Author Archives: Katherine Korakakis

About Katherine Korakakis

Katherine has spent most of her life working alongside start-ups in various verticals. For 10 years, she was responsible for the development of entrepreneurial initiatives and projects under the auspices of the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, a Youth Secretariat program of the government of Quebec. She has authored and co-authored guidebooks on entrepreneurship education. Katherine first developed her passion for building businesses when she co-founded Glambiton. She was instrumental in the development of the first National Entrepreneurship Day for the province of Quebec. Katherine has served on the Boards of numerous non-profit organizations and currently sits on PMEMTL Centre-Ouest and EPCA. She sits on the investment committees of PME MTL Centre and PME MTL Centre-Ouest. These entities are the decision making bodies with regards to business financing with the city of Montreal. She currently is Manager of Entrepreneurship for ProMontreal Entrepreneurs (PME), an early stage VC fund and entrepreneurship program that invests in multiple verticals. The fund has a social business model and has been around for 20 yrs.Katherine has spent most of her life working alongside start-ups in various verticals. For 10 years, she was responsible for the development of entrepreneurial initiatives and projects under the auspices of the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, a Youth Secretariat program of the government of Quebec. She has authored and co-authored guidebooks on entrepreneurship education. Katherine first developed her passion for building businesses when she co-founded an entrepreneurial training event for girls called Glambition. She was instrumental in the development of the first National Entrepreneurship Day for the province of Quebec. Katherine has served on the Boards of numerous corporations and currently is the vice-president of PMEMTL Centre-Ouest and president of EPCA. She sits on the investment committees of PME MTL Centre and PME MTL Centre-Ouest. These entities are the decision making bodies with regards to business financing with the city of Montreal. Katherine is the Manager of Entrepreneurship at Ometz an early stage VC fund and entrepreneurship program that invests in multiple verticals. The fund has a social business model and has been around for 20 yrs.

18Dec
The Ultimate Startup Gift Guide

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Hello,

Are you looking to kick-start your startup? PME wants to ensure you are equipped for the startup life. We have compiled the ultimate guide for you and all of your ambitious friends this holiday season.

We all have that friend who is anxiously planning for the future and foresees his startup making millions of dollars. In order to get the ball rolling, check out Ted Talks and partake in all of their wisdom. With enough information, you will surely conquer all the VC’s in Montreal. However, when you are at that big meeting, ensure that your pitch makes the cut by reading our guide to creating a perfect pitch deck beforehand. For all you data junkie out there, ensure you understand your metrics and watch your e-commerce soar!

We will be taking a holiday break at ProMontreal Entrepreneurs and will return with more exciting events and news in January. Wishing you a relaxing and restful holiday.

P.S. Please refrain from using plastic straws in your eggnog

5Dec
Main and Local: Souvenirs that don’t suck

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main and local, souvenirsIf you have ever been on vacation, you will notice that most souvenirs available are all the exact same generic product. Not something you would want to bring home to your friends and family. A PME funded business, Main and Local put a stop to these awful souvenirs and created souvenirs that do not suck. Literally, their tagline is “souvenirs that don’t suck”. These souvenirs are made from a local perspective and offer a good laugh by incorporating the culture of the city into their products. Now the company has expanded outside of Montreal and has started selling in popular cities across the country.  Co-founder David Prince shares with us some advice on what he has learnt along the way. He also shares with us how he and his co-founders pivoted their company into Main and local.

  1. What inspired you and your co-founder to start main and local? Why souvenirs?

The idea came when we worked on cruise ships and wanted to bring back souvenirs for friends and family. We realized there really was not much option and we did not want to bring back souvenirs that sucked for our loved ones.

  1. How does main and local differentiate from any other souvenirs?

We like to make fun, clever and unexpected products. Our tagline is “souvenirs that don’t suck” and we stand by that. We try to come up with creative ideas for each product we make. Its not only for tourists, it is actually mainly for locals. We make souvenirs but from a local perspective. For example, for Montreal we make things about construction, poutine, smoke meat etc. Tourists understand as well.

