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You know that feeling you get when you just know your idea is going to be the next big thing? Well none of us had that feeling when we first started working on DashMetrics as a side-project. I’d love to rewrite history and tell you we knew our project was going to take off from the start, but this began like any other passion project. We had this hard problem of trying to make data visualization easier for the average person to understand without a dashboard looking like some hi-tech stock trading program with crazy looking candlestick charts, or a DevOps monitor displaying two-tone colored website traffic in real-time. No, we were going tackle the gnarly task of making metrics look sexy. It felt like our calling.

People rarely remember exa...

Imagine for a moment if you could shape every minute of your life to work exactly as you wanted it to.

Well, you can’t. Not exactly. Sorry about that.

But you can actually control more of your daily schedule than you ever thought possible, creating more time to do the things you enjoy or at the very least spending less wasted time on pointless meetings.

“Free time you say? No pointless meetings? Woohoo! Sign me up!”

Well now, that’s the spirit!

Take Command of your Calendar

The problem we tend to face with our calendars is that we let others control it for us.

Sometimes that’s necessary – like when a client or your boss insists on meeting right away at their offices. But often our calendars are left simply to fate and serendipity whic...

It’s tempting for young companies to put “getting involved in the community” on the to-do list for the future. They wait until the company is more established, more employees are on board, or a few more clients are locked in.

But carving out precious time to help the community, especially in the early days, can be a defining moment in building your company.

I’m not talking about the grand gesture of a big donation. Who can afford that, especially in your company’s early days? I’m talking about real grassroots involvement that engages your company and your employees in the community.

At Rocksauce Studios, we set out to establish core values that gave us a road map to consistently deliver happiness for our ...

My career has taken many unexpected turns, from pastor-in-training to investment banker, hedge fund manager, and tech entrepreneur. Along the way, I learned a thing or 10 about career transitions — many of which involved changing industries.

When I started my undergraduate studies at Emory University, I wanted to be a pastor. I was the only undergraduate taking seminary classes, and I took a few business classes I thought would help me learn to lead, inspire, and manage people.

At some point, I realized I’d graduate with a mountain of debt and enter a profession that would leave me in a cycle of debt forever. The finance industry offered a great way to pay off my student debt before I entered the ministry.

Wolfed by Wall Street

I started t...

Entrepreneur and video marketing pioneer Michael Litt sat down and acquainted us with the power of video and its connection to sales through his so-called “smarketing” strategy. Michael’s foresight in both tech and marketing enabled him to create VidYard, a software company that allows users to host customized videos and fully analyze those who watch them.

Why We Use Video

Litt first established the significance of video on the Internet today with a handful of quick stats. Seventy percent of B2B content marketers use video in their marketing mix and 60 percent believe video is the most effective tool they have. Visitors who watch video stay twice as long as those who do not, and video on landing pages can increase conversion by 80 percent. ...

This is a bit of a different piece of content for me. In his brilliant book “The Tipping Point” Malcolm Gladwell defines 3 archetypes of people – Salesmen, Connectors and Mavens.

Though I see a bit of all 3 in me, relentless Maven. According to Gladwell, Mavens are “information specialists”, or “people we rely upon to connect us with new information.” He goes on to say: “Mavens are really information brokers, sharing and trading what they know.”

When I discover great things it’s hard for me not to share it with others. I simply can’t help myself. When a company has done such great work developing a product that it becomes an integral part of my work life (or personal life) they deserve to have othe...

Pitching a room full of investors can be one of the most important things you do to get your company off the ground. Learn how to tell your story and keep your audience engaged with these 5 tips from pitch strategist, Tyler Crowley.

1. Hook the audience

On average, you only have around 15 seconds to capture your audience (less if you present right before lunch), and you’re competing with email/Facebook for their attention. People’s brains are wired to remember stories and not PowerPoints, so cut out the stuff that doesn’t matter and start with a story. Create a persona and introduce them to the audience. What problems do they have? How does your product/service solve them?

2. Add a twist

When you’re telling your story, keep it interesting. Pe...

On April 21^st, 2015, Google will roll out an update that will make mobile friendliness a bigger part of its algorithm. If you don’t think this is a big deal, think again.

Why? Because Google is saying the mobile update will have a bigger impact than its Panda update.

Should you be worried? Yes!

Here’s why, and here are some ways to take full advantage of this update.

Step #1: Make your website responsive

It’s generally not the best idea to create a separate website just for mobile visitors. The main reason you will want to avoid this approach is because updates to your main site won’t appear on your mobile site.

With responsive design, this is no longer a concern. A responsive design will automatically adapt your site to the size of a perso...

As leaders, many of us regularly fall into a revolving-door trap when it comes to telling versus asking. And it’s most evident in meetings.

How many times do we march into a conference room with a list of things to say? Yet it’s far more prudent, productive, and profitable to shift from having all the answers to asking all the questions.

In fact, it’s so important that it might just be the core differentiator between a company’s culture and that of its competitors.

Stuck in an Always-Telling Rut

Why do we so quickly fall into the routine of telling instead of asking? Honestly, the reaction has roots in science.

Put simply, having all the ideas is a rush. Providing a quick solution that gets a group from point A to point B rapidly leads to ...

There are five main types of business loans that are relevant for startups: SBA small business loans, business credit lines, short term loans, invoice financing, and merchant cash advances. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

SBA Small Business Loans

A SBA small business loan is a loan that is backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Founded in 1953, the SBA is a federal government program that provides support to small business owners in the form of mentorship, workshops, counseling, and small business loans.

While the loans are backed by the SBA, they don’t come directly from the SBA. You’ll have to find a local lender who provides SBA loans in order to access the funding.

Who qualifies?

There are three main types of SBA small...