Kyle Westaway

STARTUP EDUCATION AND THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

kylewestaway — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:49:02 +0000

GUEST MENTOR Kyle Westaway, co-founder of Biographe: While mastering certain skills — like the ability to write a cohesive essay, or to solve basic logic puzzles — is helpful, and necessary to any entrepreneurial venture, entrepreneurship can only be learned through hands-on experience.

Enstitute has developed a smart apprenticeship system that matches startups with aspiring entrepreneurs, and General Assembly is a global leader in designing relevant curriculum for the digital economy, which is the other segment of the ideal startup education — reaching digital fluency.

The two-step education can be completed in the same amount of time as a typical liberal arts degree, but graduates of this program will be far ahead of those graduating from the current system because of their relevant skills and real-world experience. This new take on education would produce highly skilled, well-rounded and proactive graduates, with a portfolio of work to show for it. They are prepared to launch their first company or to join a company and contribute to the bottom line immediately.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

WHY ACCURATE VALUATIONS ARE CRUCIAL

kylewestaway — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:08:23 +0000

GUEST MENTOR Kyle Westaway, co-founder of Biographe: As an entrepreneur, there may be a number of reasons for setting a valuation for your company throughout its lifecycle.

In the early stages, valuation is important to understand the founders’ equity structure and to receive startup capital. As your company grows, you may want to raise additional growth capital into the company. At the end of the lifecycle you may wish to move on — you want to be bought out, or if the company has been successful you may be acquired.

It is important to understand the true value of the company in order to make decisions in your best interest as the entrepreneur and the decisions that are in the best interest of your company. The value of your company is the crucial data you need to make strategic financial decisions. Without this data, planning becomes an exercise of throwing darts at a dartboard.

READ FULL STORY HERE.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRICING

kylewestaway — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:18:13 +0000

GUEST MENTOR Kyle Westaway, co-founder of Biographe: Pricing is a tricky game. Modern economics is based on rational choice theory, which states that people are acting in their own rational self-interest. The problem is that we, as humans, don’t always act in our rational self-interest. We often make decisions completely opposed to our rational self-interest.

The field of behavioral economics has emerged as a counterpoint to rational choice theory to study why and how we make decisions that are not rational. Below is one pricing insight from behavioral economics that can help your startup succeed.

READ FULL STORY HERE.

KEEP THE FOUNDER, BRING ON THE COO

kylewestaway — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 06:13:30 +0000

GUEST MENTOR Kyle Westaway, co-founder of Biographe: With explosive growth (both in terms of user base and employee headcount) a founding CEO is always stretched, and few 20-something, hoodie-wearing, CEOs have the skills required to lead the company to the next level. There often comes a point in a successful startup’s life, usually after it takes a venture capital investment, when investors want to bring in a gray-haired CEO to run the company.

Installing an experienced CEO into a young, growing company is a move to protect the investment of VCs by bringing in “grown ups” to run the business. But it often results in a fundamental shift in the culture and vision that created success in the first place.

READ FULL STORY HERE.

A BILLION PLAY, A MILLION PAY

kylewestaway — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:10:32 +0000

GUEST MENTOR Kyle Westaway, co-founder of Biographe: With the advent of Web 2.0, freemium has emerged as a viable business model for successful companies like Flickr, Dropbox and Spotify. Apparently, they are not the only ones.According to Velti PLC< VELT -6.47%/a>, a mobile advertising and marketing company, about 77% of the top-100 grossing mobile apps in the Apple App Store use a freemium pricing plan.

What are these companies doing right? Here are three keys to a successful freemium business model.

READ FULL STORY HERE.

HOW TO RUN A LAW FIRM LIKE A STARTUP

kylewestaway — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 06:23:23 +0000

Most law firms bill clients by the hour. It’s been this way for decades. But the system is fundamentally flawed: It rewards employees for being unproductive.

Social enterprise attorney Kyle Westaway is trying to change that. He works out of his Brooklyn loft and has found some of his young startup clients via social media. He uses virtually no paper and bills on a by-project basis.

“There is a new model of the practice of law, and it’s about applying lean startup principles and challenging the old norms of the billable hour, command-and-control structure at a price that’s more approachable, lacking all the extra added bloat,” he tells us.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

TEN MOMENTS OF 2012 THAT WILL AFFECT THE NEXT 50 YEARS

kylewestaway — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 04:57:25 +0000

SOPA and PIPA

In January, the internet community secured a huge policy victory. At the end of 2011, the internet got angry—very angry. Its ire was directed at SOPA and PIPA, two bills coming up for a vote on Capitol Hill that would effectively censor the internet and stifle innovation on the web. In protest of the bills, Google, Wikipedia, Reddit, and over 7,000 other sites went “dark.” Citizens protested as well, holding rallies in New York City and hoards of internet users voiced their disapproval to their representatives, where else, but Twitter. Apparently Washington heard the uproar and promptly killed the bill.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

BUSINESS BETTER THAN USUAL: THE FPC OFFERS SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS FLEXIBILITY

kylewestaway — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 05:38:05 +0000

In this Business Better Than Usual series, social enterprise attorney Kyle Westaway explains the fundamentals of different legal structures available to social entrepreneurs. Earlier, Kyle discussed the benefit corporation and the L3C.

The Flexible Purpose Corporation (FPC) is a new class of corporation, which allows entrepreneurs to select a special social or environmental purpose, in addition to the financial goals of a company.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

BUSINESS BETTER THAN USUAL: L3C’S PUT PURPOSE OVER PROFIT

kylewestaway — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 05:32:36 +0000

The Low Profit Limited Liability Company (L3C) is a new class of LLC for mission-driven companies. In most respects, the L3C operates like an LLC, including the ease of set up, liability protection, flexible management and pass through taxation. However, L3C has two primary distinguishing features. First, the L3C elevates purpose over profit. Secondly, the L3C is designed to receive both philanthropic and private capital.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

NEW TOOL FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS: THE BENEFIT CORPORATION

kylewestaway — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 05:17:09 +0000

In this Business Better Than Usual series, social enterprise attorney Kyle Westaway explains the fundamentals of different legal structures available to social entrepreneurs.

The benefit corporation is a new class of corporation for entrepreneurs that are seeking to create a positive social and environmental impact while running a profitable company. (As a side note, the benefit corporation is distinct from the B Corp Certification, which is not a legal structure, but a voluntary, consumer-facing certification that a company operating in any legal structure may apply for.)

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.