  1. Did your company go through any major changes/Pivot?

We went through so many major changes and pivots. It actually took us about a year of brainstorming until we came up with the perfect business idea. We came up with so many different things and finally we settled on licensing for local businesses. Basically the idea was  we would make a product for a local business, they would sell it in their restaurants, and we would sell it in our stores. We pursued that for about 6-9months until finally we realized there were too many issues around it. It did not seem like a real scalable model. Once we realized that, we decided to pivot. So, instead of creating a product about la banquise why not just do poutine and sell it around Canada. Pivoting was a hard decision to make but we were surrounded by the right people who pointed us in the right direction.

  1. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a founder and how did you overcome them?

At first, I was very hesitant to quit my steady job and I had many responsibilities at the time. The biggest challenge was leaving that comfort zone and jumping into something completely new. From a financial perspective its hard to just make that kind of jump so make sure you have some sort of savings before you do take the risk because it will drain your bank account. It is definitely a risk worth taking. Being a founder is the coolest thing in the world. You’re not on the sidelines, your future is in your hands and it’s an unreal experience. It is an experience I would never be able to get working for somebody else. You call the shots and the risk is worth it.

 

  1. What is the number one advice you would give to other entrepreneurs like yourself?

Everyday is a roller coaster. It is filled with many highs and a lot of lows. What is important is that you don’t get overly excited when your business does hit a high point because things can quickly change and hit a low point. It’s also important to not let the low points get to you either. Be ready for anything. Its mentally exhausting but you need to adapt and expect it to come. Not a lot of people are able to handle this kind of uncertainty, its really tough. However, as long as you stay focused and persevere, you will be able to make through anything.

  1. What do you think is the most important thing every founder should be aware of?

Expect that it’s going to be really hard. I think most founders might underestimate how much work and dedication that goes into creating a business but it’s really tough. You wont get very far if you expect being your own boss means you can be doing 10 hour weeks and relaxing at home. By being a founder, I’ve learnt so much its insane. I learn more in a week than I would have normally in a steady job. Not only that but you learn so much about yourself and your capabilities. It allows you to push yourself to limits you did not even know you had. Stop procrastinating taking the leap because the longer you wait the more responsibilities pile up. You just need to go for it.

 

  1. How has PME had an impact on your business?

PME is the best thing we have done in the business easily. I do not say this lightly, we really mean it they have been a tremendous help. From a financial perspective but they also gave us the validation that we were on the right path. I can’t say this enough, the mentors who have been helping us the past 4-5 years have been incredible. They would meet with us every week and help us make really big business decisions. These are entrepreneurs that have built multi million dollar companies and getting their feedback was crucial to our business.

Nothing ever goes as planned when starting your own business. There will be bumps in the road and you need to be ready for them. Your ability to deal with the high and the lows is what will allow you to make it to the finish line. The founders of Main and Local never gave up on starting their own business even if it meant they had to pivot. They had the right determination which lead them to creating the successful business they run today.

18Sep
3 most important e-commerce metrics

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e-commerce 

In e-commerce, data is everything. There are so many different metrics to consider it becomes overwhelming. That’s why we’ve narrowed it down to the three most important e-commerce metrics that you need to pay attention to. E-commerce has become very popular over the years, especially with the rise of social media. When you are new to e-commerce, your time is usually spent on binary decisions and tasks that help you get closer to launching your business. For example,  what products you want to sell, who your audience is and how you are going to reach them. You build a website, put the right tools in place and create processes for shipping and fulfillment. However, beyond post-launch date, you will need to step up your game and quickly evolve from business builder to data analyst. Although it may seem like the easier route to take, there are a lot of important metrics to consider and analyze to ensure the success of your business. Here are the three most important metrics that matter.

1. LTV:CAC ratio

The customer lifetime value ( LTV) to customer acquisition cost (CAC) ratio is important in calculating how much you should be spending to acquire a customer. It can help you identify if you are spending too much or not enough on marketing strategies. You can then find solutions to increase profits and revenue. First, we will define both customer lifetime value (LTV) and customer acquisition cost (CAC).

Customer lifetime value (LTV)

Customer lifetime value, or LTV, is one of the most important metrics to track in e-commerce. LTV is the total you earn from a customer over the course of their life. For example, if a customer makes five purchases over there lifetime that was 30$ each then the LTV would be 150$. LTV helps you understand how much profit you earn during the average customer lifespan. Knowing the lifetime value of each customer you acquire can help with forecasting, budgeting and marketing strategy.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Customer acquisition cost ( CAC)  or customer acquiring cost is the amount of money spent on acquiring a customer. This value is calculated by taking the expenses that were used on acquiring customers and divided by the number of new customers that were obtained over that given time period. Knowing your CAC is important because it can help you decide how much money you should be spending to acquire new customers each month.

