News Roundtable: Future of American Cities and Working From Home

Kevin Siskar and Tim Shisler are at it again, discussing the current news in our world today. Each person brings one topic to the table and they talk about them both.

The Future of American Cities:

Kevin starts by discussing how he lived in NYC for almost a decade and how he has seen the cost of living increased significantly during that time. Witnessing how commercial real estate investors have increased their rent so much that small shops are no longer able to handle the cost. 50% of all restaurants in NYC are going to close due to COVID 19, with 12,000 being closed already. So many people think big cities might be dying, but looking at the next few years, Tim and Kevin discuss will the city economies be able to come back?

The Rise of Remote Work:

Tim talks about how it was hard for him to transition to remote work once COVID-19 forced a lot of the world’s workforce to remote. Making it work is a lot about having a plan and being diligent about time and how you carve it out. Routine is key. There is a fine line between work life and home life, the separation needs to be balanced. Should you be working at 8pm when you have a significant other? When working in an office, the commute is there to help you shift out of work mode, what do you no longer have that transition time while working from home. This is also the time where it really shines on the people that really care about their work, vs. the people that were just working to have a job. This is a big topic right now, because working from home is definitely not for everyone.

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The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! Plus additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more.

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Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going! 🤗

Ambition Today's News Roundtable: R.I.P. to RBG and Facebook

In this new episode, Kevin Siskar and Tim Shisler discuss the current news in our world today. Each week, each person brings one topic to the table.

This week Tim chose to talk about the sad passing of former Associate Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020. She passed away after complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

And brought Facebook to the table. There are real issues with Facebook. Everything from the false advertising that Facebook is not taking responsibility for, mental health issues stemming from addiction to Facebook, and now election interference! On September, 3rd Facebook came out with their plan on tackling the Election campaigns on their platform.

Tune in to hear what Tim and Kevin have to say about this week’s topics!

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Ambition Today Is Proudly Independent & Supported By:

Finta - A secure, deal room platform for early stage companies. Quickly set up your company and you’ve got a blazing fast tool for organizing your fundraise and securing your sensitive company information. House your pitch deck, secure your legal documents, organize your cap table, notify target investors, and close deals faster! Finta allows you to raise more, save time, and increase your efficiency.

The A-List - Join the podcast’s backchannel for exclusive access to learn the single greatest piece of advice each guest has ever learned! Plus additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more.

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Thank you for listening! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going! 🤗

LIVE EVENT! Cryptocurrency, ICO, & Blockchain Law in 2018 with Joe Daniels of McCarter & English

Joe Daniels, Co-Chair of McCarter & English Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice

This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law. In late January almost 100 founders gathered at the offices of McCarter & English for our January Founder Institute Meetup! The crypto founders there heard from Joe Daniels, who is the Co-Chair of the McCarter & English's Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice. Joe has worked on numerous SAFT & token offerings, including San Francisco based Quantstamp, which just raised $30 million in its pre-sale, along with Augmate, The Valorem Foundation, RealECoin, VIMarkets, CoinBoost, and RecylcleGO.

During this event, Joe reviewed the current cryptocurrency, blockchain, & initial coin offering laws in 2018. Learn the key things that you need to know about ICO's, the SEC, international business, SAFT agreements, and more. If you are interested in understanding the legalities around cryptocurrencies, tokens, and the blockchain, then you will definitely enjoy this episode. The slides that Joe is going over during his presentation are available below if you want to follow along. They are packed with information, such as: 

• What are Blockchain Tokens (Cryptocurrencies)

• What is an ICO

• How much has been raised in ICOs / SAFTs

• How do SAFT agreements work

• Regulatory Issues w/ ICOs

• The SEC's response to the emergence of cryptocurrencies

• Current Best Practices for cryptocurrencies

Follow Along With All The Slides From The Event:

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Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned! 

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

You can find the full transcript of this episode here. 

Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.

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Startup News Essentials

At the start of every new cohort of Founder Institute New York I like to share some of my favorite news sources with the new founders. For many founders starting out, consuming the right news from the right sources can really help to plug you into the global startup and tech community.

If the old saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” is true, then one of the incredible advantages of the internet is the fact that you can customize whose opinions and knowledge you decide to spend the most time with.

The below list could easily be hundreds of links, but for the sake of simplicity I am going to focus on the core recommendations of what I read everyday. I am also going to focus mostly on news sources. I might do another post on the topic of specific blogs and which individuals to follow in the future. Feel free to add any more news sources that you love in the comments below and up vote the best ones! 

For Everyone: 

Nuzzel - This is my favorite news source! Nuzzel's algorithm finds trending articles from your personal network. And even better, they make it really easy to see the trending articles in influencer's networks as well.

Techmeme - If you want to know what the whole industry is talking about on any given day, then this is your one stop! The essential tech news of the moment curated by a mix of editors and an excellent algorithm. 

Launch Ticker -  Efficient tech news broken down to the most important three sentence summary of the original article. Really good at extracting the most important, essential, and relevant information from news to save you time. 

Hacker News - Social news website focusing on computer science, tech and entrepreneurship. 

Axios Pro Rata - Dan Primack's daily newsletter breaks news about deals and dealmakers from Wall Street to Sand Hill Road.

Fortune Term Sheet - Fortune's daily newsletter about venture capital deals and dealmakers.

Product Hunt - Because it is one of the most fun sites on the internet! And because Product Hunt is a curation of the best new products, every day. You will almost always leave the site with something new and exciting to check out. 

