ellie wheeler

10 Tech Concepts Everyone Should Know

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:58:34 -0400

If you work in the tech industry then your daily conversations are littered with tech terms. You’ll probably have at least a vague idea of what these mean, but if you’re not in a technical role it’s sometimes hard to put these concepts and buzzwords in precise context.

In this post I’ll briefly explain ten basic terms that engineers use every day. Whatever your role in the tech industry, you’ll benefit from knowing exactly what these mean.

Brevity will require me to leave many important details out. If you’d like me to elaborate further, or if there are other concepts you’d like explained, let me know! I’ll be happy to write another post in this vein in the future.

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Most of Team @Greycroftvc @ InSITE’s Bowlmor event earlier...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:09:32 -0400

Most of Team @Greycroftvc @ InSITE’s Bowlmor event earlier this week. Congrats to @sigalow on the high event score! cc @longtail_video

Haven’t studied finance or business and are working on a...

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 10:37:00 -0500

Haven’t studied finance or business and are working on a startup? This video is certainly worth 44 minutes of your time.

409A Valuations: Why they matter

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:29:28 -0400

409A Valuations: Why they matter:

I’ve been getting some questions recently about 409A valuation, found this article that does a nice job summing it up. In short: you need it, it’s better for everyone — you and your investors.

Term sheet calculator

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:39:00 -0400

Term sheet calculator :

Good resource from Founders Fund - easy way to manipulate the high level variables. Your VC has a spreadsheet to do this, you should too.

Principles of UI Design

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:23:47 -0400

Principles of UI Design:

http://bokardo.com/principles-of-user-interface-design/

Great resource - 20 things to keep top of mind in UI design.

Cheat Sheet for Technical Recruiters...

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:33:17 -0400

Cheat Sheet for Technical Recruiters...

Greycroft is hiring in NYC: Marketing & Events

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:21:43 -0400

Fill listing here, apply on LinkedIn: goo.gl/Tb1S8

Marketing & Events Coordinator, Greycroft NYC

OBJECTIVE

Responsible for developing and maintaining marketing and PR strategies to meet organization objectives. Plan and execute internal and external special events. Work with and maintain good working relationship with portfolio companies.

RESPONSIBLITIES

Marketing. Maintain and update website, create printed marketing materials, proofread and edit blogs and other published pieces, manage database of contacts, and develop and manage distribution of print and email newsletters.
Plan and execute events. Coordinate all aspects of networking events in NY and LA, portfolio business development events with brands and agencies, annual CEO summit, and annual LP meeting. During these events you will be expected to coordinate directly with CEOs of our portfolio companies, our investors, entrepreneurs, and executives at brands and agencies.
Public Relations. Ensure inclusion of firm and partners in industry-related events, lists, and organizations; draft and edit press releases.
Social Media/Community. Manage @greycroftvc Twitter account, Greycroft Facebook page, and other social media accounts.
Research. Research on venture capital landscape and marketing best practices. This includes speaking with marketing professionals at other firms (VC, private equity, and hedge funds), with limited partners, and with entrepreneurs.
Investor Relations and Fundraising. Assist in managing internal CRM system and coordination of the fundraising process.

Desired Skills & Experience

4-6 years of marketing and event planning experience in venture capital or similar environment
Undergraduate degree at top university
Be self-directed and have experience in fast-paced professional work environment
Exceptional writing and communication skills
Strong client phone communication, presentation, and face-to-face meeting skills
Project management skills, office organizational skills, and a high level of attention to detail a must
Strong corporate event planning experience
Interest in technology and startups
Knowledge of social media platforms
Relevant social media marketing or online media experience a plus
Photoshop, MS Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word), HTML desired but not required
Klout score above 25 a plus

Company Description

Greycroft Partners (http://www.greycroft.com) is a venture capital firm that invests in promising early stage digital media companies. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Greycroft leverages an extensive network of media and technology industry connections to help portfolio companies gain visibility, build strategic relationships, and successfully bring their products to market.

