The CatBoard – for Real cat lovers!

Community News:

Any time you put a now-obvious unmet need, a new startup and a cat on a keyboard together, you can pretty much bet I will run with it: Corey Maass (Gelform) has a great teaser up for Cue, the app you need If you run meetups, have gigs, or just organize happy hour every Friday. Corey proved three things with Cue – there’s plenty of unmet needs out there, video teasers do not have to be boring, and yes, you can still get a six-letter .com domain.

From the Actually Getting Work Done Dept.: Will Rayer has a new Ubercode Trial Pack is out – this version has an integrated installer. That means when your program is complete, you can create a fully working Windows installer in one click. Ubercode is ideal for VB programmers and developers who want a refreshing change from complex development environments.

Ever notice those little diamond shaped placards on the side of an 18-wheeler and wonder just want they mean? Ever think about how far and how fast you should run if you see liquid spilling out of the rail car parked down on the tracks behind your house? Well, now you can know: There’s an App, err, and Android App for that, it’s called DOT Placards and Anne Gunn of the Sheridan Programmers Guild wrote it.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• If I’m working at a company, do they have intellectual property rights to the stuff I do in my spare time
• Startup discounts
• IRS taxes with 0 revenue in first year

Interesting Quora.com questions with useful answers:

• How can one crowdfund a startup?
• What are the best project management/bug tracking tools for a lean startup practicing continuous deployment?
• How do you build a community of users that give high quality comments on a website?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• If you’re still in the “I don’t need source code versioning” camp, maybe you should read this post: “Code Fearlessly”.
• And if you are also one of those “Real Startups don’t need A/B testing” types, have a gander at “How Split-Testing Our Opt-In Form Increased Our Conversion Rate by 102.2%“
• And if you think that having a free version of your product doesn’t carry a cost and a risk, because you won’t be charging for it, then you’d should consider the carefully chosen words of the WooThemes team: “The Cost of Free“.

New at the Startup Success Podcast:

• Show #96 [link] [iTunes]. In this show Bob and Pat talk with best networked Irishman in Silicon Valley, David Smith, Senor Vice President of Enterprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland is not just an Irish version of the typical “pretty please do business in our country” national commerce program – they are a $500 million VC fund directly investing in over 70 startups, 15 startups incubators throughout Ireland, and are actively woo U.S.-based startups to locate their European offices in Ireland. Give a listen to what happens when robust government support of technology startups is a reality, not a campaign slogan.
• Show #97 [link] [iTunes]. In this show Bob and Pat interview Allen Stern, founder of CloudContacts. CloudContacts is another way you can take the hassle and inefficiency out of converting business cards into data. We talk with Allen on the advantages of building a startup to address a problem you experience, why in the age of the social network business cards are not going away any time soon, and more.
• Show #98 [link] [iTunes]. In this show Bob and Pat interview Sarah Prevette, founder and CEO of Sprouter. Sprouter is an online community for entrepreneurs where you can get advice from more experienced startup founders one-to-one on securing angel and VC funding, pricing, positioning and all the other questions you face. We talk about the growing global startup community, why successful startups want to pay it forward to the next batch of startups, how Sprouter got its seed money and why and plenty more. Don’t miss this show, and join Spouter!

Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading Startup/MicroISV Digest for 2/14/2011 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Running Lean

Community News:

One of the absolute best startup bloggers out there is Ash Maurya. If you have not been reading his posts these past few years, you’ve missed some extremely good content on how to define, build and grow a Lean Startup. Ash finished today his book, drawn from the workshops he’s been doing, Running Lean. I’ve been reading an advance copy and all I can say, this is an ebook that should be on every single startup founders’ device of choice. It is that good. We will be reinteviewing Ash soon on the Startup Success Podcast, but in the meantime, listen to that show and buy his book.

Jeff Lewis, ConsultUtah.com, just released his first serious iPhone app, Unbroken Chain. Unbroken Chain is an app that helps you keep track of your goals and motivate you to do something about them every day. Read more at Motivated Ideas.

John Nye, NimbleWorks, has launched TrackTime – a Mac time tracker app designed to help you find the billable time you forgot to log. Finally a time tracker that acknowledges we are not automations! Also worth mentioning, all of TrackTimes profits for February and March will be going towards the Developers Against Poverty campaign at http://www.developersagainstpoverty.org/. (Disclosure: John did a microconsult with me last year.)

