Your Next Pitch: 5 Pitch Deck Slides To Hook Potential Investors [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Jaw-dropping Company Headquarters

Company benefits are reaching beyond insurance and vacation time and are moving into a revolution of the actual workspace. Everyone has the image of Google and Amazon’s headquarters in their mind; with dog parks, rainforests and nap pods galore, but that isn’t the only innovative space in the business world. From themed rooms to sustainability, these companies have some of the most exciting office spaces around.

Warby Parker

Glasses brand Warby Parker not only has a love for fashionable glasses but for books as well. Their Manhattan headquarters offers employees access to a library, a reading room, and of course, reading glasses. Read about the space and how employees like it here.

Dropbox

Cloud storage solution company Dropbox has worldwide offices, but their San Francisco headquarters, designed by Rapt Studio is an innovative space that allows for collaboration, quiet individual work, and a “neighborhood” set up to cater to the needs of each team. See a photo compilation of the office here.

Casper

New York City-based mattress company Casper was recently renovated and redesigned by FLOAT Studio, to create a workplace that fit in with the brand identity. The office includes sustainable construction, flexible meeting spaces and even nap pods. See the space here.

Sonos

Sonos’ Seattle headquarters bills itself as the “greenest commercial building in the world”, and based off of this GeekWire feature, it may be the most musical as well.  This modern and sleek office space make using the word headquarters the wrong descriptor though, as the company has a slew of conference rooms to meet with other Sonos “headquarters” around the world.

Squarespace

If you’ve built a website using Squarespace you know that the platform is simple but modern, and the company’s New York City offices follow the same formula. Built to be the most functional space for both collaborative and individual work, all without sacrificing design and comfort. See the office here and here.

Epic Systems Corporation

Medical software company Epic is aptly named, and the word epic can be used to describe almost everything about the company, especially when it comes to their headquarters. The Verona, Wisconsin campus is a grand adventure, with themed rooms, individual offices for every employee, a gorgeous view of the surrounding farmland, and an Indiana Jones styled hallway. See the campus here, and check out this video tour for a more in-depth look.

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Hacks For a More Productive 2018

Unlock your full potential today by using some of these productivity tricks. Put these hacks to good use so you can write more, learn more, and do more to succeed.

1. Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro technique was developed in the 1980s and uses a timer to break up your workday into 25-minute intervals (called Pomodoros), followed by a short break. After four Pomodoros you then take a longer break. There are apps, websites and even browser extensions that can help you track the process. This might not work for everyone, and creatives especially could struggle with the constant breaks in the creative process, but it could be worth a try to find a technique that works for you.

2. The two-minute rule

The two-minute rule is based on the mindset that if something takes two minutes or less to complete you should do it right away. This helps alleviate procrastination on small tasks and helps to prevent things from stacking up to become more of a chore.

3. Task batching

Rather than falling prey to multitasking, you can use task batching to focus your energy on specific tasks. This means allotting time for each type of work you have. For example, setting aside 15-minute increments for email, an hour for writing, 30 minutes for social media, whatever will work for you and your workday.

4.Two pizza rule

Jeff Bezos is credited with this next idea, the two pizza rule. This is a guideline that helps set limits on the number of attendees allowed in a meeting, with the idea that the number of attendees should not exceed the number of people that could eat two pizzas. This keeps the meeting focused on the task at hand.

5. Utilize your calendar

Your calendar can be the best tool for making the most of a day, simply because you can visualize everything that has to get done. You can use a calendar to schedule task batching, or simply plan and set aside days that will be meeting free and focused on doing the work you have to do uninterrupted.

6.Turn off alerts

It may not be possible to turn your phone completely off during the times you need to focus, but you can cut down on distractions by silencing it, or by completely disabling notifications. By doing this you are silencing outside “noise” so you can make finishing what you are working on your main priority.

7. Use tools to streamline your work

Hootsuite, Mailchimp, Trello, Buffer, the list goes on and on. There are tons of free and paid tools available online that can help streamline your workflow, focusing on everything from project management to digital marketing and social media.

