Seed Capital From Angel Investors: Chenoa Farnsworth, Executive Director, Hawaii Angels (Part 3)

By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold

Irina: Do you have any sector preferences?

Chenoa: Not really. We have done a lot of investing in technology, high tech. There’s a state definition here because we had a tax credit program in place for many years that defined high-tech business. So, because of the tax credit, there was a preference for high tech businesses. Going forward, I would say, that’s less true, but it remains true to a certain extent that those businesses tend to scale better and return higher. >>>

Business Incubators: The Morpheus (Part 3)

By guest authors Praveen Karoshi and Prashant Sachdev

Prashant: Ok, let’s get into what kind of entrepreneurs and businesses excite you. At what stage would you suggest companies apply for your incubation program?

Nandini: Our sweet spot, as mentioned earlier, is from the idea stage up to 12 to 18 months into operations. We have worked with teams to help conceptualize their idea, validate their product, build a prototype, increase their customer base, figure out their revenue model, work towards becoming fundable, and so on. >>>

Thought Leaders In Cloud Computing: Scott Martin, CIO Of Nonni’s Food Company (Part 1)

By Sramana Mitra and guest author Shaloo Shalini

In this interview, Scott Martin, CIO at Nonni’s Food Company, shares his insights on cloud computing. It is interesting to note how a mid-size company such as Nonni’s Foods is harnessing private clouds to drive operational efficiency not only in IT but also across sales and billing. This enables the company to not only focus more on core business activities but also to deploy solutions that they could not think of earlier, before cloud business models, due to the upfront costs involved. There are some interesting thoughts on deploying a document management system in a private cloud by a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company such as Nonni’s Foods. In the entrepreneurship section, Scott discusses some of his wish-list items from a thin client, iPad perspective and exploiting the full potential of mobile devices in an enterprise scenario. >>>

Thought Leaders In Cloud Computing: Paul Stamas, VP of IT, Mohawk Fine Papers (Part 9)

By Sramana Mitra and guest author Shaloo Shalini

SM: Paul, is there anything that I should have asked you but didn’t?

PS: No, I think the only other thing I would say is that this entire idea is that cloud computing and service orientation are hand in glove. They are mutually beneficial and reinforcing. >>>

Morphing a Consulting Business to a Cloud Computing Product Company: Bill Loumpouridis, CEO of EDL (Part 3)

Sramana: How did you establish your relationship with Comergent?

Bill Loumpouridis: Entering business partnerships like the one we did with Comergent is crucial and difficult. Establishing that relationship came through my personal business network. When the dot-com crash happened I reached out across my network and had a lot of conversations with people across the entire industry. >>>

Business Incubators: The Morpheus (Part 2)

By guest authors Praveen Karoshi and Prashant Sachdev

[In the second part of the interview, Nandini and Prashant continue their discussion of how The Morpheus was started, and Nandini outlines the group’s philosophy.]

Nandini: After Seventymm bought Madhouse in 2007, it was a hindsight thought that both Sameer and I had that if there were a strong community or an evolving ecosystem for entrepreneurs in India when we started out, perhaps we would have made far fewer mistakes than we did. Both of us had seen the evolved start-up community and the fervor in the Silicon Valley while there just before we started Madhouse. >>>

Morphing a Consulting Business to a Cloud Computing Product Company: Bill Loumpouridis, CEO of EDL (Part 2)

Sramana: Where did you apply the object-oriented paradigm? Did you go to IT organizations in Chicago-area enterprises? How did you generate business?

Bill Loumpouridis: As specialized consultants we tried to align ourselves with some larger companies that were going to market and needed our skill set. Larger companies would then pull us into more deals. >>>

Next 1M/1M Strategy Roundtable For Entrepreneurs On Thursday, October 28

For entrepreneurs looking to discuss positioning, financing, and all aspects of a startup venture, this FREE online strategy roundtable will begin at: 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. PDT/8:30 p.m. IST on Thursday, October 28, 2010.  Please join us and let other entrepreneurs know. You can find more details and register here.