Angel List - It is quickly becoming the case that if you want to "exist" in the startup world then you need to be active on AngelList. You can find trending companies, make a hire, invest in a syndicate, connect with other founders, and more. They recently acquired Product Hunt too! 

 

For New Yorkers: 

Digital NYC Voices -  Tips and thoughts from the leaders in NYC business and government. 

AVC - The only blog on this list because Fred Wilson's insightful posts have become daily reading. The comments from the community are often just as good as the original content. 

NYC Innovation Collective - A semi-monthly newsletter that is the byproduct of over 70 NYC startup accelerators, incubators, innovation programs coming together to share resources and news! 

Gary's Guide - Weekly collection of all the startup and tech events happening in New York. Gary does an excellent job curating the information each week, and oh by the way he wears a red tie you can advertise on IRL! 

Charlie O'Donnell's Weekly Newsletter - A curated list of NYC innovation community events each Monday morning.

Gothamist - Never miss a NYC meme again. From breaking news on the cronut, to mayoral soda tax scandals, to changes in the subway system, to Banksy's central park popup stand, the Gothamist constantly has you covered! 

Pioneering The Social Media Frontier With Jonathan Abrams, Founder & CEO of Nuzzel

Jonathan Abrams

The godfather of social media, Jonathan Abrams, joins us on this episode of Ambition Today. He is now the founder & CEO of Nuzzel, a new platform to discover the top news from your friends and influencers. Letting users cut through the muddle of content on social media to emphasize only their most relevant content. Previously, Jonathan has founded several other companies; Socializr, HotLinks, Founder's Den and most notably Friendster. He is also a top-rated mentor at The Founder Institute and has been extensively involved in the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial community for over ten years.

After growing up in Canada and working for Nortel he became an employee at Netscape during it's prime. Abrams went on to found Friendster in 2002 before the wider adoption of, at the time newcomers; MySpace (2003), Hi5 (2003), Facebook (2004) and other social networking sites. Friendster was one of the first of these sites to attain over 1 million members. In 2012, Abrams recognized a fallacy in the market of social news readers, when the programs of the time weren’t what he was looking for: fast, easy-to-use, and social. Today Jonathan talks about his solution to this problem with his new company Nuzzel, his appearance on Chelsea on Netflix, and much more:

• Navigating the seemingly minuscule Canadian computer science marketplace.

• Being a first-time entrepreneur during the dot-com boom and bust.

• How Friendster competed with Facebook in the developing market of social media.

• Using social curation to launch Nuzzel.

• Trying to reach a wide audience with relevant information.

• The future of Nuzzel.

• Why e-mail remains king in the world of social media.

• Surviving in Silicon Valley by not getting ahead of yourself.

• The future of the social landscape.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:

"What does Ambition mean to you and how do you satisfy your personal ambition each day?"

Links from this episode:

• Nuzzel

• Jabrams.com

• Jonathan Abrams on Twitter

• Jonathan Abrams on Nuzzel

• Kevin Siskar on Nuzzel

• Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure

• Jonathan Abrams at TEDx

• Founder Institute New York

• Audible

• Toptal

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android. 

Listen to this episode now: 

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Toptal

Audible.com

Founder Institute New York

The Night Pokemon Go Took Over The Suburbs & The Police Came

I started writing this at 1:40am on Friday night in the suburbs of Buffalo, NY. My brother and I were just pulled up on by State Troopers in a church parking lot for being there late. We stopped by this parking lot on our way home. This was no ordinary parking lot though. This parking lot contained a Pokemon gym.  The officer came up to us and asked for identification. We gave him our driver's license and he ask what are you doing here this late. I replied: "Officer, do you know what Augmented Reality is?". He gave me a strange look and said "nope". Fast forward a few minutes later to after my brief lesson on Augmented Reality and the new game Pokemon Go, he told us to have a nice night and left.

Prior to this encounter with the law enforcement my brother and I were outside a local Chili's restaurant, another Pokemon Go gym, when three cars pulled up simultaneously. One guy got out and screamed, there is a Squirtle around here. While he began searching for the elusive rare Pokemon by walking around the parking lot, the others who were still in their cars, began attacking the "Big Red Chili Pepper" gym. Within two minutes the gym changed from Yellow to Red (two of the teams you can join in the game) as it was overtaken by a new champion. Five minutes later, they left. If your not on the move in Pokemon Go then your not really playing Pokemon Go. 

Even earlier in the evening, down the street, a different car pulled into the United States Post Office to capture another Pokemon gym. They saw our phones out, we saw their phones out and so said we said Hello to each other. It turns out that they were actually some old friends of my brothers through a friend of a friend. They exchanged numbers and agreed to re-connect again soon. Pokemon Go re-connected old friends on a sidewalk outside a United States Post Office. 

Now since Friday at 1:40am when I was explaining to a State Trooper what Augmented Reality is, I know similar stories have been told thousands of times as similar situations unfolded across the world. I am sure you have heard by now that Pokemon Go is a new augmented reality app that makes you and your phone (using it's built in GPS) the main character as you walk around the real world to find and capture Pokemon. It is not the first augmented reality game but it is certainly now the most popular.

It's truly amazing just how fast this game has gone viral considering not once inside the game is there a prompt to invite a friend or get some free game items for sharing. The virality of Pokemon Go has been almost all organically social and word of mouth. 

