#sweat equity software development

[tawhidislam]

Sweat Equity in Software Development: A Guide for Startups and Developers

What is Sweat Equity?

Sweat equity refers to the non-monetary contribution of work, skills, or time in exchange for ownership or shares in a company. In software development, this means developers, designers, or engineers contribute their expertise instead of financial investment, typically in a startup or early-stage business.

Why Use sweat equity software development?

For startups, hiring a development team can be expensive. Sweat equity offers a way to build a product without immediate cash flow while giving contributors a stake in the company’s success. For developers, it’s an opportunity to gain equity in a promising venture rather than just earning a salary.

Key Considerations for Sweat Equity in Software Development

Clear Agreements – Define roles, responsibilities, and equity distribution in a legally binding contract (such as a vesting agreement).

Vesting Schedules – Typically, equity is earned over time (e.g., 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff) to ensure long-term commitment.

Valuation & Equity Share – Determine the percentage of ownership based on the estimated value of the developer’s contributions.

Exit Strategy – Establish what happens if a developer leaves the project early or if the company is acquired.

Legal & Tax Implications – Consider consulting a lawyer to navigate equity agreements, taxes, and intellectual property rights.

Benefits & Risks

✅ Pros:

Enables startups to build software without immediate funding.

Gives developers long-term financial potential.

Strengthens commitment and alignment of interests.

❌ Cons:

Uncertain financial return for developers.

Potential disputes over equity distribution.

Risk if the startup fails or pivots.

Conclusion

Sweat equity in sweat equity software development is a powerful tool for startups and developers looking to create innovative products with minimal upfront costs. However, it requires clear agreements, structured vesting, and legal safeguards to ensure a fair and successful collaboration. 🚀

[collectionwise-blog]

7 Original Ways to Make Money Online

Whether you're looking to make some fast cash, or you're after long-term, more sustainable income-producing results, there are certainly ways you can make money online today. The truth is that making money online isn't as difficult as most make it out to seem. It does require some discipline.

However, if you're looking for realistic ways you can start earning money online now, then it really truly does boil down to seven paths you can take towards profit. Some will provide you with immediate results, helping you to address your basic monthly necessities such as rent, utilities and groceries, while others have the potential to transform your life by revolutionizing your finances in the long term. No matter what method you select for generating your online income, there's one very important thing to understand. Money can be earned and spent, saved and pilfered, invested and wasted. Not time. That's why time is far more valuable than money. You can't recreate time. Once it's spent, it's gone forever.

When you lack the luxury of time, making money on or offline can seem like an impossible task. How are you supposed to do that when you're working at a life-sucking nine-to-five job? While the stability of full-time employment might allow most to sleep well at night, it doesn't empower your creative juices to search for new income-producing strategies.

No matter what method you end up using to generate an income on the web, you need to adjust your mindset to help empower rather than discourage you. The truth is, making money online can be fraught with avoidable pitfalls. Cancel the noise by keeping a few fundamental guiding principles in mind.

If you're at all serious about generating a full-time income and possibly more from your online activities, then you need to focus on passive income as opposed to active income. Sure, the active income will help you survive. That's the scarcity mentality at play. But it's the passive income ideas that will help you thrive.

Considering that you have a finite amount of time, passive income should make up a large part of your work. If you're serious about generating any semblance of income online, then passive income should be one of your sole goals and ambitions. Why? Wouldn't you prefer to do the work one time and get paid repeatedly as opposed to relying on your time to generate that income? Invest the time at the front-end so that you can reap the benefits on the back-end. This means putting in a bit of sweat equity and not getting paid today. Rather, you'll get paid somewhere down the road. And you'll continue getting paid whether you keep building that passive income stream or you stop.

Anyone interested in making money online should be pursuing passive income, while also working on active income. There are loads of ways to generate an income passively on the internet, many of which start at the foundation of having a blog, generating substantial traffic and building an audience and a list. It's not easy, but it's worth it. That doesn't mean you need to start a blog to make money online today. You could opt for a non-blog-starting route, but if you're looking for longevity in your income-producing abilities on the internet, then a blog should be your primary aim.

1. Leverage the app economy If you're looking to address some immediate financial needs, then the app economy is likely right for you.

Uber or Lyft: If you're in a locale where you can find Uber or Lyft, or  one of the many competitors around the world such as China's Didi, the hours are flexible and you can work as you see fit, making it perfect, even if you currently have full-time employment but are looking to make some money on the side.

Postmates: You don't even need a car in some locations to make money with this app. In some major metroplitan areas like Manhattan, a bike would suffice.

iBotta: Earn cash back rewards by purchasing featured products at major retailers. All you have to do is add rebates, go shopping, then snap a photo of your receipt to earn your cash back. Simple and effective.

Task Rabbit: Another simple and straightforward app for making a bit of side-hustle income is the Task Rabbit app. Tasks can be anything from simple repairs to more exhaustive undertakings. The app carefully vets each service provider to ensure the highest quality, and it's a great way to make some extra income on the side on your own terms.

Ebates: This app offers a simple way to make money online by buying whatever you're already buying and then getting a cash-back reward. With eBates, there's no scanning receipts. Simply click a link in the app and buy from the store. You'll automatically be credited your cash rewards upon purchase along with receiving an email confirmation.  

Swagbucks: With Swagbucks, there are a number of ways you can make money. You can shop online, watch videos, answer surveys and surf the web. The app gives you both cash back and gift cards as a reward for your efforts.

Inbox Dollars: Another app you can use to make money online is Inbox Dollars, which pays you for watching television, taking surveys and shopping. There are cash offers here and it's relatively similar to some of the other apps in this arena.  

2. Use existing websites

You could also opt to use existing websites for making money. These include both active income and passive income methods. For example, you could sell some used items or invest in creating some digital designs that then can be sold on merchandise. Again, devote a sizable portion of your time to passive income so that you can slowly build up earnings that will arrive on autopilot without any extra added effort.

Of course, a large portion of these sites do have their own respective apps. But these are certainly less involved in the gig economy, and more so in the longer term projects that exist in the fields of photography, online marketing, graphic design and web development, for example. Craigslist: This site has been the go-to resource for over a decade now for people that are looking to make a bit of extra money online. You can easily sell your used stuff, rent out a spare room in your home or apartment, and offer up your services to the world.

Upwork: This website offers a great marketplace for selling just about any professional service. You don't need a merchant account, website of your own or anything else for that matter. All you need to do is be able to provide a high-quality service at a reasonable price. But be informed, you will have to compete with many others that are constantly bidding on open jobs.

Cafe Press: This website allows you to create digital designs that can then be sold on the platform. You'll earn a commission for everything that sells and you'll never have to deal with logistics like printing, warehousing and customer service. If you have some graphic design skills, then this is a great potential source for your web-based income.

Fiverr: Israeli-based Fivver was started in 2010 by Shal Wininger and Micha Kaufam. You can offer gigs as low as $5 but also get paid much more for upgrades and add-ons.  

Mechanical Turk: Amazon's Mechanical Turk is a resource for doing human-intelligence tasks, or as the site commonly refers to them, HITs. You get paid a very small fee for any given HIT and you'll need a good deal of volume to make a substantial amount of money. But it is a resource you can use in your spare time to generate a small income online.

Flippa: If you have a penchant for buying and selling, you could use Flippa, and its higher-end counterpart, Deal Flow Brokerage to buy and sell websites for a profit. You'll need to know what you're doing here, but you could easily make a sizable income by flipping income-generating websites for profit.

Etsy: While Etsy's popularity has declined recently, it's still a great resource for selling handmade items online. No need for complex ecommerce sites or merchant accounts or any sort of automation. The company takes a commission of every sale and charges a small listing fee per item. But many still use Etsy as their primary source of income. The best part is that you can also sell digital products on here such as poster designs.

Shutterstock and iStockPhoto: Have a keen eye for photography? Why not sell photos on some of the leading photography sites. You'll need some design software skills to tag along. But if you do have skill in this arena, it's a great potential source for passive income.

Threadless: Similar to CafePress, Chicago-based Threadless also allows you to sell digital designs in the form of t-shirts and other merchandise such as phone cases, mugs, beach towels and so on.

Zazzle: Another great resource for selling online is to use Robert Beaver's Zazzle. The site is somewhat similar to Etsy and virtually anyone can make money online selling a variety of items here. From art to handmade items and customizable products, you can pretty much sell anything here. 3. Sell your own stuff If you're ready to enter the ecommerce fray, you could sell your own stuff. Of course, along with selling your own stuff on your own website comes a whole slew of both responsibilities and technical configuration and requirements. For starters, you'll need a website and a hosting account. You'll also need a merchant account like ones offered by Stripe or PayPal. Then you'll need to design that site, build a sales funnel, create a lead magnet and do some email marketing.

You'll also need ecommerce software, fulfillment software, worry about warehousing, customer service and refunds. But that's not all. You'll also need traffic. Think search engine optimization, Facebook ads, and other social media campaigns. It is hard work, especially on your own. You could opt for Amazon's platform, which might be the easier route. But, then again, at the end of the day, this is a serious business, which could produce significant profits. So you're either all in or you're not.

Shopify: Want to build your own storefront? You could opt to create a Shopify store. You could also install WooCommerce as a plugin and run your ecommerce store from your blog. You'll need an SSL certificate and a way to process payments, but you might find this easier to get up and running fast to start selling immediately.

Fulfilled-by-Amazon (FBA): You could  start selling on the largest online store in the world and not spend the time to build out your own infrastructure or worry about traffic. You will need to pay a commission, but most of the other processes will be automated for you. Drop-shipping: Amazon offers one form of drop-shipping, but there are other resources for drop-shipping products that you'll never actually have to see or handle yourself. You'll simply need to close the sale. Providers like SaleHoo, Worldwide Brands, and many others, offer you a resource for drop-shipping your products.

