A government department has asked us if we know of anybody that would be interested in being a key note speaker for a 4 day event in the Caribeean.    The request is for the speaker to be a current or former entrepreneur who can relate their own experiences starting up a business and the ways they succeeded in tapping financial opportunities to make it a success.  We have been asked if we know of a suitable keynote speaker to give a presentation/talk at two business clinics and meet with aspiring entrepreneurs over the course of three or four days.

The date of travel is May 22nd to May 26th, and speaker must be a US citizen.  Travel and accommodation will be paid.

Please e-mail david@gorann.com with a link to your linked in bio if you would like more information.  

By Leanne Pittsford (Founder & CEO, StartSomewhere & Board Member, StartOut)

There’s been an increased focus recently on the gender inequality in startups, in Silicon Valley and especially among VC firms. If you’re like me, these stats probably drive you a little crazy. Though there’s the big rallying cry to get women more involved, it seems at times like an insurmountable challenge. Broken down into smaller pieces, though, we can make a measurable impact.

If conventional wisdom dictates that success with your startup success yields experience, money and connections; and it follows logically that experience, money and connections gets you a seat at the Tables of Influence (boards, VCs, etc.), then the first step is to do whatever we can to help startups be more successful, faster. Though each of us may not have every key to success, we should start somewhere, anywhere, in the areas of our own expertise.

To that end, StartOut wants to do their part and help lesbian entrepreneurs. StartOut is an organization focused on building the next generation of LGBT business leaders through entrepreneurship. If we’re talking about women in business, why focus on lesbians? Well, because gay men and women in business face unique challenges – not only in building a business, but in being an out gay person in areas and among people where acceptance is not the norm (and let’s face it, there are still a lot of those). Helping lesbian entrepreneurs serves the dual goals of building a stronger entrepreneurial community, and building a stronger gay community.

StartOut is doing that by starting the Lesbian Entrepreneur Mentorship Program. In speaking with lesbian entrepreneurs, it became clear that mentoring was high on the list of needs, and a simple way to provide immediate value to new business owners. We’re piloting the program here in San Francisco.

We’re also looking for Mentors to these new lesbian entrepreneurs. We’re looking for mentors from any industry, and with at least two years of experience with your own company. Whether you’re well into your success or have only been doing it for a short time, you have valuable knowledge and experience that ‘newbies’ can benefit from. If you would like to learn more about being a mentor, please email me at leanne@startout.org.

We’re launching in San Francisco with our first class of mentors and entrepreneurs. If you’d like to apply for the next class of mentors or entrepreneurs, please fill out the form below.

We’re looking to build an advisory committee to help bring the program to other cities. If you’re interested in bringing this program to your city, please email me at leanne@startout.org.

Feel free to share this with appropriate women in your network, and thanks in advance for sharing your experience, bringing in new entrepreneurs to strengthen StartOut, and helping develop the next generation of women and lesbian entrepreneurs.

Leanne Pittsford is the Founder and CEO of StartSomewhere. She is also a Board Member of StartOut. Leanne is an investor and advisor to Solar Network Solutions, a woman-owned solar tech startup. Prior to founding Start Somewhere, Leanne was a Director at Equality California, the largest statewide LGBT organization in the country. She lives San Francisco and Chicago with her partner and their dachshunds Sauce and Magoo. Find her on Twitter at @lepitts.

• - A new video promoting StartOut members and benefits
• - New Profiles in Entrepreneurship, featuring StartOut members sharing their stories
• - Expanded events and advanced event search
• - More, better-organized resources for entrepreneurs
• - Easier to join our email list and share StartOut with your friends

Many thanks to Board Member Leanne Pittsford, whose company Start Somewhere created our new site. Start Somewhere is dedicated to companies making positive change in the world, whether they’re nonprofits, startups or social enterprises, by providing branding, website development, data management, list building and online fundraising services. To learn more about improving the brand and communications for your company, email Leanne at leanne@start-somewhere.com.

Thanks for checking out our new site!

StartOut from StartOut on Vimeo.

The StartOut Board would like to thank everyone for making the first-ever StartOut Entrepreneur Awards a smashing success! The sold out event at the W hotel brought together LGBT entrepreneurs and award winners in an amazing night of celebration. Click here to see photos from the event.

