2024

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Using Generative AI to Drive Corporate Impact

TechEmpower

Generative AI is revolutionizing how corporations operate by enhancing efficiency and innovation across various functions. Focusing on generative AI applications in a select few corporate functions can contribute to a significant portion of the technology's overall impact. Key Functions with High Impact Generative AI is revolutionizing sales by enabling dynamic pricing and personalized customer interactions, boosting conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

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Waymo can now charge for robotaxi rides in LA and on San Francisco freeways

TechCrunch LA

Waymo received approval Friday afternoon from the California Public Utilities Commission to operate a commercial robotaxi service in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Peninsula and on San Francisco freeways. The approval removes the last barrier for the Alphabet company to charge for rides in these expanded areas. Importantly, it opens up new territory for Waymo […] © 2024 TechCrunch.

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Your board should protect you!

Berkonomics

All other board functions are secondary. Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point. They write in their investment documents that they will occupy a seat on the board for as long as they are invested in the company, thinking of this as a protection for their investment and tool for them to influence growth.

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Why the Future of Space Starts in LA

Both Sides of the Table

Credit: Apex Today, Apex announced their Series B funding round, led by XYZ Ventures and CRV, with participation from Upfront. And if you spend much time in LA, you’ll quickly realize that we’re in a groundswell of space and defense startups. Is it because of the rich engineering talent coming out of Caltech, UCLA, USC, Harvey Mudd, and all the other universities?

CalTech 237
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Can You Ask for Office Rent Relief? How to Manage Your Lease During COVID-19

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

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7 Grants For Black-Owned Businesses to Apply For in 2024

Tech.Co

In recent years, Black-owned businesses have grown at the fastest pace in 30 years. However, despite growing optimism, the path to success for Black entrepreneurs is still paved with systematic barriers in 2024. In addition to the regular pressures of running a business in this climate, Black business owners have to contend with discriminatory lending practices from banking institutions and racial prejudices from buyers – with a recent report revealing that 76% of Black business owners cla

Design 225
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Intersolar North America and Energy Storage North America

SoCal Tech Calendar

Friday, January 19, 2024 -- ntersolar North America and Energy Storage North America is the premier US-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. Dedicated to accelerating the energy transition, the event delivers actionable education, invaluable networking, and an immersive exhibit hall experience.

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Mosqitter’s International Growth: A Techstars Trail Blazer | Startup Spotlight

Startup San Diego

Erika Gastelum, host of Startup Spotlight talks with Anastasiia Romanova, Founder and CEO of Mosqitter for this edition of the Startup Spotlight! Learn how this Ukrainian-born startup went from 0 […] The post Mosqitter’s International Growth: A Techstars Trail Blazer | Startup Spotlight appeared first on Startup San Diego.

Startup 91
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Interview with Brad Zions: Investor and Tech Veteran from Los Angeles

StartUp Beat

Los Angeles has long been renowned for the prowess of its entertainment industry, with Hollywood being a larger-than-life symbol known across the world. Yet the growth of its tech sector has also increasingly been receiving attention. We spoke to serial investor Brad Zions from Los Angeles to get a better perspective on tech trends in […] The post Interview with Brad Zions: Investor and Tech Veteran from Los Angeles appeared first on StartUp Beat.

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The 3 Ps that make you a success

Berkonomics

You may have never thought of it like this before, but to make your work or company a success you will need to address the three Ps, performance, planning and profit. Let’s take a minute to demonstrate why. Performance, the first “P” You are part of a team, no matter how small. The success of the team depends upon everyone carrying their own weight.

Metrics 156
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Wow! Are your relationships important!

Berkonomics

Forming business relationships at the highest level As you follow these insights from ignition to liquidity event, you’ll detect a continuing theme, emphasizing the need for deep and wide relationships that the CEO and senior staff can call upon for advice and guidance. This is the time to elevate those insights to the level of highest value for the corporation, one that cannot be listed on a balance sheet nor included in an appraisal of corporate worth.

Class 194
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Company Offering $10K for a 30 Day Phone Detox, Apply Now

Tech.Co

There are just five days left to enter the digital detox competition set up by Icelandic Yogurt company Siggi’s Dairy, which has pledged to give selected contestants $10,000 to spend an entire month “detoxing” without a smartphone or social media. To be considered for the contest, you will have to write a 100-500 word essay to enter on why you’d like to digitally detox and the positive impact it’ll have on your life – but that's all that's needed to apply.

Company 227
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Revolutionary – but too late?     