Since the mid 2000's a new world of tablets, iPhones, improved gaming systems, and more have slowly been keeping us in our routines. I love that this game get's people back outside, connecting with others on the street, and exploring the parts of the world their normal daily routines ignore. Yes, Pokemon Go could improve the whole head down toward the ground like zombies staring at our phone thing, but we will get there soon enough with improved technology. I'm looking at you Oculus, Samsung Gear VR, and Microsoft HoloLens. 

I wanted to share this story and experience as it felt truly unique to me. That night in the suburbs, people were out and about exploring the world instead of sitting inside somewhere. There was an energy in the air that night in the suburbs. An energy that you can easily take for granted living in a big city that never sleeps like New York. It was refreshing, light hearted, and fun. So before others try to ruin the fun, get out there and catch some Pokemon. If you can, catch them all, and while your at it remember to pick your head up from time to time to say Hi the other people around you. 

David S. Rose Explains How The New Startup Crowdfunding Rules Affect You & His New Book The Startup Checklist

David Rose, The Startup Checklist

On this episode of Ambition Today David S. Rose explains his new book The Startup Checklist, how the new startup crowdfunding rules affect you & angel investing 101. A third generation serial entrepreneur, David's new book The Startup Checklist which is now a New York Times Bestseller. David is also the author of the Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups, as well as the Founder and CEO at Gust. 

A man of many titles: Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Mentor, and Author; David has had an incredible career starting several businesses. Crain's New York Business has called David "the father of angel investing in New York".

Today we learn about how he got started as a founder, became an angel investor, and where he is now as an Author and CEO. We cover the basics of how angel investing in startups works and unpack what the new SEC crowdfunding rules actually mean for startups, your friends, your family and you. We also learn about: 

• How an Urban Affairs degree enhanced David's views on business.

• Why he started Angel Investing.

• How NY Angels was created.

• How do you set the foundation for a great startup company.

• Angel Investing 101.

• What is an Accredited Investor.

• How Title 3 of the JOBS Act impacts startups and you.

• What the new SEC crowdfunding rules mean if your income or net worth is below $100k.

• What the new SEC crowdfunding rules mean if your income or net worth is above $100k.

• If a founder decides to fundraise from non-accredited civilians, what do they need to know?

• What platforms are enabling crowdfunding right now?

• How can you invest in startups now.

Ambition Today Question of the Day™:

Why does success matter in the first place? Why not just live a simple life in a fishing town?

Links from this episode:

• DavidSRose.com

• David Rose Twitter

• Gust

• The Startup Checklist

• Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups

• Peter Diamandis

• Ray Kurzweil

• Singularity University

• NY Angels

• Digital.NYC

• Tech.London

• Toptal

• Audible

Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next?  Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…

Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android. 

Listen to this episode now: 

Ambition Today Episode Sponsors:

Toptal

 

Audible.com

Founder Institute New York

FINY11 Graduates Founder Institute New York

Founder Institute New York Spring 2016 

Last week the Founder Institute New York graduated the Spring 2016 cohort with 12 promising new companies. The eleventh batch of the Founder Institute in New York includes companies from across several industries such as film, childhood education, real estate, fin-tech, retail, HR-tech, fashion and more. As always, I am very grateful for the incredible lessons, experience, and wisdom brought to each semester's graduates by our great mentors here in New York.

Founder Institute New York 11

Clapper - Streamlining communication and logistics for media productions.

GigSesh - Helping professionals make extra cash by connecting them to advice seekers.

Mindsprinkles - Sprinkling culture into your child’s screentime.

NvestN - Low cost robo-investing platform for the underserved market of investors.

PicketFencer - Find a hometown that fits.

Prix Fixed - Where planning is not the event. 

Real Assembly - The future of real estate crowdfunding.

Skour - Mobile storefront for brick and mortar boutiques.

SquarePeg - Intelligent assessment based job matching for candidates and employers.

TeddyMozart - Let your memories transcend borders and time.

TellyVizion - Where artist's work and shows are compensated directly by the audience.

Ushu - Custom tailored shoes to your unique foot's shape.

FounderX Brings 42 Global Companies To Silicon Valley

This week is the Founder Institute's inaugural 'FounderX' event in Silicon Valley. 42 top up-and-coming FI Graduates from across the globe were invited to participate. Attending from Founder Institute New York are DADA, Easy Aerial, Mise en place and Ward eSports.

FounderX was reserved for FI Graduates on the cusp of significant growth, providing them with valuable office hours and strategic assistance from Adeo Ressi (CEO of the Founder Institute) and other top startup mentors, access to the exclusive FounderX event, and a VC roadshow to visit top Silicon Valley investors; such as Sequoia Capital, FLOODGATE, Venrock, Shasta Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Mohr Davidow, True Ventures, Founders Fund, Altos Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and 500 Startups. 

FounderX is a private gathering of the FI Network in Silicon Valley that will bring together some of the biggest industry leaders from around the world. This 3-day long event from May 4 - 6, 2016 will feature a series of networking events, workshops, and formal dinners for top members from FI’s global network, including startup CEOs, technology executives, and Directors.

Below were the "up-and-coming" FI Graduate companies selected to the program.

