PUBLIC MARKS from oseres with tag startup

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Faire briller sa start-up en Europe, lever des fonds auprès d'investisseurs internationaux ou s'étendre à de nouveaux marchés... Les concours de start-up sont d'importants vecteurs de visibilité. Outre les événements franco-français, quelles sont les compétitions incontournables de la scène européenne ?

This is the first of a series of MBA Mondays posts on the topic of The Board Of Directors. I want to dig into the role and responsibilities of the Board as a way to kickoff this series. But first a few disclaimers. I am not a lawyer and I am not giving out legal advice on this topic. I am a practicioner and am telling you the way I see it and what I've learned over the years. I think both are important perspectives. You will have to look elsewhere for the legal view on this topic. The Board of Directors is the governing body for a company. All major decisions will need to be ratified by the Board. You will need the Board's approval to sell your company. You will need the Board's approval to hire or fire a CEO. You will need the Board's approval to do a major acquisition. You will need the Board's approval to do a major financing, including an IPO. On all matters of major strategic importance, the Board will need to be engaged, involved, and supportive. However, the Board should not run a company. That is the role of the CEO and his/her senior management team. The Board's job is to make sure the right team is at the helm, not to be at the helm themselves. Boards that meddle, that get too involved, that undermine the management team are hurting the company, not helping the company.

Earlier this month at LeWeb, I ran into entrepreneur, professor and startup mentor John Lewis. Having been funded at least 6 times by my count, John Lewis has been living in Paris for quite some time, helping startups at LeCamping, mentoring at StartupWeekend events, and as a professor of finance at both HEC and IAE Gustave Eiffel. Using his experience launching and running software startups, John Lewis has announced the launch of DojoBoost, a new startup accelerator which may receive its first class of startups as early as March 2012.

Bill Clark is the CEO of Microventures, a securities broker/dealer that uses crowdfunding to allow investors to invest between $1,000 and $10,000 in startups online. You can follow him on Twitter @austinbillc. Most people understand that a high percentage of startups never make it. So what if you could give yourself a leg up on the competition? Below is a list of tips that may help your startup get to the next level. These ideas are not revolutionary, and many successful startups already have these qualities. Why not ensure yours does too?

Allez, petite louche encore aujourd’hui sur notre fameux “écosystème de startups”. On a causé déjà pas mal, ici ou là en interpellant les politiques, ou encore par ici ou par-là,  de tout ce qui montre que, tout de même, on a des raisons d’espérer que l’entrepreneuriat devienne un courant beaucoup plus important dans les années à venir. A mon avis, on a déjà fait une bonne partie du chemin ! Certes, la formation et la sensibilisation doivent être renforcés, les démarches administratives, et surtout fiscales et sociales encore être simplifiées, mais ça avance et plutôt pas mal. L’investissement est un peu mieux organisé, les montants en jeu augmentent régulièrement, les incubateurs se créent et les places dans les espaces de co-working partent comme des petits pains. On n’a jamais parlé autant d’entrepreneuriat un peu partout.

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You should not have the audience focused on your slides, but your words during the presentation. Bullets are an absolute no-no throughout the presentation. My presentation had one sentence at most per slide with an accent color highlighting what was a really important word for the audience to understand. The slides should set the tone for what you are currently talking about to keep everyone on track. Stay away from transitions or overly flashy slides. They were cool when you were in junior high, but don't add a lot when talking to a large crowd.

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Why Startups Need to Blog (and what to talk about …)

I often remind myself of a lesson I learned from Fred. There is no shortage of insight and wisdom that Fred shares on his blog daily, but one thing he said always sticks in my mind, as it rings true for me in the start ups I have been involved with.