8.Don’t drown in the shallow end

It’s easy to get bogged down stressing out about all the small things you have to do, and this can cause you to be distracted from the big meaningful items on your to-do list. Setting your priorities can make the small tasks seem less daunting, and therefore less stressful.

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Books to Read in 2018

As the new year begins and New Year’s resolutions are made, one that many people bring up each year is that of wanting to read more books in the year to come. These are some top picks for books about business, technology, personal growth, leadership and more.

Business

Rise and Grind  by Daymond John

The Shark Tank panelist and entrepreneur uses his own life experiences to tell readers how to succeed in their lives with inspiration to use persistence, grit, and spectacular work ethic.

Crushing It  by Gary Vaynerchuk

VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk is known for his no downtime approach to life and business, as well as for building a brand that is solid and highly successful. Vaynerchuk outlines what you need to know to do the same for your brand.

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle and Will Damron

Learn how successful groups are built and strengthened, with Coyle’s in-depth look into how group culture can be cultivated.

Technology

The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone  by Brian Merchant

The introduction of the iPhone changed the course of history, for technology, social trends and more. This national bestseller takes readers through the history of the development and release of the influential Apple device.

Surviving the Tech Storm: Strategy in Times of Technological Uncertainty by Nicklas Bergman

The technological changes that we have gone through have entered us into a new era that is filled with questions and challenges. Bergman offers insight into how to make decisions and find insights into an uncertain world.

What To Do When Machines Do Everything: How to Get Ahead in a World of AI, Algorithms, Bots and Big Data by Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig, and Ben Pring

The digital economy is changing the future of work and how business is done. The authors provide a roadmap to take steps to move ahead in a world that is moving more quickly than we can.

Leadership

Brave Leadership: Unleash Your Most Confident, Powerful and Authentic Self to Get the Results You Need by Kimberly Davis

Learn how to get results and become the leader you want to be in this guide for all leadership journeys. Davis dives into the essential tools and tips that anyone can use to reach their full potential and help feel more confident, satisfied and purposeful.  

The CEO Next Door: The 4 Behaviors That Transform Ordinary People into World Class Leaders  by Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell

Botelho and Powell’s in-depth look at CEOs and executives uncovers what makes these leaders successful. Though this book may be more research intensive, the messages that it delivers with the conclusions can help you rise to the top as well.

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey

Former FBI director James Comey reveals never before told stories of his time in the government sharing insights into what makes an effective leader.

Money

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

First released in 1996, this exposé about wealthy Americans has now been updated for the context of the current state of the world. Learn how the truly wealthy demographic behaves and how you can modify your life and spending habits to fit within this exclusive group.

Cold Hard Truth On Men, Women, and Money by Kevin O’Leary

Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary presents a new take on finance in a witty and funny way that presents advice to someone at any stage in their life. It’s not too late to take control of your finance, and O’Leary presents this in a well rounded and personable way.

The Total Money Makeover  by Dave Ramsey

Taking a fitness type stab at revamping personal finance, Ramsey presents a plan that can help you pay off debts, build a strong financial safety net and create a budget without sacrificing your personal relationships.

Personal Growth

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness -Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler

Nudge opens the eyes of the reader up to the fact that nothing we have to decide on is presented in a neutral way. By acknowledging bias, and understanding how the human brain perceives choice you can influence others to make decisions that are better for everyone in your life.

Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt

Hyatt dives into how you can achieve your goals instead of letting them get pushed back only to regret ignoring them. Whether your goals are centered around relationships, financial, or educational, this book can help you to reset your life and achieve the goals you set.

Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg

After her husband’s sudden death, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg fell into a vast depression. But with hard work, she was able to build resilience and find her way towards recovery. Option B houses Sandberg’s journal excerpts, research and other contributors’ personal stories that showcase peak levels of perseverance. Learn how to develop compassion, appreciation, and resilience as well as the ability help others find the same qualities within themselves.

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5 Rebranding Fails

Rebranding any company can be tricky business, and there is no guarantee you will always get it right. These five companies are proof of that. Check out some of the most hated, most ridiculously expensive, and most cringe-worthy rebranded and redesigned looks in recent branding history.

