How to start a startup

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Jaspar Weir, cofounder and President of TaskUs, says that its focus on culture gives strategic ... [+] advantage. Courtesy of TaskUs I met Jaspar Weir, cofounder and president of TaskUs, in Silicon Valley. You may never have heard of TaskUs, but they support all of the companies that you have heard of: Eventbrite, Oscar Health, MailChimp, Hotel Tonight and Turo, to name a few. TaskUs helps fast-growing tech firms scale their customer support and back office operations. TaskUs has almost 14,000 employees globally, most of them in the Philippines, some in El Salvador and San Antonio and recently launched in Taiwan and Tijuana. They have corporate offices in California, Texas, and New York. Call centers are not sexy. But the way the founders built the business has a lot to say to other startups about the recipe for being successful. “Bryce (Maddock) and I started the company when we were 22-years-old,” … [Read more...] about Building Culture Is Essential For Startup Success; TaskUs Leads The Way

During the past couple of weeks, several companies have announced significant layoffs, Cameo and Robinhood , among others. Similarly, Meta announced a hiring freeze, and Uber's CEO mentioned that from now on, hiring is going to be a "privilege." The main driver here is the sense of a recession in the air. From the significant drop in the valuation of recently IPO'd tech firms to the urgency in the Fed's actions, the general sense is that the euphoria of private firms' valuations and $100 million seed rounds are a thing of the past. Over the past few years, most startups have invested heavily in growth, but they are still far from being profitable, so most will soon see a need to raise additional funds. Since the previous funding rounds were probably raised on inflated valuations, raising additional funds will likely require taking a "down round," impacting current investors and further diluting the founders. So the question every founder and operator … [Read more...] about As Talk of a Recession Looms, Here’s What to Consider Before Laying Off People to Cut Costs

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin One of my clients, Shawn, is about to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his enterprise. He started his social impact investing company with a mission to transform the way investors think about sustainability and we were reflecting - marveling really - about what the team has accomplished. As we discussed his plans for a 10-year celebration, he told me that he wanted to think about culture . He and his leadership team had never fully defined their culture, and it had resulted in some hiring mistakes and some misalignment within the company. He realized codifying the culture would be important to lead the company to its future. When you’re building your company, department, or even your small group inside of a larger organization, you may think you have plenty of time to define culture. However, as an executive coach who works with startup founders and C-suite executives, I’ve seen firsthand how putting off defining … [Read more...] about It’s Time To Identify And Reset Your Company’s Culture

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In the past five years, there’s been an emphasis on increasing the percentage of funding for women and BIPOC-owned businesses. Not that it hasn’t come with a struggle. According to Fundera, out of the 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., women receive just 7% of venture funds for their startups. Although work still has to be done, significant strides have been made toward closing the funding gap. As a result, more companies and venture funds are created to invest in and support underrepresented communities every day. Nicole Jeter West, the newly appointed CEO of underdog venture team, leads a team that makes a positive social impact in the investment sector. As a next-generation agency focusing on increasing diversity within the sports industry, 66% of the businesses underdog invests in are BIPOC or women-owned. Additionally, the company offers branding services to help change the value proposition and … [Read more...] about Nicole Jeter West Is Leading The Team That’s Changing The Landscape On Social Impact Investing

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As a startup coach , I hope founders learn from me, but I also learn from them. I particularly want to mine the insights from founders who have been successful multiple times. That’s why I was excited to talk to Ronni Zehavi, cofounder and CEO of Hibob . Zehavi is a three-time successful entrepreneur within multiple industries. He cofounded and was CEO of Cotendo, a website and mobile solutions developer which was acquired by Akamai Technologies in 2012, and was a cofounder of Team8 Cyber Security. He cofounded Hibob 5 years ago and is the CEO. Hibob is a user-friendly cloud-based HR system that provides companies with tools for the basics of HR reporting as well as engagement builders like social tools. The platform also provides tools for social network analysis – a map to show you who in your company are hidden idea spreaders. Hibob represents a return to Zehavi’s roots since he started his career in HR. I … [Read more...] about Hire CEOs All Around You And Other Lessons From A 3-Time Founder