The Awards event, and the support of our Sponsors and Members, has put our non-profit start-up on the path to sustainability.  But we need your support to increase our impact in the LGBT community by creating wealth and opportunity through entrepreneurship.

Please become a supporter today by visiting  www.startout.org/donate

Sincerely,

The StartOut Board

LGBT Entrepreneurship Awards

Featuring Keynote Speaker Peter Thiel

Mark your calendars for the First Annual StartOut Awards, to highlight and celebrate exceptional and innovative entrepreneurs in the LGBT Community. StartOut will honor these business leaders for their accomplishments and personal commitments to both the entrepreneurial and LGBT communities.

Please wear your Thursday best (business casual) on Thursday, March 8th, 2012, beginning at 5pm (Awards Dinner begins at 7pm) to celebrate the first-ever LGBT Entrepreneurship Awards in the swanky Great Room, at the W Hotel in San Francisco.

The evening’s festivities include a cocktail reception, keynote presentation by Peter Thiel, awards ceremony and dinner. Awards will recognize exceptional entrepreneurs for their vision, leadership and achievement in entrepreneurship, and for providing inspiration to the LGBT community. Award categories include: Leadership Award, recognizing an inspiring entrepreneurial role model; Advocate Award, recognizing a champion for LGBT business leadership; Disruptor Award, recognizing an innovator who is revolutionizing an industry; and the Next Generation Award, recognizing a young entrepreneur of great accomplishment.
Event proceeds go to StartOut, a national organization that is building the next generation of LGBT business leaders through entrepreneurship.

To purchase tickets & tables click here. To sign up as a Table Captain or Sponsor please contact Darren Spedale at Darren.Spedale@startout.org.

About Peter Thiel

Keynote Speaker: Peter Thiel is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO. He currently serves as president of Clarium Capital, a global macro hedge fund. Mr. Thiel was an early investor in Facebook, the popular social-networking site, and sits on the company’s board of directors. Building on his personal success as a venture capital investor, Mr. Thiel co-founded and manages Founders Fund, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital fund that has pioneered new methods of venture financing that benefit founders. Through Founders Fund, as well as through his private investing, he has helped build the next generation of tech companies, such as SpaceX, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zynga, RoboteX, and Spotify. Mr. Thiel has also established the Thiel Foundation, dedicated to defending and promoting freedom. He lives in San Francisco.

About StartOut: StartOut is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating great business leaders by fostering LGBT entrepreneurs. With over 3,000 participants nationwide, it is focused on educating the LGBT community about entrepreneurship, helping aspiring and current entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, and inspiring the LGBT community through the engagement of successful LGBT entrepreneurs and business leaders as role models and mentors. www.startout.org

To purchase tickets & tables click here. To sign up as a Table Captain or Sponsor please contact Darren Spedale at Darren.Spedale@startout.org.

This year’s four 2012 honorees include:

·       JPMorgan Chase Leadership Award: Peter Thiel

·       Pillsbury Winthrop Advocate Award: Kathy Levinson

·       Wells Fargo Next Generation Award: Geoff Lewis

·       Google Innovation Award: Ramona Pierson

We were inspired by these individuals for their achievements. We invite you to learn more about them:

JPMorgan Chase Leadership Award: Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO. He currently serves as president of Clarium Capital, a global macro hedge fund. Mr. Thiel was an early investor in Facebook, the popular social-networking site, and sits on the company’s board of directors. Building on his personal success as a venture capital investor, Mr. Thiel co-founded and manages Founders Fund, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital fund that has pioneered new methods of venture financing that benefit founders. Through Founders Fund, as well as through his private investing, he has helped build the next generation of tech companies, such as SpaceX, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zynga, RoboteX, and Spotify. Mr. Thiel has also established the Thiel Foundation, dedicated to defending and promoting freedom. He lives in San Francisco.

