Archive for October 2008
Show #3: News from PDC, getting startup accounting right.
In our third show, Pat and I discuss the impact on startups and microISVs of various announcements at Microsoft’s Professional Developer Conference (PDC). This is strategic, important stuff, whether or not you’re Microsoft-centric.
Also, I interview Mairtini Ni Dhomhnaill, Senior Vice President for the consulting firm Accretive Solutions on the basic financial and accounting knowledge every microISV and startup needs. Accretive Solutions has provided accounting, financial and other consulting services to over 500 startups, and Mairtini’s insight is something you won’t find via Google.
If you are going to make money, accounting and financing are things you need to at least know the basics of. This podcast interview with Mairtini will get you started; this webcast (sponsored by Microsoft) is the extended play version if you will.
Quick note: Tomorrow I wrap up the Startup 101 webcast series with a talk with the founders -Mark Morrison, CEO and Ian Clemens, CTO – of IDV Solutions, an enterprise software company that began as a microISV and has grown to 45 employees in just 4 years. Sign up here – it’s free. It’s live at 9am PDT, Oct. 31st and the recorded version will be available a day later at the ISV Innovation site.
Download Show #3 here: startupsuccess003 Or if you prefer, Subscribe to the podcast in Apple iTunes.
(Since these two segments are about 20 minutes each, we skipped the microISV and Microsoft tips.)
What can we do to help you? Who should we go interview? What knowledge should we go find an expert in and pick their brains? Let us know!
Bob Walsh is on twitter at http://twitter.com/bobwalsh or you can email him at bob.walsh@47hats.com
Patrick Foley is on twitter at http://twitter.com/patrickfoley or you can email him at patrick.foley@microsoft.com
Show Notes:
URLs mentioned in this episode of the Startup Success Podcast.
Show #2: JQuery, when to quit your day job and more.
In our second show, Pat and I talk about JQuery that has jumped on both our radars, I interview Sanjay Bhatia, who founded Izenda a few years back and now runs a 20+ ISV.
Download Show #2 here: StartupSuccess002 Or if you prefer, Subscribe to the podcast in Apple iTunes.
Starting this episode, we’re experimenting with an actual podcast format:
1. Pat and Bob talk over a few interesting business and technology developments since the last show that impact startups and microISVs. We especially want your emails on what you’d like us to dig into.
2. I offer up a microISV tip of the week (this week is about when to ask for the sale)
3. I and/or Pat interview someone who’s good some useful experience/insight to share with the microISV/startup community.
4. Pat provides a Microsoft-related tip: this week its getting started with the Vista Sidebar.
5. One of us make a book/video/site recommendation we think you’ll find really worthwhile.
Please let us know what you think of this format – it’s definitely a work in progress!
Download Show #2 here: StartupSuccess002
Want to be on the show? Have a suggestion (besides more structure/shorter length – we’re getting better!)? Want an answer to a microISV or startup question? Let us know!
Bob Walsh is on twitter at http://twitter.com/bobwalsh or you can email him at bob.Walsh@47hats.com
Patrick Foley is on twitter at http://twitter.com/patrickfoley or you can email him at Patrick.Foley@microsoft.com
Show Notes:
URLs mentioned in this episode of the Startup Success Podcast.
- http://jquery.com/blog/
- Jquery UI Demos
- JQuery and Microsoft and Nokia
- My first ebook: MicroISV Sites that Sell!
- Izenda Reports
- Izenda Reports has just released version 5.6, and they are sponsoring two free web demos Wednesday October 29, 2008 3:00 PM ET and Thursday November 13, 2008 11:00 AM ET.
- http://blog.izenda.com/
- Dundas Chart for .NET Success Stories
- Dundas Adds Superior AJAX Charting to Izenda’s Web-Based Agile Reporting Solution
- getting started developing sidebar gadgets
- Windows Sidebar
Startup Succcess is now on iTunes
Got the approval early this morning: The Startup Success Podcast is now on Apple iTunes at:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=293268482
You should be able to find it at the iTunes Store in 1 or 2 days, according to Apple.
The how-to:
If you’re interested in knowing how this gets done circa Oct. 2008 from wordpress.com, here’s how:
- Upgrade WP storage – that lets you upload and serve out podcasts.
- Take the WP feed and burn it at http://feedburner.com.
- At FeedBurner, under Optimize, fill in all the Smartcast stuff. Keep descriptions short and make your point in the first few words – that’s what people see in the Description field in iTunes. Avoid abbreviations! – no matter what you try it will look like “& nbsp” either in your feed or iTunes.
- Take the time in Feedburner>>Optimize>>FeedFlare to give your listeners/readers as many options as make sense for subscribing: subscribe by email, use Add to Any, etc. Think of this feedburner feed as your secondary feed – as of now, WP does not allow you to replace it’s feed with it, so offer it alongside.
- See this Apple support post for a current working link to submit your podcast to iTunes, prep it, etc.: http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/creatorfaq.html also see this much more detailed version: http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/specs.html#changing
- Before you submit, go into iTunes>>Advanced>>Subscribe to Podcast… and give it your feedburner feed to validate.
- When submitting, be patient. It takes about 5 minutes for Apple’s servers to grind through validating your feed.
- You’ll get an email saying you’re successfully submitted in about 20 minutes.
- You’ll get an email saying you’re in in about 12 hours.
Show #1: We launch SSP.
In our first show, Pat and I discuss who we are, why we are doing this podcast (help startups succeed), some of the topics we hope to cover in successive podcasts and some of the larger trends that are changing the landscape for microISVs and startups.
Download Show #1 here: StartupSuccess001
Want to be on the show? Have a suggestion (besides more structure/shorter length – got that!)? Want an answer to a microISV or startup question? Let us know!
Bob Walsh is on twitter at http://twitter.com/bobwalsh or you can email him at bob.Walsh@47hats.com
Patrick Foley is on twitter at http://twitter.com/patrickfoley or you can email him at Patrick.Foley@microsoft.com
Show Notes:
URLs mentioned in this episode of the Startup Success Podcast.
- http://www.trialpay.com/
- NBC’s Silverlight’s 2008 Olympics Browser (also see this TechCrunch post and Microsoft’s Silverlight main page.
- Adobe AIR, this gallery of AIR apps and this post at ReadWriteWeb.
- 280Slides written in Cappuccino and Objective-J
- European Software Conference, Nov. 8-9, Berlin
- Microsoft Professional Developer Conference, Oct. 27-30, Los Angeles
- The Business of Software Network
- The Business of Software Forum
- “Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations” (Clay Shirky)
Hello startups and microISVs!
Hi there! You’ve just happened across the Startup Success Podcast. Your hosts – Bob Walsh of 47hats.com and Patrick Foley of Microsoft – are hard at work on our first podcast. Look for it soon!
By the way, why not add us to your RSS reader so you won’t miss that first show..!