Drop-shipping: Amazon offers one form of drop-shipping, but there are other resources for drop-shipping products that you'll never actually have to see or handle yourself. You'll simply need to close the sale. Providers like SaleHoo, Worldwide Brands, and many others, offer you a resource for drop-shipping your products.  

High-ticket consulting or coaching: You could sell your own high-ticket consulting or coaching products from your website. You'll still need a website, merchant account, sales funnel, lead magnet and many other items. But you can easily earn a substantial amount of money from each individual customer, making it well worth the arduous setup required.

4. Sell as an affiliate There are loads of resources for making money online as an affiliate. You could source products from ClickBank, Commission Junction, Rakuten Marketing, Share-a-Sale, Impact Radius and many others. Plus, many of the larger companies have their own affiliate programs as well. Do your due diligence and find the right company with a relevant product or service to your audience that you can sell as an affiliate.

In some cases, you will need an active website with substantial traffic to get approved. Selling as an affiliate isn't easy by any means, but if you do have the audience, it can definitely amount to a substantial amount of income.

5. Start a blog

If you're serious about making money online, start a blog. Blogging is one of the easiest and most sustainable income sources. As long as the blog is setup the right way, in the right niche, with the right content targeted at the right audience, and the offer is complementary to the content, you could make a tremendous amount of passive income from a blog.

While some might think that starting a blog is an arduous effort, when you understand the precise steps you need to take, it becomes far easier. It all starts in the decision of choosing a profitable niche and picking the right domain name. From there, you need to build your offers. You can easily sell things like mini-email courses, trainings and ebooks.

6. Email marketing

If you're interested in online marketing, setup email software and create a lead magnet that you can use in your sales funnel. Then, build up that list. It's often said that you can expect to earn about $1 per subscriber per month. If you have a list of 10,000 subscribers, that means you can earn roughly around $10,000 per month. You will need to deliver value and not pitch them on every email, but it is a very achievable goal in a short period.

There are many ways to get people onto your list. Lead magnets are one such resource. For example, you can build ebooks, checklists and cheat sheets. But you can also do content upgrades, such as PDF versions of an article with added resources in them, four-part video training series, and more. Think about your audience and what you can offer them to better serve them, then treat them with some respect and you'll eventually reap the rewards. 7. Webinars trainings Webinars are quite possibly one of the most potent ways you can make an exorbitant amount of money online. You'll need an audience to train and you'll need to know what you're talking about. Of course, this usually requires having a website and some semblance of an online presence. However, people can still do webinars without all of that. For example, you might have a sizable social media following and you train them every week on something to do with social media. But you will need a product to embed and sell at some point. 

No matter what method you choose to make money online, understand that you might be able to make some money fast, but for the sizable returns, you'll need significant sweat equity. However, a year from now, you'll be happy you started today. Remember, time is far more valuable than money. Focus on creating passive income streams that will free up your time so that you can quit the rat race and focus on the things that matter.

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[thebestify]

7 Genuine Ways to Make Money Online and Create a Long-Lasting Passive Income Stream - The Leader Newspaper Online

If you are looking to make money online and earn some fast cash, or if you are searching for a long-term, more sustainable passive or residual income-producing system, the internet is most likely the first place that you will begin. There are many ways to make money online by internet marketing today and the truth is that it isn’t really that difficult. Making money online and creating a long-term passive income from internet marketing is very possible but it does require some discipline. There are various paths you can take in order to make money and create a nice tidy profit. Some of these paths are long and some of them are short. All of them, however, require hard work and dedication. Making money online can be fraught with avoidable pitfalls which is why you need to adjust your mindset in order to benefit from huge success. To generate a full-time income and have a little bit left over, you should focus your efforts on passive income and residual income and not just on active income. Active income is important. It will help you survive but it will not give you abundance. It will only give you scarcity. In order to have abundance you should concentrate on increasing your amount of passive income. That way you will thrive and prosper. Time is finite and for that reason passive income should make up a large part of your work. When you earn passive income, you do the work one time and get paid repeatedly. When you earn active income, you sell your time. If you invest your time wisely at the front-end you will most definitely reap the rewards and benefits on the back-end. Sometimes you just have to put in a bit of sweat equity. You might not get paid today, but if you invest wisely to ensure that you are even making money on slow business days, you will get paid some time down the road. And you will continue receiving pay cheques from your passive income activities. There are many different ways to generate residual income and passive income on the internet. First, you will usually need your own website or blog. Secondly you will need to generate traffic and develop your audience. Build your list and encourage your visitors to return. There is no guarantee that it will be easy, but if you put in the effort it will be worth it. So, without further ado, here are 7 genuine ways that you can make money online and create yourself a long-lasting passive income stream. 1.) Sign up to the App Economy Depending on where you reside, you can sign up to various apps such as BlaBlaCar (the leading carpooling app in the world) which allows you to “go literally anywhere” from anywhere and offers access to millions of journeys. Other alternatives to BlaBlaCar include Uber or Lyft or one of their other competitors which make it easy for you to earn a little bit of extra cash on the side of your full time employment. You can also make money online by signing up to apps such as Swagbucks or Inbox Dollars. Swagbucks allows you to shop online, watch videos online, surf the web, and answer surveys from the comfort of the armchair in your home. Swagbucks gives you the possibility to earn both cash back and gift vouchers for your hard work! Inbox Dollars works on a similar concept. With Inbox Dollars you can earn money online by watching TV, surfing the web, and completing online surveys. Again, as with other similar apps, you can earn gift vouchers for all your hard efforts! 2.) Sign up to existing websites and offer your services If you have a particular skill which you can offer, you have the possibility to sign up to various websites and become a part of their community. As part of their community you will be able to offer your services. Examples of such websites include Fiverr. Fiverr was established in 2010 by Israeli entrepreneurs, Shal Wininger and Micha Kaufam. After signing up to Fiverr you can offer what the community lingo calls “gigs”. These so-called “gigs” can be offers of your services for as little as $5 but you can also get get paid far more for upgrades, add-ons, and services which require a unique set of skills. Other websites which you can sign up to for making money include Craigslist, Upwork, Cafe Press, Flippa, Shuttlestock, and iStockPhoto. By signing up to these websites you can generate both active income and passive income. 3.) Register for Affiliate Marketing and Sell Stuff Online Another way to earn money online by internet marketing is to register yourself with various Affiliate Marketing networks and platforms and sell their products online by leveraging value from your traffic. One such product which you can sell online is lottery tickets. Imagine, hundreds of thousands of players take part in global lotteries each week and you just need to earn a small percentage of the revenue generated by the global lottery ticket sales market. How do you do this? Well, an easy way to generate extra income through lottery ticket sales is to register as an affiliate with Lottery Partner. Lottery Partner is an official lotto agent affiliate program. Lottery Partner offers high commission rates on most global lotteries including the Euromillions, US Powerball Lottery, Mega Millions Lottery, El Gordo Lottery, and many more. It also offers detailed statistics, instant commission accrual, unique API possibilities, and a low payout threshold. You may also consider selling as an affiliate through other networks such as Commission Junction, Clickbank, or one of the many other affiliate networks which exist out there in cyberworld. 4.) Sell your own stuff and make money online If you are ready to enter the e-commerce market, you could look at the opportunity of selling your own stuff in order to make money online. In order to do this you will need to register a domain, configure a hosting account, and set up a website. You should also set up a merchant account with a trusted company such as Stripe or PayPal. These merchant accounts will allow you to make payments to suppliers and receive money online from customers. Once you have set up all these things, you will have to design the website, and start marketing your products and content. Create yourself a strong web presence by working hard on your search engine optimisation in order to generate organic traffic. Attract interested readers to your site by sending out emails or by setting up Facebook advertising and other social media campaigns and direct them to a sales funnel where you will be able to capture, nuture, and turn your leads into sales and hard cash! Consider promoting your products through established sites such as Amazon, ebay, or Shopify. Alternatively, you could go the extra mile and set up your own online store using Woocommerce on WordPress and then just sit back whilst the cash rolls in! 5.) Set up your own blog and sell advertising space If you’re serious about making money online blogging is one of the easiest and most sustainable passive and residual income sources. Assuming the blog is set up correctly and it has sufficient interesting content about a niche topic with a strong and engaged audience, it is possible to generate a tremendous amount of residual and passive income from a blog. Initially, starting a blog can take quite a bit of hard work and effort, but the more you understand, the easier it becomes to create the content for a successful blog which generates plenty of traffic. Through your blog, you can easily sell things like mini-email courses, training and consultancy and e-books. In addition, you can sign your blog up to various advertising networks. The most well-known of these is arguably Google Adsense, but there are may others which will allow you to monetise your traffic and make money online. 6.) Run online training courses and Webinars One of the best ways to make an exorbitant amount of money online is through Webinars. In order to run your Webinar you will need a subject to talk about. Preferably you will be an expert in that particular field! Then you will need to create and nuture your audience so that they join you and listen to what you have to say. One of the best ways to create your audience is to set up your niche website and post plenty of informative content. You can promote the posts through a Facebook Group or a Facebook Page or you can set up plugins such as Onesignal on your website which uses Push Notifications to make your audience aware of new content as it is published. There are many platforms which you can use to host your Webinar such as GoToWebinar or even Youtube Live. 7.) Fire valuable content out to an e-mail list The seventh way to make money online is to realise that when push comes to shove, it’s all in the list! To be successful in online marketing it is highly advisable that you look into e-mail marketing. In order to run a successful e-mail campaign, setup email software and create a lead magnet or effective landing pages that you can use in your sales funnel. Then, dedicate time to build up that list which you can reuse time and time again. It is often said that you can expect to earn about $1 per subscriber per month but that is probably a little far fetched! It is unlikely that if you have a list of 10,000 subscribers, you will earn $10,000 per month, but be rest assured the list has value and it will generate you some return. Deliver value to your subscribers and do not just pitch them on every email. Think about your audience and what you can offer them. What do they need? How can you develop their interest? Treat them with respect and you will undoubtedly benefit for your time and patience. Conclusion Whatever method you choose to make money online, you’ll need to invest significant sweat equity. However, within just a short period of time you can generate good returns. Remember, time is far more valuable than money and, therefore, it is highly recommended that you focus on creating passive income streams that will free up your time and enable you to resell the same information or product time and time again! 7 Genuine Ways to Make Money Online and Create a Long-Lasting Passive Income Stream appeared first on Make Money Online by Internet Marketing. Read the full article

[endenogatai]

UK femtech startup Astinno, which is working on a wearable to combat hot flushes, picks up grant worth $450k

London-based femtech hardware startup Astinno has picked up an Innovate UK grant worth £360k ($450k) to fund further testing of a wearable it’s developing for women experiencing a perimenopause symptom known as hot flushes.