1. Aomm.tv & Founder Maria Cebrian (Madrid Founder Institute): Aomm.tv is the leading Spanish-speaking yoga and pilates online platform, offering a growing catalog of 500+ customizable classes shot in HD video and taught by top teachers from all over the world. The company already has 6,000+ active subscribers.
2. Asegurate Facil & Founder Juan Ayala (Bogota Founder Institute): Asegurate Facile is an online insurance broker for Spanish-speaking markets, with products spanning auto, travel, and more. The company also has over 5,000 customers.
3. Ask PAM & Founder Pamela Alfred (Montreal Founder Institute): Ask PAM is a web-based productivity & management tool for the modern-day Concierge. The company is already working with several five-star hotels, and top tourism and event organizations in their limited trial.
4. Auto Force & Founder Ben Lin (Silicon Valley Founder Institute): Auto Force is used-car marketplace that has already facilitated several hundred car sales, and is generating signficant revenue.
5. Azestfor & Founder Siobhan Oldham (Los Angeles Founder Institute): Azestfor produces canine nutritional supplements, with the ultimate mission of helping dogs lead longer and healthier lives. The company's online sales are growing very quickly, and it also have several high-end pet boutiques as customers.
6. Bandwagon & Founders Harold Hughes & Susan Donkers (Greenville Founder Institute): Bandwagon is an online fan community and ticket marketplace that helps fans optimize their game day experience. The company is securing inventory and growing sales significantly. 
7. DADA & Founder Beatriz Ramos (New York Founder Institute): DADA is a 'Facebook for Artists' - a social platform where people speak to each other through drawings. The company already has nearly 150,000 users. 
8. Daylighted & Founder Alex Cammarano (San Francisco Founder Institute): Daylighted brings art to places where people go through interactive art galleries. The company works with top hotel chains like Sofitel and Joie de Vivre, and has been posting triple digit QoQ growth.
9. Easy Aerial & Founder Ivan Stamatovski (New York Founder Institute): Easy Aerial provides infrastructure inspection services to utility companies using drone deployment technology, saving customers time and money. The company has raised funding and received top media.
10. Energyly (Vidabest) & Founder Dayal Nathan (Bangalore Founder Institute): Energyly is developing a blended hardware-software energy analytics product to help small and medium-sized businesses reduce their energy consumption. The company has already signed on 20+ B2B customers to date.
11. Find Bob & Founder Roland Chan (Toronto Founder Institute): The Find Bob platform makes it easy to internally transition financial practices so firms can protect & grow their most precious asset: their Book of Business. The company has already signed on 500+ customers, including the largest general agent in Canada.
12. Flystro & Founder Bassam Rhou (Montreal Founder Institute): Flystro is an online marketplace connecting drone pilots to clients needing drone filming services. The company has already recruited a significant number of top drone pilots, and starting to generate revenue through bookings. 
13. Genial.ly & Founder Juan Rubio Lopez (Cordoba, Spain Founder Institute): Genial.ly is an interactive content creation software to create images, presentations, infographics and more with interactive effects and animation. The company already has 85,000+ users from 150+ countries.
14. Hava.io & Founder James Martelletti (Melbourne Founder Institute): Hava is a platform that creates automated cloud diagrams with two clicks, helping to reduce waste in cloud IT systems. The company has 1000+ users and recently secured a $500,000 seed round.  
15. Indigo Drones & Founder Sergio Ballester (San Jose, Costa Rica Founder Institute): Indigo Drones is a company that utilizes aerial drones for imagery, remote data monitoring, and management of crops. The company has already signed three contracts with pineapple, banana and coffee producers.
16. KangarooHealth & Founder Xiaoxu Kang (San Francisco Founder Institute): KangarooHealth creates cloud software platforms for orthopedic physicians to track patients' outcomes and improve their bottom line. The company already has paying customers and was selected as a top digital health start-up by the Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Innovation Program. 
17. Kangarootime & Founder Scott Wayman (Los Angeles Founder Institute): Kangarootime automates the child care business, the class room and connecting childcare professionals with the families they serve. The company already has secured many customers and is booking six figure monthly recurring revenues.
18. MakerBloks & Founder Francois Poirier (Montreal Founder Institute): MakerBloks are electronic building blocks that teach kids basic STEM concepts, complemented by an app that links the blocks to interactive stories. The company has won several competitions, has signed LOIs with top retailers, and is about to surpass $100,000 in pre-sales.
19. Maven & Founder Alissa Cronau (Sydney Founder Institute): Maven is an app to help artists promote their music on streaming services, through building a curator network that will offer artists targeted databases and allow fans to receive more music to suit their taste. The company is bootstrapping and growing very quickly.
20. Mise en place & Founder Vicente DyReyes (New York Founder Institute): Mise en place brings people back around the dinner table through fully prepped recipes and same-day delivery. The company has already raised funding and established on-brand partnerships with Athleta, Sir Kensington's, lululemon and Martha Stewart's American Made.  
21. NUKERN & Founder Philippe Rivard (Montreal Founder Institute): Nukern is a full software solution that helps customers set their web hosting business on autopilot. The company recently launched a very popular open beta, and is growing very quickly.  