Berkonomics

Too many startup businesses, especially in the technology world, are built upon brand new concepts that have not yet been proven in the field against products from other companies that already have revenues flowing. As a rule, creating a product that does not fit into an existing space, cannot be defined against one or more competitors, or which needs a long description to understand, will require considerably more marketing capital and entail much more risk than one that follows an existing tre

Class 156
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Can you be liked while being tough?

Berkonomics

People argue over whether an entrepreneur with a sense of fairness, a desire for collegiality, a want to share the profits can succeed in the long run within a business world full of lions and tigers that eat timid entrepreneurs for lunch. Does a “good heart” diminish the chances of success? First, let’s separate the “good heart” from the issue of whether an entrepreneur is driven to succeed.

Metrics 156
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7 Government Small Business Grants to Apply For in May 2024

Tech.Co

Seeking funding is a right of passage for many small business owners. While there are endless private and government-backed loans to choose from, if you’re looking to evade strict repayment terms and steep interest rates, it could be worth considering government business grants. Government business grants are financial awards issued by federal, state, or local authorities.

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Startup intoxication!

Berkonomics

There is nothing quite as thrilling in business as igniting a startup and watching it blossom. Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. Each new customer, each mention in the press or online adds to the feeling of early accomplishment. And it is more satisfying because it is yours, from idea to execution.

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Find your rock in Ensenada!

Berkonomics

Have you found your special place to think strategically without interruption? I found mine on a rock in Ensenada, Mexico years ago… But I am ahead of myself… Every entrepreneur has that moment of truth – the one that marks the decision to take the path to entrepreneurship or the path to job security with a larger employer. And down the road a bit, most of us face another when deciding whether or not to go for growth, requiring new investment and increased risks.

Invest 156
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Should you find a business coach?

Berkonomics

Does this resonate with you? The CEO position can be a lonely place, especially when you find yourself in a position of not being able to bring an issue directly to the board and not wanting to explore solutions with associates within the company. Sign of weakness? This sometimes happens when a person is unwilling to admit a weakness in an area that is critical, such as analysis of financial statements, or when unhappy with the actions of your board or with pay offers by the board’s compensation

Coach 156
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I’ve been sued as a board member.

Berkonomics

I’ve been sued as a board member too many times over the past twenty-five years of board service. Five times. Does that shock you? It does me. What’s the exposure? Here are some examples: Entrepreneurs blaming their board for failures of a fragile, early- stage company. Shareholders unhappy over the same loss, reaching out to sue every name available.

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Are you expecting too much from your board?

Berkonomics

Expect a board member to give a meeting a month, emails and phone calls between. Urgent issues require more of all. Of course this is a tricky question. You might expect the answer to be “as much as necessary” or “more during emergencies” or “usually just at scheduled meetings.” But board members are usually busy people, often running other companies or serving on multiple boards.

Email 156
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How do you pay an early-stage board?

Berkonomics

Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over two to four years of service. Many early-stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Here is my best advice, based upon many boards and many years. Pay early-stage board members of companies that are not lifestyle businesses one percent of the fully diluted equity in the form of an option that vests over two to four years of service.

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Take this test to predict your success:

Berkonomics

Your success must be based upon data that is solid and sometimes flexible enough to pass several critical tests if it is to guide a business enterprise to greatness. Here in brief are ten tests for your successful vision. Try these on for size, and test yourself for attractiveness to the marketplace, to investors and to history. Ten tests for your business success: Is your market identifiable and accessible?

Patents 156
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To directors and advisors: “Noses in; fingers OUT!”

Berkonomics

Many of us have someone who reports directly to us and who supervises others in return. Well, this one is for you. And it is one of the most important lessons you can learn as a manager, board member, or advisor of a company or even a non-profit enterprise. Where did this statement come from? I first heard this in a governance seminar for a non-profit higher educational board upon which I sit, over 25 years ago.

Metrics 156
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Are your board members as valuable as you?

Berkonomics

Perhaps this is the natural conclusion from the several insights previously explored. While the CEO and management offer the vision, strategies, and tactics as well as the proposed budget, it is the board that controls with its votes the execution of strategy, the expenditure of cash, the taking on of debt or new equity, the very direction of the company as well as its ultimate health.

Equity 156
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Should board members be elected “for life?”

Berkonomics

No board member should be grandfathered, guaranteed a board seat forever. Practically speaking, this is an impossible goal. We have investigated the restrictions imposed by investment documents and the obvious need to keep continuity on the board with the retention of the CEO position at the very least. But it would be the best of form to require in the bylaws of a corporation that all seats are re-elected annually.