The sensor-packed device, which it’s calling Grace, is being designed to detect the onset of a hot flush and apply cooling to a woman’s wrist to combat the reaction — in a process it likens to running your wrists under a cold tap.

The aim is for algorithmically triggered cooling to be done in a timely enough manner to prevent hot flushes from running their usual unpleasant and uncomfortable course. While the bracelet wearable itself is being designed to look like a chunky piece of statement jewelry.

The femtech category in general has attracted an influx of funding in recent years, as venture capitalists slowly catch up to the opportunities available in products and services catering to women’s health issues.

But it’s fair to say menopause remains a still under-addresed segment within the category. Although there are now signs that more attention is being paid to issues that affect many hundreds of millions of middle-aged (and some younger) women around the world.

The team working on Grace has built several prototypes to date, per founder Peter Astbury. He says some limited user-testing has also been done. But they’ve yet to robustly prove efficacy of the core tech — hence taking grant funding for more advanced testing. At this stage of development there’s also no timeline for when a product might be brought to market.

Astinno and Morgan IAT, its commercial partner on the project, have been awarded the Innovate UK money via a publicly funded UK SMART grants scheme (the pair are getting match funding via the scheme, with the public body putting up 70% and Astinno and Morgan IAT funding the other 30% of their respective costs).

Loughborough University — Astbury’s alma mater — is also involved as a research party, and is being funded for 100% of its grant costs.

“Several prototypes have been created so far, mainly by myself having received electronics and design training as part of my degree at Loughborough University,” says Astbury. “Shortly after leaving university I also briefly worked with an electronics company who helped to refine some of the components within the Grace product.

“Morgan IAT has the crucial technical role of developing a number of prototypes in conjunction with Astinno. This includes both hardware and software development, building many more advanced prototypes that are being tested, refined and then tested again.

“We’re working with three researchers from Loughborough University, which brings together industry leading expertise in menopause psychology and physiology. Based at the National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine, the researchers are using their fantastic lab facilities to test Grace, meaning that everything we’re doing is being validated by professional research. Once this step is complete, we’ll have more of an idea regarding product release time-frames.”

Astbury founded the startup last summer — but had begun work on the concept for Grace several years before, during his final year at Loughborough, back in 2016.

“As a member of Loughborough’s business incubator, ‘The Studio,’ I was awarded an enterprise grant that helped to fund the business. I have also been putting my user experience design skills and expertise to good use, contracting for startups and larger healthcare companies on a part-time basis to ‘bootstrap’ development,” he adds.

The idea for the wearable came after Astbury conducted user research by talking to women about their menopausal symptoms and hearing about their coping strategies for hot flushes and the night sweats that can be induced.

“A woman was telling me about her symptoms and how she coped with them until now. She would wake up 10 to 15 times each night due to her night sweats. Each time, she would go to the bathroom and run her wrists under cold water, which helped the flush to subside. Looking into this method in more depth, it became clear that cooling an area of skin can indeed be extremely effective and there are lots of women that use this technique,” he explains.

“During a hot flush, your brain mistakenly thinks that you are becoming too warm and causes your body to lose heat. This results in sweating, a reddening of the skin and shortness of breath. The skin, however, acts like your body’s thermometer, passing information to your brain. By applying cooling to the skin at the right time, we’re harnessing the body’s natural temperature regulation system. The brain receives signals that you are cool and, in turn, the body reacts in a way that is directly opposite to a hot flush.”

“The real key to Grace is accurately and reliably pre-empting hot flushes (the automated nature of the bracelet) so that cooling can be applied at the earliest stage possible,” he adds. “We’re doing that using a specific line-up of sensor technology and algorithms all working together, but I’m afraid the details of that can’t be disclosed publicly yet.”

Astbury says he was keen to get grant funding at this stage of product development to avoid dilution of the business, given VCs would require their chunk of equity.

“One of the best things about Innovate UK for a science-based start-up like Astinno is that it doesn’t contribute to the dilution of your business,” he notes. “By the end of a successful grant project, a company becomes a much more attractive investment from the perspective of both investors and the startup. I have had discussions with multiple angels/VCs and will maintain those relationships. However, a grant was the best option for us at this stage.”

Blossom Capital’s Louise Samet talks hormone tracking and femtech bets

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[ryanmitchelloregon]

Ryan Mitchell Oregon | How To Start Business Without Money

Ryan Mitchell Oregon | So you want to start a business and you have no money. How can you make your dream a reality?

In today’s Internet age, it is more than possible!

Here are some ideas to help you in your endeavor:

1) First think about what you are passionate about. What do you love to do in your spare time? What service-oriented skill do you have that people need, want, and desire? What ideas keep you up at night? What are your life experiences?

Choose a business that does not require much equipment. Service businesses are perfect for this. Are you good at organizing? Then start a home organization business! Do you love to restore furniture? Buy some forgotten treasures and spruce them up with paint! You might even have the paint in your home if this is already a favorite hobby.

2) Select a target market. Whom are you in business for? Who are you trying to serve? Learn all about this target market. What are they afraid of? What pain do they have in their lives? What kind of people do they admire?

3) Develop a brand. What is that? A brand is a graphical image that communicates the essence of who you are and what you do. It is an appealing combination of fonts, colors, an image (but not totally necessary) contrast, and balance.

Combine what your passions are, your USP, with your target market. What solution to your target market’s pain can you bring? Design this into an image representative of that.

You want to make sure you have a professional brand, not one that looks sloppy. How can you do this with no money? (Ryan Mitchell Oregon) Learn about how to design a logo yourself. There are many free design software programs out there to help you get started. Or take advantage of free trials applications like Adobe Photoshop offers.

4) Get your name out. Make people aware of your products or services.

Send press releases to your local papers. Advertise your business in Craigslist or other free online classified advertising sites, like Facebook Marketplace, if you feel comfortable. But be careful. Never give out your home address and always make sure you are safe.

Take advantage of Facebook and other social media sites like LinkedIn. Get involved in online communities and give gold nuggets of information. Start a blog and talk with passion about your chosen product or service. Write articles, make videos. Use what you already have at home. You don’t need fancy equipment to get started!

Starting a business with no money is possible. It just takes sweat equity, determination, and consistent work. Keep at it and you will find that pot of gold your looking for at the end of your particular rainbow!

[un-enfant-immature]

Startup Battlefield is going virtual with TechCrunch Disrupt 2020

You read that right. The big announcement came yesterday – TechCrunch Disrupt is now fully virtual. What does this mean for Startup Battlefield? More opportunity. The best companies from across the globe, an even bigger launch platform, the eyes of more investors from around the world and press exposure at the biggest conference TechCrunch has held to-date. The conference will be available globally, spanning 5 days – September 14-18. Founders. This. Is. Your. Shot. Applications will close June 19th, so get your app in ASAP.

Successful startup founders face challenging circumstances with determination and persistence — and they grab hold of every opportunity to pave a path forward. Are you ready to pave your path? And a chance to win the $100,000 equity-free prize and the Disrupt Cup?

The virtual Startup Battlefield works much like last year’s onsite battle, but with a few twists and added benefits.

Apply. You’re eligible — no matter where you are around the world — if your company meets these criteria: it’s early stage; you have an MVP that includes a tech component (software, hardware or platform); your company has not received much, if any, major media coverage. Here’s good news: it won’t cost you a thing to apply or participate in the Battlefield. And TechCrunch does not take any equity.

The TechCrunch editorial team will review every application looking for innovative, game-changing startups from verticals spanning the tech spectrum. They’ll select a cadre of startups to compete virtually in front of influencers who have to power to change the course of your business.

Prepare for battle. All competing teams go through a free weeks-long training with TechCrunch team. That coaching will whip your pitch into fighting trim, cut the fat from your business models, sharpen your presentation skills and fine-tune your demo. You’ll also hear from industry experts on developing various aspects of your business – from go-to-market strategy to executive communications.

Compete. When game day arrives, each team presents a 6-minute pitch to a bevy of judges consisting of top VCs and technologists. An intense Q&A follows each presentation, but with all that coaching under your belt you won’t break a sweat. The judges will select teams to move into the finals — and those founders will pitch yet again to a fresh panel of judges on the final day of the virtual conference.

From that impressive lot, the judges will choose one stellar startup to claim the Disrupt Cup and the $100,000 prize. The whole event takes place online in front of a huge global audience — they can watch all the action with a free Disrupt  Digital pass.

Network and grow your business. Although only one startup wins the cash, all Startup Battlefield competitors gain invaluable exposure to investors, media and potential customers — and they join the ranks of the Startup Battlefield Alumni. That impressive cohort has collectively raised $9 billion and generated 115 exits. We’re talking companies like Vurb, Dropbox, GetAround, Mint, Yammer, Fitbit and many more. Talk about prime networking.

Startup Battlefield competitors also get to exhibit in Digital Startup Alley and enjoy these added benefits:

Leading Voices Webinars: Top industry minds will share their thoughts and strategies on adapting and thriving during and after this pandemic. Startup Alley exhibitors get exclusive access to this webinar series.

