Collaborative Fund

“Cashflow Matters” http://is.gd/HHAG9g

I cannot stress enough how important it is to get to positive cashflow as soon as possible. Unless you’re the next Facebook/AirBnB/Name-your-preferred-hot-startup and swim in heaps of venture capital (which to be honest you most likely won’t be - the cards are clearly stacked against you… just look at the stats) having positive cashflow means you are master of your own destiny. Cashflow puts you into the driver seat. It allows you to do the things you want to do. And even if you want to raise money to accelerate your growth it puts you into a position of power, not one where you need to beg for money.

“What Happens If Banks Help Their Customers Instead Of Trying To Trick Them?” http://is.gd/PXFCmC

…And while these banks can still outspend a growing breed of customer-friendly financial services, they can’t out-innovate them. Building better products and focusing on customers will result in true competition and a new class of services in an industry that’s been stagnant for decades. And, hopefully, these new products will shift social attitudes relating to personal finance. The opportunities to make this social shift are ripe for exploration, and it’s time for a change.

“How Gordon Moore Invented the Talent Economy (and Changed The World)” http://is.gd/iL7VRh

In Silicon Valley, we take venture capital for granted but few people realize what a fundamental shift it represented in the relationship between capital and labor. Since the dawn of capitalism and the industrial revolution, the balance of power has overwhelmingly favored those who controlled the capital. Labor, and all talent associated with it, was beholden to those who owned the factories. The introduction of venture capital essentially reversed these roles with capital now chasing talent. It is difficult to understate what a dramatic change this was. Instead of capital (the means of production) acquiring talent, Silicon Valley runs on the basis of talent acquiring capital.

“The Number One Question for Social Entrepreneurs: Funding” http://is.gd/TsydOT

One of the issues, in my view, that has faced the not-for-profit sector in the past is that although their intentions were usually exemplary, their execution was not. It is critical for the businesses and operations to be run just as professionally as in the for-profit sector; not only will this help them achieve so much more, but it will also help them avoid one of the biggest criticisms aimed at NGOs—that of waste and not enough of the funds and activities actually reaching those who need them.

-Karyn

Illustration by Elliot Meier for Collaborative Fund.