Amanda Mollindo

Entrepreneurship Beyond Borders: CEI Hosts Pitch Practice for YTILI Fellows

CEI strives to support Arizona startups so that they can create future jobs and strengthen our local economy. But you’d be surprised to learn how many international entrepreneurs have made the decision to call the Phoenix Valley home! With founders from France, Germany, India and more, CEI is proud to serve as a melting pot for innovative ideas that come from all over the globe.

We’ve discovered that entrepreneurs need access to people with different perspectives to solve today’s toughest problems. That’s why we jumped at the opportunity to host YTILI Fellows for two weeks!

Tom Schumann

3 Tips to Get the Most from Your Advisory Board

The creation and management of an advisory board that provides a well-rounded sounding board for startups to rise to the top.

We're not talking about the formal Board of Directors who are responsible for the governance of the company and is typically composed of the founders and investors in the company. As the name implies, an advisory board is created to advise the founders in subject matter areas where they may be lacking knowledge and skills. In the article linked to this message we talked with Jean Ekobo, CEO of BioNovelus, an eco-friendly agriculture fungicide. We explore how he uses his board of advisors to guide his strategic vision, to fill critical knowledge gaps, and to leverage a network of connections.

Patti DuBois

Don't Bore Your Audience — Pitch Like Steve Jobs

We’ve all heard for a long time that there is no better presenter than Steve Jobs. He was entertaining, inspiring, and informative. He never failed to grab our attention. Now, put yourself in this picture….you are an investor listening to pitches on a regular basis. The majority of the pitches are a monolog of facts, detailed translations about a technology, a seemingly unrealistic chart about revenue, and at some point, wouldn’t it feel all a bit boring, even if the product was great?

Greg Bullock

Challenges Facing CleanTech Startups (And Resources to Overcome Them)

A dynamic subset of entrepreneurship focuses on the “CleanTech” industry, which is a broad term encompassing energy, water, manufacturing and other alternative solutions designed to improve efficiencies, consumption, and more. Regardless of the variety of innovations being created in this sector, CleanTech entrepreneurs face unique challenges beyond the traditional startup development lifecycle.

Greg Bullock

Here's How to Better Engage With Your Business Incubator or Accelerator Right Now

So your startup has decided joined a business incubator or accelerator. You were sold on the benefits and resources it could provide, and you are excited about taking your company or idea to the next level. Now what? How do you maximize your time in the program to ensure a positive experience? Believe it or not, a lot of entrepreneurs do not know how to best engage with their incubator or accelerator; with that in mind, we present our list of ways to operate inside these valuable entrepreneurial support organizations.

Greg Bullock

6 Things Every Successful Biotech or Medical Device Startup Needs

Not surprisingly, traditional software-as-a-service (SaaS) or app development companies are dramatically different when compared to a biotech or medical device startup. From goals to challenges to funding, the development and commercialization of bio and medical technologies requires a unique support structure in order to be successful, and these are the six ingredients that repeat across top-notch bio companies.

Greg Bullock

8 Questions to Ask Before Selecting a Business Incubator

Startups should select a business incubator or accelerator with the same diligence that they would choose a co-founder, especially given the fact that they will have to live with them (literally!) for a significant period of time.

Greg Bullock

5 Steps to Create a Winning Team for your Startup

One of the biggest competencies for an entrepreneur to have is the ability to surround himself or herself with the right mix of people and skills to take a startup from garage to growth. In fact, there are some interesting facts related to the founding team of a company:

62% of all startups fail due to co-founder conflict (source: fundersandfounders.com)
The majority (40%) of all new business startups in 2012 had two founding members (source: Mashable)
Most “unicorn” companies ($1 billion or more valuation) had experienced co-founders in their thirties with a prior history together (source: TechCrunch)

What these statistics show is the importance of building a solid team for your startup. But how do you get started? Here are 5 easy steps to begin assembling a winning team.

Greg Bullock

8 Amazing Facts about Business Incubators

Here are EIGHT amazing facts about business incubators and accelerators and the startups companies they support. And if you don't know, now you know...

Greg Bullock

The Startup Lifecycle: 4 Stages to Success

No two companies share the exact same path to growth and success. The plain fact is that various factors influence how a business develops; these can include existing market conditions, industry type, founding team (or lack thereof), so on and so forth. However, there are general stages of development that a majority of startup companies experience:

Market Validation
Product Development
Commercialization
Scale and Growth

In this blog, we will offer some unique insights from leading experts in each of these areas.

Want expert advice on all things business, innovation, and workforce development?