Clever idea. With the recent commentary surrounding the use of cardboard boxes for toothpaste tubes, this idea is clever – and somewhat obvious. And with the Change.Org signatures at nearly 40,000 of the 50,000 sought, Alan Wurman’s #NOBOXTOOTHPASTE campaign may be working.
#startups
#startups, the #Fyre Festival investor deck
#startups, and best practice for agencies

The IPA has launched a best practice guide to help Advertising and Marketing Agencies and Startups – incorporates tips and a four part checklist.
A Pledge endorsed by IPA can be utilised by an agency to demonstrates their commitment to the new partnership being built.
#start-up, Getting emails right

It’s difficult to get right, it’s really easy to get wrong. And this is an example of a smart email from a start-up, seeking engagement.
#startups, so what skills are important as a startup CEO?

So what skill are important as a startup CEO?
Defining the skills a startup CEO requires is addressed here by Stephen Millard of Norton Capital.
Fred Wilson, the VC, says “A CEO [only does] three things
#startups, growth hacking doesn’t exist

An article I read answers one of the questions I am asked frequently: “what is growth hacking?”.
Well it exists. In my view. But not as we know it.
#startups, integrating client success into business development in a subscription economy
Integrating client success into business development in a subscription economy
Planning for future success will pay dividends
A dynamic I see around my work has changed. New start-ups are facing an indeterminable future unless they plan within business development (and then client account management) to address the new market space – one where the barriers to exit have never been lower, the scope and spread (and power) of both Procurement and eProcurement and where the rise in ‘self-service’ on-boarding could see the decrease in brand/product loyalty all combining to create a more detached client/business relationship.
If the business, read billing, relationship is becoming more client-centric, in terms of power, then the focus should be ensuring that the client achieved their achieving goals/success – and should be the ‘why’ for the start-up.
#startups, using social media, data backed answer

Using social media, data backed answer
It is interesting to look how startups use social media. Whilst not an in-depth study – nor is the research data validated, there are some interesting take outs. Of the fifty startups across industries analysed, some interesting data was revealed.
The startups averaged USD$4.4m funding, split evenly between B2B and B2C.
#startups, pricing, or not talking about it
I’ve been working on price points – researching, testing, communicating, trialing, changing, communicating, and restarting the loop. I caught this interesting read on creating price points – and move to MRR and ARR for a startup.
#startups, House of Genius
House of Genius
#startups, getting from free to MRR
We got stuck in the all-too-common trap of building a user-base and worrying about revenue later
Use Bit.ly? Of course you do. As I do (amongst others, though, including having run my own dedicated URL to track clicks).
Insights here, entitled “The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Bitly: How a Free Link Shortener Became a Real Business” from Bit.ly CEO Mark Josephson.
#startups, Flap It extends the Fliike/Smiirl idea

Clever little idea – in the world of the internet of things – bringing the world of Facebook ‘likes’ into the real world.
#startups, presenting the big idea …
Presenting the big idea … some wise words
Some wise words here. Whilst I’m not -and have never been – an advocate for the ‘Elevator Pitch’ for a plethora of reasons (more anaon), below are wise words. The full #typed note is here …
#startups, how do I create a great culture?
Somethings, when said by an industry peer, it warrants no real further comment.
Jeremy Bullmore responds here to a letter to his column in Campaign Magazine to explain the issue of culture
#startups, understanding the balance sheet
Understanding the balance sheet
I’m quoting this post published today. as is a reminder of the importance of how to read and interpret a balance sheet. The full #typed note is here …
#futurology, US$40,000 to find a balloon, or an analysis of crowdsourcing
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is running a study where to analyse and explore the inter-relationship between the net and social media/social networking, the results of which could prove very interesting.