22. deLaGuayaba & Founder Eric de La Goublaye de Menorval (Costa Rica Founder Institute): deLaGuayaba offers a Predictive Project Management Software as a Service to reduce operation costs and cycle time. After completing a successful pilot program, new companies are joining OASIS platform at an impressive rate.
23. OnContracting & Founder Pradeep Chauhan (Seattle Founder Institute): OnContracting is the top global platform for finding vetted local professionals for onsite contract jobs at major corporations. The company is nearing $1MM in billing for for contractors placed at top companies like Microsoft, Google and Apple.
24. Partfiniti & Founder Geoff Laycock (Washington DC Founder Institute): Partfiniti makes the process of creating and pricing a bill of materials not suck. The company already has thousands of users and is booking six figure revenues.  
25. Peerfunder & Founder Jonathan Lam (Toronto Founder Institute): Peerfunder is a peer-to-peer revenue-based lending marketplace focused exclusively on helping main street businesses finance their growth and expansion. The company has secured significant funding, and has also secured over $300,000 in committed capital to fund Peerfunder loans.    
26. ProfHire & Founder Lesa Hammond (Silicon Valley Founder Institute): ProfHire is a web platform that connects colleges and universities with vetted scholars and industry professionals for part-time faculty positions. The company is already working with 8 top universities across California, with thousands of professionals on the platform. 
27. RentHunt & Founder Pierre Sabbagh (Montreal Founder Institute): RentHunt is a matching platform that helps landlords find their perfect tenant. The company is growing quickly, and recently secured a partnership to facilitate the management of over 45,000 rental units.
28. Rever & Founder Errette Dunn (Silicon Valley Founder Institute): Rever is a Frontline Innovation platform that helps companies engage their non-office workers in daily improvement through mobile technology and Machine Learning. The company has secured funding and is currently engaged in a pilot with Tesla. 
29. RushTix & Founder Jill Bourque (Silicon Valley Founder Institute): RushTix is the first unlimited pass to local arts and culture. The company was accepted to the LAUNCH Incubator, and has already signed up large companies like Salesforce for their perks program. 
30. Shapetrace & Founder Ernest Yap (Toronto Founder Institute): Shapetrace develops AR/VR software for construction teams that enables same-day error detection and reduce re-work costs. The company already has active pilot projects with two of Canada's largest transportation projects, and more.
31. Skinnyprice & Founder Daniel McGuire (Silicon Valley Founder Institute): Skinnyprice makes marketing technology for retailers that improves engagement by taking the traditional sale and turning it into a game for discounts. Skinnyprice recently landed a deal with a $200 million dollar per year furniture retailer to power their sales platform.
32. Stample & Founder Edward Silhol (Paris Founder Institute): Stample creates technology to facilitate knowledge curation for teams, allowing you collect, capitalizee and publish collaboratively. The company's is already showing 3 figure month over month growth rates.  
33. Swaple & Founder Bridget Farmer (Sydney Founder Institute): Swaple is a new payment platform for the sharing economy that lets Entrepreneurs swap services with each other instead of using cash. The company is quickly signing up users for their paid subscription service.
34. tForm & Founder Benjamin Moore (Greenville Founder Institute): tForm has developed quick responding custom thermoformed packaging to help manufacturing companies solve the problems of poor quality, slow delivery, and high prices. The company has already quoted over $2MM of product with a win rate of 10%.
35. theTravelPorter & Founder Katia Mavrikou (Athens Founder Institute): theTravelPorter is a marketplace for extraordinary tours and activities. The company is already generating sales, and is signing key partnerships in the travel industry. 
36. Touch'd & Founder Mohammad Mansoor (Islamabad Founder Institute): Touch'd is a personal relationship manager that learns from your interactions over calls, text, WhatsApp, Email, social meda, and gives timely touch-base reminders. Their successful beta launch is helping them generate 100% MoM growth.
37. Upfluence & Founder Kevin Creusy (Silicon Valley Founder Institute): Upfluence develops algorithms and software to scale influencer marketing. The company booked seven figures in 2015, and is growing at a rate of over 650% QoQ.   
38. Ward eSports & Founder Jose Lincuna (New York Founder Institute): Ward eSports is a mobile app connecting global eSports fans with their local gaming communities. The company has already secured key partnerships with over 20 major event organizers, and there are 60 tournaments already live on the platform.
39. WealthTab & Founder Mike Blicker (Montreal Founder Institute): WealthTab is an integrated, white-labeled platform for financial professionals and their clients. The company is currently in private beta and is signing up financial professionals at an impressive rate.
40. Whizmeal & Founder Droston Tang (Singapore Founder Institute): Whizmeal is an app helping parents pre-order better, affordable school meals to help curb childhood obesity. The company received an official letter of support from Health Promotion Center, the Ministry of Health, and Brunei Darussalam to have the app implemented in private schools.
41. XBand Sports & Founder Jose Doval (San Diego Founder Institute): XBand Sports creates intuitive, easy to use training aides that are designed to give coaches and athletes deeper insight into their form through shareable,  automated video clips and data. The company is already generating sales and acquiring significant strategic endorsements.
42. Yo Viajo & Founder Dagoberto Medina (Costa Rica Founder Institute): Yo Viajo is an app that provides accurate and intelligent information to users of public transportation in Costa Rica. The company is currently cultivating a close relationship with Costa Rica's goverment.