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• How to reply to a prospective client’s first inquiry in email?
• Approach to online marketing?
• Solutions for sending large amount of opted-in mails?

Interesting Quora.com questions with useful answers:

• What questions do entrepreneurs want to ask venture investors most, but are too afraid to ask?
• Why has Robert Scoble started adding pictures to every one one of his answers?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• Something to think about: Steve Jobs, No One Needs Permission to Be Awesome (by way of Merlin Mann).

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):

• No new guides this period.

New at the Startup Success Podcast:

• Show #95 [link] [iTunes].In this show Bob and Pat interview Sid Viswanathan, cofounder of CardMunch, a business card scanning startup presently available on the Apple iPhone. Sid explains how this crowdsource-powered startup structures its work to ensure accuracy, protect privacy and makes Internet-based piecework successful. Sid covers how deferring profitability while A/B testing different pricing models has given CardMunch the time and opportunity to discover the best price points for its service. Sid also explains the approach to selling a mobile App that merits 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading Startup/MicroISV Digest for 1/21/2011 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

In the last few years something important has changed. From there being scant support for first-time/bootstrapping startups we’re seeing incubator after startup fund come online. Case in point, The FinTech Innovation Lab is an annual program in New York City supports start-ups developing technology for the financial services industry.

Selected participants get workspace in New York City, $25k in funding and access to and the opportunity to develop relationships with chief decision-makers in the financial services industry. At the conclusion of the program, a demo day gives participants an opportunity to pitch for further funding. This is one sweet deal – both for developers, and for financial service companies. If this sounds like you, deadline is January 31st, so stop reading this post and get hustle on over to http://www.fintechinnovationlab.com/summary.html.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Can a Legal Immigrant file for a LLC or Corporation?
• Is Outsourcing Evil?

Interesting Quora.com questions with useful answers:

• How does a startup create a board after securing funding?
• I have an idea for an internet startup business. Should I: 1. Hire a programmer to code it for me. 2. Partner with a programmer (if so should it be 50/50?). 3. Learn PHP?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• I’ve been following Steve Rubel since his Micro Persuasion days and he continues to rock. Case in point, “The Next Media Disruptors Are Mobile Pure-Plays“. Steve makes the whole mobile disruption thing easy-peasy: “With Internet consumption on mobile devices set to surpass the same on PCs next year, according to Morgan Stanley, and US smart phone penetration to hit 50%, Nielsen says, mobile is no longer the tail on the media dog. For the next wave of media upstarts, it’s the dog and the rest is the tail.” Also, kudos for adding a much needed phrase to our vocabulary as we try to describe content that leaps and jumps from medium to medium: transmedia arc.
• While I will walk through the Trough of Sorrow I will fear no evil department: Martin Kleppmann, co-founder of Rapportive candidly talks about the tribulations of supporting a product while trying to do 19 other things that need to be done yesterday if the startup is to succeed. Good reading.
• If you’re not reading Seth Godin everyday, you should. His insights into your world are golden. Case in point from his Lost in a Digital World post that earned over a thousand retweets: “Constant inputs and unlimited potential distractions allow us to avoid the lizard, they give the resistance a perfect tool. Everywhere to run, everywhere to hide. The advantage of being cornered with nowhere to turn is that it leaves you face to face with the lizard brain, unable to stall or avoid the real work.”

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):

• No new guides this period.

New at the Startup Success Podcast:

• Show #94 [link] [iTunes]. In this show Bob and Pat interview Jerome Breche, cofounder of SnapEngage, an instant IM system for creating conversations between you and visitors presently on your site. Jerome explains the unmet need behind SnapEngage, why SnapEngage is highly integrated with other online services, and more.

Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading Startup/MicroISV Digest for 1/15/2011 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Way to go Pat!

Community News:

A quick shout out of support for my podcasting co-host, Patrick Foley, Microsoft Evangelist: His article, Use Multiple Visual Studio Project Types for Cloud Success, is in this month’s MSDN Magazine. Way to go, Pat! Also check out this post by Pat with expands and updates the article.