Tropicana Orange Juice- Underestimating brand loyalists

In 2009, Tropicana decided to change their look by offering what they thought was a sleek and sophisticated design ready for the modern market. After two months of the redesigned packaging being on shelves, sales had dropped 20%, meaning a loss of 30 million dollars. The design and campaign and the loss in sales cost the company more than 50 million dollars.  But why did it fail? Customers reported a deep emotional bond with the original packaging, and when the rebranding occurred, they found what they called the “ugly” design to be too close to generic brands or store brands and also worried that the product itself had changed, not just to look of the packaging. Read more about the Tropicana branding failure here.

Pepsi- $1 million for a complicated process

Pepsi Logo

Pepsi Logo (2009)

The logo itself released in 2009 wasn’t unsightly in the least, but the cost to end up with the final product seemed unjustifiable, especially if you look at the overly complicated design document for the project which talks about “Pepsi’s gravitational pull”, balanced energy fields and “numerical harmony”.  Pepsi’s logo has been changed about once every ten years, but their competitor Coca-Cola has hardly ever changed their logo.

Gap- the Gap in the gradient

Gap Logo

Gap Logo (failed redesign, 2010)

During the holiday season of 2010, a silent and disastrous event took place. Gap had launched a new, crowd-sourced logo (estimated to cost about $100 million)  to replace the original 20-plus year old one. The logo (bold black font to spell Gap with a blue gradient square) began to generate negative buzz in the design community and after only six days, Gap was back to using the tried and true original logo.

MasterCard- the color blob

Mastercard Logo (1996)

Mastercard Logo (2006)

MasterCard’s logo is one that is instantly recognizable, from the overlapping circles to their brand’s color scheme. There was, however, a time when the logo was not so attractive. In 2006, the two circles were marred with an off-center and out of focus third circle in between, with the name of the corporation “Mastercard Worldwide” (formerly Mastercard International) underneath it. From a design perspective, this short-lived logo looked rushed and sloppy, a far cry from the current iteration.  

BP- from green to black

BP logo prior to 2000 redesign

BP logo (2000)

In 2000, BP’s mission was to project their appearance of “green growth” which led the petroleum company to set forth and redesign their logo to reflect that. The green Helios sunburst which became the new face of the company had a rumored rollout cost of $211,000,000. When the logo was first released it was not well responded to, and it took time for the uproar and negative reviews to die down. Things stayed quiet for a while, but in 2010, the “green” company was responsible for what is considered the largest marine oil spill in industry history: Deepwater Horizon. For a company trying to promote themselves as “green” in an inherently not industry, this incident only furthered the outrage.

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Build a Better Team: Team Building Activities For An Improved Team Dynamic

Do you want to improve office morale and employee motivation as well as build teams that function more productively, with active communication and trust? Team building may be the way to go. Gone are the days of goofy games that were designed to foster “natural” strengthening of a team, and in their place are activities that can actively change how your teams work together.

Escape Room

Work together to solve a puzzle, beat a timer and escape a situation, whether it’s a zombie, a nuclear bomb or stealing a priceless painting. These rooms are all the rage right now for families, friends and corporate events.

Ropes Courses

Face your fears and overcome these obstacle courses! From ziplining to climbing, these courses are often physically and mentally challenging.

Battle of the Bands (or Air Bands)

If you have a lot of musical talent in your team host a battle of the bands. Break into small groups and host a performance for the rest of the company or even for family and friends.

If you have a lack of musicians, host a battle of the air bands! Break into groups and lipsync, play air instruments and put on your dream concert. For both options, costumes and props can be encouraged.

Mini Golf

Challenge your team to a game of mini golf and foster some friendly competition. This is something that can be done year-round, at either an indoor and outdoor course, and many courses also feature other activities that can make for a whole day of entertainment.

Trivia Night

Trivia is a great way to learn about different non work related knowledge your co-workers have. Many restaurants are now offering weekly trivia nights, so if your team is up for evening activities this is a great option, but if this isn’t a possibility, set-up office trivia in a way that works for your team. Whether it’s one weekly question that gets posted on a whiteboard, or lunchtime trivial pursuit games, this is a great break and lets everyone’s talents shine.

