategy and product changes before they get it right. Don’t get hung up on one decision. There are rarely obvious right answers, and always incomplete information to make them.
How should we pick a lawyer for our startup? How much should we expect to pay? (62:40 mark) Again, Jason had great advice. My response can be summarized as, don’t hire your cousin Vinny. Get a lawyer that specializes in startups.
We don’t need to raise money, but we would like to have an Angel investor as an advisor. How do we find the right person? What type of relationship and deal should we propose? (66:55 mark) Again, great advice. This is a common question and really important.
The news of the week included iPhone 3GS, MySpace, Twitter, and other topical issues. (76:00 mark)
Jason Calacanis does a great job on This Week In Startups, a great resource for anyone starting and building a company. The show is LIVE every Friday at 1:00PM PST, and is available for streaming later.
Microsoft StartupZone also has great advice for startups and the BizSpark software program for startups.
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