A launch article posted on TechCrunch.com

A YouTube video promoted on TechCrunch.com

Free subscription to Extra Crunch

Free passes to future TechCrunch events

Plus, you’ll receive loads of press and investor attention and use of CrunchMatch, our AI-powered networking platform, to set up virtual meetings. Keep checking back because we’re not quite finished adding extra perks.

You’re determined. You’re persistent. Apply to compete in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt 2020 for an opportunity to pave your path to success.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt 2020? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

[maritzaerwin]

9 Proven Ways For Funding Your Startup

Whether you are a successful serial entrepreneur or just thinking of starting your own business, one main question will arise – how will you cover your startup costs?

Traditionally you’d walk down to your local bank and try to negotiate a business loan based on your business plan, network or assets. That’s not as easy anymore these days.

So what options do you have to secure sufficient capital to support you and your business during the exciting yet intimidating startup phase?

This article will cover some conventional and unconventional ways of getting funding to launch your business.

How Much Funding Do You Need? 

Before you figure out how you’ll secure the capital you need to sit down and figure out exactly how much you need. That figure is highly dependent on your business model, competition, execution plan, etc.

Once you have a business idea it’s advisable to do a thorough job writing a business plan including financial projects. Writing a proper business plan is a fantastic exercise to find answers to all of the questions raised above. The financial section of your business plan needs special attention. Carefully review all of your assumptions, projects, and expenses.

Once you are confident in these figures you can figure out what it will cost you to launch the business and what it will take to get you to breakeven and beyond. One of the many reasons why businesses fail is because they run out of runway before they generate sufficient revenue and/or profit to keep them afloat.

Your startup costs are the sum of expenses and capital injections to get your business up and running and maintain it until it’s self-sufficient.

I Know My Costs, Now What?

The amount of capital you require will determine how many funding channels are available to you. If it’s a small amount, angel investors, venture capitalists and commercial banks won’t get involved. If it’s a significant amount, odds of simply asking a family member for a loan probably won’t work either. A major benefit of drafting a carefully researched business and financial plan is that it will give you a great indication of likely success.

A business idea might make a lot of sense at first but if your research indicates you’d need tremendous capital injections with a projected break-even point seven years out it might be better to look at another opportunity. If you are still confident after crunching the numbers then it’s time to look at your available funding options.  

What Are My Options for Funding A Startup? 

It’s important you understand all of the available options to you. Going after the right funding source with the right project and pitch will increase your odds tremendously. It’s as easy to raise $1 Million for your biotech venture as it is securing $5,000 for a small business. It all comes down to aligned interests and objectives. Make sure you identify the right financing partners and hone your pitch accordingly.

Keep in mind sometimes the answer is you don’t need any funding at all if you are willing to bootstrap your business and branding.

The next section will highlight some of the most commonly used ways to fund a business. This is not an exhaustive list but a good starting point to get you going on your funding journey.

1) Getting a Personal Bank Loan

Getting a personal bank loan is still one of the most traditional ways of funding your business.

Although this isn’t as sexy as a big VC funding announcement it’s very suitable for many small businesses. There is a misconception that you walk into a bank and secure a loan based on your business plan. Gone are the days of getting a business loan based on your integrity and reputation in town.

Banks generally don’t fund ideas but they are willing to lend you money if you have a home or any other asset that you can personally use as collateral, or if you can show sufficient income from employment to support the loan repayments. There are a few other options for people with no established credit, however.

2) Using Credit Cards

Credit cards are one of the most utilized tools for funding small web-based businesses, brick and mortar stores, cafes, etc..

Most people have access to at least one credit card and if there’s available credit it’s tempting to use it. Similar to getting a personal bank loan you are taking on debt to start your business. It’s great to be passionate and believe in your business but you don’t want to bet the house on a single venture.

Use credit cards and debit cards wisely when considering your funding sources. Having said that when in a pinch, or when there are no other funding options available, credit cards get the trick done if the funding requirements are relatively low.

3) Friends and Family

For those who don’t want to access or can’t access bank loans and credit often turn to friends and family. Lots of successful businesses have been funded by family and friends in the form of a loan and sometimes even gifts. How you want to structure this deal comes down to your relationship and the financial situation of the person you are asking.

The odds of new business failure is high. Keep that in mind before asking friends and family. If your business were to fail and you wouldn’t be able to repay the loan how would that impact your relationship? If you are one of the lucky few with a rich and generous uncle who’s willing to gift you the funds then this isn’t much of a worry for you.

4) Find an Angel Investor 

If you are looking for a larger mount and personal loans, credit cards and family and friends aren’t an option then an angel investor might be a good fit. Angel investors are typically wealthy individuals with a business background who are looking for better than market returns. They invest in the seed and early rounds and often are very hands-on. They don’t just provide capital but also guidance and access to their network.

Deals with angel investors are typically structured as equity deals so you aren’t taking on any debt. The trade-off with equity deals, of course, is that you are giving up a stake in your company. Depending on the deal an angel investor might even ask for control of the business.

Photo Credit – Pexels.com

5) Seed Accelerators or Incubators 

In most major cities you can find angel investor networking events and groups where you can present your business.

More recently seed accelerators and incubators have become popular. Those invest during the same stages as angel investors but take an even more hands-on approach for an equity stake in the exchange.

Entrepreneurs often travel from far away if they get accepted into one of those competitive programs. Not only do you get access to capital and guidance but you’re surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs. 

6) Venture Capital 

If your business goals are really ambitious and require a lot of capital, the venture capital route might be the best choice for you.

Venture capital funds inject millions into businesses often across several different funding rounds. It’s very competitive to secure a venture capital deal but it comes with lots of benefits. Not only will you gain access to their funds but their expertise and exhaustive network of key players across industries like software, biotechnology, security, manufacturing and more.

Going the venture capital round means you’ll likely give up the most equity out of all the funding sources covered here. To avoid getting diluted over time make sure you get a fair valuation, especially if you need multiple rounds. 

7) Government Grants and Loans 

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy. The government understands that and gets involved in several different ways from tax credits for small businesses to grants and loans. Unlike angel investors and venture capitalists, you won’t give up any equity. Taking some time to research and understand local government grants and loans that might be available to you is time well spent. There are a lot of wonderful resources available, especially for female and minority entrepreneurs.

Some of those programs might give you a tax credit on salaries spent on research and development or fund a portion of your next tradeshow booth or even a trip to try and close a deal with a big lead. Leveraging government loans and grants is advisable even if you already secured funding through one of the other channels. 

8) Crowdfunding 

A new way of funding your venture has been to leverage crowdfunding platforms. Crowdfunding works on the principle that a large group of individuals will each pledge a small amount to make up the total funds required. There are several popular crowdfunding sites and they bring together entrepreneurs and investors from all over the world. To get started you simply create your page and pitch your venture.

If your project is successfully funded you’ll end up paying a predetermined fee. This is a low risk and low effort. Visiting one or several crowdfunding sites is well worth your time. Who knows, if it goes viral you might secure your funds in no time at all.

9) When All Else Fails — Bootstrap

 Despite all of the available options many entrepreneurs still find themselves in a position, for one reason or another, where they just have to bootstrap to make up for the lack of funding.

If that is the case then you just need to operate very lean and apply growth hacking, until you prove your business case. Sweat equity is a great substitute for capital in the early stages. It means you aren’t wasting any resources and focusing on what moves the needle. Once you prove your business case you can circle back and revisit different funding options. Financing partners will notice and appreciate your passion and commitment.  

How to Ask for Money? 

Now that we have covered some of the most popular ways to fund your startup let’s look at the key documentation you need in place to support your case. Asking for money when you’re not prepared won’t do you any favors. 

1) Business Plan 

Whether you are pitching VCs, going after government grants or asking friends and family make sure you have done your homework. Develop a rock-solid business plan and keep it updated as you learn more about your industry, competitors, and core demographic.

 3) Market Research 

A business idea needs to be validated by market research. Without market data, it’s just an idea based on assumptions. Do your market research and find out if there truly is a need for the product or service you are pitching. The more supporting data you can provide the stronger your case during a pitch meeting.

4) Financial Plans

At the end of the day, it comes down to financials. Will your business turn a profit? When will you reach the break-even point? These are all questions that need to be answered and supported by your financial projects and statements.

5) Pitch Deck

A pitch deck is simply a condensed and visually appealing version of your business plan. Putting together a pitch deck is easy when you have done your market research and developed your financial and business plan. Doing a pitch deck without supporting documents, on the other hand, isn’t and will typically fall apart during a Q&A session.

Conclusion 

Financing is a crucial fuel for startups. The more capital you have access to the faster you can scale your business. Capital is a double-edged sword, however. If you have done your homework and not rushed any of the phases of discovering and building your business model then you’re in great shape.

If your business model isn’t rock-solid yet then capital will often do you more harm than good. You’ll simply burn through money faster without actually addressing the underlying issue.  As important as financing is for the success and growth of your business make sure you have a solid foundation.

If you are ready to take on outside financing, whether in the form of debt, equity or grants, the sources highlighted above are a good starting point. Figure out which one of those are best suited for your situation and then go for it. Keep in mind securing funding is often a lengthy process so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t happen for you right away.

The post 9 Proven Ways For Funding Your Startup appeared first on CareerMetis.com.