Community Service

Do some good in the neighborhood and get involved with volunteering. From working with organizations like Feed My Starving Children, or Habitat for Humanity to adopting a roadway and doing a monthly garbage pickup, volunteering makes you feel good and brings your team together.

Canoeing or Kayaking

Physical activity and working towards a mutual goal are all ways that you can build a functional team. Try placing some competition in with a race and see how well team members function together.

One Night a Werewolf

This strategy based card game is app moderated, so everyone can participate. For groups of 3 to 10 people, you must work together in your secretly given roles to discover who the werewolf terrorizing your fictional village is.  No game is ever the same, so each round makes everyone work to be heard, and even more importantly: believed innocent.

Mealtime

Perhaps the easiest way to foster positive team relationships is simply to host a lunch, dinner or happy hour event. Food and drinks are a natural way to encourage conversation, bonding and learning about the people you work with.

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Become a Master of Public Speaking

Public speaking becomes part of daily life when you run a successful business. Whether you are addressing employees, pitching a new product, being paid to speak at an event, or even recording a video of yourself; speaking to a crowd can be daunting, no matter how much experience you have. There are ways to improve your public speaking skills, and practice is important, but there’s more to public speaking than just rehearsing and memorizing. Want to get better at public speaking? Use these tips and see how your speeches improve.

Movement and Posture

Body language often says more than speech can. Used correctly, body language can punctuate your speech and portray expertise. If you are speaking at a podium, some of the rules will be different than they would be for a speaker without, but the most important guidelines are the same.

• Stand up straight (this will not only how improve you look, but how you speak as well).
• Avoid making any wild gestures; but don’t be afraid to use your hands to emphasize where it feels natural.
• If you are using a podium don’t lean on it, and if you aren’t, don’t just stand still. Shift your weight, walk around (sparingly), and use the space you have. Be mindful and keep your movements natural and deliberate.

Avoid Technical Jargon (Keep It Simple)

You are the expert on your topic, and though your audience may be familiar, they are here to listen to you and glean your knowledge. Avoid terms that are too technical, but don’t speak down to your audience. The key to a successful speech is taking information that is high level, and sharing it in a way that can reach the general public’s understanding.

Embrace Stress

It’s perfectly fine to be nervous. Public speaking isn’t something that comes naturally to many. In fact, it’s cited as one of the top fears for Americans. Stress and anxiety can be difficult to overcome, but the extra energy you have coming from a place of panic can easily be used to get excited and bring energy to your presentation. You have the power to reinterpret the signs of nervousness and change them into excitement.

Be Thoughtful With Facts

Even if you are an expert on what you will be speaking about, when planning to do an extended presentation you will have done some research into your topic. Make sure the facts you are saying are truthful, stated in a way that is clear and easy to understand, and remember to cite your sources. Giving credit where credit is due will not only keep you from plagiarism, but expand your personal credibility as well.

Avoid Upspeak

Generally a trend associated with female speakers, all speakers should try to avoid upspeak, or the tendency of vocally ending a sentence or word on a higher pitch than the rest of the sentence. This can make your statements come across as questions, which can break down your credibility. This video shows an example of upspeak (in this example it is called uptalk), versus speaking without it.

Reiterate Your Main Point

Your speech is about a certain topic, so the obvious first step is to state your main point. What may not be so obvious is the idea of revisiting that main point and restating it at the end of your speech. And if there are questions afterwards, come back to that main point again before completely wrapping up.  This leaves your audience with a clear understanding of what you are trying to say to them, and allows them to recall each point you brought up within the right context.

Slow Down

Don’t rush. Speak at an easy conversational level that gets your information across without speeding through and confusing your audience. It is easy to get wrapped up in excitement, but take a deep breath and make sure your words are clear, deliberate, and spoken at a level (of both speed and volume) that isn’t overwhelming for your listeners.

Build Drama

Pauses build anticipation and tension. Building drama and suspense keeps your listeners engaged in what you are saying. Pausing where it feels natural also allows you to catch your breath, figure out what to say next and get organized. It‘s unnatural to talk without any breaks, so to calm yourself down and also to make your speech seem effortless; as well as interesting and well thought out; a correctly timed pause is an excellent tool.