2. Page speed / load time

This metric is extremely important and can be easily overlooked. Just a one second delay can have detrimental impacts on your business. Pay close attention to page load time on your website. Page load time, or page speed, refers to the average number of seconds it takes for a page on your website to fully load for visitors. A slow website can negatively affect user experience, your ability to build trust and your likelihood to convert new visitors. It can also increase your bounce rate. Your bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who arrive on your page and leave before taking any other action.

According to a Financial Times Case Study, a 1 second delay results in a 7% reduction in your conversion rate. Your conversion rate is the percentage of customers who buy something once they visit your site. It takes as little as one second to slow down traffic on your website not to mention, take a toll on your brand. A customer research report indicated that 66% of people said that website performance influenced their impression of the brand. While 35% of people reported they are less likely to shop there again due to poor website performance. Since you do not have the opportunity to meet your prospective customers in person,  your website is your primary tool for creating the right first impression with people.

Page speed directly affects both conversion and brand but will also affect your search engine optimization (SEO). Google has stated that they use site-loading page as a factor in the algorithm for ranking sites. Therefore, if your site has a slower loading page it will become less visible to customers when they use google search engine.

3. Revenue by channel

When you are spending money on different marketing tactics, it is important to know what is bringing you the highest conversion. Whether it be from social media, email opts or advertisements it’s key to understand what is fueling business growth. This way if you are generating higher conversion rates from advertisements on social media as opposed to sending out emails, you will want to focus more of your marketing strategies on advertising on social media.

To build a profitable and sustainable e-commerce business, pay attention to the data. Having a firm understanding of e-commerce analytics will help you become successful. You should be obsessing over these analytics as it reveals the current state of your business. You need to be constantly looking to improve the data. However, do not be overwhelmed by the numerous different metrics that are available focus on these three main metrics especially in the early stages of your business.

9Sep
ProMontreal Entrepreneurs

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4Sep
How Etsy Can Help Your Small Business

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Etsy, business

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Etsy is an online buyer and seller community that focuses mainly on handcrafted and vintage goods. Etsy allows sellers to customize online shops with full e-commerce capabilities. This platform has allowed many people to turn their hobbies into full on businesses. If you are a small business or someone who simply wants to turn their hobby into a source of income, here are a few reasons why you should have an Etsy shop.

  1. It’s user-friendly

You don’t need much technological knowledge to operate your Etsy shop.  For your website you would have to do a lot of design and coding in order to get a layout as professional and clean as Etsy’s. To start your shop you simply need to follow a few easy steps that takes just a few minutes. The difficult part is the decision making with regards to pricing, when to offer promotions, how often to add new listings, etc. But these are difficult decisions you will have to make no matter the platform you choose to operate on. Etsy also has an iPhone app, which will help you manage your shop and stay organized. The app’s features will help you manage your orders, access shop statistics, communicate with other buyers, update listings, get alerts when making a sale, and much more.

  1. It’s affordable

Starting a shop on Etsy is free. However there are three small selling fees. You have a listing fee, a transactional fee and a payment processing fee. It will cost you $0.20 to publish a listing. A listing lasts 4 months until the item is sold. Once you make sale there is a commission fee of 5% and a payment processing fee of 3% + CA$0.25 for Canada (domestic orders or orders from the US) and 4% +$0.25 for international orders.

  1. Access to a large yet targeted customer base

>Etsy has approximately 54 million members all specifically looking for hand-made goods and more than 2 billion views every month. The average Etsy consumer is an adult woman between the ages of 18 and 34. She is a member of the working or middle class. Most of her yearly Etsy purchases include jewelry that cost between $21 and $40, often purchased as gifts. She values the variety offered by Etsy in terms of handmade and eco-friendly goods. If your product remotely caters to such a demographic, there is no other platform that will allow you to reach your clientele in such a targeted manner.

  1. Test your new ideas

Being active on Etsy is a good way to see how receptive people are to your new ideas. You won’t feel as tied to keeping products that don’t sell as you won’t need to call up designers or web developers to make the necessary changes to your platform. If you have an existing business and website and are not sure whether or not a particular product or product line will sell, testing it on Etsy first and reading the reviews on the discussion boards can also help you make your decisions.

