Articles

Ok, so I’m not talking about 10-year-old boys on Ritalin selling lemonade on the corner of a suburban street. I’m talking about small and medium enterprise with Advertising Deficit Disorder. Chances are, that’s you.

Exist interviews can rapidly devolve into something similar to a post-breakup inquisition. The disillusioned employee provides an autopsy of their disillusionment before a chastened ex-manager. Why not conduct ‘stay interviews’ to gauge and, if necessary, mend the attitudes of still-engaged employees?

Developing technology is about so much more than mastering lines of code. The reality is, if you don’t have the right mix of technical talent, available capital and market understanding, you’re likely to come unstuck. But anyone with an open mind who is strong in just one of these areas can succeed.

To succeed in social media, you need to stop worrying and learn to love chaos, writes Annie Robinson.

August is Venture Capital Month at Anthill and today we’re launching a new series written by San Francisco-based Steve Anderson focusing on the capital raising cultures in Australia and the US. Today, Anderson discusses the pros, cons, illusion and reality of raising capital in the US.

Very few private or unlisted companies that are seeking to raise capital companies have any clear understanding of the laws associated with raising capital, nor the options available to them. Steve Torso clarifies some pressing legal issues for private capital seekers.

If you can plot the evolutionary trajectory in any given sector, it should be much easier to figure out what's next – and then build the next innovation, leaving others in your wake. History is brimming with examples, writes Roger La Salle.

When you think of Board of Directors/Advisors, you might picture a multinational corporation or an optimistic entrepreneur surrounded by neurotic investors. But, as Karen Jenkins argues, a good Board can be your greatest asset.

To maximise your export opportunity and increase your chances of success, it's important to focus your mind on what you want to achieve. That way, you'll have a clear vision to plan for and work towards. So, where to begin? Here are three steps to help you export like an expert.

Are you a 'thinking boss'? If not, you could the cause of poor productivity, a lethargic workforce and staff animosity.

I often joke that it takes 100 cups of coffee to get a new start-up funded. Not because the investor is one out of 100 but because it takes a long time to get the story polished.

Angels are private people investing their own money and their own time (experience, expertise, networks) in high growth companies. The 2008 survey conducted by the Australian Association of Angel Investors Limited (AAAI) estimated that there are 16,100 Australians who can identify as active angel investors. Together those individuals, in 2008, invested an estimated $1.69b in over 5,000 entrepreneurial companies, which fuelled over 35,000 jobs.

When I was just starting out, an old IBM-education sales manager was the first to tell me the real truism of all sales activity: “People buy from people” – a statement that embodies not just the mere fact that the process of selling is personal and emotional, but that successful sales is someone buying, as opposed to being sold to.

The Chinese are buzzing about next year’s World Expo in Shanghai. But Aussie expat Andrew Collins thinks the locals are underwhelmed. Nevertheless, commercial opportunities abound for local and foreign businesses.

Unless you are Osama bin Laden’s roommate, you'll know that 2009 is the year Twitter took off. It has grown by over 1,000 percent and the phrase "tweet it" has become part of the popular lexicon. While many people still "don't get it", it has become incredibly powerful. How did this happen?

There are so many examples of exciting Australian companies and initiatives. Why aren’t doing a better job of ensuring their success? Brad Howarth looks at the issue of squandered potential.

Everyone knows the story of the Greeks infiltrating the enemy Trojan compound by hiding inside a giant horse. But not many people know that something similar is going on right now inside the commercialisation of public research in Australia.

It is assumed that exercise is good for our mental health, but does it make us more creative?

Customers want more than your widgets or whatever your core offering happens to be. They want an experience. They want to be wowed. They want to join your tribe. If you don’t approach them on these terms, there are countless rival ‘tribes’ that will, argues Kevin Garber.

The United States is relentless in making its vast markets seem enticingly available, yet every mistake when doing business there can be costly and unforgiving. Here are the top 13 things you “must do” prior to taking the plunge and doing business in the US.