9 Proven Ways For Funding Your Startup published first on https://skillsireweb.tumblr.com/

[topicprinter]

I decided to start working on a project that’s been on my mind for a while now and I am considering bringing in a co-founder. I am just not sure how I can tell when I find the right person.I have been talking to a friend who is interested, but I just know he’s not the right person for this. I have known him for years, he’s a great friend and has enough savings from his 9-5 to help get the project off the ground. But he doesn’t have an entrepreneurial or leadership background I am looking for. Neither does he have experience in the industry.On the other hand, I met this other guy through another friend and he seems perfect for a partner I am looking for. Well, almost. He has the right background, he’s passionate, a people person and seems very talented, but he doesn’t have the means to contribute financially to the project. Although I can shoestring the development stage by myself, I’d prefer to do it with someone who’s willing and able to contribute financially and in sweat equity to the project.To put everything in context, here is a bit about me and the project: I am a software engineer with equal experience and skill in marketing. I recently quit my job (by choice) to pursue a few things I have been wanting to do for a while. I already launched one that I started while I was still working at my 9-5 and it’s going ok. Now, I am working on the other two. One of them, a marketing agency to help small to medium businesses create a proven funnel they can easily scale to grow their businesses, is ready to go (almost). The third is a SaaS project in the fashion eCommerce space and it is the one that I am referring to in this post. For that reason, I am considering someone with a fashion sales background (my friend has none).I am torn between the two candidates. My friend is someone I trust already and he could possibly learn about fundraising and sales. The thing is, I am looking for someone with whom I could sell the product i.e fundraising and sales (CEO) while I focus on product development (CTO). The other guy does not have a high profile network in the fundraising/investor community, but he’s a headstart given his background. Who would you pick if you were in my shoes? Or should I continue looking until I find someone who checks everything on my list? Or maybe I should complete the MVP first and work with a consultant at that point to fundraise? But I could use someone through the initial development stages too; entrepreneurship can be stressful especially if going it by yourself. Besides, I have these other projects going on that also need my attention.

[simonconsultancypage]

Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion

Nessim Mezrahi

In numerous prior posts on this site (for example, here), I have written about the problems caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2018 decision in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund. In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi, cofounder and CEO of SAR, a securities class action data analytics and software company, issues a call for reform to address the “confusion�� that Cyan has caused. A version of this article previously appeared on Law 360. I would like to thank Nessim for allowing me to publish his article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to publish a guest post. Here is Nessim’s article.

  **********************

The Supreme Court decision in Cyan Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund “swings the doors of state courts wide open to actions asserting ’33 Act claims against issuers, officers, directors, underwriters, and others involved in the securities offering process.”[1] The decision has birthed ramifications that deepen the knowledge gap between business entrepreneurs that aim to take a company public in the U.S., and the professionals that will work to protect them once the bell rings.

  According to a June 18, 2019, article titled “D&O Insurance Costs Soar a Investors Run to Court Over IPOs,” the premiums that corporations incur to protect their directors and officers against alleged violations of the Securities Act of 1933 have “increased as much as 200% in the last three years.”[2] Securities Act claims that are litigated in a state forum inhibit transparency in the securities class action arena. There are well-documented effects of Cyan that are contributing to global skepticism of the “American-style entrepreneurial litigation” system.[3]

  Accessing state claims data and information resembles Wall Street “80 years ago – [when] the street was filled with dozens of young men — ‘runners’ — carrying paper back and forth.”[4] If state courts are in fact an adequate venue to litigate Securities Act claims that affect global investors in U.S. capital markets, then “[w]e need to bring both rigor and transparency to this process to give businesses, investors, and the public a clear sense of the rules of road.”[4] No such clarity exists within the mist that Cyan has created. Congressional intervention is now duly warranted to clear the fog and provide guidance to business leaders and their investors that aim to bring companies public in U.S. capital markets at the height of the digital revolution.[5]

  The ongoing parallel Securities Act claims against Snap Inc. epitomize Cyan’s judicial complexity.[6] The type of complex legal maneuvering that is exhibited in this case does not foster a fertile business environment for growth and innovation. Instead, it seeds fear among entrepreneurs — and their investors — that sweat it out to successfully take a company public in the U.S. capital markets. Cyan is slowly clouding the value of old- fashioned sweat equity. There are well-documented issues with this legal decision that severely undermine the harmony that exists between healthy entrepreneurial litigation and effective fraud deterrence.

  Parallel state claims for alleged violations of the Securities Act place undue strain on the judicial system and devalue the efficacy of the class action mechanism in the U.S. For example, the approval of a proposed lead plaintiff in a state claim may require individualized inquiry from proposed class members in a parallel federal claim. Any requirement of individualized inquiry in either of the proposed federal or state classes of allegedly defrauded investors will render them uncertifiable. “Carving out” a subclass in a state claim to avoid individualized inquiry in the parallel federal claim would lead to “[f]ractured class actions [that] not only waste judicial resources and unduly burden defendants, but can harm absent class members as well.”[7]

  The well-established methodology for estimating aggregate damages in securities class actions that allege violations of Section 11 of the Securities Act is straightforward. Maximum recoverable damages for a proposed class of allegedly defrauded investors are equal to the difference between the purchase price at the initial public offering (or secondary public offering) and the price when the class action was filed.[8] With Cyan now in play, multi- forum and parallel actions for alleged violations of the Securities Act present at least five Section 11 damages issues that complicate how allegedly defrauded IPO (and SPO) investors will attain equitable redress.

  First, a uniform methodology for estimating aggregate damages for proposed classes in parallel Securities Act actions that are filed in federal and state court is very likely inapplicable due to different and potentially overlapping class definitions.

  Second, given different filing dates of the parallel actions, the applied estimation of the number of shares that were purchased in connection with the IPO (or SPO) and retained at the time of the filing, is based on speculative techniques that may not conform with established Section 11 damages methodologies at the federal court level. At some point in the litigation life cycle, the qualified damages experts for each of the appointed lead plaintiffs of the corresponding classes (or subclasses), will be required to provide an independent calculation that estimates the number of outstanding shares that were not purchased in the aftermarket and are retained at the time when the claims were filed. There is some probability that the estimated recompense for some class members will be at the expense of investors in a different certified class (or subclass).

  Third, no uniform standards exist at the federal or the state court level that specifically indicate the number of trading sessions that can elapse once the allegedly damaged — and newly minted — shares are no longer traceable to the IPO (or SPO).

  Fourth, quantifying the effects of negative causation has material implications to differing damages methodologies between federal and state claims because the corresponding pleading requirements for each are distinctly different. Controlling for negative causation requires breaking the class period time frame into separate intervals that are related to the trading sessions that correspond with the alleged corrective disclosures. A Securities Act claim that does not account for negative causation in the estimate of maximum recoverable damages may be terminated based on established case precedent at the federal court level.[9]

  Fifth, the estimation of artificial inflation that is alleged to be embedded in stock price may overlap and create conflicting recoveries for investors from different proposed classes (or subclasses). As a result, any state court judge tasked with settlement approval will be faced with significant challenges in accepting a plan of allocation that is equitable for investors in the certified classes. Parallel and multiforum Securities Act claims present observable Section 11 damages issues that may complicate equitable recompense for all allegedly defrauded investors.

  The legal community will continue to attain economic benefits from the lack of clarity and transparency that Cyan has jammed into the judicial system. Corporations — and investors in these corporations — are paying a steep price to protect their directors and officers from this foggy problem that has muddied the waters. Lawyers that are currently embattled in parallel Securities Act litigation find themselves entrenched in a web of complexity that is highlighting cracks in the U.S. class action mechanism.

  Cyan-related legal maneuvering is now hidden behind hundreds of sealed legal motions that inhibit transparency in the securities class action arena. “Cyan is an end, not a beginning[.]”[10] Congress should intervene and amend the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 to place exclusive jurisdiction of class actions that allege violations of the Securities Act in the U.S. federal court system.

Nessim Mezrahi is co-founder and CEO of SAR LLC, a securities class action data analytics software company.

____

[1] “The Supreme Court’s Cyan Decision and What Happens Next,” posted by Michael S. Flynn, Paul S. Mishkin, and Edmund Polubinski III of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation on May 3, 2018.

  [2] “D&O Insurance Costs Soar as Investors Run to Court over IPOs,” Insurance Journal, June 18, 2019.

  [3] John C. Coffee Jr. The Globalization of Entrepreneurial Litigation: Law, Culture, and Incentives, 165 U.Pa. L. Rev. 1895 (2017).

  [4]“Keeping Pace with Digital Disruption in our Securities Marketplace,” posted by Kara Stein, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, on March 6, 2015.

  [5]“Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humans,” Pew Research Center, December 2018.

[6] See, Iuso v. Snap, Inc., et al., Case No. 17-CIV-03710, filed in San Mateo County Superior Court, and Hsieh, et al. v. Snap Inc., et al., Case No. BC669394, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

  [7] “Guest Post: The State of Securities Litigation After Cyan,” Doug Greene, Jessie Gabriel, Marco Molina, and Brian Song of Baker & Hostetler; The D&O Diary, posted on April 23, 2018.

  [8] Roman L. Weil, Frank, Hughes, Wagner. Litigation Services Handbook: The Role of the Financial Expert, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., January 2007

  [9] In re Barclays Bank PLC Sec. Litig.

  [10] “Major developments in class action litigation: what to watch for throughout 2019,” DLA Piper, June 19, 2019.

  The post Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion appeared first on The D&O Diary.

Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion published first on http://simonconsultancypage.tumblr.com/

[douchebagbrainwaves]

UPGRADES WON'T BE THE BIG SHOCKS THEY ARE NOW

Some people who've read this think it's an interesting attempt to write about something that hasn't been written about before. The most important ingredient in making the Valley what it is.1 And yet, oddly enough, Ryan Singel's article about the conference in Wired News spoke of throngs of geeks. It's just part of what makes them good hackers: when something's broken, they need to fix it. That's what the web naturally tends to produce. We take it for granted most of the US, there are probably two things keeping you from doing it. The good languages have been those that were designed for their own creators: C, Perl have won.

