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How Rocket Referrals’ Carl Maerz wrote an e-book to generate leads
(Guest post by Carl Maerz) For those of you not local to Des Moines, chances are you have never heard of Rocket Referrals. We are a tech startup founded by me and my brother, Torey. Known in the entrepreneur community as “bro-founders” we share the same blood, but have much different skill sets. You know,…
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John Jackovin: It’s OK to cry
(Guest post by John Jackovin) I could write about a lot of things this week. I could write about the trip I took to San Francisco. I could write about the awesome meeting I had with this really inspirational connector/investor from the Valley. I could write about how awesome it was to spend a day…
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John Jackovin: Home, San Francisco, three weeks and done
(Guest post by John Jackovin) After nine weeks of Techstars the end is very near and we have our work cut out for us. I am writing this from my kitchen table in Des Moines, Iowa, not from my rented kitchen table in Boulder, Colorado. I flew back late Wednesday and got to spend the…
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How Lyndsay Clark helped design Gravitate to be the community’s center
(Guest post by Lyndsay Clark) In recent years, another buzzword has been added to our ever growing lexicon in the tech world: co-working. The idea of collaborative working was established in response to a frustration many experienced while working independently or remotely for an organization from their home or a coffee shop. These frustrations led…
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John Jackovin: Are we where we need to be?
(Guest post by John Jackovin) I am sure this is a question many companies ask themselves. Am I far enough along? Have I made enough progress? Techstars’, like most all accelerators, goal is to get you “ready” to exit the program. This means different things for every company. The ambiguity revolves around what “ready” means…
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John Jackovin on Techstars Boulder: It’s all downhill from here
(Guest post by John Jackovin) Seven weeks down and six to go. So much left to do. I love the fact that we are more than half way through a really tough program. We made it this far and I haven’t lost my marbles. Only six weeks until I get to see my girls for…
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Poll: What’s your startup’s vacation policy?
Do you leave it up to your employees about how often they can duck out? Is sick time and vacation time all in one bucket? Or do you like to set some boundaries for the greater good, even if it’s just rough guidelines?
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Omaha startup softball team fails to win even just one game
The Fightin’ Prairie Dogs, the Omaha startup community’s slow pitch softball team, ended its dismal season Monday night. The team went 0-13. That’s right: They didn’t even win one single, lousy game. The team, put together and funded as part of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s Event Draft, had players from Aviture, Elevate, GoodTwin, Omaha…
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What’s it like to pitch Shark Tank producers? Iowa entrepreneurs share
Last week ABC reality show “Shark Tank” hosted an open casting call in Des Moines and more than 100 entrepreneurs and inventors turned out for an opportunity to swim with the sharks. It’s still too soon to say if any of the companies that pitched last Monday will make it on to the show’s taping.…
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Candid advice to CEOs and founders building teams, mistakes included
To all startup founders and CEOs, freakishly celebrate and learn from your mistakes. There ‘s no greater teacher when it comes to building your company. Thursday’s second installment of our Let’s Talk session, hosted in partnership with Missouri Bank, was a great reminder of this and drove home that there is no playbook for how…