[ibimage==27733==Large==none==self==ibimage_align-center]
There were tons of events to catch during Boulder Startup Week, but, if you're like me, you have to juggle some actual work during the week. For those who were stuck at your computer until the nighttime festivites (or stuck in Denver!), here are some of the top lessons learned from a handful of events:
Event 1: A Better Boulder through Sustainable Urbanism
Panelists: City of Boulder Executive Director of Community Planning and Sustainability, David Driskell and Fox Tuttle's Carlos Hernandez
Lessons:
- Creating a sustainable habitat- where economic, environmental, and social equity intersects perfectly- is crucial allowing startups to thrive and entrepreneurs to succeed.
- Like startups, planning excels when the community collaborates to create a city that allows entrepreneurs to connect with others in the community.
- Building great cities that allow startups to call home requires a ‘big picture view.'
Event 2: Getting a job at a startup
Panelists included: Robert Reich, Founder of BDNT, Sabrina McGrail - Director of People at Techstars, Seth McGuire, Biz Dev at Gnip/Twitter, and Chuck McCoy, Sr. Partner at Creative Alignments.
Lessons:
- Don’t just apply for jobs, apply for the right job with a company that fits you
- Network and attend events that your prospective employer attends
- Make your expertise known through different avenues: blogs, organizations, side-projects
- Research the company thoroughly so that when you meet, you are able to reference ways you can specifically add value
Event 3: Crafting Incredible Designs
Speaker: Dave Pitman, UX/ Product Designer at Kytheram
Lessons:
- Static mockups don't get the point across, new platforms are emerging for prototyping which are better representative for investors
- Test design on anyone outside of the office/out of your design bubble
- 5 top tools that work for designers: Sketch, macaw, origami, framer.js, & html5
Event 4: Trouble in Paradise: Lessons from Angel Investment and Capital Raising Failures
Panelists: The panel featured Foundry Group managing director Seth Levine; VictorOps co-founder and CEO Todd Vernon; Impact Angel Group managing director Elizabeth Kraus; and Victors & Spoils co-founder Claudia Batten.
Lessons:
- Taking a portfolio approach with at least 10 investments increases the odds of a success but understand that you may loose your money.
- Find really passionate people that are very passionate to build your team
- Even more lessons on Elizabeth's blog 9 Angel Investing Resources
Event 5: Politics ... Who Needs It
Panelists: Rep. Jared Polis, Brad Feld, Laura Hutchings, CEO of Boulder-based Populus, and Alicia Robb, senior fellow with the Kauffman Foundation.
Lessons:
- Startup Visa efforts for foreign-born entrepreneurs will hopefully work to increase the process for immigrants to fill talent gaps
- Minimizing patent trolling and reforming the difficult patent system are important steps to increasing startup success
- Collectivism & having a voice in the local political environs: meeting and personally calling your elected officials, whether at the local or federal levels, is the best way for startups have influence
Event 6: Entrepreneurs for Social Good
- Social enterprise is helping people think differently about how to tackle our biggest community needs. Nonprofit business leaders are affecting real change by applying this innovative model to the social sector to amplify the powers of good for both mission impact and financial returns.
- As a NPO, it’s really difficult to get money because people have changed their giving patterns. Every dollar spent on fundraising is a dollar that isn’t going toward a cause – the cost per dollar raised is pretty high.
- Like the Unreasonable Institute, consider forming an LLC within an NPO. An LLC with social good as the highest priority. 60 percent of Social Entrepreneurial ventures in the U.S. are subsidiaries of NPOs.
- Find a good lawyer in Boulder to figure out the best structure for your idea.
- 'Not-for-profit' is a tax status not an underlining force of a company.
Energized from last week and want more? Check out all the events planned during Fort Collins Startup Week happening this week!