Tuesday Nov 24, 2009

This is a posting by Hermione way, from Techfluff.TV one of Sun's Startup Essentials Partners

A comprehensive networking list for any startup, that can help determine where to focus your networking time and energy.

Organizations:

Microsoft Bizpark: A program that provides Software, Support and Visibility for Software Startups. In the UK, Bindi Karia is the woman you want to speak to.

Sun Microsystems: Get discounted servers, open source and discounted software free technical expertise and more, free to join and the man you’re after, the man with the most colorful shirts in London is Stewart Townsend.

SeedCamp:  At Seedcamp, they believe Europe has the talent, the role models, and the capital founders needed to succeed.  Reshma Sohoni is  CEO and here is the Seedcamp twitter account.

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By Shanti Subramanyam

I attended the Bay Area Startup Weekend in Mountain View this previous week-end. This was the first such event I attended and it was an amazing experience – so I thought I’d share it.

The idea behind the event was that a bunch of folks would show up, some of them would pitch ideas for new startups and the others would join them if they liked the idea and/or had the necessary skills to build it. The goal was to build a working prototype over the course of the week-end. Read more.

Monday Nov 23, 2009

When you officially launch your startup and send out a flurry of press releases, the silence can be deafening while you wait for the phone to ring and reporters to call you. Here are some tips to improve your chances of getting noticed by the media.


1) Make sure your press release stands out, but don't overdo it. A clear, concise, and brief press release that gets your message across without a lot of excess verbiage[Read More]

Friday Nov 13, 2009

What an evening of discussion and education on Brand, Michael Bayler gave an amazingly energetic hours talk on brand and how important it is to be clear about your brand strategy before you do anything else.  The video of this event will be available in a few weeks time and thus all Sun Startup Essential members who couldn't make the event can watch the material and gain an insight into this wonderful evening.[Read More]

Thursday Nov 12, 2009

Have you ever had a great idea for a startup but needed the motivation and encouragement to actually make it a reality? Join theStartup Weekend community and find out how easy it is to go from idea to launch in only 54 hours! [Read More]

Wednesday Nov 11, 2009

Looking for rock-solid web hosting at discounted rates? Talk to someone that understand startups ;)

Joyent has a deal for Sun Startup Essentials program members with hosting services 25% off list price. Starting price is $16.59/month. No joke! 
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Jez Kay is Owner of NowHouse, a digital video and sound production company based in London. He helps businesses inject personality into their brands through vision, soundtracks and the occasional song and dance. Greg Dyke's talk early on the 22nd October at Sun Start-Essentials HQ, as a guest speaker of Federation 100 was engaging, illuminating, mischevious and all-in-all pretty inspiring.

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Busy entrepreneurs need to stay on top of all the latest startup information, but who has the time? Here's a look at what went on around blogosphere and in the news this week, in case you missed it.[Read More]

Sunday Nov 08, 2009

Thursday Nov 05, 2009

Sun Startup Essentials - A big hand for your business ideas from stewart townsend on Vimeo.

How can Sun Startup Essentials help you? Watch this and see how Sun can help your small business with its Sun Startup Essentials programme http://sun.com/startups

BTW, this cool video was created by the community for the Sun Startup Essentials contest that Zooppa.com ran earlier this year. 

Tuesday Nov 03, 2009

SmallBizPod is a podcast, blog, news and community site for small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs. This is how it all happened.

Back in March 2005, Alex Bellinger became one of only a handful of people in the UK to start podcasting.

Looking around for a subject he realised there were no British-based podcasts on business. Since he had just set up his own business and had spent many years focusing on the small business sector, a podcast on entrepreneurship seemed like a good way to go.

SmallBizPod was born. The podcast, blog and website now attract tens of thousands of listeners and readers a month from all over the world.

Inspire, Inform, Entertain

From the start SmallBizPod has been there to inspire, to inform, and to be fun to listen to and read as well. I think thanks to some wonderful contributors and interviewees, it's achieved just that.

Over time, the site has grown to become one of the most visited sites for SMEs in the UK. It's also developed into a wonderful free audio resource to provide inspiration and advice from business people with real experience and real insight.

Take the time to listen to some inspiring interviews from some renowned people on subjects such as marketing, business advice, funding and many more, the beauty is that these are free and really insighful and great to hear that not just you in that Startup boat alone.

Visit http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/  now and keep an update on the latest podcasts.

Also if you really love what you hear and see then Vote for them in the European Podcast Awards -

Sun Startup Essentials helps small business reduce carbon emissions by 85%

Wednesday Oct 28, 2009


Busy entrepreneurs need to stay on top of all the latest startup information, but who has the time? Here's a look at what went on around blogosphere and in the news last week, in case you missed it.

Are advisory boards a good or bad idea for startups? Entrepreneur-turned-VC Mark Suster says that depends on your goals.

All the advice from startup industry analysts who recommend entrepreneurs consider starting new green-tech business aren't just spouting rhetoric. Finance mogul George Soros recently committed a whopping $1 billion to the clean-tech startup sector.

Do you have trouble balancing work and home life? Do you love the art of the deal? Are you addicted to pursuing the next big opportunity? You may be an entre-holic.

Some startups don't need barrels of money to get off the ground. If you're a U.S.-based business looking for a micro-loan, there's a good chance Kiva.org can help.

Startups looking to raise capital sometimes hire finders to help them out. If this is something you're considering, “We can’t find investors on our own� isn't a good enough reason to go this route.

Flickr image courtesy of angermann.

Scary. Nerve-wracking. Exciting. Game changing. There are several ways to describe what it's like to pitch to a venture capitalist (VC) or angel investor, but boring typically isn't one of them. Considering the possibilities that go along with an large influx of cash, the experience of pitching a VC is both invigorating and anxiety-ridden at the same time. Here are six ways to make the job a little easier.[Read More]

This blog copyright 2009 by Sun Microsystems