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Five Ways to Kill Your Digital Brand

Lyne Noella

by Lyne Noella, CEO, WavePlay

Are you trying and failing in your use of social media to get your brand noticed and gain traction in the eyes of the business community potential investors? Succeeding or failing to leverage your digital brand depends on your approach. The good news is that you have an opportunity to correct what’s not working, starting today. Here are five ways to kill your digital brand–correct any one of these pitfalls and you will begin to see results. Correct all five pitfalls and enjoy the traction that comes from being a digital branding artist. Read More...

Section 409A Valuation Considerations

Overview of Internal Revenue Code Section 409A

Section 409A regulates the treatment of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) paid by a “service recipient” to a “service provider” for federal income tax purposes. Sec. 409A has a measurable impact on the way NQDC plans are designed and operated. Failure to adhere to Sec. 409A could result in immediate taxation, a 20% penalty and potential interest payments to the employee. The context in which most commonly encounter Sec. 409A regulations is related to the issuance of employee stock options and other equity instruments.

When issuing stock options, companies must be aware of the following requirements of 409A: Read More...

Top 10 Best Action & Arcade Games on iPhone & iPad

Here are our top 10 favorite action arcade games on smart phones and tablets, including iPhone and iPad. All of these games are real time killers! You’ll get endless hours of enjoyment, and the good thing is that a few of them are free.

1. Beetle Bounce

2. Zombieville Read More...

Top 10 Best Android Apps for Phones & Tablets

Here are our top 10 favorite apps for both Android phones and tablets. These are apps we use all the time. Most of these apps are free, and they’re all wonderful. We’re constantly amazed at the creativity out there.

1. Evernote (organize your life)

2. BBC News (keep informed) Read More...

Will Your Startup Succeed? The Odds Aren’t in Your Favor

Just because you have a great idea, doesn’t mean you’ll succeed. In fact, only 18% of startups actually succeed, and only a handful are YouTube or Facebook. Even on your second time around, success is only 2% higher. The reality is that it isn’t easy to get it right. And there’s a lot left up to chance.

But don’t feel bad, even veteran entrepreneurs who’ve had a successful IPO, only have a 30% chance of success their next time around. So go for it! Remember, nothing happens unless you make it happen.

Chris Gottschalk of Blumberg Capital

Chris Gottschalk has over 8 years of experience as an investor, entrepreneur, operational executive and investment banker within the technology space. Prior to Blumberg, Chris worked at Menlo Ventures where he pursued investment opportunities in mobile, internet, gaming, software, and e-commerce.

Before joining Menlo Ventures, Chris served as the Director of Corporate Development & Analytics at PlayPhone. In this role he was responsible for M&A sourcing and execution, strategic partnerships, and improving operational metrics. Chris also worked as an investment banking analyst in the TMT group at Cowen and Company where he completed a number of M&A and equity transactions in the digital media and communications equipment sectors. Read More...

What’s the Perfect Salary to Make you Happy?

A recent study says that as you earn more money, your day-to-day happiness increases. On average, the perfect salary for happiness is $75,000.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Happiness Index, the top 5 jobs in which professionals are happy is:

Aerospace Engineer at $65,000
Software Quality Assurance Engineer at $86,000
Security Manager at $87,000
Software Development Manager at $93,000
Program Manager at $94,000

Take your pick!

Marketing Your App: Banner Ads vs. Bots & Human Water Armies

It’s tough to spend 6 months or longer working on an app and have it get buried in the App Store.

As a result, many app developers and startups restort hiring shady companies to boost their app’s ranking by using bots (overseas computers) and human water armies (cheap labor) to download their apps. Both of the methods distort the App Store rankings, making it even harder for legitimate developers to get their apps into the top 50.

The real question we need to ask ourselves is: why is it more acceptable to spend huge sums to buy downloads via ads than using a bot farm or human water armies? Read More...

3 Key Steps to Launching Your Brand

by Julie Legrand, Off The Ground www.offtheground.biz

Branding is a very complex challenge. People often mistake a brand for a logo, but it’s much more than that. Often startups think branding is just an annoying thing on their “to do” list so that they just ignore it and push it off until they’re big enough for a full-time marketing team. Big mistake. Yes, branding does cost money, and to do it right, it’s a rather involved process. But it costs a lot more to rebrand later on in the game.

Here are minimum 3 steps a start-up needs to take to launch their brand: Read More...

Why I Attended WordCamp

Suzen Pettit

by Suzen Pettit at Omaginarium

One of the best and the most challenging parts of what I do is the constant upgrading and self-educating of my…professional self. In the field of online marketing, SEO and internet advancements, this world is spinning so fast it is hard-(really hard! )to stay ahead of the curve. Forget ahead, actually. I figure if I stay somewhat abreast of the most important elements — the things that are going to impact my clients, my own business and the future of our industry, I am doing my job. And it’s continuous! And it’s all good! Read More...