Startup Capitals

This book offers a comprehensive model for explaining the success and failure of cities in nurturing startups, presents detailed case studies of how participants in that model help or hinder startup activity, and shows how to apply these lessons to boost local startup activity. Startup Cities explains the factors that determine local startup success based on a detailed comparison of regional startup cities—pairing the most successful and less successful cities within regions along with insights and implications from case studies of each of the model’s elements. The book compares local city pairs, highlighting factors that distinguish successful from less successful cities and presents implications for stakeholders that arise from these principles. Peter Cohan is a lecturer of Strategy at Babson College and one of the world’s leading authorities on regional startup ecosystems. Starting in 2012, he created and led Startup Strategy courses that explore four regional startup ecosystems—Hong Kong/Singapore, Israel, Paris, and Spain/Portugal. These courses are based on an original framework for evaluating why a few cities host most startup creation and the rest fail to do so. In running these courses, Peter has built a network of local policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, and professors from which he draws practical insights for what distinguishes successful Startup Commons from their peers. The book provides vital benefits to these stakeholders. What You’ll Learn Local policymakers will know how to build a local team to set objectives for their local Startup Commons and develop a comprehensive strategy to realize those goals Entrepreneurs will know how to choose where to locate their startups based on factors such as the supply and quality of talent—from chief marketing and technology officers to coders and sales people; quality of life, access to capital, customers, and mentors; and costs such as salary and real estate expense University administrators and faculty will know how to take research out of their labs and house it in companies that can commercialize that research, create academic programs that will encourage more entrepreneurship among their students, and connect with local policymakers and capital providers to spur local startup activity Capital providers will know how to scout out emerging startup cities where they can get access to the best investment opportunities at more favorable valuations and have greater influence on how the local startup scene evolves Who This Book Is For All key startup stakeholders, including local policymakers (mayors, directors of economic development, treasurers, controllers, presidents of regional chamber of commerce), entrepreneurs (CEOs, chief marketing officers, chief financial officers, chief HR officers, chief technology officers), universities (presidents; deans of faculty; provosts; professors of finance, management, and entrepreneurship; directors of international education), and capital providers (venture capital partners and associates, angel investors, bank loan officers, managers of accelerator operations)

As the Internet has matured in technology and reach, we have seen an explosion in tech startups all over the world. Not only are some of these startups changing the world and how we live in it, they are also proving to be the engines of job creation—an aspect that will be critical in the future. To support these startups, new ecosystems are popping up all over the globe to help grow these companies, aided by governments, successful entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. In Startup Capitals, Zafar Anjum brings you a ringside view from the world’s top ten startup cities of the world. Well-researched and highly insightful, this book lays bare the engines of innovation and the lessons that can be learnt from these burgeoning startup capitals.

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

"The public-private partnerships of the future will need to embody a triple-bottom-line approach that focuses on the new P3: people-planet-profit. This book is for anyone who wants to improve the way that we live in cities, without waiting for the glacial pace of change in government or corporate settings. If you are willing to go against the tide and follow some basic lessons in goal setting, experimentation, change management, financial innovation, and communication, real change in cities is possible."--Publisher's description.

An essential guide to building supportive entrepreneurial communities "Startup communities" are popping up everywhere, from cities like Boulder to Boston and even in countries such as Iceland. These types of entrepreneurial ecosystems are driving innovation and small business energy. Startup Communities documents the buzz, strategy, long-term perspective, and dynamics of building communities of entrepreneurs who can feed off of each other's talent, creativity, and support. Based on more than twenty years of Boulder-based entrepreneur turned-venture capitalist Brad Feld's experience in the field?as well as contributions from other innovative startup communities?this reliable resource skillfully explores what it takes to create an entrepreneurial community in any city, at any time. Along the way, it offers valuable insights into increasing the breadth and depth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem by multiplying connections among entrepreneurs and mentors, improving access to entrepreneurial education, and much more. Details the four critical principles needed to form a sustainable startup community Perfect for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists seeking fresh ideas and new opportunities Written by Brad Feld, a thought-leader in this field who has been an early-stage investor and successful entrepreneur for more than twenty years Engaging and informative, this practical guide not only shows you how startup communities work, but it also shows you how to make them work anywhere in the world.

If you are the founder of a high-tech startup company, you know it’s a daunting task, and the odds of success are slim. All founders dream of achieving a rewarding outcome like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, but few reach such a pinnacle. In The Fundable Startup: How Disruptive Companies Attract Capital, Fred M. Haney, an experienced venture capitalist, angel investor, and company founder, explains startup strategies that will help you: Understand the thinking of investors Build a “virtual team” Create initial value in a product or prototype Recruit management that will help you raise capital The Fundable Startup contains eight personal interviews with executives and entrepreneurs that will change the way founders think about managing a startup company. Understand the thinking of investors Build a “virtual team” Create initial value in a product or prototype Recruit management that will help you raise capital The Fundable Startup contains eight personal interviews with executives and entrepreneurs that will change the way founders think about managing a startup company.

The disruptive potential of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and biotechnology catalysts redefine traditional business models and serve as instrumental forces in attracting venture capital investments. The lower barriers to entry, facilitated by these disruptive technologies, empower entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to market, creating a more accessible landscape for funding and innovation. Fostering Innovation in Venture Capital and Startup Ecosystems explores this transformative intersection, where emerging technologies catalyze change, fuel innovation, and redefine the dynamics of financial investments and entrepreneurial endeavors. Moreover, the book delves into how embracing AI, IoT, blockchain, and augmented reality/virtual reality can expedite innovation, enhance efficiency, and scale businesses. Through a multidisciplinary lens, readers understand how these technologies influence established markets, drive economic growth, and create job opportunities. This book is ideal for venture capitalists, angel investors, entrepreneurs, startup founders, and policymakers.