Not much being announced by MicroISVs and bootstrapping startups yet – how about changing that? Let me know at bob.walsh@47hats.com about the latest news your software company has made.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Startup service design – launch early with mediocre design or later with “perfect” design?
• What’s the most efficient and cost-effective way to become PCI compliant?
• Get beta testers

Interesting Quora.com questions with useful answers:

• What are your top tips for using Quora? 10 from me to start
• What is the process involved in launching a startup at SXSW?
• How can I work my normal job and find time to be an entrepreneur?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• A return to Feed Reading tops my 2011 tech predictions, by one of my favorite bloggers, Steve Rubel, has got me thinking its time to revisit RSS.
• Edelman, the company Steve Rubel works at, has been leading the digital curve for at least the past 5 years, making 11 Digital Trends to Watch in 2011 definitely worth watching.
• Just took another look at Legal River – it’s “Recently Answered” Questions makes for very useful reading if you’d like to get the real legal scoop on questions like handling trademark infringement.

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • No new guides this period.
• New at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #93 [link] [iTunes]. It’s that time again when Bob and Pat review their predictions for the year past (Show 50), peer into The Future, make a few somewhat embarrassing resolutions for the New Year, and brainstorm ways we can make this podcast more valuable to our great listeners.
• Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

—-
photo credit: Star Walk for the iPhone and iPad

You’re reading Startup/MicroISV Digest for 1/5/2011 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• Atul Godbole, at LogicNP Software, wanted to let you know they’ve recently released Crypto Logger For .Net. Crypto Logger, a flexible and high-performance .Net logging framework.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Where can I find a CoFounder?
• Advisable amount of equity to part with during seed funding?
• When is the good time to quit the dayjob and start full time on startup?

Interesting Quora.com questions with useful answers:

• What are the best ways to prioritize a product and feature list?
• What is the best way to allocate equity to part time engineers in a pre-funded start-up?
• What are some tips for getting your startup featured on TechCrunch, Mashable, and other tech blogs?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• Alex Taussig over at his Infinite to Venture blog has the first two parts up of 15 mistakes young entrepreneurs make, but don’t have to. [Part I] and [Part II]. Looking forward to part 3.
• I really liked Jason Shen’s 21 Lessons Learned in 21 Weeks at a Startup post: I hope he keeps sharing his insights.
• Definitely Not a Lump of Coal Department: run, don’t walk over the beta of Lazyscope, an awesome Adobe AIR Twitter client in beta before Ethan Gahng starts selling it or gets bought: this is the perfect marriage between sifting your Twitter stream for reTweetable gems and managing RSS feeds so you can be the first in your online community to spot something worth tweeting about.

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • No new guides this period.
• New at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #91 [link] [iTunes]. In this show, Bob and Pat interview serial startup founder Jason Cohen. Jason shares with us and you exactly how he did the market research for his latest startup (and our new WordPress awesome hosting service) WPEngine.com, how to price, the challenges of growing a successful startup, the realities of what people want, how to compete with free, and more.
  • Show #92 [link] [iTunes]. In this show, Bob and Pat interview Poornima Vijayashanker about her startup BizeeBee, what it’s like going from Mint.com’s third employee to launching her own startup, how did she find and define BizeeBee’s focus and more.
    Poornima shares with us and you how she made the transition from startup key employee to startup founder, the challenges and opportunities of creating a software company targeting a growing part of the small business world built on customer engagement, setting priorities and how to bridge the gap between deep domain knowledge and business/marketing realities.
• Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:
  

  “The Microconsult with Bob was excellent. Our particular problem was lack of sales. Bob analysed our website in detail and made specific suggestions for improvements, which would make it more likely for customers to buy our service. He is very patient and offers great value for money. The phone call in the Microconsult offer is for one hour, but our session lasted more than 2 hours! Bob is a true mentor. We are very excited and optimistic about making the relevant changes to our website.” — (Name withheld)

  Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

—-
photo credit: aNantaB

You’re reading Startup/MicroISV Digest for 12/29/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• Erin Lang at the Belgrave Trust has a suggestion for strategizing in 2011: get a whiteboard. In fact, get a carbon neutral whiteboard. Belgrave is a two-year-old startup that sells carbon offsets as a subscription service to allow individuals to live carbon neutral.  They’ve recently added four products to their service that come bundled with a carbon offset component – trying to make it a little more tangible to the consumer.
• Need to lawyer up your startup? Hays Ellisen of New York-based law firm, Shahmoon & Ellisen LLP wants you to know about the Tech Law Project – a pro bono legal service for startups. The Tech Law Project provides free legal advice to new technology companies that are in the early stages of development.
• Tokyo-based Ryo Shimizu of Ubiquitous Entertainment wrote in to let people know that Toshiaki Yoshida has recently launched a new site, chirpstory.com. Chirpstory’s motto is “Sharing the world’s stories, one Tweet at a time.”

