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Never before has “fake” been such a household word. But not all “fake” is bad. For entrepreneurs starting out, the right version of “fake it until you make it” is exactly what they should be doing.

An entrepreneur who “fakes it” is someone who takes on challenges even if he has no idea how he’ll solve them, such as accepting an order from a large client without knowing how he’ll get the shipments from China.

That’s the purest form of “faking it,” because it’s aligning his mindset with what he desires while still operating within his means. It’s also biting off more than he can chew but always following through and delivering in the end.

Ultimately, entrepreneurs who don’t push themselves and “fake it” are the ones who aren’t going to make ...

Your brand and professional reputation is the one thing that will set you apart from your competition. Branding is the only tactic you can employ that is truly unique and that your competitors simply can’t replicate completely.

In branding, you’re dealing with the perception of your audience. To be regarded as an expert is what really matters. This isn’t a form of trickery or positioning yourself as a ‘marketing guru.’ It just requires a change in the way you communicate.

Instead of communicating like a beginner with no proven track record, you should be communicating like an expert with lots of knowledge and experience under your belt.

It’s about being yourself, being passionate about what you’re doing and really believing that you are wor...

This infographic highlights advice from billionaires for entrepreneurs.

You’ve finally secured funding. Phew. You can put that pitch deck to rest — for the time being. For now, you have investors. It’s imperative that you build and nurture a relationship with them, and a key part of that is sending regular investor updates on company performance.

Every investor that owns >=3-5% should be fully in the loop on what’s happening in the company until you are so big you don’t need any capital anymore, or their capital is irrelevant. They deserve this, and you may get burned if they get out of the loop.
— Jason Lemkin

Indeed, informed investors are not only happier but also more helpful. Regular updates set the stage for participation, not just dispersing information. They also may help you secure funding in the fu...

No offense to the Peppers, but just because I listen to alternative music and “people like me who listen to alt music” enjoy hearing the Peppers it does not then mean that I want to hear them. I am not “people like me”, I am me. And I want the smart computers behind my favorite services to know me enough to deliver the content I want.

It doesn’t matter which service we talk about. Voice controlled apps like Alexa, Siri, or Google Home. Chat bots in Messenger, Slack, or WeChat. Music stations/playlists from Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Red. Video on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu Plus. I want them to learn MY preferences, and do better for ME.

To keep the reference stories consistent, I’ll stick with music. But you can apply thi...

Marketing and business models might not be the same as they were decades ago. But one thing hasn’t changed: Customers are still any business’s greatest asset. That seems obvious, right?

It should be, but brands can forget that fact all too easily. In the race for the newest shiny things and the largest caches of data, it’s not hard for marketing teams to forget to tailor campaigns toward what customers actually want.

Chatbots are a great example. As sales associates, they can make shopping much more convenient. But as customer service reps, they kind of suck. In fact, when nearly a third of U.S. brands began shifting to automated customer service, the American Customer Satisfaction Index took the steepest dive since the 1990s.

Convenience i...

Earlier this year, we managed to outrank our largest competitor for one of the most competitive keywords in Google Search: presentation software. We did that with a team of 3 people, a page built in Squarespace and with 1% of their funding.

Through a 9-month period between 2015 and 2016, we invested about $70,000 in our content marketing campaigns. It was a long-term investment that has paid itself time and time again. As of today, our organic rankings in Google bring around $70,000 worth of subscriptions *every month*.

Demystifying SEO

SEO is a weird science. Google has been increasingly secretive about what drives their algorithm, which has caused a lot of speculation and inaccurate content.

There’s also a lot of outdated content o...

How do I…? How do I…? How do I…? How do I…? How do I…? Trying to start up an internet business raises endless questions. Understandably, Founders like to focus on the questions related to making great products and services and growing their company. I’ve yet to meet the Founder who’d rather concentrate on concerns related to banking, taxes, paperwork.

Stripe Atlas helps entrepreneurs start their businesses faster by handling the boring essentials.

For a one-time $500 fee, here’s what you get:

• Incorporation
• First year of registered agent fees
• Tax ID (EIN)
• Bank account opening
• U.S. Stripe account
• Conversation with lawyer & accountant
• Free post-incorporation templates

Atlas spares you the pain of filing pap...

We’ve all been there: You’re searching the web for some new shoes but then get distracted by a TV show or an incoming text message. Upon opening up your laptop again, you notice that there’s magically an ad for the running shoes you were looking at before.

Coincidence? Not in the slightest.

Smart marketers understand that there is no magic wand needed for this trick. Instead, they strategically utilize retargeting to reengage missed consumer opportunities.

This powerful strategy — when implemented properly — can inspire casual browsers to convert into customers. And many companies are willing to pay more for retargeted ads because they appear for consumers whose intent to purchase is typically higher, such as shoppers who have a...

For many entrepreneurs, focusing on one critical skill will lead to success in the early stages of their business. Finding that skill and focusing on it could mean the difference between success and failure. In this post, we hear from eight different entrepreneurs and learn about their one “critical skill.” I asked them the following questions:

• What was the one skill or activity you focused on that made your startup(s) successful?
• How did you know this was where you needed to focus?
• Did you need to sacrifice in other areas of your business to focus on your one skill?

What surprised me is that for most of them, focusing on this skill did not make them feel like they were sacrificing in other areas of their business. If you are focusi...