2016 Startup Funding Trends With Adeo Ressi

Adeo Ressi at Valley in Berlin 2016

In 2015 it was all the rage to be a "unicorn", a startup company with a billion dollar valuation. Since then the supposed "startup and tech bubble" has popped and the gold rush is over. But what is really happening with the markets? 

Alex Konrad recently gave us some insight on Ambition Today and now today we have a more in-depth explanation of what is happening from Adeo Ressi, the founder of the Founder Institute. Last month Adeo was in Germany for the "Valley in Berlin Summit" and keynoted a talk around the 2016 Startup Funding Trends we are currently seeing. If you are thinking about fundraising, have a startup, or plan on starting your own company you are going to want to watch the keynote below. 

Founder Institute New York Graduates FINY10

Wednesday February 24th celebrated the graduation of FI NY 10. The tenth batch of the Founder Institute in New York. The Fall 2015 semester in New York's Silicon Alley ends with nine great companies. Of course none of this would be possible with out the incredible lessons, experience, and wisdom brought to the program by our mentors. 

Here are the new companies building a better tomorrow: 

DealGeeks - Drive foot traffic into your business.

Donate Me - Help vetted students go to the college they deserve.

Home-Cooked Dinner Club - Fastest way to a home-cooked meal.

My Citizen Source -  The first U.S. citizenship game.

Paction - Friend to friend marketing platform. 

Pocmi - Connecting companies with international talent.

Ready To Go Survival - Personalized emergency survival packages.

Sofos Labs -  On-demand one-on-one legal experts.

Stareable - Searchable. Shareable. Stareable.

Some Thoughts On Tidal And Kanye

I love Spotify. I became a user in England about a year before anyone in the United States even had access to the service. I have been a paid user ever since. 

Last year two new popular services came about. Apple Music and Tidal. In regards to the first, after seeing how Apple butchered my existing Music library on my iPhone with iOS 9 I have yet to try Apple Music. As for the second service, Tidal came along in the uniquest of ways. 

Mimicking the founding fathers signing the Declaration of Independence, Tidal lined up several Artists on a stage and had each of them sign the companies constitution. It was meant to be symbolically powerful but it didn't seem like the music industry revolution as it was intended. It was missing something. 

The Tidal Declaration came across as "tech ignorant". If that isn't a term yet, I'm coining it now. While already successful artists can build a walled garden around exclusivity of future releases, there is much more to building a successful product then simply access to exclusivity.

A year later that core thesis is being put the test. Exclusive album releases by Rihanna most recently and this week by Kanye West with his new album "The Life Of Pablo".

My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016

I write this to you my brothers while still 53 million dollars in personal debt... Please pray we overcome... This is my true heart...

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 14, 2016

And since declaring this his album a Tidal exclusive it has been pirated over half a million times. For a man who is supposedly $53 million dollars in "debt", I am curious as the amount of money that a Tidal exclusive release leaves on the table from other potential platforms and CD releases. So a year later after Tidal's big release here we are. I didn't want to. I really didn't. But after seeing Tidal rise in the app store this week I have downloaded the app. I am currently listening to Kanye West's "The Life Of Pablo" in HiFi. Here are my thoughts in no particular order. 

When I left iTunes for Spotify it was because I could listen to any song I could think of on the spot. Instant streaming was a exponential increase in value over paying per song in iTunes and from what people have told me it was easier than downloading an album. I signed up for premium Spotify shortly thereafter to remove all commercials. I used both for a bit, as I had spent years building my iTunes library, but eventually I fully switched to Spotify. Years later I now have that same vested interested in my Spotify library of saved songs and playlists as I once had with iTunes.

Tidal's high quality HiFi music quality is not enough for me to make the switch though. Album exclusivity is not enough for me switch either. The album has been dying for awhile now and society is moving toward a constant release of singles every few months. Playlists are replacing the album. The value increase over my existing preference is simply not yet high enough. Lastly, "The Life Of Pablo" is an interesting album to say the least. I think I prefer Dr. West though over the new Ultra Light Beam of Yeezus. To end my mostly skeptical thoughts of Tidal on a positive note though, is that If there is one person who can make sense of Tidal perhaps it's the one currently Watching The Throne. 

Mise En Place Featured In Gilt City New York

This week is quickly turning into the week of startup companies on this blog and here comes another one. Starting today Founder Institute New York graduate company Mise En Place has launched an exclusive deal going on with Gilt City right now!

If you live in New York City and haven't tried a meal delivery service before (or even if you have tried Blue Apron and then realized its prep times take FOREVER) then Mise En Place is probably for you. I personally have tried both Blue Apron and Mise En Place and much prefer the simplicity and high quality meals Mise En Place provides. 

MEPnyc for short, Mise En Place is working to bring families back around the dinner table by providing fully prepped meals for two, that are available with same day delivery. There are a few options for you to give Mise En Place a try through Gilt City before February 19th. I suggest grabbing the "$25 Credit Toward Three Meals for Two" for $5 or at the very least make sure you grab the FREE "$15 Credit Toward Three Meals for Two" before the deal ends! 

• $15 Credit Toward Three Meals for Two - Free
• $25 Credit Toward Three Meals for Two - $5
• Two Meals for Two Membership - $44
• Three Meals for Two Membership - $66

Easy Aerial On "All-American Makers" This Wednesday

Last week I featured Easy Aerial as the Startup Of The Week. Today I am super-excited to announce that Easy Aerial will be featured this Wednesday at 8PM EST on Discovery's Science Channel during this weeks episode of "All-American Makers".

Easy Aerial's latest product, Easy Drone XL Pro, was chosen to be featured in the second season and Ivan, founder and CEO of Easy Aerial, claims to have put it through some rough testing on the show! So set your DVR or tune in Wednesday night to join the Founder Institute New York family as we look into the unique design features of Easy Aerial's modular approach while exploring the future of drones as smart and helpful autonomous machines.

Uber The Conglomerate

Google Logo 1997

Google Logo 2016

At one point in time Google was called BackRub back when Larry first met Sergey to show him around Stanford. Now it is called Alphabet and just yesterday over took Apple as the world's most valuable company at a $560 billion valuation. Throughout the years we have seen Google refine and even rename it's brand. It has come a long way from the small startup company that only operated a Search Engine using their initial $25 million dollar investment from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins.  

Brand refinements can allow a company to take on much, much more. The Google of 2016 is a much different company than it's original search engine business. At a even higher level the Alphabet rebrand has solidified the company's new reorganization as an official conglomerate. Alphabet now owns the individual companies of Google, Calico, GV, Google Capital, X, Google Fiber, Nest Labs, and Verily.