The best way to learn is to do, so go out and speak. Try out these tips and see how your audience responds to what you are saying. Who knows? You may even start to enjoy your presentations now!

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5 Steps To Land Your Job Using Social Media

Social media is no longer the space of selfies and like counts. Social media has now infused itself into everyday life, even in the professional world. Today finding a job, changing careers or even starting a business can happen on social media. Here are 5 steps to getting hired via social media!

Your Social Brand
Just like prepping for an interview or sprucing up your resume, that same preparation needs to be placed in social branding. Find a clear, personable and professional voice. Create a presence that showcases your true self, but… in a light that is most appealing to potential employers.

Interact Online
After creating your persona it’s time to participate. Research your intended market and get involved in conversations that include the industry and those already working in it.

Job Search
After, and while continuing to participate in relevant conversations start your job search. Nearly all companies these days involve social media at least in some part in their hiring process. Be it via LinkedIn, Facebook’s new application portal, or even answering cold calls over Twitter start applying across the board.

Make Connections
Social media is also a quick and efficient way of networking. Reach out directly to those you’ve met in real life or via the internet in a personal yet professional way. Thanks to social media converting connections into relationships has become as simple as sliding into someone’s direct messages.

Real Life Transition
Lastly, all of the social media expertise won’t do any good if those skills don’t translate into real life. Be sure to continue honing skills such as well done resume and well prepared interviews.

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20 Inspiring Quotes For Entrepreneurs

“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” Teddy Roosevelt

“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” Vince Lombardi

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” Mark Twain

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”  Walt Disney

“For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. “Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.” Tim Ferriss

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” Jerry Rice

“Everyone has ideas. They may be too busy or lack the confidence or technical ability to carry them out. But I want to carry them out. It is a matter of getting up and doing it.” James Dyson

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you’ll do things differently.” Warren Buffett

“Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda [Star Wars]

“Done is better than perfect.” Sheryl Sandberg

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Chinese proverb

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” Henry Ford

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Mark Zuckerberg

“When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions. Most people just don’t put in the time or energy to get there.” Steve Jobs

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” Alice Walker

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

“What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” Bob Dylan

“If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” Zig Ziglar

“Whatever you do, be different—that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” Anita Roddick

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The Best Conferences to Attend in 2017: Tech, Marketing and Business

TechCrunch Disrupt NYC May 15th to 18th

Ideal for startups, TechCrunch Disrupt is for innovators, investors, tech fans and everyone in between, unveiling the latest in technology and key industry innovations. The Startup Battlefield puts early stage startups together to compete for the Disrupt Cup, cash prizes and the attention of investors.

World Business Forum May 31st to June 1st

Held in Sydney, Australia, the World Business Forum will host speakers including Arianna Huffington and promotes a “state of permanent beta”. Introducing new technologies and strategies is key to living in this state, and this conference empowers entrepreneurs, business owners and more to learn how to see new opportunities, use new tools and strategies and thrive with these changes.

Next Gen Summit June 2nd to June 4th

Specifically for the younger crowd of entrepreneurs, influencers and more, the Next Gen Summit was built for young minds by young minds in the entrepreneurial world. If you fit the bill for this niche opportunity, this conference in  New York City will be the place to be.

Confab Central June 7th to 9th

Minneapolis will hold the Confab conference for content strategy this June. Workshops, higher ed programming and great networking events for teams or individuals. With a focus on content strategy there are talks centered on UX, marketing, communications and more.

BlogHer June 22nd to June 24th

A conference specifically  for female content creators (bloggers, marketers, social media influencers etc.) this event is being held in Orlando, and  invites the fans, brands and other content creators to meet, collaborate and get inspired through networking with other attendees, workshops, and keynote speakers.

Summit November 3rd to November 6th

This invite only event in Los Angeles connects leaders in nearly every space, from technology to arts and culture, hosting thoughtful, well-rounded and meaningful discussion about the world we are living in. Keynote speakers at Summit 2017 include Kobe Bryant, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, CNN’s Van Jones, Jane Fonda, Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and more. This impressive lineup of great minds will replace the Summit-at-Sea conference cruise.

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