Email 156
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Fight for balance on your board!

Berkonomics

Picking up where we left off… In my last insight, I described the CEO who stacked the board with two friends, making a majority for control purposes and relegating the investor representatives to insignificance. There were no outside board members with industry experience, no members the CEO trusted with governance backgrounds, no scientists to evaluate the technology that is the core asset of the corporation.

Class 156
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Hire a consultant; ignore the advice!

Berkonomics

The ideal use of consultants… At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management. Consultants are good in that you can sample their work with short projects, change to other consultants quickly, and stop using them when a project is completed. A personal story of ignorance of good advice.

Sample 156
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How to cheat legally on your tax return.

Berkonomics

When do you cross the line between honesty and dishonesty in tax planning? Is it ethical to allocate income between periods to take advantage of tax breaks? Can expenses be put off until the next period to increase income, or accelerated into this period by prepayment to decrease net income? Where do you draw the line, assuming no intent to defraud?

.Net 156
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Do you really need an accountant?

Berkonomics

First, let’s be sure we define our terms. Accountants are trained, certified and usually quite experienced in financial analysis, both creating and reviewing data. Bookkeepers are often trained on the job although sometimes more formally and handle the physical work of accounting for the transactions. To expect a bookkeeper to provide analytical planning is to ask for something they often cannot provide, except in a cursory way.

Metrics 156
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11 Small Business Grants and Loans to Apply For in 2024

Tech.Co

There's no denying that 2024 is a challenging year to run a business. As inflation rates spiral and consumer demand takes a hit, business owners are forced to be more mindful of their bottom lines than ever. But whether you're grappling with debt, or looking to expand, accessing third-party financing may be easier than you think. While free money may sound too good to be true, there are hundreds of grants available to small businesses in 2024 designed to make financing more accessible to busines

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What if you see juicy competitor information?

Berkonomics

Has this happened to you? Many of us belong to industry associations and find ourselves at conferences and trade shows with time to spend with competitors. Some of these are old friends, some even former associates. It is natural to want to associate with these people for many reasons, certainly socially. Most CEOs want to obtain information about their competitors in the most subtle and non-obvious ways.

Examples 156
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What are the costs of taking investor money?

Berkonomics

Let’s talk about the reality of taking money from professional investors. It is not the first time we’ve covered this general subject nor the last. But this time, we concentrate upon governance changes. After friends and family… Once a company founder has tapped the funds available from his or her resources and from friends and family, if the company needs more cash for growth, the most obvious next step is to look for money from angel investors and venture capitalists, typically in the $300,00

Sales 156
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Do you need an advisory board?

Berkonomics

Have you ever thought of creating an advisory board? As you can guess, that would be an informal group with no legal responsibilities, but one able to be called upon to act as business, industry and scientific advisors to the company or CEO. Why? Usually, you would want to create an advisory board to fill in the critical areas of need not evidenced in the board of directors or within the company itself.

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Do you even need a business coach?

Berkonomics

Everyone, even seasoned CEO’s can use a good coach who knows how to bring out the best in a person, is knowledgeable about the business process, and who has an extended list of relationships to call upon to fill needs that become obvious in the coaching process. Business coaches come in all sizes and shapes. Entrepreneurs will have a relative willing to devote time, a school friend with business experience, professionals who charge for the service, investors with a reason to prom

Coach 156
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Should you be optimistic about your corporate growth?

Berkonomics

Planning for future space needs after COVID. One of the most obvious observations I make with growing company CEO’s is that planning for a new office is done with an optimistic view of the future, incorporating planned space that compromises only slightly the measured needs for the next three or more years as outlined in the financial forecast. Yes, we can mitigate that with starting with a reduced size given the current remote and hybrid work environment.

Coach 156
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If you must lease an office, make it a short one!

Berkonomics

Avoid long-term commitments! It is statistically true that at least half of the young companies funded by angel or venture investors will not survive three years from funding to demise, and more than that percentage will die with two years if not well financed. The greatest burden of either a growing company or one needing to retract and reduce expenses is the office lease – especially in these years after COVID and remote work.

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What’s your answer? Are remote workers productive?

Berkonomics

We’ve been measuring & disagreeing since COVID. Do home-based employees work with the same dedication and productivity as those in office cubicles next to each other? That depends upon the management as much as the employee. I have a friend who was a CEO of a recruiting firm who “virtualized” her company after a decade of maintaining a fixed office location.

Product 156