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When it comes to building a company from scratch, there’s no substitute for hard work, writes Sahil Merchant.

ROI is a bunch of numbers invented by the marketing guys and then given substance by creating a scenario to support the desired end result. Most of us know this as spin or, more bluntly, bullshit.

ROI is a bunch of numbers invented by the marketing guys and then given substance by creating a scenario to support the desired end result. Most of us know this as spin or, more bluntly, bullshit.

This funny (and strangely catchy) mashup of television footage from Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series (with the aid of some masterfully applied Auto-Tune singing technology) was created as a musical tribute to honour the two great men of science. It also begs the question, 'Why can't science be cool?' (Or so uncool that it becomes cool... like Sagan's skivvy.)

A company’s culture is set early and by the founder. If you hook in from the get-go, the resulting stories can become the stuff of legend that sustains staff morale long into the future, says Sahil Merchant.

You’ve heard all the pros and cons for social networking. So, I’m not going there again. If you hate social media, run away. Now. However, for those of you who are hooked, there’s a whole new world of words and phrases that you need to be across. So, I felt it was time for a dictionary for our new, social media age.

An ex-colleague of mine, the least entrepreneurial person I have ever met, gave me the best piece of entrepreneurial advice I have ever received. She told me just as I was starting mag nation that my most important job would be having a coffee with five random people every week. I smiled politely and filed this one in the back pocket. She was right, though. When I have lived by this rule, my business has progressed. When I have ignored it, we have stagnated.

We all want the best for our families, and building successful companies is one of the best ways to provide for them. But while you're off establishing your empire, will your kids turn into spoilt ingrates?

Which advertising medium – print or social media – provides more reach and more bang for your buck. It’s a complicated equation. Luke Faccini takes a peek under the hood.

I’m in the middle of raising another round of capital and it occurs to me that one of the costs of professional investment, especially with VCs or Private Equity firms, is complexity. Not many people talk about this.

If you haven’t hit up your family, friends and fools to investment in your new venture, angel investors have every right to be sceptical. Sahil Merchant has a bunch of ruthless angles crowded on his shoulders, and he thinks it’s a damn fine thing.

Ice stones are about the size as ice cubes, but they they cool your drink down without diluting it. Perfect for those with a taste for expensive single malt whiskey, or simply like their red cordial mixed just right.

I’ve heard it a hundred times. Entrepreneurs need to work on their business as opposed to in their business. However, getting stuck in the day-to-day happens to most of us, and the obvious question is ‘why?’ Especially when we know it is not in the best interests of our company. Are we just inherently forgetful, or is something else in play?

Earlier this week, I dispatched a letter to our subscribers explaining that we will no longer be offering Anthill Magazine as a subscription title.

People ask me quite regularly if I can look over their numbers prior to them talking to potential funders. I have generally been happy to do so, but the truth is that I will have no clue. Neither will the potential funders. And, most likely, neither will you. The thing about most new ventures is...well, they are new. So we put down our best guesses, present them as the gospel truth and everyone pretends they know more than everyone else. What a crock.

Today we launch a new blog. ‘The Entrepreneurial Truth’ is written by mag nation fopunder, Sahil Merchant. In this, his first post, Merchant admits that his new venture has yet to turn a cent of profit and offers his own brand of unspun entrepreneurial truth, direct for the coal-face.

A great post by regular Anthill contributor and Rentoid.com founder Steve Sammartino over on his Start Up Blog. A list of the 10 things...

Of the 861 products nominated for our inaugural 'Smart 100' Index, some doozies are in our Top 100. While we can't announce the winners until 2 April 2009 (with the release of our Apr/May/Jun edition), we can bow to your prolific and very persuasive emails requesting a sneak peak at 'who has entered'.

Of the 861 products nominated for our inaugural 'Smart 100' Index, some doozies are in our Top 100. While we can't announce the winners until 2 April 2009 (with the release of our Apr/May/Jun edition), we can bow to your prolific and very persuasive emails requesting a sneak peak at 'who has entered'.

The Brokers With Hands on their Faces Blog contains photos, one after another, of stock brokers touching different parts of their faces as they watch on in disbelief at recent manic market machinations. The blog contains no words, for none are required. Amateur anthropologists with a wicked streak prefer their irony served raw.