  1. Can Be Used as a Cheap Marketing Tool

Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to use Etsy exclusively. Your website and your Etsy shop can work hand-in-hand. Once you’ve gained traction to your Etsy shop, you can redirect your visitors to your website. If you getting a decent amount of sales on Etsy, you can stay there but also consider working on your website behind the scenes. In order to lead your Etsy clients to your website offer incentive. This can potentially include offering lower priced goods on your website, including website promotion cards when you ship your orders to customers, or including your website URL to your product descriptions on Etsy.
If your target market consists of the people visiting Etsy on a regular basis, give the platform a try. Whether you are an artist, someone with a hobby, or already have an existing business, many advantages and learnings can come to you by operating an Etsy shop. The worst thing that can happen is that you don’t enjoy your experience. But even in this worst-case scenario you tried out a platform and you’ve learned what works and what doesn’t work for you.

31Jul
The PME Recruitment and Talent Retention Guide

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talent, recruitment, guide

Whether your start-up started off as a solo project or with a co-founder, there will come a time where you will have to hire other employees to support your operations. ProMontreal Entrepreneurs` (PME) has created a Recruitment and Talent Retention Guide in order to help you with this difficult and important step in the life of your start-up. Here is just a snippet on the important matters the guide will address. If you would like to download a free copy of the full version of the guide click here.

  1. Pay attention for cultural fit

Of course, having tangible skills and expertise is necessary. However, your potential employees must fit in with your work culture. Asking the right questions that will bring out your candidate’s personality is key. Here are just a few behavioral and situational questions that are crucial to include in your hiring process:

  • Can you tell me about a past experience where you had to take charge?
  • Name a time you failed and how you handled it.
  • Have you ever dealt with a company policy you weren’t in agreement with? How?

  1. Test skill not credential-

Don’t shy away from hiring new university graduates. Because they are just entering the workplace they are motivated, and more importantly, they are coachable. Coaching employees means investing in helping them work smarter instead of harder. You may be asking yourself “what if we train them and they leave?” This is a risky train of thought. What you should be asking yourself is “what if we don’t and they stay?”

  1. Look for passion-

Passionate employees will go through the hurdles with you. Working at a start-up can come with having to go through uncomfortable and unexpected changes. Therefore, it requires much teamwork. You want someone that will be as motivated as those they are working with, not someone that requires to be motivated by others.

  1. Hire Slow and Fire Fast-

You will be more thankful in the long-run when you’ve hired the right people carefully, and let go of unnecessary baggage quickly. As stressful as times may seem, and as urgent as matters may be, remember that your resources are valuable, and so is your time.

This is just a glimpse of what you will learn from reading our Recruitment and Talent Retention Guide. Your employees are one of your biggest investments. They not only work in order to attain company objectives, they are a representation of your business. Having the right people by your side goes a long way.

8Jul
The Right Way to Do a Cold Call

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cold call, phone call
Cold calls often come with a negative connotation. However, when done correctly cold calls can successfully turn into lucrative business opportunities. As an entrepreneur you will have to make many cold calls, whether it be to a potential investor, supplier, distributor, etc. The goal of a cold call should not be to close a deal or get an investment. To the contrary, it should always be to open a line of communication with the other party. These 6 tips will teach you about the right way to do a cold call.

  1. Do your research-

Before making the call make sure you know as much about your prospect as you possibly can. If you are looking for an investor check to see if they have invested in other start-ups in the past, their interests, the industry in which they work, etc. In order to appeal to your prospect, this will help you frame your approach for the best outcome. This includes answering questions such as, what is the goal of the call? What can you offer the person at the end of the line? Why should they care? And why is your solution worth their time?
 

  1. Focus on starting a relationship-

Don’t sell anything, other than yourself, on the first call. The first call should be about the early building blocks of a relationship. This means that you should not be trying to get an investment. Making a good impression will be worth it down the road, even if you do not get the investment or partnership you desire. On this first call you should be introducing yourself and your business. Briefly explain why your business is worth the attention of this party, and work towards booking an in-person meeting. Describe your talents, ask questions, and more importantly, carefully listen to what the person on the other line is saying. They may casually mention things about themselves that will allow you to build better rapport down the line.