Pillsbury Winthrop Advocate Award: Kathy Levinson

A highly accomplished operational strategist and philanthropist with three decades of experience, Kathy Levinson has held prominent C-level positions with Fortune 500 corporations including E*TRADE Financial and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Ms. Levinson stepped down as E*TRADE’s Chief Operating Officer and President in 2000 in order to start her own foundation and concentrate on her philanthropic and venture capital interests. She was repeatedly named one of the top businesswomen in Silicon Valley by publications such as inter@active Week Online, the San Francisco Business Times, and the Gay Financial Network.
An active supporter of LGBT rights, Kathy Levinson launched the Lesbian Equity Foundation in 2000, a California-based organization that has led a number of social justice campaigns over the past decade. As part of her civil rights work, Ms. Levinson has held prominent positions in the Democratic Party, and was appointed as a co-chair of the National Finance Committee for President Obama’s re-election campaign in early 2011.

Wells Fargo Next Generation Award: Geoff Lewis

Geoff Lewis, 29, is an entrepreneur, investor, and business advisor.  Most recently, Mr. Lewis served as the Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Topguest, a disruptive technology company enabling the world’s largest loyalty programs to engage with and reward members via mobile devices and social networks. Founded in 2010, Topguest has already been adopted by loyalty programs reaching over 260 million members, including United MileagePlus and Hilton HHonors. In Dec, 2011, Mr. Lewis sold Topguest to Switchfly, Inc (formerly ezRez Software) in a multi-million dollar transaction.

A noted expert on emerging marketing technologies, Mr. Lewis has appeared as an expert commentator on CNBC Power Lunch, MSNBC Your Money, TechCrunchTV, TV Globo (Brazil), and CBC (Canada). He’s been a featured speaker at Web 2.0 Summit, Gamification Summit, EyeForTravel, New Digital Future, and numerous other events. He is a regular contributor to The Business Insider, and is currently developing a scripted drama series set in Silicon Valley.

Google Innovator Award: Ramona Pierson

Ramona Pierson is an entrepreneur, neuroscientist and educator, and TED speaker. Ramona was the Founder & CEO of SynapticMash, the venture-backed educational and learning innovation company behind  LearningQube, an end-to-end education management platform that melds the power of a learning management system and a virtual classroom – all in one application. SynapticMash was acquired by Promethean in 2010, and Ramona has since served as Promethean’s  Chief Science Officer until her departure in 2012.

Diamond Sponsor

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Presenting Sponsors

In keeping with StartOut’s commitment to create wealth and opportunity in the LGBT community by supporting entrepreneurs, we’re thrilled to announce our pilot Lesbian Entrepreneur Mentoring Program. In speaking with lesbian entrepreneurs, it became clear that mentoring was high on the list of value-added things that StartOut could provide. So we decided to pilot the program here in San Francisco.

We’re excited to announce we’re taking applications for our first Mentees now. Click here to apply – please note the application deadline is March 31st . We’re looking for 10 lesbian entrepreneurs who currently run their own business — or plan to in the next year — to be a part of our pilot program launching in June.

We’re also looking for Mentors. As StartOut members, we invite you to be a mentor to these new lesbian entrepreneurs. We’re looking for mentors from any industry, and with at least two years of experience with your own company. Whether you’re well into your success or have only been doing it for a short time, you have valuable knowledge and experience that ‘newbies’ can benefit from. If you would like to learn more about being a mentor, please email Marie Trexler at Marie.Trexler@startout.org

Feel free to share this with appropriate women in your network.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience, bringing in new entrepreneurs to strengthen StartOut, and helping develop the next generation of lesbian entrepreneurs.

When starting a business, most people place emphasis on the idea of its viability and its potential for profit. This is absolutely the right place to focus. Once you’re clear about what you’d like to achieve during the planning process, you then need to give serious consideration to the ‘nuts & bolts ‘ of the business structure under which you’ll legally operate: What kind of business entity will you be? This step is all-too-often an afterthought, but the decision can have serious consequences. Factors in your decision to operate as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or an LLC include the nature of your business, its riskiness, and whether investors will be involved.