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Why do developers/techies avoid salespeople?
• How do you get developers/engineers to engage salespeople?
• How do you keep yourself and employees from goofing off?
• How to organize a multi-national startup, with distributed work between its members, located in different parts of the world?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• Button, button, who’s got the button? Turns out Performable has a very nice button generator at Super Conversion Button. They also have a short “Tips to SuperCharge your Call-to-Action Buttons” pdf as a free download.
• Alwin Hoogerdijk, founder of Collectorz.com, did an interesting post where he shares some recent market share news and his sales numbers for the Collectorz.com apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. “The average Android owner is an animal that is completely different from the typical iPhone owner, and not nearly as app-hungry,” Alwin says. Good post!
• Guy Kawasaki has an answer to the question, Facebook fan page or website page? over at his Amex OPEN column: the answer might surprise you and the “reveal tab trick” he highlights is a good one to know.
• Want a chunk of a million dollars for something you’re probably going to connect your app to anyway? MailChimp has announced a $1 million fund to help foster startup adoption of its double opt-in emailing services. I’ve talked to two startup founders in the last week who have applied, been interviewed and are now waiting to see if they’re API integration projects will get funded. I really like MailChimp in general; then giving back to the startup community only enhances their reputation.
• Tristan Kromer has launched a Startup wiki at http://SVstartup.com. Tristan had planned to focus this wiki to be a tool focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area, but given the response to the idea, this might go national.

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • No new guides this period.
• New at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #88 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat talk again with Jeff Haynie, founder of Appcelerator, an open-source web technology for building native code desktop, mobile and web applications. We interviewed Jeff back in Show #33 about a year ago: How has the past year been for Appcelerator? Well, there are about 6,000 apps in the Apple iPhone/iPad Store that were written using Appcelerator, and they just nailed down $9 million in Series B funding. If you have been flirting with the idea of doing a mobile app, you definitely want to check out Appcelerator.
  • Show #89 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat talk with David Cancel, CEO of Performable, a web analytics firm. Web analytics has become a very sophisticated business, with Performable, for example, being able to show you data, revenue, and conversion rates between different social media referrers, track customer lifetime visits, conversions and revenue, let you “reverse engineer” which pages of your site converted a visitor to a customer and even make specific recommendations on how to improve the process. David explains how a large company, or a startup, can effectively use web analytics, avoid the creepiness factor, and produce actionable information form their web data.
  • Show #90 [link] [iTunes]. In this show, Pat solos while interviewing Mark Stephens of IDR Solutions – founder of a six-person U.K. micro software company specializing in Java-based PDF tools licensed to the likes of Adobe. Pat and Mark came back from speaking at and attending this year’s Business of Software Conference changed men – and in this insightful conversation they share not only what made this conference transformative, but key insights about the realities of how small software firms can and should succeed.
• Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:
  

  “The Microconsult with Bob was excellent. Our particular problem was lack of sales. Bob analysed our website in detail and made specific suggestions for improvements, which would make it more likely for customers to buy our service. He is very patient and offers great value for money. The phone call in the Microconsult offer is for one hour, but our session lasted more than 2 hours! Bob is a true mentor. We are very excited and optimistic about making the relevant changes to our website.” — (Name withheld)

  Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading Startup/MicroISV Digest for 12/14/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• Charles O’Dale, Senomix Software Inc., has released a networked time tracking application for BlackBerry which ties directly in to a company’s (or sole freelancer’s) Windows or Mac OS X server computer. Senomix Timesheets links directly over the Internet to the server program and, once time tracking information is saved from a BlackBerry, it is then available to assist in billing and project management from any desktop computer without any need for cables, e-mail or other manual synchronization.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Strategies to get more users to sign up to try our services
• 5 tests my next business idea will have to pass – Can you add more ?
• Where can one post a business plan for review?
• Tips for hiring a freelancer programmer?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• For entrepreneurs, Quora has become the new Hacker News: the go-to-place to glean great, rich information related to startups – culture, technology, product, design, history, financing, etc. It’s all there and much of it is outstanding. Ryan Spoon has pulled together 14 Quora threads of special interest to startups.
• I’ve started using Goo.gl URL shortener whenever I can, here’s why: Is Goo.gl really the fastest URL shortener?.
• Here’s some research by MailChimp about which emails get treated by people as spam, there’s a couple of interesting little traps you want to know about: Research: Spammy Email Design Mistakes
• Something to keep in mind: The $105 Fix That Could Protect You From Copyright-Troll Lawsuits

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • No new guides this period.
• New at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • No show this week – we had planned to make next week the no show week, what with me in Seattle Monday to do the keynote for Deploy2010, but it turned out to make more sense to make this week the no show week. We do plan to have a great show for you out Monday.
  • One other bit of news: I’m newswriting again, this time at SiliconANGLE.com. Got news? Send it my way.
• Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:
  

  “The Microconsult with Bob was excellent. Our particular problem was lack of sales. Bob analysed our website in detail and made specific suggestions for improvements, which would make it more likely for customers to buy our service. He is very patient and offers great value for money. The phone call in the Microconsult offer is for one hour, but our session lasted more than 2 hours! Bob is a true mentor. We are very excited and optimistic about making the relevant changes to our website.” — (Name withheld)

  Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 11/3/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• Steven Cholerton, Arten Science, just keeps cranking away: not only has he a major new release of ContaxCRM 2.0, his cross platform CRM app, but he’s scored a big win by getting it and another of his products into Amazon. How did he pull this off? “I was approached by an agent in Feb. who has secured a UK/European distribution deal for a boxed version of some of my products and then he secured a US deal. Hopefully the Apple stores will take the boxed product as well,” Steve emailed.
• Are you a doing a .NET microISV? Nicolas Cadilhac’s Shopmvc may make a lot of your business admin pains stop hurting so much. It’s still in alpha, but Nic is looking for a few alpha testers who will help him debug and shape the product. Email Nic your story, needs and why ShopMvc could fit the bill for you, and you could win a lifetime free license.
• Bryan Lee, Pandali, has released a new version of Pandali Folder Master for Outlook, which makes it very easy to file an email in multiple folders, manage multiple folders and more. Pandali Folder Master for Outlook costs $29 with a 30-day free trial and is available for download from http://pandali.com/pfm.html.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Does my employer really own my new idea?
• How to keep up with comments left on different forums/sites?
• “One Man Startup” – Should a add people before going out looking for funding?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• Here’s an utterly awesome video – not just because of the content, but because of the form. And by the way, RSA like TED, have their lectures online and mobile.
  
• Want to know if the Business of Software is really as awesome as so many people have said? Check out the definitive post by Patrick McKenzie: Lessons Learned At Business of Software 2010. (I’m going next year if I have to walk.)
• I really agree: what we need is a martial art for and about online life. Here’s a start: Xinfu: The Martial Art of emailing. From Breakfast 2.0.
• And finally, who’s this handsome devil and how did he get into such a great interface? (I’m green with envy Andy!)

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • No new guides this period.
• New at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #87 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat talk with Lisa Gansky, serial startup founder and author of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business is Sharing. There’s a trend, perhaps even a movement, decoupling access to services and products from ownership, and we talk with Lisa about the startup opportunities that the Mesh economic model makes possible. Software is now firmly established as a service – what happens when physical objects plus cloud infrastructure equals a better experience at a lower cost than actually owning everything we sometimes need?
• Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Here’s what one recent client had to say:
  

  “I was flabbergasted at how far my product strategy progressed during a single consulting session. Bob gained a thorough understanding of my market and its potential within a few minutes and was then was able to define and refine the core steps I need to follow. They should put me well on my way to achieving my business goals.” — Gareth Hayter, Slyce.com

  Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 10/27/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• Paul Morey, founder of MiddleClick has just started releasing demos on the Tutorials Page of his Windows app launcher program – one per fortnight for two more months. Paul thereby demonstrates 3 things: How nice snappy videos can sell a good product, how to keep prospective customers coming back to your site and there are still good .com domains can be had.
• Nico Westerdale has launched a new startup (Bits du Jour is going just fine), called TipFrom.me, a micro-affiliate service that converts your current customers into an active sales force. Cool idea. I think any time you can give a satisfied customer a reason to talk about your product, to add their reputation to your’s, that’s a good thing.
• Wayne Allen over at devzing.com, a Subversion/Bugzilla/MantisBT hosting service is offering a free copy of Mike Mason’s new ebook Pragmatic Guide to Subversion with your paid subscription.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• What is the number one reason startups fail?
• Help with my company name. What is the difference between ‘technology’ and ‘technologies’?
• I need help for a software product name
• Getting traction for web startup..

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• I can see the analogy: Dealing with “Information Overload” at infovegan.com.
• Ash Maurya has made the first 2 chapters of his forthcoming book, Running Lean, available. I really like Ash’s approach to making Lean Startup methods practical and non-faith-based startup building in general. Even if you decide not to pre-order the book, grab these two chapters.
• Tech news these days is like ten firehoses hitting you in the face: if you’re looking for a good daily summary, check out Lauren Indvik over on Mashable and her “This Morning’s Top Stories in Tech and Social Media” posts – short, and good stuff. Hopefully Mashable will add a custom RSS feed for this feature, especially if you email them. In the meantime, http://goo.gl/ZWTM will get you there.

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • No new guides this period.
• New at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #86 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat talk with Matt Spradley, founder of Impirus Legal Websites.Impirus provides a “WordPress/Basecamp” tailored experience for solo legal practitioners, and Matt talks candidly about the challenges and opportunities of selling to not-early adopters, how and why Impirus is using Windows Azure (“Have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.”) and more.
• Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear.Here’s what one recent client had to say:
  

  “I’ve been waiting for a long time for Bob to offer consulting. I just had my first MicroConsult with him and I am thrilled. From my jumbled thoughts he helped me form the right questions to ask, bringing depth and focus to my next business hurdles. Then we worked together to build a plan of action I can handle. Equal parts mentor, project manager and therapist, Bob helps you make the next strategic step forward.”
  - Corey Maass, Gelform

  Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 10/20/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

(Editor’s note: It’s high time I restarted the MicroISV Digest, so here goes. But this is only going to be interesting if you send me your microISV, startup, indie, whatever-you-call it, news. News like in you’ve launched, you’ve gotten your 1,000th customer, every microISV should read this post kind of news. Not I do PR, my lackwit client thinks anyone cares about going from 3.31 to 3.32 and I get paid by the mention type news.)

Community News:

• No news for this section: hopefully restarting the Digest will help!

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• What would be better for my startup (cofounder or hire dev team)?
• Premium WordPress Theme recommendation?
• I am setting up a European Branch/Subsidary of a US based Software company. What is the best way to go for this?
• How to save a really bad AdWords account.

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• Here’s something more than the tired old tips: Performance Unleashed: How To Optimize Websites For Speed.
• Here’s a useful service if you’re always scanning for new programming books Any New Books?. I’ve been doing this for about a month, have found some interesting books I would have otherwise missed.
• Looking for a co-founder? StartupDigest has started doing free classifieds and as of this minute, there are 95 potential cofounders listed. Awesome!

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• What’s new at StartupToDo.com. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • New Guide: Connecting with your potential customers with SnapABug
  • New Guide: DNS Setup For Your Website and Email Addresses by rico.
  • New Guide: Sales Copy for Your Micro ISV Website by rico.
• New shows at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • We are up to Show #85 now; here’s the last 3 shows:
  • Show #85 [link] [iTunes]. Warning: This podcast contains language you may find offensive and is not for children.

    We break format for this show – to put it mildly. This is a (unexpected) recording of a conversation Patrick and Bob had after Pat’s return from the Business of Software Conference this year. You may find it interesting, you may hate it. But Pat strongly wants to include you in this conversation, and I’m going along with that. Let us know what you think.

  • Show #84 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat interview Rob Walling, serial startup founder, creator of the Micropreneur Academy and author of Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer’s Guide to Launching a Startup.