  1. Look for a second-degree connection-

Having a mutual acquaintance will help you with credibility. People are likely to take calls from others when they have been recommended by someone they trust. Prior to conducting a cold call, check your network to see if you know any of the same people. If you are on good terms with your mutual acquaintance, ask them to put in a good word for you. Also, ask people in your network if they know anyone offering what you are looking for. If you get to their voicemail make sure to mention referrals, as it is likely to lead to a call back for you.

  1. Get to the point-

Time is money. People are busy and usually have their days planned out. An unexpected cold call may interfere with what they have scheduled. Make sure you are efficient and quick to get to the point. Prepare your talking points beforehand, and address only the matters that will spark enough attention for a second meeting.

  1. Get to the second meeting-

Once you’ve shared enough information to pass the introductory stage, ask to book second meeting. If your prospect seems to have a busy schedule offer to email a slide-deck summarizing what you’ve just discussed until you are able to meet again.
 

  1. Keep records-

Document those you’ve called, for what reason, when you called, and how many calls have resulted in scheduled appointments. Doing so will not only keep you organized, it will allow you to keep tabs on cold-calling techniques have worked and which have not. Furthermore, a “no” from a prospect, can simply mean a “no” for the time being. This will let you know which prospects you can follow up with in the future.

Cold-calling can seem intimidating. But, if done right, it could lead to a promising partnership. Do not be discouraged with rejection either. Many opportunities can arise in the future with these same prospects, and you’ve also garnered many tools and lessons along the way. Just remember to be informed, quick, and efficient.

21Jun
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

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intelligence, emotional In a room full of equally smart people the one who stands out is the one who appears as most interested. Emotional intelligence is probably one of the most underrated entrepreneurial skills. It was brought to mainstream attention by Daniel Goleman, in his book, Emotional Intelligence. It is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and diffuse conflict. Technical skills and expertise is  the foundation of the product development stages. Conversely, a high degree of emotional intelligence is what will keep an entrepreneur’s company afloat. Networking, presenting, pitching, and working with others, all require a high level of emotional intelligence. Here are 3 important reasons why emotional intelligence is arguably just as important, if not more, than IQ.

  1. Building better relationships:

    The relationships you build will be the reason for profitable present and future opportunities. Relationships with business partners, employees, customers, and investors will drive the quality of work created, the workplace environment, and the appeal you have to potential investors and stakeholders. Building healthy relationships in the workplace means understanding the diversity in people’s behaviours, and adapting accordingly.

  2. Stress management:

    Emotional intelligence is said to moderate the relationship between mental health and stress. Being an entrepreneur isn’t the most stable of jobs, and the unexpectedness of it all can cause a tremendous amount of stress. People with high emotional intelligence can better reduce stress because of self-awareness. Goleman explains that self-awareness allows for people to identify the moment when stress is likely, and therefore calm-down before their stress becomes unmanageable. As well, empathy and social skills allows emotionally intelligent people to better communicate how it is that they are feeling and find solutions to such problems.

  3. Understanding your brand:

    Emotional intelligence is crucial for successful marketing. This is two-fold. For one, a marketer must be able to empathize with his target market. A person with high emotional intelligence will ask the right questions in order to understand the needs of customers. these questions relate to customer expectations, emotional factors that drive the need for the product at hand, and satisfaction that customers receive from the product. At the same time understand that your brand, must too, have its own emotional intelligence. In this day and age people define themselves based on the clothes they wear, cars they drive, the jobs they have, etc. It is the responsibility of the brand to represent its customers and adapt to the customers’ changing phases and behaviors.

Some can develop higher emotional intelligence through exercises and training. Google has even started giving emotional intelligence courses to employees. But let’s be realistic. For some it is just not that simple, and that’s perfectly fine. In such a case, entrepreneurs can benefit from partnering with individuals who have what they lack. It is important however to acknowledge that your IQ will only take you so far. At the end of the day, once you’ve developed a great product, what will draw investors, employees, and customers to your company is your emotional intelligence. You will have to communicate effectively with investors, overcome challenges and diffuse conflict in the workplace, and empathize with customers, all while managing your emotions, stress and other responsibilities. As the old saying goes, it takes something more than intelligence to act intelligently.

