If you can't smile after signing a deal, chances are that you've been screwed over. Photo: Candie_N
Here’s a situation which some entrepreneurs would go through. They decide to take in an investor or join an incubator program. In front of them, an investor asks for “x” % of equity. The entrepreneurs then speak to different people in the community to get some advice. The opinions will be diverse. They turn to US tech blogs, which give them a totally different picture. All this adds up to a lot of frustration.
Any entrepreneur has to deal with this potential scenario and negotiate in good faith with investors. To help you, here’s a checklist of things to do before getting an investment deal.
In a startup company, you are insanely busy. With so much going on, you can become blind to how you are spending company money. This is the second of a two-part series (read part one here) on bookkeeping techniques that will start you off on becoming a black belt in managing money.
Bookkeeping, very simply, is the recording of a company’s financial transactions, which include sales, purchases, income, and payments. Here are some tips on how to get it right the first time. Read more
Paying heed to the following advice could stop your business from ending up like Borders -- bankrupt. Photo: ChicagoGeek
Don’t count on renting a storefront to revive the flagging sales for your online business and compensate for a weak business model: You might end up digging yourself a bigger hole. Rather, going retail may be prudent only if your online business is doing very well. Read more
As a former venture capitalist I’ve been privileged to interact with numerous entrepreneurs in South Asia and play a small role in some start-up ventures. A few of these succeeded and went on to become large companies while many others failed.
Some ended up as lifestyle businesses – the living dead in VC parlance – and continue to chug along never quite realizing their original promise.
If you have ever advertised for your company, you should take note – especially if you use Google’s advertising tool, AdWords. As part of a package aimed at helping companies reach overseas customers, Google’s Global Advertiser is a step-by-step guide to help companies research new markets and after, localize their websites and ads (using Google AdWords) into a target country’s language. The first step in this package is the Google Global Market Finder – a tool to help companies assess business opportunities around the world extrapolating from Google Search data, Google AdWords keyword bid and competition using Google Translate’s keyword translation technology; it allows you to view search volumes and Google AdWords costs for your keywords in any market worldwide. Read more
If you have attempted to go global but found yourself fumbling around, this iStart project by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) might interest you. iStart is multi-pronged approach designed to help entrepreneurs and developers build talent and go global with their companies. Through some of the initiatives under iStart, startups can be connected to potential customers, partners and investors. You will also be able to participate in pitching events and have consultation sessions with industry practitioners. Read more
While we have spoken to many foreign entrepreneurs who did run startups in Singapore (here and here), British entrepreneur and investor, Hugh Mason who relocated to Singapore full time with his young family back in January 2009 recently wrote a piece with certain takeaways that foreigners might want to be aware of when coming to Singapore. Read more
Thinking of quitting your job to become a full time entrepreneur so that you can be your own boss? Longing to escape the dull drudgery of work and unfairness of being under someone who gets rich on your hard work?
When you become your own boss, here are the glorious days that await you.
As part of its goal to develop a vibrant and competitive infocomm industry, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) set aside $20 million for programmes meant to develop talent for the industry. The Infocomm Leadership and Development Programme (iLEAD) is one of them: targeted at infocomm professionals, iLEAD will grow a pipeline of experts. Read more
If you have ever advertised for your company, you should take note – especially if you use Google’s advertising tool, 
If you have attempted to go global but found yourself fumbling around, this iStart project by the 
During Singapore’s Prime Minister National Day Rally speech for 2010 a few days ago, he spoke about the 
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