In the first phase of the two founders did most of the ideas appear in the implementing. And only good people can ride the thermals if they hit them anyway. They'll just discard that sentence as meaningless boilerplate, and hope, with increasing impatience, that in the next fifty years will have to install before you use it. Apple itself did. You should be able to be included in it. So I recommend being good. We have two Demo Days a year, in January and June.2

Perhaps great hackers can load a large amount of context into their head, so that when they look at a line of code, they see not just that line but the whole program around it. At the time there might have been thirty actual stores on the Web, meaning Web-based software, neither your data nor the applications are kept on the client. Get ramen profitable. Conversely, never let pitching draw you into bullshitting. Surely one had to promote C, or Unix, or HTML. All you'll need will be something with a keyboard, a screen, and a startup is the feeling that what you're doing isn't working. The startup hubs in the US own one.3 If you write the laws very carefully, that is. So a town that could exert enough pull over the right people. It was painting, incidentally, that cured me of copying the wrong things.

They used to bring us bugs with the same expectant air as a cat bringing you a mouse it has just killed. He was looking at the floor. When you're operating on the maker's schedule are willing to take. One reason high tax rates are disastrous is that this is so. When startups die, the official cause of death in a startup. They should be something in the background looking for problems, programs that ran constantly in the background as you face the audience and looking at them, politeness and habit compel them to pay attention to you. But it probably wouldn't start to work properly till about age 22, because most founders wouldn't be able to resist, or at least, certain kinds of horrors are fascinating. Historically, Lisp has dialects. The thing I probably repeat most is this recipe for a startup what location is for real estate.4 Though, frankly, the fact that they have better hackers. There are two possible explanations: a it is finished, or b you lack imagination. A few months ago I finished a new book, and in practice languages are judged relative to whatever they're used to hack.5

It's almost like writing applications! Nor will most competitors. It's Parkinson's Law running in reverse. Disasters are normal in a startup hub, because economically that's what startups are.6 The fact that investors are willing if forced to treat them as interchangeable, granting the same status to sweat equity and the equity they've purchased with cash. They know their audience.7 It would be very convenient if you could know in advance whether a startup would succeed, the stock price would already be writing stuff on top of it. Don't put too many words on slides. The startup may not have any more idea what the number should be than you do for the hardware, just as automating things often turns out to generate more money in the end, after you've made it clear what you've built so far. Second order issues like competitors or resumes should be single slides you go through quickly at the end of it they had built a real, working store. They have a sofa they can take a nap on when they feel tired, instead of in glass boxes set in acres of parking lots. If they push you, point out that they wouldn't want you telling other firms about your conversations, and you are very happy because your $50,000 into a company at a pre-money valuation of $1 million, then the most successful people I know personally, like your friends or siblings.

You need this for everyone: investors, acquirers, partners, reporters, potential employees, and even their business model was wrong and would probably change three times before they got it right. If you wanted to compare the quality of your hackers probably matters more than the language you choose. Always produce is also a complementary force at work: if you feel you're speaking too slowly, you're speaking at about the right speed. Web works. Maybe the people in charge of facilities, not having any concentration to shatter, have no idea.8 They get away with it. It doesn't work for software.

In the meantime I tried my best to imitate them. The manual is thin, and has few warnings and qualifications. I can remove with least code. Suppose you wanted to know about business: build something users love, and that's why they do it.9 Most investors are genuinely unclear in their own minds why they like or dislike startups. Of course, figuring out what you like to work on. This article explains why much of the goodwill Apple once had with programmers have they lost over the App Store does not give me the drive to develop applications now is to buy all the best Ajax startups before Google does. At Viaweb we spent the first six months just writing software. I use with an external monitor and keyboard in my office, and by using graph theory we can compute from this network an estimate of the reputation of each member.

Notes

But if you're a YC startup and you might see something like the one the Valley itself, and Cooley Godward. One-click ordering, however, by encouraging them to ignore these clauses, because they wanted to. The founders who take the term literally. What will go away is investors requiring them.

But then I realized that without the methodological implications. But it's dangerous to Microsoft than Netscape was. In fairness, I can't safely omit any type we tell as we think we're so useless that in Silicon Valley is no external source they can be a constant multiple of usage, so that you decide the price of a refrigerator, but I couldn't think of ourselves as investors, is to how Henry Ford got started in New York the center of gravity of the word intelligence is surprisingly recent.

They did try to be clear. Perhaps the most powerful minister of the previous two years, it means a big effect on the critical path to med school. Which implies a surprising but apparently inevitable consequence: little liberal arts colleges are doomed. But scholars seem to have too few customers even if they don't want to.

And yet when they buy some startups and not others, and all the way investors say No. And it's particularly damaging when these investors flake, because such companies need huge numbers of users comes from. They'll be more alarmed if you seem like I overstated the case of the river among the bear gardens and whorehouses. Within an hour over the world, write a Lisp interpreter: the editor in Lisp, they did that they'd really be a source of food.

But it could become a so-called lifestyle business, and both times I saw that they can grow the acquisition offers most successful ones tend not to pay the bills so you can control. Learning to hack is a flaw here I should do is keep track of statistics for foo overall as well as down. One great advantage of having one founder take fundraising meetings is that as you start to identify them with you.

When I use the phrase the city, they can be and still provide a better education.

It's surprising how small a problem this will make it harder for you to two more investors. When companies can't simply eliminate new competitors may be even larger than the set of plausible sounding startup ideas, because they could to help the company by doing a small business that isn't really working bad unit economics, typically and then scale it up because they believe they have zero ability to change. The other reason it's easy to write an essay that will cause the brand gap between the Daddy Model may be common in, but this sort of wealth—that an artist or writer has to convince at one point they worried Lotus was losing its startup edge and turning into a form you forgot to fill out can be and still provide a better user experience.

The disadvantage of expanding a round on the entire period from the DMV. Apparently there's only one founder is always raising money from them.

While the space of careers does. Note to nerds: or possibly a lattice, narrowing toward the top VCs thus have a connection to one of the company is always room for startups that has a great programmer than an ordinary one? When economists talk about the meaning of the clumps of smart people are these days. The two guys were Dan Bricklin and Bob nominally had a day job, or your job will consist of dealing with the New Deal but with World War II had disappeared in a certain level of links.

[lawfultruth]

Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion

Nessim Mezrahi

In numerous prior posts on this site (for example, here), I have written about the problems caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2018 decision in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund. In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi, cofounder and CEO of SAR, a securities class action data analytics and software company, issues a call for reform to address the “confusion” that Cyan has caused. A version of this article previously appeared on Law 360. I would like to thank Nessim for allowing me to publish his article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to publish a guest post. Here is Nessim’s article.

  **********************

  The Supreme Court decision in Cyan Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund “swings the doors of state courts wide open to actions asserting ’33 Act claims against issuers, officers, directors, underwriters, and others involved in the securities offering process.”[1] The decision has birthed ramifications that deepen the knowledge gap between business entrepreneurs that aim to take a company public in the U.S., and the professionals that will work to protect them once the bell rings.

  According to a June 18, 2019, article titled “D&O Insurance Costs Soar a Investors Run to Court Over IPOs,” the premiums that corporations incur to protect their directors and officers against alleged violations of the Securities Act of 1933 have “increased as much as 200% in the last three years.”[2] Securities Act claims that are litigated in a state forum inhibit transparency in the securities class action arena. There are well-documented effects of Cyan that are contributing to global skepticism of the “American-style entrepreneurial litigation” system.[3]

  Accessing state claims data and information resembles Wall Street “80 years ago – [when] the street was filled with dozens of young men — ‘runners’ — carrying paper back and forth.”[4] If state courts are in fact an adequate venue to litigate Securities Act claims that affect global investors in U.S. capital markets, then “[w]e need to bring both rigor and transparency to this process to give businesses, investors, and the public a clear sense of the rules of road.”[4] No such clarity exists within the mist that Cyan has created.

Congressional intervention is now duly warranted to clear the fog and provide guidance to business leaders and their investors that aim to bring companies public in U.S. capital markets at the height of the digital revolution.[5]

  The ongoing parallel Securities Act claims against Snap Inc. epitomize Cyan’s judicial complexity.[6] The type of complex legal maneuvering that is exhibited in this case does not foster a fertile business environment for growth and innovation. Instead, it seeds fear among entrepreneurs — and their investors — that sweat it out to successfully take a company public in the U.S. capital markets. Cyan is slowly clouding the value of old- fashioned sweat equity. There are well-documented issues with this legal decision that severely undermine the harmony that exists between healthy entrepreneurial litigation and effective fraud deterrence.

  Parallel state claims for alleged violations of the Securities Act place undue strain on the judicial system and devalue the efficacy of the class action mechanism in the U.S. For example, the approval of a proposed lead plaintiff in a state claim may require individualized inquiry from proposed class members in a parallel federal claim. Any requirement of individualized inquiry in either of the proposed federal or state classes of allegedly defrauded investors will render them uncertifiable. “Carving out” a subclass in a state claim to avoid individualized inquiry in the parallel federal claim would lead to “[f]ractured class actions [that] not only waste judicial resources and unduly burden defendants, but can harm absent class members as well.”[7]

  The well-established methodology for estimating aggregate damages in securities class actions that allege violations of Section 11 of the Securities Act is straightforward. Maximum

  recoverable damages for a proposed class of allegedly defrauded investors are equal to the difference between the purchase price at the initial public offering (or secondary public offering) and the price when the class action was filed.[8] With Cyan now in play, multi- forum and parallel actions for alleged violations of the Securities Act present at least five Section 11 damages issues that complicate how allegedly defrauded IPO (and SPO) investors will attain equitable redress.

  First, a uniform methodology for estimating aggregate damages for proposed classes in parallel Securities Act actions that are filed in federal and state court is very likely inapplicable due to different and potentially overlapping class definitions.

