Happy new year folks!
And best wishes from the Startup Foundation team. Let's make sure 2016 will be a great year!
In this week's issue we have articles about how to become the best in your field, starting from scratch as a startup, co-living, creating an inclusive culture, and a guide to seed funding.
Have a great weekend!
Culture
How to become the best in the world at what you do
Focus this new year and become the best in the top 5–10 percent in your field.
Modern Entrepreneurship
The BOOTSTART Manifesto
Ash Maurya has written about his experience and contributed to the startup ecosystem where he could. Now he summarised his thoughts into this insightful manifesto.
Growth
Lessons from achieving 300% growth - 2nd year of a startup
A round up of the most important lessons of a B2B startup RightHello in 2015.
How these entrepreneurs found success in an industry they knew nothing about
From consulting Google, by typing in basic queries like “How do you make shoes?” to almost half a million pairs of sneakers and $16 million in VC, the team of BucketFeet has done it all. A nice inspirational read when you wake up and kickstart your day.
Trends
Shoppers are choosing experiences over stuff, and that’s bad news for retailers
Malls, shopping centres and high streets are having a hard time and need to configure themselves for an experience-seeking consumer.
Product
The trouble with side projects
Here’s a handful of things I’ve learned sending a weekly newsletter to 400 people and probably a couple of bots.
Design
Four things working at Facebook has taught me about design critique
"Critique is a team effort, not a one person show."
Team
Creating a culture where employees speak up
If you want to keep your employees and co-founders then make them feel welcome, included and heard.
Finance
A guide to seed fundraising
Written by the founder of Imagine K12, and partner at Y Combinator, Geoff Ralston.