SocialStartups.com

 I presented at the NY Tech Meetup on Tuesday!

Photo thanks to Jen Milano.

Below is approximately what I will be saying at tonight’s NY Tech meetup.

Hi, I’m Dave Lifson, CEO of Postling, a social media management tool for businesses. From a single place, you can write your blog posts, update your twitter and facebook status, and upload photos to flickr. Any comments that people leave on your blog or twitter or facebook or flickr get pulled back into Postling, for you to read and respond to. We’ve got a smart workflow that allows you to write your post, update your status to announce the post, and upload any photos contained within your post to flickr. Postling turns 20 minute tasks into 2 minute tasks, and I’ll demo it for you right now.

<Demo time!>

1. Create a blog post that includes images of tasty cupcakes. Check off which blogs to publish to.
2. Write a status update that announces the post. Drop in a bit.ly link. Publish to twitter, facebook, and a facebook fan page.
3. Upload the images to Flickr and Facebook.

</Demo time!>

You can also schedule when you want your post to be published. When it publishes, the status update you wrote will also be published, along with any photo uploads you’ve scheduled.

We offer Postling for $9/month or $90/year, and there is a 30 day free trial (no credit card necessary), so I encourage you to sign up and give it a whirl. We also are interested in reselling partnerships, so if your company or a company you know has relationships with lots of businesses, I’d love to chat.

Speaking of which, I should say who we are. Postling is founded by Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik, and myself. Chris and Haim are two of the three founders of Etsy.com, and I did software development and product management at Amazon.com before being hired to run Etsy’s Product team. We got the idea for Postling in mid-June, launched it August 1st, and here we are today.

Thanks so much for your attention. I’m @dlifson on twitter and my email is dave@postling.com. Thanks again, and have a good night.

There is only one thing better than a red velvet cupcake

eating a cupcake.

This document is intended to describe all the different aspects involved with creating a Y-Combinator style startup incubator, sometimes called a startup accelerator. This should be considered a living document, to be shared and improved upon by anyone reading it. Edit the document here. I’ve attempted to break things down into discrete buckets: Sponsors and Investors, Investment Thesis, Application and Interviews, Founding Team, Investment Terms, Office Requirements, Mentorship, Partners and Advisors, Speakers, Demo Day, Post-incubator experience, Community Building, and When Things Go Wrong.

Read Part 1.

Read Part 2.

Read Part 3.

Speakers

There are two main categories of successful speaker topics: Business Basics and War Stories. Startup teams typically need help in business development, pricing, community management, sales, fundraising, etc. Teams know they need to do those things, but many do not know best practices and common pitfalls. War stories, as told by founders, VCs, and early employees, are always illuminating, regardless of whether the outcome was success or failure. Experience comes from the shared knowledge of these topics and stories, and the introductions to the speakers can help make connections and lead to potential funding opportunities. One caveat: too many speakers or mandatory attendance can be very distracting.

Demo Day and Post-incubator Experience

Depending on the program’s business model, Demo Day could be extremely important. Most likely, it is. As such, it’s important to have several opportunities for presentation training and rehearsals (one is not enough). Start two weeks ahead of time, have one on one review of the slides, teach teams on good presentation technique, and have teams rehearse in front of their peers.

The target audience is an important factor here: potential investors should not receive the same presentation as members of the press. It may be worthwhile to have two Demo Days, one for the press and one for investors. Either way, PR is important. This is the program’s once a year opportunity to attract next year’s talent and establish a positive reputation. Attendees should be given a packet that lists each team’s contact information and elevator pitch (with space for note taking). Lastly, there should be a "trade show" style booth setup after the presentations for attendees to easily find and interact with the teams.

After Demo Day is over, what happens? There may be some teams that still have lots of potential but did not reach important milestones. Is there money available for a follow-on investment? Are there mechanisms in place for teams to stay in touch?

Community Building

Given the personality types and focus required to found a startup, some effort needs to be put forward to explicitly encourage the teams to intermingle and socialize. If successful, the teams will be more likely to collaborate, share advice, and pass along relevant opportunities. Examples of community building events are bowling with mixed teams and sharing meals away from the office. Technology like a program-wide IRC chat room or mailing list are also recommended.
 

Interesting. I’m in Seattle now (Flying Apron Bakery in Fremont… suitep, are you around? Anyone else? I’m here until 1pm today) and this is what popped up when I logged into Facebook.