Read this: [Distribution] Peter Thiel’s CS183: Startup - Class 9 Notes Essay

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:18:07 -0400

blakemasters:

Here is an essay version of my class notes from Class 9 of CS183: Startup. Errors and omissions are my own. Credit for good stuff is Peter’s entirely.

Class 9 Notes Essay—If You Build It, Will They Come?

I. Definitions

Distribution is something of a catchall term. It essentially refers to how you get a product out to consumers. More generally, it can refer to how you spread the message about your company. Compared to other components that people generally recognize are important, distribution gets the short shift. People understand that team, structure, and culture are important. Much energy is spent thinking about how to improve these pieces. Even things that are less widely understood—such as the idea that avoiding competition is usually better than competing—are discoverable and are often implemented in practice.

But for whatever reason, people do not get distribution. They tend to overlook it. It is the single topic whose importance people understand least. Even if you have an incredibly fantastic product, you still have to get it out to people. The engineering bias blinds people to this simple fact. The conventional thinking is that great products sell themselves; if you have great product, it will inevitably reach consumers. But nothing is further from the truth.

There are two closely related questions that are worth drilling down on. First is the simple question: how does one actually distribute a product? Second is the meta-level question: why is distribution so poorly understood? When you unpack these, you’ll find that the first question is underestimated or overlooked for the same reason that people fail to understand distribution itself.

The first thing to do is to dispel the belief that the best product always wins. There is a rich history of instances where the best product did not, in fact, win. Nikola Tesla invented the alternating current electrical supply system. It was, for a variety of reasons, technologically better than the direct current system that Thomas Edison developed. Tesla was the better scientist. But Edison was the better businessman, and he went on to start GE. Interestingly, Tesla later developed the idea of radio transmission. But Marconi took it from him and then won the Nobel Prize. Inspiration isn’t all that counts. The best product may not win.

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Edgerank Primer

Mon, 07 May 2012 07:20:54 -0400

For those depending on facebook (and many, many are to some extent), this is a good primer on Edgerank - or, how and why you see what you see on News Feed.

http://edgerankchecker.com/blog/2012/04/what-is-edgerank/

Customer acquisition

Sat, 05 May 2012 16:23:17 -0400

Good article with some practical advice on user & customer acquisition, channels and testing. Also have to appreciate the pithy, Field of Dreams-inspired subtitle: ”If you build it, they may not come”.

http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/82788/Building-It-Is-Not-Enough-5-Practical-Tips-On-User-Acquisition.aspx

Protip: Don't do this.

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:05:33 -0400

“Your search for an Associate has ended, as I have the background and experience you are looking for.”

Don’t be that guy. This kind of stuff helps give MBA-types a bad name, and deservedly so. (said best here: Get an MBA, Don’t be an MBA)

The adage gets thrown around that recruiters spend 10 seconds on each resume for the first screen. This is likely in the ballpark for competitive positions that attract many high quality candidates. Don’t give anyone an excuse to not make it past your opening. Nuance is particularly difficult to portray via email (see also: Sarcasm Font). We’ve all made this mistake at some point, but certain occasions require one to be particularly careful.

VC jobs require you to communicate a wide range of often difficult topics via email. Passing on investment opportunities is difficult to do graciously while providing rationale and feedback. It is easy to screw up, I know I have done it. This simply reinforces the need for thoughtful communication in first impressions.

[Update: POSITIONS FILLED] Want to work in VC? Greycroft is hiring!

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:01:00 -0400

***Thanks to the many who have applied, we have filled both available positions at this time****

Pre-MBA Associate role in NYC

Post-MBA Senior Associate role in LA (or equivalent, MBA not required)

Our Firm:

Greycroft Partners is a leading early stage venture capital firm focused on investments in digital media. With offices in the two media capitals of the world - New York and Los Angeles – Greycroft is uniquely positioned to serve entrepreneurs who have chosen us as their partners. We leverage our extensive network of media and technology industry connections to help our entrepreneurs gain visibility, build strategic relationships, successfully bring their products to market, and build successful businesses.

Greycroft manages $225MM and has made over sixty-five investments in leading companies including Huffington Post, Buddy Media, Maker Studio, Babble, Collective Media and Klout. In 2012 Greycroft companies will generate $750MM of revenue and employ 3,000 people. We have a deep respect for the role that entrepreneurship and venture capital play in the world economy, and are committed to learning from both success and failure.

