

What are the best places to find practical advice on startups? - hoha

We're creating a search engine prototype for entrepreneurs as part of an SBIR project funded by the National Science Foundation and we need to index some quality resources and information for new entrepreneurs. It can bee about the mundane details and paperwork to the big-picture, strategy stuff.Any ideas?<p>I'd also love to hear of stuff that you wish was out there to help startups. Thanks.
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hoha
You also can send ideas to venturewrench@gmail.com

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pghimire
I am a bootstrapped guy. I wish there was a step-by step guide that one can
follow before and after launch. Despite the target market,etc. I think the
basic things that any new startup needs to follow is pretty much the same. A
guide will be tremendously helpful that lists a few things such as:

Pre-Launch: \- Contact blogger/journalist a,b, c and d, to give free beta
invites and coverage during launch \- Do ....(twitter, facebook) etc to engage
with potential customers and start building a community that will end up
becoming your first set of customers. \- ... I am sure there are plenty of
things a startup can do (and is applicable to any startup across the board),
that will help build anticipation and buzz around the product/launch

Post-Launch: \- Immediate steps that can be taken to get your first set of
customers \- Startups desperately need traction and attention now that they
have launched. PR is critical. What are some of the strategies that can be
applied here? For instance, going after middle level bloggers. You are not
ready for TechCrunch yet, or you do not have the right contacts. No-name
blogger will not give you any exposure (however, I should say that any
mention/link helps) - but you need to find the right balance to get maximum
realistic bang for your efforts. \- Some strategies to monetize. If
product/service based monetization - what are some of the important things
that need to be done? Ditto with advertising based model. \- Despite the
amount of time you've put into development, you will need to listen. Do you
have proper feedback channels in place? Based on this feedback, you might need
to completely change your business model, or at least think about tweaking
several things including better user experience / smooth user-flow.

I just wanted to say a few things to get a conversation started. You have
started ene of the most critical and much needed conversation topics here.
Let's here from others. In today's world with all the tools and more or less
the same paths that users take to grow their startup, A "Startup Handbook"
would be an asset.

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hoha
Thanks for commenting. So are you envisioning something like a how to guide to
use on things like PR services (prnewswire, businesswire, etc.) or more of a
breakdown of what is out there (like <http://mashable.com/2007/10/20/press-
releases/> ) or just a checklist of best practices?

