The following is from a blog post by Burgher Jon:
Pittsburgh’s own Accelerator, AlphaLab was in the news last week as a founding member of the TechStars Network. TechStars is a nationally renowned accelerator with centers in NYC, Boston, Boulder and Seattle. One of the primary men associated with it is Brad Feld, a guy I’ve mentioned several times on this blog. The TechStars Natwork was formed to help develop synergies with other accelerators across the country in conjunction with Barack Obama’s Startup America. I think the move positions AlphaLab well to take advantage of some network benefits and perhaps even some Federal help. Just exactly what ends up coming out of it, will be interesting to see.
[click here to read the full story]
AlphaLab has been helping startups get off the ground for six cycles (has it been 3 years already?), so they have a nice pool of alumni to offer advice to new batches of companies.
Thankfully the advice they share is not always private. Last week AlphaLab posted a few highlights from what the latest grads had to share with the new guys.
- Launch Quickly. This is often the first piece of advice alumni offer up–and for good reason. Both a pillar of the lean startup model and adopted maxim of many startups, “shipping fast, and often” allows companies to test out market assumptions and use valuable user feedback to quickly pivot their product or service to fit the needs of their customers.
- Learn How to Say “No.” This refers both to taking on potential customers that will cause you more problems than you can handle, and the laundry list of features your customers will inevitabply want you to add.
Click here to read the rest of the advice the alumni had to offer. Take special note of number three and be sure to add this blog to your PR email list. Thanks!
In the past 7 days Mashable has posted over 10 How to be a startup success tips. Its part of their Digital Entrepreneur Series that started later this year. I guess they decided to put it on overdrive this week.
Just in case you might of missed them here is a quick rundown:
When I look at both of these lists two things jump out at me; being focused and having the right team. I guess those two things really do set you pace to be a successful startup.
This fact make me excited for whats coming out of Pittsburgh. Most of the up-and-coming startupers I meet in Pittsburgh have these qualities. When I ask them what there doing they have clear idea and mission of what the want to accomplish. They also have about 1-3 more people, usually working away, right behind them.
Pretty soon the word Startup and Pittsburgh are going to be like bacon and eggs. Seeing one without the other is going to look strange and unsatisfying.
Startup Pittsburgh is a blog that will profile and review local startups. It was created because Pittsburgh is a hot bed of innovative startups that no one knows about. That’s right, very few people that live and work here know that these companies exist. Even when they make it to mainstream status, people still don’t know that they are based in Pittsburgh. This blog will change that. We will profile startups and keep you informed as they grow.
The goal of this blog is to show everyone that Pittsburgh is the place for ideas. A secondary goal is to promote the companies and ideas that make this region so exciting.
If you are a local startup, add us to your email list editor [at] startuppittsburgh.com. If you are a fan of business then we suggest you add this blog to your bookmarks or feed reader.