The Role:

• Evaluate potential investments in early stage companies, including management meetings, financial due diligence, market research, and competitive analysis.

• Assist in the preparation of fundraising documents, valuation memos, and investor updates.

Qualifications:

• Two years of investment banking, management consulting, private equity or venture capital experience

• Strong analytical and qualitative skills

• Extraordinary attention to detail

• Team-oriented

• Enjoy mixing with the technology incubator/accelerator community

• A passion for the media and technology industries, and a deep respect for entrepreneurship

• [LA only] For post-MBA Senior Associate role, industry experience is also preferable

Details:

• Compensation is market-competitive

• This is a two-year position for pre-graduate school professionals (NYC)

• Please submit resumes and personal statements along with location preference to resumes@greycroftpartners.com.

Startups, This is How Design Works

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:24:00 -0400

Startups, This is How Design Works:

Great design primer for startups, timely and relevant as design becomes essential for emergent consumer internet products.

How / When / Why to Incorporate your Startup via TNW

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:21:00 -0400

How / When / Why to Incorporate your Startup via TNW:

Another early startup resource — a common first question: how do I incorporate, and why? This article hits the major points.

Summer opportunity for students/recent grads

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:56:09 -0400

A great opportunity from our friends at OMD & GE —> Get paid to work on your startup in NYC for the summer.

2012 GE | OMD INCUBATOR OVERVIEW

GE and Omnicom’s OMD have partnered to create a 10-week incubator bringing together the brightest student entrepreneurs to work in New York City for the Summer of 2012. Now in its second year, the GE | OMD Incubator aims to create a collaborative environment where entrepreneurs can learn, thrive and build great digital products.

Located in the heart of Manhattan, the GE | OMD Incubator provides a space where accepted applicants will develop their ideas, learn from industry mentors and become entrenched in New York City’s startup scene. In addition, participants will learn and meet with key marketing and advertising executives to help build their companies.

As part of the program, selected entrepreneurs will receive complimentary work space, mentorship from GE and OMD executives, free access to classes at General Assembly weekly sessions with founders and product/design leads from notable startups, compensation throughout the summer, and most importantly, no equity exchange. At the end of the summer, participants will have the opportunity to pitch to GE and OMD executives for the chance to win $10,000.

Important Dates:

Application Deadline: Thursday, April 12th, 2012 Program duration: Monday, June 4 - Friday, August 17

Distinctive Features:

-NO EQUITY EXCHANGED WHATSOEVER

-Free work space and access to conference rooms

-Get paid to work on your startup; stipend of $4,000 for the summer

-Opportunity to win $10,000 at the end of the program

-Free access to classes at General Assembly in UX/UI design, programming, business development, community building, user acquisition, etc.

-Exclusive access to Fortune 50 brands

-Weekly speaker series including startup founders, product/design leads, venture capitalists and startup lawyers

-Intimate access to GE and OMD executives

-Advertising, marketing and media instruction from OMD mentors

The GE I OMD Incubator is accepting applications for consideration in this year’s program through Thursday, April 12th, 2012. If you are an entrepreneur enrolled in or a recent graduate from a major university and involved with a high-potential startup, we want to hear from you!

Go to www.geomdincubator.com to apply.

Clever startup resource - matching designers & devs

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:34:50 -0400

http://www.developmentfordesign.com/

This is a marketplace for bootstrapping startups. Without money it’s hard to hire out the skills you don’t have but here you can barter your skills to get professional work done in the fields you are lacking.

Learning from one of the greats

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:46:00 -0500

“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” — Thomas Jefferson

and, presciently, in 1802:

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

He was a student of history. Scary stuff.

And a parting one, “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”

10bn API calls per month for @klout - super impressive growth

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:29:07 -0400

10bn API calls per month for @klout - super impressive growth

Stunning in Pictures - Google+ Growth vs FB & Twitter

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:27:05 -0400

Stunning in Pictures - Google+ Growth vs FB & Twitter