18Apr
The Challenges of Being a Social Entrepreneur

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social, entrepreneur
Let’s start off by addressing that being an entrepreneur is difficult. However, being a social entrepreneur brings about its own set of challenges and obstacles. It combines social impact with sustainable business growth. Social entrepreneurs are faced with having to solve or alleviate a real-world issue while also maintaining positive financial performance. . Here are  the two main challenges social entrepreneurs face. Though considered challenges, many have overcome them in the past.

1. Competing on prices while having enough money to make a social impact
In order to remain competitive, social enterprises need to take advantage of creative pricing strategies. Social entrepreneurs need to establish a pricing strategy that will consider price point, allowing for enough revenue to serve their chosen cause, without compromising their customers’ expectation of their product. Though social enterprises have to overcome additional challenges when pricing, they can use original pricing techniques that are not as readily available to other start-ups. Social entrepreneurs should strategically highlight their cause and mission. Socially conscious consumers who agree with this mission will be willing to purchase at a higher price point in order to support the cause. Furthermore, bundling will incentivize sales. Shoe company, Toms, has made great use of this. For every shoe sold, a pair is donated someone in need. In order to build and grow brand equity, social entrepreneurs should also look into certification. For instance, being certified as fair trade, or B Corp will help maintain a positive reputation and better positioning.

2.  Quantifying your impact
Measuring impact for social entrepreneurs can be complex. Not only do you have to establish metrics for your business performance, you have to measure your social impact to prove credibility, as well as attract investors and potential business partners. Impact investments are investments that not only yield financial return, but social and environmental return as well. With the rise of the number of social enterprises, credible organizations have developed frameworks to standardize the calculation of social impact. The IRIS Framework consists of an organization’s description, product description, financial performance, operational impact, and product impact. If your mission is to have impact on a global scale, The Global Impact Investing Ratings System (GIIRS) gathers a range of information with regards to company’s work, size, sector, and region.  These assessments are carried out annually and validated by the GIIRS.
Many resources are available to Montrealers looking to take a step into social enterprise. Luckily, numerous grants, and funding opportunities are available, that do not require giving away equity or paying back an investor. YES Montreal, Futurpreneur,  Quartier de l’Innovation and  PMEMTL  all offer workshops and/or grant opportunities for social enterprises in the city, just to name a few.

With millennials harnessing the wave of activism and social awareness, social entrepreneurship has risen for the past decade. They are working towards incubating ground-breaking innovations, alleviating life-threatening issues, and pioneering some of the future’s most resourceful projects. While it is true that many obstacles can interfere with business operations, the key is taking advantage of the resources available your given city and finding creative ways of overcoming these challenges.

27Mar
5 Must-See TED Talks for Entrepreneurs

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TED Talks have a unique way of inspiring people to follow their dreams. TED Talks entail more than just watching people speak about their experiences. Viewers get a boost in creativity, and more importantly, exposure to perspective on a matter they hold near and dear. The words of another fellow entrepreneur that has gone through your struggles can introduce you to new strategies that you may not have thought of. Here are the 5 TED TALKS that every entrepreneur must take the time to watch. Take a gander, hopefully they will provide quality insight!

  1. Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

This TEDTalk by Simon Sinek explores the idea of leadership and why some people are better at inspiring action than others. Starting with examples from Martin Luther King’s leadership in the Civil Rights Movement to Apple’s leadership in the business world, Sinek examines patterns that seemingly predict the success rates of various leaders.

  1. Navi Radjou: Creative Problem Solving in the Face of Extreme Limits

This TED Talk by Navi Radjou is about how to make something extraordinary out of very little (or nothing, in some cases). It’s a good one if you’re running short on runway. It’s also insightful if you don’t know how you’re going to do this while keeping your day job.

    3. Seth Godin: How to get your Ideas to Spread
This TEDTalk by Seth Godin spells out why, when it comes to getting our attention, bad or bizarre ideas are more successful than boring ones.

  1. Linda Hill: How to manage for collective creativity

This TEDTalk by Linda Hill is perfect for entrepreneurs trying to maximize the creative potential of their top teams. Exploring different tactics as they are used by some of the world’s most respected and most created companies, Hill examines the root causes for creative greatness.

     5. Bill Gross: The single biggest reason why startups succeed. 
Bill Gross attempts to quantify all the reasons why one startup might be more successful than another. As a serial entrepreneur and a mentor for other startups, Gross has had much experience in the business world. He’s seen great businesses fail and questionable businesses succeed. This experience drove him to quantify exactly why these differences exist.