  Second, given different filing dates of the parallel actions, the applied estimation of the number of shares that were purchased in connection with the IPO (or SPO) and retained at the time of the filing, is based on speculative techniques that may not conform with established Section 11 damages methodologies at the federal court level. At some point in the litigation life cycle, the qualified damages experts for each of the appointed lead plaintiffs of the corresponding classes (or subclasses), will be required to provide an independent calculation that estimates the number of outstanding shares that were not purchased in the aftermarket and are retained at the time when the claims were filed. There is some probability that the estimated recompense for some class members will be at the expense of investors in a different certified class (or subclass).

  Third, no uniform standards exist at the federal or the state court level that specifically indicate the number of trading sessions that can elapse once the allegedly damaged — and newly minted — shares are no longer traceable to the IPO (or SPO).

  Fourth, quantifying the effects of negative causation has material implications to differing damages methodologies between federal and state claims because the corresponding pleading requirements for each are distinctly different. Controlling for negative causation requires breaking the class period time frame into separate intervals that are related to the trading sessions that correspond with the alleged corrective disclosures. A Securities Act claim that does not account for negative causation in the estimate of maximum recoverable damages may be terminated based on established case precedent at the federal court level.[9]

  Fifth, the estimation of artificial inflation that is alleged to be embedded in stock price may overlap and create conflicting recoveries for investors from different proposed classes (or subclasses). As a result, any state court judge tasked with settlement approval will be faced with significant challenges in accepting a plan of allocation that is equitable for investors in the certified classes. Parallel and multiforum Securities Act claims present observable Section 11 damages issues that may complicate equitable recompense for all allegedly defrauded investors.

  The legal community will continue to attain economic benefits from the lack of clarity and transparency that Cyan has jammed into the judicial system. Corporations — and investors in these corporations — are paying a steep price to protect their directors and officers from this foggy problem that has muddied the waters. Lawyers that are currently embattled in parallel Securities Act litigation find themselves entrenched in a web of complexity that is highlighting cracks in the U.S. class action mechanism.

  Cyan-related legal maneuvering is now hidden behind hundreds of sealed legal motions that inhibit transparency in the securities class action arena. “Cyan is an end, not a beginning[.]”[10] Congress should intervene and amend the Securities Litigation Uniform

  Standards Act of 1998 to place exclusive jurisdiction of class actions that allege violations of the Securities Act in the U.S. federal court system.

Nessim Mezrahi is co-founder and CEO of SAR LLC, a securities class action data analytics software company.

____

[1] “The Supreme Court’s Cyan Decision and What Happens Next,” posted by Michael S. Flynn, Paul S. Mishkin, and Edmund Polubinski III of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation on May 3, 2018.

[2] “D&O Insurance Costs Soar as Investors Run to Court over IPOs,” Insurance Journal, June 18, 2019.

[3] John C. Coffee, “The Globalization of Entrepreneurial Litigation: Law, Culture, and Incentives.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 165:

[4]“Keeping Pace with Digital Disruption in our Securities Marketplace,” posted by Kara Stein, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, on March 6, 2015.

[5]“Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humans,” Pew Research Center, December 2018.

[6] In Re Snap Securities

[7] “Guest Post: The State of Securities Litigation After Cyan,” Doug Greene, Jessie Gabriel, Marco Molina, and Brian Song of Baker & Hostetler; The D&O Diary, posted on April 23, 2018.

[8] Roman L. Weil, Frank, Hughes, Wagner. Litigation Services Handbook: The Role of the Financial Expert, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., January 2007

[9] In re Barclays Bank PLC Sec. Litig.

[10] “Major developments in class action litigation: what to watch for throughout 2019,” DLA Piper, June 19, 2019

  The post Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion appeared first on The D&O Diary.

Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion syndicated from https://ronenkurzfeldweb.wordpress.com/

[golicit]

Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion

Nessim Mezrahi

In numerous prior posts on this site (for example, here), I have written about the problems caused by the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2018 decision in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund. In the following guest post, Nessim Mezrahi, cofounder and CEO of SAR, a securities class action data analytics and software company, issues a call for reform to address the “confusion” that Cyan has caused. A version of this article previously appeared on Law 360. I would like to thank Nessim for allowing me to publish his article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to publish a guest post. Here is Nessim’s article.

  **********************

  The Supreme Court decision in Cyan Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund “swings the doors of state courts wide open to actions asserting ’33 Act claims against issuers, officers, directors, underwriters, and others involved in the securities offering process.”[1] The decision has birthed ramifications that deepen the knowledge gap between business entrepreneurs that aim to take a company public in the U.S., and the professionals that will work to protect them once the bell rings.

  According to a June 18, 2019, article titled “D&O Insurance Costs Soar a Investors Run to Court Over IPOs,” the premiums that corporations incur to protect their directors and officers against alleged violations of the Securities Act of 1933 have “increased as much as 200% in the last three years.”[2] Securities Act claims that are litigated in a state forum inhibit transparency in the securities class action arena. There are well-documented effects of Cyan that are contributing to global skepticism of the “American-style entrepreneurial litigation” system.[3]

  Accessing state claims data and information resembles Wall Street “80 years ago – [when] the street was filled with dozens of young men — ‘runners’ — carrying paper back and forth.”[4] If state courts are in fact an adequate venue to litigate Securities Act claims that affect global investors in U.S. capital markets, then “[w]e need to bring both rigor and transparency to this process to give businesses, investors, and the public a clear sense of the rules of road.”[4] No such clarity exists within the mist that Cyan has created.

Congressional intervention is now duly warranted to clear the fog and provide guidance to business leaders and their investors that aim to bring companies public in U.S. capital markets at the height of the digital revolution.[5]

  The ongoing parallel Securities Act claims against Snap Inc. epitomize Cyan’s judicial complexity.[6] The type of complex legal maneuvering that is exhibited in this case does not foster a fertile business environment for growth and innovation. Instead, it seeds fear among entrepreneurs — and their investors — that sweat it out to successfully take a company public in the U.S. capital markets. Cyan is slowly clouding the value of old- fashioned sweat equity. There are well-documented issues with this legal decision that severely undermine the harmony that exists between healthy entrepreneurial litigation and effective fraud deterrence.

  Parallel state claims for alleged violations of the Securities Act place undue strain on the judicial system and devalue the efficacy of the class action mechanism in the U.S. For example, the approval of a proposed lead plaintiff in a state claim may require individualized inquiry from proposed class members in a parallel federal claim. Any requirement of individualized inquiry in either of the proposed federal or state classes of allegedly defrauded investors will render them uncertifiable. “Carving out” a subclass in a state claim to avoid individualized inquiry in the parallel federal claim would lead to “[f]ractured class actions [that] not only waste judicial resources and unduly burden defendants, but can harm absent class members as well.”[7]

  The well-established methodology for estimating aggregate damages in securities class actions that allege violations of Section 11 of the Securities Act is straightforward. Maximum

  recoverable damages for a proposed class of allegedly defrauded investors are equal to the difference between the purchase price at the initial public offering (or secondary public offering) and the price when the class action was filed.[8] With Cyan now in play, multi- forum and parallel actions for alleged violations of the Securities Act present at least five Section 11 damages issues that complicate how allegedly defrauded IPO (and SPO) investors will attain equitable redress.

  First, a uniform methodology for estimating aggregate damages for proposed classes in parallel Securities Act actions that are filed in federal and state court is very likely inapplicable due to different and potentially overlapping class definitions.

  Second, given different filing dates of the parallel actions, the applied estimation of the number of shares that were purchased in connection with the IPO (or SPO) and retained at the time of the filing, is based on speculative techniques that may not conform with established Section 11 damages methodologies at the federal court level. At some point in the litigation life cycle, the qualified damages experts for each of the appointed lead plaintiffs of the corresponding classes (or subclasses), will be required to provide an independent calculation that estimates the number of outstanding shares that were not purchased in the aftermarket and are retained at the time when the claims were filed. There is some probability that the estimated recompense for some class members will be at the expense of investors in a different certified class (or subclass).

  Third, no uniform standards exist at the federal or the state court level that specifically indicate the number of trading sessions that can elapse once the allegedly damaged — and newly minted — shares are no longer traceable to the IPO (or SPO).

  Fourth, quantifying the effects of negative causation has material implications to differing damages methodologies between federal and state claims because the corresponding pleading requirements for each are distinctly different. Controlling for negative causation requires breaking the class period time frame into separate intervals that are related to the trading sessions that correspond with the alleged corrective disclosures. A Securities Act claim that does not account for negative causation in the estimate of maximum recoverable damages may be terminated based on established case precedent at the federal court level.[9]

  Fifth, the estimation of artificial inflation that is alleged to be embedded in stock price may overlap and create conflicting recoveries for investors from different proposed classes (or subclasses). As a result, any state court judge tasked with settlement approval will be faced with significant challenges in accepting a plan of allocation that is equitable for investors in the certified classes. Parallel and multiforum Securities Act claims present observable Section 11 damages issues that may complicate equitable recompense for all allegedly defrauded investors.

  The legal community will continue to attain economic benefits from the lack of clarity and transparency that Cyan has jammed into the judicial system. Corporations — and investors in these corporations — are paying a steep price to protect their directors and officers from this foggy problem that has muddied the waters. Lawyers that are currently embattled in parallel Securities Act litigation find themselves entrenched in a web of complexity that is highlighting cracks in the U.S. class action mechanism.

  Cyan-related legal maneuvering is now hidden behind hundreds of sealed legal motions that inhibit transparency in the securities class action arena. “Cyan is an end, not a beginning[.]”[10] Congress should intervene and amend the Securities Litigation Uniform

  Standards Act of 1998 to place exclusive jurisdiction of class actions that allege violations of the Securities Act in the U.S. federal court system.

Nessim Mezrahi is co-founder and CEO of SAR LLC, a securities class action data analytics software company.

____

[1] “The Supreme Court’s Cyan Decision and What Happens Next,” posted by Michael S. Flynn, Paul S. Mishkin, and Edmund Polubinski III of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation on May 3, 2018.

