College Mogul

People were thrilled when cell phone companies rolled out built-in cameras. But now, they are about to be stunned. Shahyaan Desai, a graduate of Cornell University, is in the process of developing a high-definition micro video projector that utilizes breakthrough micro-mirror technology called Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), to bring a new generation of displays to market. Imagine, instead of your massive rear projection system you have projector that is no larger than a matchbox! With this type of disruptive technology, it comes as no surprise that they have been able to lock down nearly $1 million in a seed round from 6 venture capital firms as well as taking the grand prize of $100,000 last Tuesday in New York’s Creative Core Emerging Business Competition.

Although it has potential to produce an incredible device, Mezmeriz Inc. faced a big challenge of creating a market for the new technology. Offices already have large projection systems, so they looked into more ubiquitous products such as digital assistants, cell phones, and MP3 players. This still begs the question whether or not people actually need a portable HD projector. Everything is shrinking, but does everything need to be so incredibly tiny? You would think that features would be compromised; however, a recent article explains that the opposite is true:

Though small, the device can project a wide image onto a wall or fold-out screen, making a much larger image than is possible with the tiny LCD screens that come with, say, the popular Apple iPod music and video players. Read more »

According to a Business Week and study by Boston Consulting Group, “10 million people said they are considering starting their own businesses in the future.” The number is the largest seen in 25 years. This comes as no surprise to us as interest in entrepreneurship is rapidly expanding among the Generation  Y demographic. The same study showed that “6 million people actually followed through and started those businesses, and one-third of them are doing business globally.”

In the future, entrepreneurs will be young as well as old, more feminine, and more global than they are today. Another observation from the 9,500 interviews of university professors and teachers of entrepreneurship programs, small-business owners, and bloggers, who write on the subject, revealed that many entrepreneurs can actually be called “accidental entrepreneurs.” Why is this? Business Week explains:

There are 20 million businesses—out of the 26 million businesses total in the U.S.—that have no employees. We found that a good portion of them don’t call themselves small-business owners, but freelancers or hobbyists.

Why are there more Gen Y Entrepreneurs?

We call them “mods” because of the way they modify and customize everything, from their cars with the spinners on the wheels to their unique cell phone ringtones to their MySpace accounts, none of which are exactly alike. They’re configurable, customizable markets of one as consumers, and as adults they want to be independent from the beginning of their careers and never work for an established corporation. We also believe they’re fueling a huge trend toward increasingly sophisticated business technology.

Zuckerberg just reeled in another $100 million in funding to purchase another 50,000 servers to scale their service. Facebook has been able to grow its active users to over 70 million in the past 4 years with around 109 million monthly visitors. Last month the site attracted 35 million users, a 71% increase from nearly 21 million users a year ago. Recently, the site has been slow because of its fast expansion, so the capital will be used entirely for servers and will bring their total funding to nearly half a billion dollars!

Typically startups (although I wouldn’t call Facebook a startup anymore) have to give up equity for their funding, in this case, Facebook is using debt. They were able to do this through a special venture lending deal with TriplePoint Capital. This type of venture lending peaked during the late 1990’s, but has since been making a comeback. The type of funding is usually used for spending on fixed assets, such as the servers. According to the research firm Data Center Knowledge, they have about 10,000. This is actually peanuts compared to Google that operates at least a million servers and currently adding 500,000 per year. (Business Week)

Mark Cuban, inspired by Jason Calcanis’ post about saving money in a startup, recently posted 12 general rules for startups. The rules, formulated based on his past experiences, are simple but nonetheless insightful. The key lessons to take away are 1) invest in quality human capital 2) make sure they stay happy and motivated 3) reduce cost of operations outside of core competencies and 4) love what you do and make sure your goal (at least at the onset) is to grow organically long-term:

Here they are:

1. Don’t start a company unless its an obsession and something you love.

2. If you have an exit strategy, its not an obsession.

3. Hire people who you think will love working there.

4. Sales Cures All. Know how your company will make money and how you will actually make sales.

5. Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them. Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but are cheap

6. An expresso machine ? Are you kidding me ? Shoot yourself before you spend money on an expresso machine. Coffee is for closers. Sodas are free. Lunch is a chance to get out of the office and talk. There are 24 hours in a day, and if people like their jobs, they will find ways to use as much of it as possible to do their jobs. Read more »

Every entrepreneur is always thinking about the issue of funding. Running out of money is one of the common reasons why startups with great potential close down. The right amount of money at the right time is crucial. Young entrepreneurs find it even harder to arrange for funds because not only do we not have any considerable savings, our fledgling networks would rarely consist of accredited angel investors.

For the average entrepreneur, self-funding is the most common, but I think it’ll be different for young entrepreneurs. If you either have a business or are planning to start one, how do you plan to fund it? Tell us and our readers!

With lots of you graduating, your parents are presumably looking for gifts to commemorate this joyous occasion. For the environmentally responsible parents WorldChanging is offering a very unique gift. The organization will wipe your carbon slate clean. Depending on the level of donation, they’ll remove all the guilt of the carbon emissions you caused in your childhood, college or working life.