    Rob explains how micropreneurs – self-funded software founders – can do and should do market research, concrete things your startup should focus on, why Digg is not your friend, and why email – yes, email! – may be your best friend.

  • Show #83 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat interview Brian Noll, co-founder of Code Complete Software, on how his company markets developer tools to enterprise. Brian’s firm is the North American marketing force for JetBrains and other software companies who want to crack the enterprise market.

    If you think you know how to sell to enterprise, realize this: we’re in a recession, Open Source has changed the game, and in this podcast Brian is kind enough to share the new rules.

• Tired of being stuck in neutral in your startup? Why not do a MicroConsult with Bob Walsh? Instead of hypotheticals and too much information, Bob will work with you for an hour via Skype developing 8 to 10 specific todos that will get your startup in gear. Details at 47hats.com.

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 10/11/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 07/31/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 07/19/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 07/02/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• Rob Walling, The Micropreneur Academy, has brand new book out: Start Small, Stay Small: A Developer’s Guide to Launching a Startup is out. Have not yet had time to read it, but Rob knows his stuff, and people I respect are raving about it.
• There’s a new website, SoftCity, focused on connecting software developers, and experts with software users. The site provides a single destination for discussing, commenting, posting articles and reviews as well as trying and buying software. Think independent small developer Apple App Store + social media. If you’re looking for another channel to reach customers (and you should), check them out.

Interesting Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Using consulting to bootstrap your software startup
• What are your top 3 – 5 SEO tips?
• How complete do you make your product before launching it?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• Dharmesh Shah (OnStartups.com) adds a valuable concept to Lean Startups: From Minimally Viable To Maximally Buyable Product.
• Since we’ve peaked (in the northern hemisphere) for the year in terms of daylight hours, maybe you should brush up on your productivity: Working Hard Is not Enough. Here’s 18 Ways to Work Smart.
• My new favorite blogger, Stephen Fry (yes, that Stephen Fry) has another well-done review of an Apple product: iPhone 4: a Welcome and a Warning. Well worth reading.

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• New Guide at StartupToDo.com this week. (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, get your free 30 day free trial membership):
  • New: Using Tweet Adder to Increase Your Twitter Efficiency.
• New show at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #72 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat talk with Adeo Ressi, creator of the Founder Institute (FI), a unique four-month apprenticeship and training program for startup founders running in multiple cities. Adeo shares FI’s approach to recruiting startups that results in a 75% success rate, answers questions about how FI works and has some excellent advice for startups.
    Also this week, Bob recently interviewed Alex Kölpin of Berlin Partner. If you are a US startup thinking about opening an EU office, Berlin Partner – a public/private partnership promoting Berlin as a Startup hub – has a great deal for you. Alex also has some very good advice for EU and German startups looking for assistance in breaking into the US market.
• Active Scholarships at StartupToDo.com:
  • OnStartups.com, Atomic Object and Microsoft Website Spark

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading MicroISV Digest 06/24/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• Sarat Pediredla, hedgehog lab, wanted to let MicroISV Digest readers know about a special offer: buy their bug tracker, fixx, and get 50% off the purchase price until the end of July. (Promo code: SQUASHMYBUGS). (Check out their site in any case: nice use of a custom font.)
• What’s better than having four iPad apps out? Launching four more. Kristina Godfrey, School Zone, has launched “Phonics Learning Game,” ”Preschool Learning Game,” “Kindergarten Learning Game,” and “First Grade Learning Game,” for $9.99 each, for preschool, kindergarten or first grade children (or their parents who actually have the credit cards.)
• Women 2.0 Labs is a new 5-week afterwork program (July 6 – August 5, 2010) for engineers, developers, biz dev folks, and marketing mavens to develop high-growth technology ventures in San Francisco, sponsored by Women 2.0 and open to both women and men. If you want to join one of five teams building a startup with great mentors and support, definitely check this out. Deadline to apply for this program is June 20th, 2010. (StartupToDo.com is donating six-month scholarships to all team members.)

