[author: Jared Brenner]
Some interesting links we found across the web this week:
Startups Are Surviving Longer Than Ever
Three new market reports caught our eye this week. First, via Fast Company, the Kauffman Foundation’s annual survey shows encouraging signs for small businesses generally, including rising five-year survival rates and increased minority entrepreneurship. Of course, the statistics aren’t specific to tech startups, but they may still be influential in broad-based policy discussions that affect the startup community. Click through to the survey itself for state- and city-level breakdowns.
The Surprising State of Equity Crowdfunding Post-JOBS Act
Second, after six months of full effectiveness, equity crowdfunding has now generated enough of a sample size for the first useful reports on early adoption. As we’ve covered elsewhere, equity crowdfunding can be an expensive experiment. Watch this space in the new administration—it remains to be seen whether current regulatory hurdles for companies will be loosened or eliminated.
Turning One Thousand Customers into One Million
And finally, great insights and a new survey from Harvard Business School on how to scale the right way.
What I Look for in Candidates Interviewing at My Startup
If you’ve just raised a round of investment, you’re probably hiring like crazy! We found these quick, practical tips from the Harvard Business Review on how to spot the talent you need.
Peer-to-Peer Lending -- Balancing Investor Supply With Entrepreneur Demand
And if you’re struggling to attract investors, the alternative model of peer-to-peer lending wants your attention! Forbes has a nice primer for the uninitiated.
Open Source and Coopetition are the New Normal
It was once unimaginable, but tech titans and open source nonprofits are banding together like never before. TechCrunch has a few thoughts on the culture change—click through to their links for even more.