I think we just saw the first step in this direction from Uber. Meet Uber the conglomerate. The company has just released a new logo and brand direction. 

"We leave no bit or atom unturned to create industries that serve people"

- Uber

 

Uber Old Logo

Uber's New Bits and Atoms Logo

While Uber is still the same company and no reorganization has been announced the new high level branding of the "bits and atoms" logo from Uber feels very similar to the move Google made with rebranding as Alphabet. Uber no longer just focuses on being everyone's private driver. The new vision of Uber focuses on the much larger goal of combining bits and atoms to create industries that serve people. While the company has yet to IPO, it's $60 Billion dollar valuation certainly shows the company has reached a scale at which it can start exploring other business models. For example, Uber Eats, delivering kittens, and Uber Rush are early looks at some of these potential other business models.

For now this is just a simple rebrand. But as with all rebrands the goal is to change the way in which think about a company. As customers, and employees, become accustomed to the new way of thinking about Uber I am really excited about the potential possibilities the company seems destined to explore. 

Alphabet, meet Uber. Another future conglomerate.

Alphabet Inc.  2016

Uber's New 2016 Logo

Tim Ferriss And Daymond John On The Power Of Being Broke

I listen to a lot of podcasts. Every once in awhile I hear an episode of a show that is so good I feel compelled to share it. That happened last night when I listened to Daymond John of FUBU and Shark Tank interview Tim Ferriss on how to turn weaknesses into strengths. Daymond turned the tables on this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show and interviewed Tim about the power of being broke. How to capitalize on a lack of resources and turn that into success. 

The power of being broke forces people to be scrappy, which could possibly be the best single word to describe the best entrepreneurs. Some nuggets of wisdom to absorb from this episode include: 

• Using empathy to attract mentors.
• How Tim overcame 27 rejections on his first book before getting his book deal for 4 Hour Workweek. 
• Making sure you don't over burden potential mentors. 
• Who makes the best business partners. 
• How to separate yourself from the crowd.
• Why you should be nice to EVERYONE.
• Don't be afraid to admit what you don't know. 
• Importance of putting yourself close to the action. 
• Always keep your sleeves rolled up.
• Maintaining your Time, Health and Nutrition. 

The Death Of The Headphone Jack

iPhone 7 concept design without headphone jack. Image credit: Handy Abovergleich

In 2014, I for the third time returned my wired Beats by Dre Tour headphones to Best Buy. Yet again they had stopped working in the one ear due to the cord bending down at the plug. Over the years I had tried Beats, Skull Candy, and many other brands of headphones. As they all suffered the same fate I needed to make a bolder change than just trying another brand. So to change it up this time I exchanged my beaten up tour headphones with wires for some Beats By Dre Powerbeats2 Wireless headphones. I made the switch to bluetooth headphones and said goodbye to the headphone jack, for the most part. 

The next day I went into the office, grabbed my shiny new headphones, and went to plug them into the headphone jack before a conference call; which I obviously couldn't. I had to take a moment, turn on my laptops bluetooth, and connect them wirelessly. Which then disconnected them from my phone as it also had it's bluetooth on. Also new for me was the concept that I now had to keep my headphones charged. Something I have never had to worry about before. I found myself from time to time gravitating toward my wired Apple headphones when using my laptop just to avoid having to reconnect back to my iPhone later. Needless to say, as a man whose headphones are so important they are always within arms reach, there were some behavior changes I had to make. 

Surprisingly though, I made those changes and I did not return my bluetooth wireless headphones. Two years later I still use my bluetooth headphones everyday. The sound is great! I am more handsfree with my devices when using them and my iPhone alway keeps me notified of the headphones battery level. As you can see the headphone jack is dying and rightfully so. The technology behind the modern headphone jack was actually invented in 1878. 

Earlier this month it leaked that the Apple iPhone 7 might not have the normal 3.5mm headphone port at all. Headphones will now have to connect to your iPhone either through bluetooth or by plugging into the existing lightning port where you charge your phone. A similar move to the one made by Apple last year when it removed all the ports on its Macbook and switched everything to a single USB-C port. I am confident that in 2016 we will witness the beginning of the end for the headphone jack as we know it for a few reasons. 

Image credit: Apple

First off, Apple now owns a headphone company. Apple is one of the few companies that could force the headphone standard to switch from 3.5mm to lighting ports across the industry using it's Beats by Dre brand. 

From the phone perspective this move immediately frees up more room inside the new device for other hardware, hopefully more battery. It also potentially removes the last hole on the iPhone that couldn't be properly waterproofed. Perhaps most importantly, switching audio from the current hundred year old headphone jack to using the digital Apple lightning port would enable higher definition audio. After all, every box of Beats by Dre headphones includes a quote from Dr. Dre in the studio telling you that you need these high quality headphones to be able to hear all the sound as it was intended to be heard by the artists. Lastly, a lighting connector enable's a whole new suite of digital software possibilities between your headphones and your iPhone 7. The rise of the smart headphones will likely be a result. 

Apple's growth has slowed and they will need to start finding new ways to keep increasing revenue. As shown by the new iPhone smart case, accessories seem to be one of their moves in addressing that gap. A lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter would could be a major sell for the company if there is no other option to listen to certain devices without it. 

So just as in 2012 when TechCrunch declared Winter Was Coming due to Apple declaring the end of the 30 pin chargers that were in the iPhone 4, Spring will follow winter very quickly. We will all adapt. In the process we will finally update a 100 year old technology, have better sounding music, enjoy a smarter pair of headphones, and once again Apple will continue to lead innovation in the mobile space. 