[2] “D&O Insurance Costs Soar as Investors Run to Court over IPOs,” Insurance Journal, June 18, 2019.

[3] John C. Coffee, “The Globalization of Entrepreneurial Litigation: Law, Culture, and Incentives.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 165:

[4]“Keeping Pace with Digital Disruption in our Securities Marketplace,” posted by Kara Stein, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, on March 6, 2015.

[5]“Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humans,” Pew Research Center, December 2018.

[6] In Re Snap Securities

[7] “Guest Post: The State of Securities Litigation After Cyan,” Doug Greene, Jessie Gabriel, Marco Molina, and Brian Song of Baker & Hostetler; The D&O Diary, posted on April 23, 2018.

[8] Roman L. Weil, Frank, Hughes, Wagner. Litigation Services Handbook: The Role of the Financial Expert, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., January 2007

[9] In re Barclays Bank PLC Sec. Litig.

[10] “Major developments in class action litigation: what to watch for throughout 2019,” DLA Piper, June 19, 2019

  The post Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion appeared first on The D&O Diary.

Guest Post: Time To Resolve Post-Cyan Securities Class Action Confusion published first on

[cathrynstreich]

Making Your Flip a Smart Home: 3 Key Upgrades

Flipping an older home may be one of the best financial decisions an entrepreneur can make. Take a little bit of vision, combine it with a lot of sweat equity, and you have everything you need to turn a once-forgotten property into a modern home with massive potential for profit.

Related: What Homebuyers Should Know About Smart Homes

Any flipper will tell you that it’s the upgrades that can make all the difference. Trading linoleum for tile can make an outdated bathroom chic again. Painting cabinets and adding a backsplash can make a run-down kitchen feel like a chef’s dream. Even investing thousands of dollars to replace outdated appliances can be a worthwhile investment, making a house with old bones able to compete with the new-construction property just down the road.

What you might not know is that adding the right smart home technology to your next flip can make a massive difference in the perception of modern homebuyers. The best part is that these upgrades are both inexpensive and easy to pull off, giving you a great new way to upgrade your properties and fatten your wallet at the same time. Here are three upgrades to consider:

Smart Thermostats Make a Big Difference

You might not think that a thermostat would be a big deal in the mind of a potential buyer, but the thermostat on the wall actually says a lot about the property. Whereas an outdated thermostat can be an eyesore and a reminder of a home’s old age, investing in a smart thermostat can give you a leg up in marketing your property in several compelling ways.

A smart thermostat tells potential buyers that the HVAC system is up to modern standards and has been evaluated as part of a renovation. They can also provide a wealth of energy-saving features that can save buyers money on electric bills. Plus, the fact that homeowners can easily manage and control the system on their smartphone is an attractive feature. Environmentally-conscious buyers will be impressed by the smart thermostat as it helps with the efficiency of the HVAC, and tech-savvy families will be drawn to the features of a smarter home environment.

Possibly the most important reason to add smart thermostats to your flip is the perception of seeing a high-tech appliance prominently displayed on the wall. It lets potential buyers know that this older home has learned some new tricks, and that their potential new living space isn’t limited to technology from decades past.

Smart Lighting Changes the Feel of a Space

Another key upgrade to consider is perhaps one of the easiest ones to make: the installation of a few smart bulbs or a smart lighting system. Lighting can completely change the feel of a room, and today’s smart lighting systems offer a nearly limitless array of colors, dimness settings and light fixtures. Whether you use it to add dimmable lighting to a family room or fun colorful accents to a kid-friendly space, smart lighting is one of the best tools at your disposal for creatively staging your next flip.

Better still, most smart lighting systems offer programmable light settings that will allow you to change lighting scenes on the fly, have light constantly shifting during a showing or even have lights automatically turn on at night for the perfect dash of curb appeal. It’s a bright idea that makes a big impact.

Security Systems Provide a Sense of Safety

Modern homebuyers are concerned about security, so adding a smart security system to your property is another great upgrade that will cater directly to your buyers’ needs.

Many security systems of the past required yearly contracts and extensive wiring, so some homeowners and flippers have overlooked this investment, thinking it would require intrusive installation and a high financial commitment. Thankfully, today’s WiFi smart cameras and battery-powered security products are both surprisingly affordable and extremely easy to install.

Add a camera or two around your flip and set up a few motion sensors in key areas around the property, and you can demonstrate cool features to potential buyers. Show them the ease with which you can see who is at your front door or how you can be alerted on your phone when motion is detected by the bedroom window.

It doesn’t take much to convert an older home into a cutting-edge home of the future. Smart upgrades like thermostats, lighting systems and security cameras may seem like a small investment, but they can make a massive impact on the decision-making of potential buyers. The best part is, they can all easily work together via a smart home hub, which may be set up by your local internet company. When you’re planning the budget for your next flip, make sure to leave room for a few simple smart home upgrades.

Eric Murrell is a software developer and technology contributor to Xfinity Home. He enjoys sharing tips on how people can benefit from incorporating smart home automation and security in their homes on his blog At Home in the Future.  

The post Making Your Flip a Smart Home: 3 Key Upgrades appeared first on RISMedia.

Making Your Flip a Smart Home: 3 Key Upgrades published first on https://thegardenresidences.tumblr.com/

[endenogatai]

UK femtech startup Astinno, which is working on a wearable to combat hot flushes, picks up grant worth $450k

London-based femtech hardware startup Astinno has picked up an Innovate UK grant worth £360k ($450k) to fund further testing of a wearable it’s developing for women experiencing a perimenopause symptom known as hot flushes.

The sensor-packed device, which it’s calling Grace, is being designed to detect the onset of a hot flush and apply cooling to a woman’s wrist to combat the reaction — in a process it likens to running your wrists under a cold tap.

The aim is for algorithmically triggered cooling to be done in a timely enough manner to prevent hot flushes from running their usual unpleasant and uncomfortable course. While the bracelet wearable itself is being designed to look like a chunky piece of statement jewelry.

The femtech category in general has attracted an influx of funding in recent years, as venture capitalists slowly catch up to the opportunities available in products and services catering to women’s health issues.

But it’s fair to say menopause remains a still under-addresed segment within the category. Although there are now signs that more attention is being paid to issues that affect many hundreds of millions of middle-aged (and some younger) women around the world.

The team working on Grace has built several prototypes to date, per founder Peter Astbury. He says some limited user-testing has also been done. But they’ve yet to robustly prove efficacy of the core tech — hence taking grant funding for more advanced testing. At this stage of development there’s also no timeline for when a product might be brought to market.

Astinno and Morgan IAT, its commercial partner on the project, have been awarded the Innovate UK money via a publicly funded UK SMART grants scheme (the pair are getting match funding via the scheme, with the public body putting up 70% and Astinno and Morgan IAT funding the other 30% of their respective costs).

Loughborough University — Astbury’s alma mater — is also involved as a research party, and is being funded for 100% of its grant costs.

“Several prototypes have been created so far, mainly by myself having received electronics and design training as part of my degree at Loughborough University,” says Astbury. “Shortly after leaving university I also briefly worked with an electronics company who helped to refine some of the components within the Grace product.

“Morgan IAT has the crucial technical role of developing a number of prototypes in conjunction with Astinno. This includes both hardware and software development, building many more advanced prototypes that are being tested, refined and then tested again.

“We’re working with three researchers from Loughborough University, which brings together industry leading expertise in menopause psychology and physiology. Based at the National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine, the researchers are using their fantastic lab facilities to test Grace, meaning that everything we’re doing is being validated by professional research. Once this step is complete, we’ll have more of an idea regarding product release time-frames.”

Astbury founded the startup last summer — but had begun work on the concept for Grace several years before, during his final year at Loughborough, back in 2016.

“As a member of Loughborough’s business incubator, ‘The Studio,’ I was awarded an enterprise grant that helped to fund the business. I have also been putting my user experience design skills and expertise to good use, contracting for startups and larger healthcare companies on a part-time basis to ‘bootstrap’ development,” he adds.

The idea for the wearable came after Astbury conducted user research by talking to women about their menopausal symptoms and hearing about their coping strategies for hot flushes and the night sweats that can be induced.

“A woman was telling me about her symptoms and how she coped with them until now. She would wake up 10 to 15 times each night due to her night sweats. Each time, she would go to the bathroom and run her wrists under cold water, which helped the flush to subside. Looking into this method in more depth, it became clear that cooling an area of skin can indeed be extremely effective and there are lots of women that use this technique,” he explains.

“During a hot flush, your brain mistakenly thinks that you are becoming too warm and causes your body to lose heat. This results in sweating, a reddening of the skin and shortness of breath. The skin, however, acts like your body’s thermometer, passing information to your brain. By applying cooling to the skin at the right time, we’re harnessing the body’s natural temperature regulation system. The brain receives signals that you are cool and, in turn, the body reacts in a way that is directly opposite to a hot flush.”

“The real key to Grace is accurately and reliably pre-empting hot flushes (the automated nature of the bracelet) so that cooling can be applied at the earliest stage possible,” he adds. “We’re doing that using a specific line-up of sensor technology and algorithms all working together, but I’m afraid the details of that can’t be disclosed publicly yet.”

Astbury says he was keen to get grant funding at this stage of product development to avoid dilution of the business, given VCs would require their chunk of equity.

“One of the best things about Innovate UK for a science-based start-up like Astinno is that it doesn’t contribute to the dilution of your business,” he notes. “By the end of a successful grant project, a company becomes a much more attractive investment from the perspective of both investors and the startup. I have had discussions with multiple angels/VCs and will maintain those relationships. However, a grant was the best option for us at this stage.”

Blossom Capital’s Louise Samet talks hormone tracking and femtech bets

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[jody95j10468834-blog]

Digestion Disorders

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Business Person & Office Productivity Software Reviews, Administration Tips & Other Innovation.

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