From the website of WorldChanging,

Your grad gets to head out into the world with the moral weight of their personal choices lifted from their shoulders, you get to show your love and respect, the climate gets a bit of a break and Worldchanging gets the funds we need to continue our prize-winning work exploring the solutions that will create real, lasting change. Half your gift is even tax-deductible!

The amount of money you donate will be used to buy carbon offsets from TerraPass. For $6,000, they’ll offset all the climate emissions you racked up until high school graduation. For $7,500, they’ll offset childhood and university years. For $25,000, they’ll offset youth, college and working careers.

In addition, you’ll also get a certificate saying that you’re carbon slate is clean. Yes, this means there is a way to pay back for all the emissions you’ve caused and be good again. Living a carbon neutral life is trendy and it is certainly easier to pay for your deeds than change your bulb or get an electric car. Last year individuals spent $331 million to buy carbon offsets for Read more »

For those who are avid gym goers and find it hard to track your routines, you will appreciate the idea that just recently won Ideablob.com’s $10,000 monthly challenge. As a passionate weight lifter, I have often pondered some sort of portable touch screen device that syncs with a fitness-based social networking site. Penn State student and inventor, Matt Allison, will be committing the prize money to building the product that he is aiming to have function like a virtual personal trainer that logs workouts, monitors progress, and that will even come equipped with a personal heart rate monitor. The goal is to have the device upload workouts, future advice, daily nutrition information, and progress charts from the company’s website so that the user has an interactive utility to maximize efforts and efficiency in the gym.

I completely agree with Allison and his partner, Ron Humer, who realized that many people don’t know how to properly exercise and structure routines. I still have trouble balancing and planning routines as well as planning my next steps in the gym even though I have been going and talking to people for years. If designed right, the product has potential to solve many problems. Planning and tracking routines is usually tedious and annoying to do either while working out or after returning home. Searching for the right information is also tiresome and is never readily available when you need it the most in the gym. For these reasons, a service like this could apply to seasoned lifters as well as novices.

Allison is no stranger to the entrepreneurial world; he already has another technology innovations company called M.R. Innovations Solutions, LLC. Read more »

Just yesterday I discussed my encounter with Professor Mark Long, a business expert who has been involved in 68 different ventures, and particularly his insight into the incubator process. Long also discussed, however, the utmost importance of having a stellar Board of Directors. From his experience, an under-performing board of directors can destroy a venture. In fact, he believes that it is the second leading factor to why companies fail (the first one is a secret). Long is a strong proponent of a talented and dedicated Board of Directors and believes that only lifestyle companies can remain without a board.

Long discussed several best practices that he has observed over the years in the most successful boards:

1) Boards are composed of 9 or 11 individuals (Odd numbers only)

2) Board Members are paid. With non-paid board members you get what you pay for (nothing). If it is very early stage a nominal equity stake can be used as compensation

3) Good people to have on your board:

a) 2 people that have nothing to do with industry that can have an outside perspective

b) 1 retired mentor from industry

c) 1 general business expert

d) 1-2 young and energetic people

Most importantly, Long advised getting people on board that will give their honest opinion and are not there just to please you

Other useful tips on boards: Read more »

CNET News.com reporters Michael Kanellos and Carl-Gustav Linden recently met with Steve Jurvetson to discuss how the downturn in the broader economy will impact venture capital firms. For those of you who don’t already know, Jurvetson is a leading venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, best-known for his involvement in Hotmail, Interwoven, Kana, and Skype. He is a managing director at the presitigous venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

When asked how much the economic downturn has changed the venture capital, Jurvetson’s response was positive. He claims that in an up or down market, there will always be ideas. The market for innovation and entrepreneurship should not be considered volatile with respect to broader economy; in his experience, entrepreneurial activity can almost be thought of as a constant,or even continuously accelerating.

Jurvetson positions himself as somewhat of a maverick or rebel when describing his investment mantra:

I don’t really care what the venture industry thinks…We want to invest in unique ideas that can change the world. We don’t even care what industry they fall into, but ideally they’re driven by some major disruptive force, as a different way of looking at the economy and venture opportunities. I know that 10 years from now we will be investing in something that relates to that.

Over the next five years, Jurvetson sees a lot of money going into Read more »

SCORE, which is a non-profit aiming to educate entrepreneurs and small business owners, recently launched a new section with resources for young entrepreneurs.

Visitors to the site will find the following resources:

• Insights for Young Entrepreneurs features key articles on: entrepreneurship as a career choice; Web site design; university assistance; and how to start smart.
• Resources for Young Entrepreneurs lists more than 35 organizations, groups and Web sites that offer news, strategies and assistance.
• Competitions for Young Entrepreneurs features eight awards that help encourage and recognize business success.
• Stats on Young Entrepreneurs provides the latest research and facts on Generation X and Generation Y entrepreneurship.
• How SCORE Can Help You highlights SCORE’s free online and face-to-face counseling, low-cost workshops and free eNewsletters.

SCORE is headquartered in Herndon, VA and Washington, DC and has 389 chapters throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors. SCORE was founded in 1964.