First, what is location-based or location aware social media : location aware social media allows users to opt-into an interface that can pinpoint their location when they post through GPS, mobile email, or text. In essence, online readers know where you are, when you are there, and what you may be doing there.
As soon as we heard: where you are and when you there, our ears perked up and we thought, “Would I want someone that I don’t know – who is not even in my online friend circle – to know exactly where I am?”
I see a lot of presentations. Every month at the NY Tech Meetup I see at least 7 or 8 presentations, in the other community events I attend I see more, and as a VC, first at Rose Tech Ventures and now at Flybridge Capital Partners, I see even more.
Last month, while I was attending another meetup, I saw almost every “demo sin” imaginable… so I took notes.
The First Round Capital Startup Trek hit both Sunshine offices this past Tuesday. Here’s a quick video clip-watch for the special guest appearance by the guys from Yipit, who call our Tribeca offices home!
Sunshine’s very own Sheheryar Sardar of the Sardar Law Firm has written an excellent piece about social media and contract law, and we’re thrilled to bring it to you here:
WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CONTRACT
By Sheheryar Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC www.sardarlawfirm.com
Social media has grown exponentially in the last decade, with enterprising companies creating uncontested market space in the world of online and digital industries. Whether its new search engines or unique services offered to niche markets within the browsing population, social media has transcended all ages, incomes and geographic regions. Due to the fast-paced nature of social media, ambitious entrepreneurs often overlook the need for contracts for their business. While staying ahead of the competition is paramount, creating and maintaining contracts will only enhance your edge.
Before you even start a company, or else plan on developing professional relationships with external agencies, prospective partners and employees, it is critical to understand the laws of contract. When there is a dispute, and often there is at least one during the development phase, all parties will look to the contract. As such, having a lawyer on board from the outset will always be an advantage for your business. Here is a brief list of issues to consider:
• Non-Compete Clauses: you want to protect your business by impeding your partners’ or employees’ rights to directly compete with your business if they leave. This would be framed within a specific time period, limited to a geographic area, but is very important because they possess inside knowledge of your competitive advantage.
• Non-Solicitation Clauses: you don’t want your partners or employees soliciting your colleagues or your customers away from your business.
• Non-Disclosure Agreements: NDAs are no unreasonable, so long as the language in the contract is clear on protecting your right to confidentiality.
• Moonlighting and Loyalty: This may or may not be necessary, depending on the nature of your business. A lawyer could assess its need once you discuss your goals.
• Ownership of Intellectual Property: You may want to protect any processes, templates, systems, or methods created by an employee by retaining any IP rights over them. A contract on the outset will provide necessary protections so that work product created under your business does not ultimately go to a competitor.
• Use, Licensing, Technology Transfer: Social media companies will likely need to outsource its products or services through other digital or online mechanisms, usually other companies. Often, partnerships are created to facilitate such business development. In this context, having contracts to protect the use and licensing of your work product, so that it doesn’t leak or be misused, will make your transitions to the next stage much more efficient. Similarly, if you are interested in commercially exploiting your methods, processes or inventions (Technology Transfer), you will need contracts to protect your financial interests.
Spending a little time on developing a legal structure through contracts, while slightly time-consuming, is a real investment in your social media business. Your business will make or break based on the contract, often when you must make strategic decisions for the success of your business. Retaining a contract lawyer will only enhance the probability of that success.
“Working in a shared office space allows for maximum flexibility when hiring new staff or when you need to save money during a downturn. Here at Sunshine Suites, we allow companies that to add or reduce the amount of space they take with as little as 1 to 30 days notice, depending on the need. If you run a seasonal business and need to ramp up during busy season and then scale down, a shared office space is perfect. If your business is continually growing, and you need to keep adding employees, it doesn’t make sense to lock yourself into a long term lease – especially if you are not sure of how much space you’ll need in two years. You also will never have to spend more than necessary in anticipation of hiring people down the road. As a small business owner, flexibility in one of your biggest expenses – rent – is incredibly helpful both in good and bad times.”
So this article from Resources For Entrepreneursconfirms and reinforces further what many small businesses are already thinking-we’re seeing a trend in the business landscape in favor of, rather than slashing staff, slashing the size of the room needed to hold them.
“Many small business owners are finding that having workers telecommute saves them a significant amount of money on rent, office furniture, and other expenses. These cost cuts can also reduce the need for layoffs…”
As the needs of your business grow and shrink, it’s imperative that you both have the staffed-trained, trusted, loyal-on hand to carry out the tasks you need done so you can focus on your business. Why cut your personnel unnecessarily when you could flex down to a smaller office space in slower times?
For more info on office downsizing and other shared office space benefits and tips, click here.
Top Reasons for a Shared Office Space, by Joe Raby:
As Managing Partner and Co-founder of Sunshine Suites, a shared office space in New York City with two locations, I’ve found there are many reasons to start your business working in a shared office space instead of renting your own office or staying on your couch. The list below is nowhere near complete, but does highlight some of the major benefits of working in an office community. Sunshine Suites was founded based on my own troubles of starting an internet gaming company. My partner and I tried to solve all the headaches that we went through when setting up our office, and make sure others didn’t have to go through the same. Below are what we believe to be the top 6 biggest benefits of working with other small business owners rather than going at it alone.
6. Access to community events – A good shared office space should have a lot of events going that will open up opportunity and allow you to meet others. At Sunshine Suites, we host at least two or three events every week – anything from our bowling and softball teams to a weekend at our Vermont vacation cabin. We host numerous educational events and roundtable discussions, and of course meet & greets and networking lunches. Also, a quality shared office space will not leave it up to you to meet people, but will encourage and proactively make sure there are plenty of opportunities to meet all the other small business owners in the space.
5. Every Business Service at your fingertips – Imagine being able to check on your marketing campaign, verify your records with your bookkeeper, or view that website update in minutes any time you’d like. Working in a shared office, you not only have a choice of numerous services (all that come from the referrals of your friends), but you can actually grab lunch with your bookkeeper, or check out the graphics on your website, or have access to any service you need instantly. This makes for much better service, with you in the loop the whole way and your input given at any time. It also opens the door to other services and ideas that are out there, that a neighbor may be working on.
4. Stay focused on your business – Being in a shared office space allows you to write one check a month to cover all your office needs. You never have to worry about reordering paper, running out of toner, or paying the electric bill – someone else takes care of all his so you can focus on your business.
3. Keep your burn rate down – Working in a community office space can save you up to 60% of the costs of renting your own office. Most companies don’t realize the time and expense that goes into having an individual space vs. sharing one with others. For one low price, you can have access to numerous conference rooms, high speed internet access, a receptionist, fax machine, copy machine, printing, etc. The actual cost of purchasing all these services on a monthly basis and maintaining them is significantly higher than sharing.
2. Flexibility – Working in a shared office space allows for maximum flexibility when hiring new staff or when you need to save money during a downturn. Here at Sunshine Suites, we allow companies that to add or reduce the amount of space they take with as little as 1 to 30 days notice, depending on the need. If you run a seasonal business and need to ramp up during busy season and then scale down, a shared office space is perfect. If your business is continually growing, and you need to keep adding employees, it doesn’t make sense to lock yourself into a long term lease – especially if you are not sure of how much space you’ll need in two years. You also will never have to spend more than necessary in anticipation of hiring people down the road. As a small business owner, flexibility in one of your biggest expenses – rent – is incredibly helpful both in good and bad times.
1. Networking, Networking, Networking! – Working with others in different industries allows you to connect with hundreds of potential clients, potential referral sources, and, most importantly, potential ideas. Being surrounded by this, especially at an early stage in your startup, is invaluable. Some of the people here at Sunshine Suites have received so many referrals, particularly because they are not competing with each other, that they have almost entirely focused their marketing efforts on the Sunshine community. It doesn’t take a silver tongue – just someone willing to show up at the events we have throughout the week, such as our bowling team, the meet & greets, our networking lunches, or our educational speeches.
So, remember:
1. Keep your burn rate at a minimum.
2. Get out of the house! You need to be surround by open-minded people with whom you can discuss ideas!
3. Pick a business partner who offers different skills than you (while having the same moral beliefs and ethics).
4. Keep good, accurate accounting records.
5. Go to as many networking events as possible
6. Be your own best sales person. Never hire someone to do a job you can do better (especially sales).
7. Start small. Don’t assume people will like your product , so test it and get feedback (baby steps) .
8. Learn about the many programs and benefits available to you via the city and grants.
9. NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK!
10. Don’t be afraid to try new approaches. Always adapt to change and competition.
Sunshine recently put out the call to all our Shiners to create quick, fun content about themselves, their businesses and what they do at Sunshine for our blog. We’ll be posting this in different format-text blogs, vlogs, podcasts-in the coming days and weeks.
Up first: Hedgeable, the online trading and portfolio management company who base themselves out of our NoHo office. In their own words:
Are you feeling frustrated that you have some money, but have no idea how to manage it? Don’t have time to look after your current portfolio? Tired of paying for a broker that you never talk to, and who is content with letting you lose money? These are questions that everyday Americans with IRAs and 401Ks are increasingly asking themselves as they review their retirement in the wake of the financial crisis. There are really no good solutions for those looking to get cutting edge investment advice, while not shelling out a large amount in fees.
This is why we created Hedgeable.com. We bring sophisticated and powerful investing tools to everyday Americans to help them manage their portfolios. Hedgeable’s tools are easy to use and cover the entire lifecycle of investing, from investment education, to portfolio construction, analysis and management. Investing can be a very confusing and daunting task, which is why all of the resources on the site are extremely simple to understand.
Hedgable has the following three product offerings:
Portfolio Analyzer- 100% Free
• HPH Score Report™ acts similarly to a credit report, and provides an instant analysis on the health of a portfolio.
• eQuant™ tool provides detailed performance and risk reporting as well as interactive charts.
• Flash Advisor™ provides simple trade recommendations and fee savings.
Portfolio Builder- $49.99
• Custom built ETF portfolios based on our investment team’s market expertise
• Users aren’t placed into predetermined “buckets” like most products on market
Portfolio Manager- Free for 30 days; $19.99 per month thereafter
• Powerful technology platform giving those who want expert advice the ability to manage their own money, with professional oversight.
• Users receive periodic trade alerts to protect and grow their portfolio, which they execute at their discount broker.
• The platform also provides real-time performance and risk reporting, commentary, and dedicated customer support.
Hedgeable has been featured in The Economist, and on MSNBC, NPR, and numerous technology and finance blogs.
I am unable to wrap my head around the fact as to why any
entrepreneur in NYC would not be in this building
considering the price and networking opportunities.
Alex van Klaveran
Founder, LifeStageMedia Inc.
We will certainly never find a better price and I would be surprised if we will ever find the same service we get at sunshine.
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