Interesting  Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• Having a Hard time explaining my business.
• Time Tracking tool?
• What strategies do you use to deal with uncertainty in your startup?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• Tony Hsieh built his online shoe retailer into an e-commerce powerhouse. But with credit tightening and investors eyeing the exits, Hsieh was forced to ask: Was selling Zappos really the only way to save it? Why I Sold Zappos, at Inc.
• Why Japan Matters: iPad Mania, Cloud Computing, And Social Intelligence, by Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com, at TechCrunch.
• An in-depth news story on how our digital/online interactions are changing how we think, perceive and act: Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price.
• 10 Persistent Social Media Marketing Myths – a very good read.

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• One new Guides at StartupToDo.com (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, you will need to start your free 30 day trial membership for these links to work.):
  • Getting Legal Advice or Services as a Lean Startup.
  • New features: You now have the option of getting a tweek, email or StartupToDo.com message when another member completes a Site Review you requested and you can choose to be notified with a tweet and/or email when you are messaged within StartupToDo.com.
• One new Show at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #70 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat talk with Social Media and PR thought leader Steve Rubel on the changing roles of blogging, social media, public relations, and advertising. The days when a startup could get by with only a blog to engage people online are over as increasingly, social media weaves its way throughout organizations small and large. As SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, a division of Edelman (the world’s largest independent PR firm), Steve shares his insights from the bleeding edge of social media transformation.
• Active Scholarships at StartupToDo.com:
  • OnStartups.com, Atomic Object and Microsoft Website Spark

====

(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me at bob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading MicroISV Digest – 06/09/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.

Community News:

• There’s a new startup podcast: Startups for the Rest of Us. It focuses on actionable strategies for bootstrapped startups, microISVs and Micropreneurs, with hosts Rob Walling of Software by Rob and Mike Taber of SingleFounder.com. There’s a new episode every Tuesday at StartupsForTheRestOfUs.com, with full episode transcripts provided. [iTunes link]. Way to go Rob and Mike!
• Will Rayer, Ubercode Software, has a new release of Ubercode out with an improved code editor, optimized highlighting code, and improved tooltips. Ubercode is an easy-to-use environment allowing you to create your own software, Free download available.
• Keith Platfoot, RBK Inc., has started an open beta of Maintaino, an online, subscription-based maintenance scheduling and tracking application.  Beta participants will receive a 50% discount for a full year after they launch.

Interesting  Answers.Onstartups.com questions with useful answers:

• What are the most common IT services needed by start-ups?
• What is the first step to driving leads?
• How to find and evaluate the most popular blogs to promote your business?

News/posts for microISVs and Startups:

• If you are a Seth Godin fan (and you should be), why not get out and meet other Linchpins June 14th? That’s the day of the Linchpins-are-everywhere-raise-the-flag global Meetup – with 764 (at last count) meetups happening. More info about this event here and sign up to attend/host a meetup here.
• A good post on the Facebook privacy debacle: Can Facebook Unring The Privacy Bell?
• Every year Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher host D: All Things Digital conference with great guests being asked pointed questions. This year is no exception: Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and this beauty: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski at D8: Trying to Get U.S. Broadband Up to Speed.

StartupToDo.com, The Startup Success Podcast and other plugs:

• Two new Guides at StartupToDo.com (StartupToDo.com is a subscription-based community of startup founders; if you’re not already a member, you will need to start your free 30 day trial membership for these links to work.):
  • Getting your startup’s email out with Postmark.
  • Create a US Utility Patent Application for free for your start-up, by Dmitry Platonov.
• One new Show at the Startup Success Podcast:
  • Show #69 [link] [iTunes]. This week Bob and Pat talk with Gina Trapani; developer, regular on the This Week in Google podcast, and former lead writer of Lifehacker.com. We talk with Gina about her latest project – ThinkTank – an open source insights engine for collecting and organizing social media responses. And we cover social productivity, Google Wave, and Expert Labs, which is supporting ThinkTank and connecting policy makers to the social graph. We also talk with Gina about gender and sexual orientation issues in the Startup World and in IT in general.
• Active Scholarships at StartupToDo.com:
  • OnStartups.com, Atomic Object and Microsoft Website Spark

====
(If you have an announcement of interest to your fellow microISV, indies or startups, please email me atbob.walsh@47hats.com with the word digest in the subject.)

You’re reading MicroISV Digest – 06/02/2010 from: 47 Hats. If you like this post, there’s plenty more! Want more sales for your startup? Stop by and let’s chat, or consider a Microconsult with Bob Walsh.