Mobile payments leader must provide value to consumers and banks

Great fintech blog by Eric Dunstan.

Eric Dunstan

I remember being swept up in the early Foursquare craze. I raced around my little town checking in at my local Starbucks and favorite lunch spots to become The Mayor. I worked hard to keep it by doing drive by check ins as I was stuck at traffic lights. I know, I’m hyper competitive on certain things. Friends and I would compete on who could win the most badges too! I quickly earned the “jet setter” badge with frequent flights from SJC to SNA. Other friends won the “crunked” badge with late night shenanigans. Ahh to be a DINK again. All for what? For pure competition and Facebook feed bragging rights!

At a deeper level, I hoped that eventually I’d receive relevant geographically based alerts and rewards on my phone as I walked by a restaurant or store. Unfortunately, many of these rewards required an AMEX card subscription (creating a HUGE hurdle) or…

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Why Most VCs Won’t Intro You To Other VCs (Unless You Follow These Steps)

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Founders: follow Hunter’s tips here. Trust me, it’ll be worth the quick read. // NLF

Hunter Walk

The question I get asked most often is “would Homebrew like to invest in my startup” (and we do our fair share of chasing too -> “please let us invest in your startup!”). The question I get asked second most often is “if not Homebrew, will you introduce me to some VCs who would like to invest in my startup.” There’s a reason why I won’t – because it means putting my reputation on the line for a founder I don’t really know. And in this business, reputation is very important. That said, Satya and I have made introductions on deals we looked deeply at but passed — in at least two cases these intros resulted in funding. And in many other cases we’ve pinged investors who I thought might be interested even though I didn’t look closely at the deal (usually because it was outside of our themes). What set these entrepreneurs…

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Welcome to the Funding Startups Blog!

Introduction to Funding Startups Blog

It seems you’ve found us — Welcome!  This blog isn’t for everybody, though. If you’re a startup founder or co-founder, CEO, investor, venture capitalists, or simply interested in the topic of entrepreneurship — then this is for you. Your input is highly respected and your engagement encouraged. Don’t worry.. you’ll be rewarded.

Purpose: to get Startups Funded Faster — together.

Your success as an entrepreneur depends on many different factors, such as drive, passion, network, critical thinking, strategy, resourcefulness, and plain ol’ grit. Intelligence, as it turns out, is substantially less important. Taking risks may or may not come naturally to you. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to begin working at it. After all, you’re creating something new.. something disruptive — aren’t you? You see the glaring opportunity for improvement in the world, and you’re not about to let it slip through your fingers.. again. In fact, you can greatly protect against that happening by starting now, or continuing to diligently surround yourself with others who align with your values and make deals.

How do I apply this to MY startup?

If nothing else, we hope you’ll take in the advice you’ll find here from other successful entrepreneurs and build.. connect.. and push your way to success. The world needs you, the entrepreneur, now more than ever. Innovation will not stand still. It’s up to you whether or not you will be part of it and make your mark. Use these examples to recognize your gaps and carefully attract the right people — and fit them snugly — into the cracks of your venture.. like insulation.

Don’t try to go at this alone. Collaboration is virtually the only way to succeed. Remember.. you’d much rather have a smaller piece of a bigger pie..

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