Yahoo's Katie Couric Features Buffalo In "Cities Rising: Rebuilding America"

Katie Couric recently paid a visit to Buffalo New York for her new series "Cities Rising: Rebuilding America". Since visiting the region she now states that "Buffalo Is Back!" with part 1 of her new series. The goal of this six part series is to highlight key cities in America that were once thriving, then fell on hard times during the last 100 years, and are now being rebuilt into the 21st century.

I am really proud of all the great people in the Buffalo region working hard to improve the local startup ecosystem. Some of the people in the Buffalo startup community that I been working to make an impact in the last year include:

• Steve Poland
  • Managing Director of Z80 Labs
• Michael Serotte
  • Immigration Legal Partner at Unshackled Fund
  • Founding Partner at Serotte Law
• Dan Gigante
  • Digital Director, Partner at 19 IDEAS,
  • Founder & President at You and Who
  • Director of Founder Institute Buffalo
• Jon Spitz
  • Director of Development at 43 North
  • Director of Founder Institute Buffalo
• Peter Burkowski
  • Director of Marketing at 43 North
• Oscar Pedrosa and David Brenner
  • Thimble
• And Many More

I know I have written about the surge of entrepreneurship in Buffalo before as well as its incredible past history, but I really am excited for the future of my hometown Buffalo, NY. I am proud to say I am from Buffalo. Be sure to watch part 1 on Buffalo in Katie Couric's series "Cities Rising: Rebuilding America" above.

Spireworks & The Value Of Exclusivity: How An Invite Only App Controls New York’s Skyline

From almost anywhere in New York City you can see the colored antenna's on top of One Bryant Park and Four Times Square. They are a definite part of the New York City skyline and every few moments they change color.

I recently heard a story from a friend of mine who was at a party in New York City. The host of the event he was at pulled his phone out of his pocket and instructed my friend to pick a color on the screen. He pressed purple. The host then instructed him to look up toward the top of an actual skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. The antenna at the top of One Bryant Park had changed to the color purple. There was a moment of disbelief. 

The idea that the hosts phone was actually controlling the colors at the top of real world skyscrapers seemed unreal. Could you imagine the ability to carry with you a button in your pocket that could at any moment you see fit, alter the colors of the New York skyline for all to see from New Jersey to the Bronx, to Long Island. 

Believe it or not, that app exists and it is called Spireworks. It was made by The Durst Organization who developed and owns several office towers in New York City. The Spireworks app has been in beta and invite only since it's live launch in 2010. All in all only a few hundred people are rumored to have access to the Spireworks app. Now I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that after hearing that story you want a Spireworks invite. I know I did. 

While I patiently waited for the day I could bet strangers that the top of a sky scraper is going to change to a specific color and then be right, the real lesson here lies in the value of exclusivity. The Spireworks app is a real world example of that. So is the English Royal family abroad, the Navy Seals here in the United States, and all the Country Clubs I bartended at in order to put myself through college. A lesson that startups should use to their advantage.

The best part is that when you release a new product you can actually create and then apply this value in order to use it to your advantage. You will turn what should be an inherent weakness in your offering, the fact that no one has access to your product yet because they simply do not know about it, into an advantage whereas the new reason no one has access to your product is because they simply haven't been invited yet. This changes the dynamic of the normal relationship people have with products. In the exclusive scenario the responsibility to "get" the product falls on the end customers ability to chase after it via tracking down an invite code.

A few companies have done a great job at this recently. Regardless of the end story, the Google Glass Explorers Program did a tremendously successful job at fostering early adoption even though the price was over $1,500. Beme launched it's new app with user referral unlock codes that created a frenzy to the point where people were selling the unlock codes for cash online. Most recently the new game @getstolen, where can own your friends Twitter profiles, tweets out one unlock code for only 500-1,000 people each day.

🔑🔑🔑they don't WANT u 2 have a #StolenCode, so we gonna GIVE you a code -> "MADLUV" FAN LUV BLESS UP 🔑🔑🔑

— Stolen! (@getstolen) January 10, 2016

Creating and leveraging the power of exclusivity can be a powerful tool. Spireworks invite only system is one of the best examples of that. Creating exclusivity gives you the ability to throttle the number of early users while still ironing out your core product. It turns a weakness around awareness into a strength. Also, it can result in increased promotion via word of mouth virality of your product. Lastly it attracts higher quality and more engaged users of your product which will be exponentially more useful to your initial product iterations and refinement.

Watch The World In 2016

I feel it is important to take time to understand global trends and events in order to keep clear the lens through which we view what is happening in our own lives. So take a few minutes and get ready for the world in 2016.

The 2016 Summer Olympics will be in Brazil this August. In November the United States will elect a new President. Meanwhile, Europe will continue to experience one of the largest human migrations in decades. El Nino will continue to disrupt normal weather patterns for months in to the new year. Toxins from oceanic plastic pollution will continue to enter the human food chain as fish that we eat digest the small plastic particulates from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Virtual reality will begin to displace other forms of mainstream media consumption. Anxiety disorders will begin to be discussed openly as they now affect 40% of the population. The amount of global wealth belonging to the top 1% is expected to become greater than the amount of global wealth belonging to the other 99% combined this year. 2016 also commemorates 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare and this special anniversary year will be sure to inspire many Shakespeare related themes throughout the year. See for your self below what the Economist predicts for "The World In 2016".