Tag Archives: startups

The responsibility of an entrepreneur: when to shut down early?

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Simeon Simeonov

Jason Calacanis has written a lengthy post with a lot of good advice for entrepreneurs who are facing the potential failure of their business. It has good tips for extending the runway and making do with less. It also has … Continue reading →

Posted in startups, VC, Venture Capital | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Founder Dilution

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Simeon Simeonov

Founders often ask me, “If I own X% after my first investment round, how much will I be diluted through financings until exit?”. There are rules of thumb but there is no good data about what happens to common stock. … Continue reading →

Posted in startups, VC, Venture Capital | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

For the MIT 100K Participants: Executive Summaries

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Simeon Simeonov

I was invited to speak tonight at the MIT 100K Web/IT track mixer but, unfortunately, I’m sick (which wouldn’t have necessarily prevented me from going) and have lost my voice (which would have made going to the event pointless). So, … Continue reading →

Posted in startups, VC, Venture Capital | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Plinky Launches Content Encouragement Platform

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Simeon Simeonov

Plinky is out of stealth. Check it out. Use it. Live it. Love it. Or not. But either way, send us feedback. It felt strange to be on the opposite coast from the team as they were going through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Media, startups, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Good Time to be in a Startup

Posted on January 10, 2009 by Simeon Simeonov

My co-founder & CEO of Plinky, Jason Shellen and Plinky advisor Vanessa Fox of Jane and Robot have been on and off the home page of CNN.com for a third day now. The article, with the slightly cheesy title “They … Continue reading →

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The Anti-Patterns of Bootstrapping

Posted on December 6, 2008 by Simeon Simeonov

The three most common bootstrapping mistakes I’ve observed: Setting the wrong bootstrapping objectives. Prototype? First paying customer? CFBE? I often meet with startups that are bootstrapping to a particular objective with the expectation that it will allow them to achieve … Continue reading →

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Startup #5 & Future Forward Tidbits

Posted on November 19, 2008 by Simeon Simeonov

My blog rank is in the drain. I have been busy creating a new startup company, the fifth I’ve done at Polaris and the second (after Plinky) I’ve co-founded since I shifted roles to spending 100% of my time on … Continue reading →

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Three Generations of SEO (Part II)

Posted on September 17, 2008 by Simeon Simeonov

This is part II in a series of posts on SEO-driven businesses. Part I is here. I see three generations of SEO optimization in the wild that build upon each other. Below are their distinguishing characteristics. SEO 1.0: human-driven SEO. … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Media, startups, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Building an SEO-Driven Business (Part I)

Posted on September 15, 2008 by Simeon Simeonov

I’m no SEO guru but over the past couple of years I’ve talked to enough entrepreneurs who are leveraging SEO to develop a perspective on the impact of making SEO a big part of a startup’s future. I plan on … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Media, startups | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Attributing Entrepreneurial Success

Posted on September 12, 2008 by Simeon Simeonov

I’m flying back to Boston after a crazy week of Plinking, TC50ing, CTIAing and thinking about starting a new company in the mobile space. My brain is jacked up and exhausted at the same time. So much to process… Living … Continue reading →

Posted in startups, VC, Venture Capital | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments