Hello Community!

We are happy to announce the winner of the May Challenge!

Members of the community have voiced their opinion through the betting of their points on the Top 9 companies they believed to be the best. Thus, we are glad to announce a winner has been chosen for the month of May!

The community has chosen….

nModes!

Congratulations to founder Sasha Uritsky!

We would also like to congratulate UnBrokr and Grinnit who placed as runner ups.

Nmodes now moves into phase 4  with the opportunity to receive $25,000 for 5% while the other top 9 participants move back into phase 2 and are again, eligible for the Top 9 for the month of June!

Speaking of the Top 9 for June, we’ll be announcing them July 1^st where for another 15 days, community members will have the opportunity to vote for the company to win in the month of July.

Until then, see you all at the end of the month when we announce June’s Top 9!

Regards,

The VenCorps Team   

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Hello Community!

We now have the finalists for the May $25,000 Investment Competition. After an intense battle in the rainiest month of the year, these startups have finally made it to the top 9, as chosen by you, the members of our community!

·         Grinnit

·         Relay Technology Management

·         UnBrokr

·         StudyMonkey.ca

·         NModes

·         Giftah

·         TrafficAlert

·         Clip Mobile

·         Rentabilities

For the next two weeks, these startups must compete to win your support and to be crowned the May VenCorps champion. The startup with the most points on June 15^th (23:59, EST) wins $25,000!

To invest your points, and help decide who gets $25,000, here is what do:

1.  Go to the Phase 3 Startups page and look at the Top 9 companies.

2.  After picking the company of your choice, enter in the number of points you would like to invest in a company (between 1 – 1000 points).  

3. See who wins! Those who choose the startup correctly win their points back + bonus points.

If you have any questions or need some help, shoot us an email at support@vencorps.com, check out the FAQ or our quick guide on how to vote for your startup of choice!

Congrats to the finalists, once again and good luck!

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When starting up a company, it’s always a crazy environment. Sleep has become a dream, hours blur into one…and chances are; you are having the time of your life. But at the same time, there’s always that need to beat the clock and have your product out before the competitors have theirs out. And of course, there’s always the enviable problem that you face as an Entrepreneur (what’s your company’s stable market? Where can you get money? How do you solve this current management dilemma?).

Well, just remember that sometimes, all it takes is to pause, look around at what you have (your contacts, peers, networks) and surprisingly, the answer to your question or questions can be found in your own environment.

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Videos!

The shortest but most essential aspect of any company profile can be the difference between a high traffic profile and a low traffic profile. It has been shown historically that profiles that have a 30-60 second elevator pitch about them have had more traffic and comments then those that don’t.

Why is that?

Simple, if founders are able to put up videos about their idea (i.e. them pitching it), users will be more enticed to not only look at the video, but also understand the business concept better and have a higher chance of reading the rest of the company page.

In the end, both the founder and users benefit as the user can further understand the idea being conveyed and the founder benefits from receiving better comments!

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Chances are, that sometime in your life, you have double dipped. No, not putting the chip twice into the dip at a party (someone probably saw you do it too!), but instead, being able to create reoccurring revenue streams. So essentially, you make something once, sell it twice and profit three times from it. Double dipping increases the amount of revenue streams coming into your business.

So why do this?

Well besides the obvious answer of making more money, you also are able to do risk management. So in the event something happens to your business, you have that safety net of revenue of fall onto. An example could be The Rolling Stones. The Stones release a new album, profit from it and then go on tour to continue that stream of revenue through tickets and t-shirts. Therefore, if a crisis occurs, say their guitarist fell ill, the band would still have money coming in from the album sales as well as merchandise sold.

Therefore, it’s always a good idea to have a back- up plan and in the case of double dipping; it doesn’t hurt that the back-up plan can generate revenue also.

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When you have your idea and someone wants to pay for it, how do you make it better so the masses are willing to pay?  The best way is to make your product 10x better through the 10x rule. This means in order for your product to gain market traction, it must be exponentially better.

Historically, being slightly better is not an effective way in gaining market share. Some examples of this are:

• Beta is a little better then VHS
• Blu-Ray is a little better then HD-DVD
• Plasma is a little better then LCD

Now compare this to the following:

• Email is MUCH faster than traditional mail
• Airline travel is WAY faster than boats
•  iTunes is MUCH MORE effective than HMV

Because of this, it’s definitely important to understand if your idea can fit into this scenario. Is your idea somewhat better (as the Blu-Ray to HD-DVD) or MUCH better (as airplanes to boats). Ask yourself this simple question, would you want a computer that is only marginally better than your current one or one that is 10x faster than your existing computer. 

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A post in the Wall Street Journal has stated that with the current state of the education system in the United States, there may not be enough funding available from the government. As a result, the article mentions about going to the private sector to fund education. Even then, it’s shown that Venture funding for education has risen in both the amounts and deals made.

The only roadblock that is present is the current system of schools and how there is a need for tough regulations and procedures to ensure that the private entities are doing the best to improve education funding in the United States.

Regardless of the outcome, this is a radical new change and opportunity for the VC world to tap into a market that currently is crumbing. The only issue is the high amount of accountability that will be placed on the private sector.

Check out the full article at the Wall Street Journal

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One of the most important aspects that helps a VenCorps member is to fill our their profile. The profile of a user is one of the key tools in making yourself known to the community! It’s encourage to not just fill in the

As a founder, you can see who other people are and as well, their experiences and expertise. This can not only help with the comments and reviews of your company, but also in networking with others. You may just find that perfect web developer or coder by just looking at their profile!

For a general user, the tool is perfect to show other members of the community what your specialities and interests are.  Listing your past and current experiences leverages you as a member of the community and can set you apart from the others!

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One concept that is the foundation of a successful business is the BODCAT Decision-Making Model or the Talent Triangle. The Talent Triangle is essentially a triangle with three points (Business Acumen, Operations Experience, Domain Knowledge) that represent the “dream team” of people that all successful businesses have as well as having the underlining principles of consultation, trust, and authority.

And in the event that one element out of the three is missing, a company will not be as successful. But at the same time, you don’t need physical three bodies to represent each aspect, but as many Entrepreneurs know, early on, founders can take on multiple roles.

Therefore, when considering the structure and roles of your start-up, it’s always wise to know who you have on your team and if you have a well-rounded team.

Remember, even the best idea can’t succeed without having a solid team!

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An article in Business News Daily states Crowd Funding can be the future of helping start-ups. Currently, it's being practiced in the nations such as the U.K. and India but not in one of the most obvious choices, the United States. This is due to the current regulations that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has in regards to crowdsourcing.

At the moment, there is a present and consistant push to have the SEC change these existing regulations through the push for a new framework that would allow crowdfunding to be allowed. If this change occurs, there could be a massive shift in how small start-ups are able to recieve funding. And instead of just leveraging one source, they would be able to have the freedom to do have many "investors".

For more on this topic and the full article, visit Business News Daily

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VenCorps has been featured in the Huffington Post with the award winning author Don Tapscott writing:

Post investment, the community continues to help the startup. The theory is that "many hands, make light work" or as Kevin Kimberlin, Chair of the private equity firm behind VenCorps, puts it: "VenCorps is 21st century barn raising. Instead of relying on three experts to put in 1,000 hours each, you rely on 1,000 people putting in three hours each." The VenCorps platform uses the web to offer creative new ways to link up start-ups to get them access to not just cash but also to support and prominence. VenCorps uses social networking to give start-ups the keys to succeed, faster, cheaper, and more equitably.

For the full article, check out the Huffington Post

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Tutorial post - Why VenCorps? (Perspectives - Entrepreneur, Funder and General Participant)

Welcome to VenCorps™. As you may have realized by now, we are working hard to bring many entrepreneurs and their start-ups to VenCrops.com. 

You probably ask yourself “why VenCorps™”?  The answer is simple:  VenCorps™ allows entrepreneurs to submit their startup ideas and get direct feedback from the general public, which could be potential clients. It can also connect the venture with potential venture capital firms and angel investors.

If you are an entrepreneur, here are some of the reasons why you should join the VenCorps™ community: 

1) VenCorps™ is a 21st Century Venture Capital Fund. We invest our pool of capital into the best seed stage technology startups.

2) Unlike other traditional venture funds, we do not rely on a handful of experts; but instead we invest based on the collective intelligence of our community of entrepreneurs, investors and professional service providers. 

3) As the founder of the startup, you will be exposed to thousands of like minded individuals who can provide you with direct feedback on your product or/and service.

If you are a funder, here are the reasons why you should join the VenCorps community:

●      Over 500 startups participated in first 6 challenges

●      7,500+ members signed-up to date

●      Over 2.1 million points in the virtual economy

●      Within 7 days of allowing peer-to-peer transactions over 100,000 points were exchanged

●      Successful challenges with external partners including IBM and the White House

VenCorps™ offers angel investors and venture capitalists the chance to see pre-filtered deals in a controlled, structured and disciplined environment reducing the diligence workload and enabling you to get a feel for the technical challenges, market opportunities, and the team’s execution capacity.

If you are an individual who has interest in startups, here are the reasons why you should join the VenCorps™ community and make a difference:

●      Review, rate and support companies

●      Gain Points and invest or keep them to bid on prizes

●      Increase your real-world experience

●      A chance to hone your critical thinking skills

●      Fun. See how your scores match those of your peers.

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How the VenCorps^TM system works

So now that you’ve signed up to VenCorps^TM, what can you do now?

If you are Founder of a great startup, submit your startup for funding by click here

If you are Funder or general user, zip over to rate startups to review and rate our latest opportunities

As a Founder, you have the ability to leverage the knowledge and experience of over 7,000 community members that make up VenCorps and not just winning the funding. From advice to networking with others, there are many opportunities avaliable to you besides just financing.

As a General User, you get the chance to play the Dragon. It's your ratings and reviews that are taken into consideration as to which companies will be in the Top 9. In addition after, you are able to use your own points to bet on the one company out of the Top 9 that you feel is the true winner!

So why wait? Check it out now!

Jeff

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William Quigley, a managing director at Clearstone Venture Partners has recently written an article in Tech Crunch that he believes the next 10 years will be properous for both Founders and VCs.

Quigly attributes this to the change to three aspects,

• First, the proliferation of Internet access.
• Second, the rise of the hedge funds.
• The speed at which companies can now exploit the global marketplace.

This changes Quigly believes have created situations where companies are able to generate high pre-money valuations (i.e. Google) that many did not expected to occur.

The full article can be found at Tech Crunch

Credits to TechCrunch

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The community has spoken and the winner of the LaunchRock challenge is...Babker! 

On behalf of the VenCorps team I'd like to thank: the companies that participated, our friends at LaunchRock and of course, you, our faithful community. Without your voice, we would not been able to make this possible.

Although the LaunchRock challenge is over, our May Challenge is now open and as our previous message said, starting May 1st, all companies are eligible for this challenge. Founders need not take any additional steps.  The top 9 selection for this challenge will occur May 31st and the winner will be announced June 15th.

Again, congratulations to all!

Jeff

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Our Top of Toronto Challenge winner, Guardly, has been featured by Microsoft Bizspark. See below for an exerpt of the article:

We’re taught early in life to call 911 (substitute your country’s emergency contact number) during an emergency. It’s simple and easy to remember. But with the advent of sophisticated mobile devices that support multitasking and location-tracking, is this emergency response system in need of a technology makeover?

Newly launched startup Guardly and its CEO Josh Sookman believe so. Guardly is a mobile personal safety service that works on the iPhone, and soon Android and BlackBerry, to give the mobile user a one-tap way to contact 911 and friends and family, as well as transmit the user’s location, simultaneously.

“It takes eight taps to dial 911 on the iPhone,” Sookman says. Should the Guardly user place the app in the device’s dock, that process is reduced to three taps, he says.

 

Here’s how Guardly’s more intricate response system works: When a user clicks “Send Alert” in the app, he or she puts Guardly’s personal safety service into motion. First comes a five-second countdown timer that vibrates with every second that passes. When the countdown hits zero, the user’s default group is notified and, depending on the user’s preferences, a call is placed to 911.

Everyone in the user’s selected safety network is then sent a link to an Emergency Response Page — accessible via web or mobile — which serves as a home base and a group collaboration hub that supports location updates for all participants, photos and messages. There’s also an option for safety network members to join a conference call and connect through voice.

Guardly’s emergency alert system includes one more key additive. Normally, an individual unable to make an outgoing call on a mobile device would need to retry the call until he or she finds an adequate signal. Once the user initiates an alert via Guardly, however, the service continues to check the device’s connection and automatically dials 911 or the user’s contacts upon locating a signal.

This is a very cool overview and write up of Guardly and we look forward to seeing them more in the news as their product and company continues to expand, especially with the following...

Guardly’s bigger picture vision extends beyond mobile. The startup aims to be the emergency alert and real-time collaboration platform integrated into other hardware devices. Think glucose monitors, heart rate monitors and any other piece of equipment that has the capacity to detect and measure, but not alert.

And if you haven't downloaded their free app yet, do it now at the iTunes store!

For the rest of the article, check out Mashable

Credits to Microsoft BizSpark and Mashable

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Exciting news!

Hello Community!

Today, based on the request of many of our founders, we are evolving the rules of VenCorps.  Starting May 1st, 2011 all startups listed on VenCorps will be eligible for all challenges.  Founders now need not take additional steps to enter challenges from here onwards.  From now on, the top 9 (based on aggregate community score) will be chosen from the entire startup pool.  Further, any startup that made a final 9 but did not win will be immediately eligible (based on score) for the next monthly challenge. Rest assured, we still will run focused challenges in the future, but now much less frequently.  As a result the majority of monthly showdowns (unless specified) will be open to all companies. 

More advances are coming in May, but for now, please help choose our April winner.  Log on to your account, click over to PICK WINNERS and decide which startup you think we should invest $25,000 into! Voting closes on April 30^th 11:59 EST so head on over now!

Regards,

Jeff

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Hello Community!

Now that the voting is open for the LaunchRock Challenge, here's the quick low down on how to vote!

First, login and navigate to the "Pick Winners" tab. After that, just follow these 4 easy steps:

1) Pick your favorite Startup.  Allocate up to 1000 points to support this Startup as you wish.  You can do this by putting in a number in the open field. The more points you allocate, the more support you are showing.  You are limited only by the amount of points you have and the confidence you feel.  

2) You may change your bet up until 11:59 PM EST on the last day of this month! Your points will stay in your account until 11:59 PM EST on the last day before voting closes.

3) The Startup with the most support (determined by aggregate points allocated) wins an investment. If you support the funded Startup you will get your points back plus a portion of the points bet on the other 8 Startups. All points allocated to non winning Startups are forfeit.  

4) To keep it fair, the most any one member can allocate to any one Startup is 1000 points. 

And that's it! You've now supported your Startup of choice and the potential winner of the LaunchRock Challenge!

Best of luck to all and happy voting!

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Guardly, the latest winner from VenCorp's Top of Toronto Challenge in March has released their application to the iTunes App Store!

Guardly is a mobile location-based app that allows you to alert, connect, and then collaborate with your personal safety network in an emergency situation. It allows you to communicate with friends, family, authorities, and 911 in real-time via voice, sms, email, and web conferencing. Their mission is to improve the emergency response process and help save lives. Guardly was recently featured by The New York Times, GigaOM, and TechCrunch. Guardly is also currently working on Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone versions of their platform. 

On behalf of the VenCorps team, we are very excited about this development and look forward to future developments from the Guardly team.

For more information on the application and company, check out Guardly's website at http://guardly.com 

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Hello Community!

We now have the finalists for the LaunchRock 9. These Startup superstars were selected based on the feedback from YOU, our community.  Now these 9 Startups have two weeks to win your support.  

• DueToDos
• Unseat.me
• Social Wish
• CityCiao
• Explore Engage
• Fight Club
• Fat Ninja
• Unmilu LLC
• Babker

You now have until April 30th to show your support by voting for your favorite!   The Startup with the most points on April 31st (23:59, EST) wins $25,000 in seed capital. 

To invest your points, and help decide who gets $25,000, here is what do:

1.  Go to the Pick Winners page and look at the Top 9 companies.

2.  After picking the company of your choice, enter in the number of points you would like to invest in a company (can be between 1 – 1000 points).  

If you need help, check out our FAQ or just drop us an email @ support@vencorps.com.  We'll be happy to walk you through it.  April 30th, we will announce the winning company from the LaunchRock Challenge!   Again, congratulations to all the companies that have applied and good luck to our top 9 finalists!

Rock and Roll!

Jeffrey Peng

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