Field of reality

There are movies and then there’s real life. In the movies, Kevin Costner builds a ballpark and then group of baseball ghosts magically appear. But in real life? That never happens. The same goes for Zenefits, an HR insurance firm currently in trouble. Like most fintech startups, they’re navigating the regulatory minefield, and learning that just building a service doesn’t mean people will come.

Hey, whatever it takes

One can make the argument that taking advantage of loopholes is what keeps the financial wheels turning. That’s the truth for Spanish banking giant BBVA, which found itself in a conundrum when they wanted to invest in FinTech startups but couldn’t for several reasons. Their solution? Cutting off their venture arm to, essentially, save itself.

Power lunch, not a martini lunch

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But sometimes, if you meet up with a rich friend, they may pick up the tab. That’s how growth hacking works, in a way. It’s leveraging your startup’s visibility and growth in such a way that you don’t have to pay through the nose, and successful startups like Facebook, Quora and Airbnb have all done it in one form or another.

It’s not taking off, it’s staying afloat

A startup isn’t successful when it starts to see growth – its long-term success hinges on the retention and loyalty of its customer base. When that loyalty hits critical mass, that’s when a startup hits the big time. But how do we know exactly when that happens? One venture firm has the answer for you.

Satisfaction’s in the clouds

Forget what the Rolling Stones said about getting off their cloud. Mick, Keith and co. are wrong on that point. The fact is that the cloud is something every B2B ecommerce group needs to get on. Sales, marketing, commerce, and everything needs to happen online and in real time if these firms want to stay neck and neck with the competition.

Until next week, if you do get that free lunch, make it a steak!