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Archive for the ‘Investment’ Category

Memeified Press Release, We Salute You

How many company press releases do you read where your eyes glaze over after the first couple sentences? It’s usually the same generic language talking about how the company is the industry leader, or the most innovative, or how their new product is going to change the world, etc. Like news articles about violence in the Middle East, you stop reading because you’ve heard the same story twenty times before.

Then SEOMoz goes and does this…  a handful of funny internet memes about their Series B round…

… and totally redeems the concept of a press release!  

Okay, maybe they didn’t save the genre, but it makes you want to keep scrolling down and reading, and it gives you a positive impression of their sense of humor, doesn’t it? We’d like to see more of this.

SEOMoz’s announcement involves a recent $18 million Series B round, spearheaded by Foundry Group in Boulder, CO.  Ignition Partners in Bellevue, Wash, was also involved. Their full writeup in their blog is remarkably transparent and honest. It’s good reading for anyone working at a startup.

Well played, SEOMoz. Well played. Consider yourselves “shouted out.”

15 mistakes to avoid when raising capital

This afternoon, the Daniels College of Business at DU invited me to speak to an Executive MBA entrepreneurial class about my experiences. I graduated from the EMBA program this spring, had spoken to a class this past summer, enjoyed it and (hopefully) provided value to the students, so I happily accepted the invitation again.

I spoke on our experience with FullContact, TechStars, our path to funding, what I’d do differently, and what I’ve learned. I also provided the class a list of 15 mistakes to avoid when raising capital.

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