Amazon.com, Inc . ( AMZN ) has rolled out several enhancements to its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing offering that are designed to enhance its utility to a wide range of customers. In particular, AWS is focused in 2022 on enabling many organizations—including startups, large enterprises, and government agencies—to become more agile and innovate more rapidly at lower cost. During the AWS Summit in San Francisco on April 21, 2022, Swami Sivasubramanian, vice president of data, analytics, and machine learning services at AWS, offered details on several new product offerings. The innovations that he described range across several service categories, including databases, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT) , and application development. Key Takeaways Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced six major enhancements on April 21, 2022. Two increase flexibility and lower costs for AWS users. One makes creating digital twins easier. One facilitates … [Read more...] about Amazon (AMZN) Rolls Out Web Services (AWS) Innovations

How do you inspire a bunch of new college graduates to start their own businesses? One Atlanta entrepreneur believes giving them access to their own LLCs is a good bet. On May 14, Pinky Cole , the founder of booming restaurant chain Slutty Vegan , announced that she would give each of the 800 graduates of Clark Atlanta University, her alma mater, the ability to register a limited liability corporation, in partnership with Varo Bank, a fully digital bank. The cost of filing an LLC varies on the basis of the state; in Georgia, it's $100. On average, it costs roughly $50 to $250. "Every single graduate in this audience will leave this stadium as a business owner," she said during the school's commencement ceremony on Saturday. "I didn't have a plan, but I'm going to make sure that you do." Cole graduated from the historically Black research university in 2009 with a major in mass communication and media studies. While the now 34-year-old entrepreneur went on to … [Read more...] about This Founder Just Gifted LLCs to an Entire Graduating Class

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin “I'm so apprehensive about going back to the office. It feels like I've just recently adapted to working remotely.” Michelle sighed and shook her head. She's the chief operations officer at a growing startup, and also a client of mine. "What worries me the most is the emotional state of my team. They're all worried and anxious, which is starting to affect me personally.” Michelle's concerns are common among the leaders I coach who tend to be sensitive, empathetic individuals. Employees are understandably fearful about returning to the office, as more and more companies share their plans for going back to working in person. Safety and health are now top of mind for many people ( Will the mask policy be followed? How do we share space without getting each other sick? ) And the thought of being surrounded by other people all day is anxiety-provoking after spending so much time working at home. ("None of my work pants even fit … [Read more...] about How To Protect Yourself From Return-To-Office Stress And Emotional Contagion

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin CMO Stacy Simpson recently took on the additional leadership role of defining and guiding the purpose for Genpact (NYSE: G), a global professional services firm focused on digital transformation. We spoke recently about her role and its impact internally and externally. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. One of the first things that I learned about you is that you are in charge of purpose at Genpact.  I thought, how excellent to have someone leading the purpose of the company. Would you say a little more about your area of responsibility at Genpact and how purpose came to be part of your responsibilities? I've been with Genpact for almost five years as CMO and, earlier this year, I became the global business leader for corporate responsibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion. All those worlds are converging! You asked specifically about purpose. As CMO, one of the things I … [Read more...] about Purpose-Driven Leadership: Genpact’s Digital Transformation Driven By CMO Stacy Simpson

O pportunity Zones have been having a rough time in the press. The tax policy —bipartisan, market based, and designed to inject billions of dollars into long overlooked communities—has recently been cast in the media as another tax loophole for billionaires, giving investors (many political connected) big tax breaks to build real estate projects for the rich, not the underserved people the law was designed to help. Every new tax law creates a new loophole. There will always be bad actors and unintended consequences. As stories on tax policies go, it makes for a scandalous read. But there is another story, one less salacious but equally important, of bold investors and creative civic leaders using OZ law as it was meant to be. Powered by the Sorenson Impact Center , we are debuting the Forbes OZ 20: The Top Opportunity Zone Catalysts. Comprised of 10 trailblazing community organizations and 10 innovative OZ funds, the Forbes OZ 20 shines a light on the players … [Read more...] about Meet The Forbes OZ 20: The Top Players Investing For Lasting Impact