The following are the five most popular business structures in today’s environment:

1. Sole proprietorship

2. Partnership

3. Corporation (C-Corp)

4. Sub S Corporation (S-Corp)

5. Limited liability company (LLC)

You can familiarize yourself with them further, by reading the whitepaper that I wrote on the subject if you want more in depth coverage. However, if you want my opinion as an entrepreneur, who’s started multiple businesses, I’m happy to offer it to you. The sole proprietor and partnership are the easiest and cheapest business structures to get going with, however, they don’t offer the protections of incorporating such as limited liability. So, if you’re going to start a consulting service or another low risk business, you can get going with a sole proprietorship and purchase business liability insurance. As your business grows and you want to hire employees, raise capital from investors, bring on partners, then you incorporate, such as setting up as an LLC down the road so you don’t need to incur those incorporating costs today which can run from $300 to $1500 depending upon which state you live in.

Now, if you’re going to be raising capital, have multiple business partners, have higher risk business (i.e, anything in food service) or just want a corporate structure right off the bat, you can incorporate. I like the LLC structure because it offers you the protection of a corporation, shielding you from liability, but also offers you the tax benefits of a partnership- all income generate flows directly to you so you only pay taxes once, on the income that you earn based on your ownership % of the LLC. Also, it’s governed by an operating agreement that gives you flexibility in how you operate the business management. It’s not typically as restrictive as a corporation. Watch Franklin Simpson’s short video, who’s a New York attorney offering low cost tips on setting up as a sole proprietor then incorporating as an LLC later on.

There are always special circumstances and exceptions to incorporating, so you if you have a question or are confused, you can check with your legal counsel for guidance that’s appropriate for your situation.  As always, keep me posted with your feedback.

What do chess and business have to do with each other? Well, it turns out quite a bit- the art of strategy!

I had the good fortune of seeing Bob Rice, successful entrepreneur, corporate titan, angel investor, and yes- a chess player- and a very good one at that! He just came out with his book, “Three Moves Ahead” and was speaking to a group of entrepreneurs here in New York City where he applied the lessons of chess to business.  It’s all how the pieces are played even if it appears that your opponent has the advantage. It’s how he or she makes the next move!

For me, a big take-away that I have been able to apply to my business life is ‘the check’.  When I joined in a chess match that day- I’m a complete novice- I was immediately called out for not seeking a check right away when it was available.  More than likely, I didn’t realize that it was available and I instead chose to move other pieces. I was chastised in front of everybody in the room by my opponent, the renowned Asa Hoffman, who accused me of wasting moves, which translates to wasted time and energy. He told me to understand how the pieces move, to think critically about the possibilities and then move to my desired outcome- a check! The truth, as painful as it can be, is always better, especially when there are valuable lessons to be learned.  I started thinking about my earlier days about when I first made the leap to entrepreneurship from corporate America and all the mistakes I made. If only I had looked for the ‘check’ back then, I could’ve saved myself from all the heartaches that nearly put me out of business. Chess may not be your salvation but it can help think more critically and strategically, so that you can apply those game changing principles to your own business.  So, let me suggest a friendly game of chess!!!

Fortunately, I was able to find support and recognize that to be successful, I had to be successful inside and out. I needed to open up and be receptive to people, ideas, and inspiration. By giving myself time to go to the gym and exercise just a couple of times per week, I was able to get my energy back and stay at a healthy weight. (In my anxious state, I lost far too much weight… yes, worrying & anxiety combined can burn a lot of calories but will ultimately wreak havoc with your body.) And, forcing myself to go to at least 1 networking event a week, helped me discover new ideas and stay on top of industry trends. I joined EO, the Entrepreneur’s Organization, which provided a great support network since all the members are also growing their own businesses.

I also read a book called Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud, which was transformative to say the least. This is one of many standout books that has helped me assess the areas in my life that were “lacking”. It taught me that whether it was attracting cash flow or securing the right partnership deal to propel the business forward, it all came back to me and my attitude.

So what’s the result of being “whole”? I was able to successfully tackle business issues that plagued me. When I was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy and contemplating taking the next Greyhound back to Wisconsin (where I’m originally from), I was able to think about what it would take to put my business in the right place which included raising capital, outsourcing key parts of my business, and bringing on the right staff for my business. I transformed these vexing challenges into solutions, which ultimately helped me run a better, more profitable business. I really did open up and became more receptive to people, ideas, and inspiration to be ‘whole’ and succeed. My life is far from perfect, however, I am more aware of the need to maintain ‘wholeness’. Whenever I find myself veering too far off track, I just bring myself back.