Symbiocracy Inc. enjoys supporting LAVA’s Green Technology committee and we are excited about the upcoming LAVA event which highlights green technology.

LAVA’s Green Technolgy event is scheduled for Tuesday December 14, 2010 and will bring together the major local green/clean tech Venture Capital firms for a panel discussion and afterwards will host presentations from green tech companies. It will be held at the Skirball Center in West Los Angeles.

Below are some details for the event:

• Networking begins at 7:00 am. Two sessions will follow: 1) Panel discussion from local Venture Capital firms, 2) Presentations from green technology start-ups.

• The 1st session is scheduled from 7:30 to 9:00 am. Venture capital firms Sail Ventures, Craton, NGEN, Angeleno will participate on a panel moderated by Rustic Canyon.

• The 2nd session starts about 9:15 and ends at 10:30 am. It will feature seven confirmed green tech companies and their founders or CEOs; Cyber-Rain, EcoDog, PhoenixET, 4Service, www.usedcardboardboxes.com and TIG-m. Participants will be asked to present information about their companies, their products and services, what makes them green and what makes them successful. Each company will have 8-10 minutes to present, which includes Q & A.

The Los Angeles Venture Association is membership based. For 25 years, LAVA has organized information and networking meetings for investors, small and medium business executives and service providers. LAVA is a non-profit association that presents 15 – 18 events per year, including 10 breakfast events; Meet the VC’s, the quarterly Price Waterhouse Coopers Shaking the Money Tree series; an Annual Awards dinner for local entrepreneurs and investors; special events with partners and affiliates; and hosts an annual Investment Capital Conference in the spring.

For more information and to register for events, visit www.lava.org or you can contact:

Alex Scoble
Chief Strategy Officer
Symbiocracy Inc.
alex@Symbiocracy.com

or

Michael Miller
Chair, LAVA Green Technology Committee
CFO 911 Solutions
mmiller@cfo911solutions.com

Often, the business owners I speak to have misinterpreted the smooth pitches of SEO companies. The company is telling the truth but doesn’t tell the whole story. Often, this can lead to false hopes and money down the drain. Here’s what I mean:

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sample 1
SEO Company: “We can get you at the top of the first page of Google.”

Interpretation: They will help you place an advertisement with Google. The company that pays the most gets listed at the top for each keyword.

Is this okay? Sure, if you want advertising. This method is not search engine optimization or marketing. It can only be defined as advertising. It could get you some short-term results.

Sample 2
SEO Company: “We can get you at the top of the organic results in Google for whatever keyword you want.”

Interpretation: There are a variety of ways they can do this. Options include paying for other websites to link back to yours, as well as, hiring people to write massive amounts of poorly written articles about your company and posting them around the Internet.

Is this okay? It’s okay only if your priority is to have a lot of traffic quickly. Using this method for too long could hurt your brand and be very expensive. Soon after you stop paying the company, you will lose your standing with the search engine.

Sample 3
SEO Company: “We are going to address one keyword at a time.”

Interpretation: They want to ensure a steady stream of income from your company.

Is this okay? This scenario can sometimes help companies with smaller budgets that want to focus on a subset of keywords to start. However, it is easy for them to lose track of the overall marketing plan and get taken advantage of. If you choose to go this route, make sure that you work with a reputable company that has your best interest in mind and is not taking  you along for the ride.

Mike Miller, a director at Symbiocracy Inc., will be a panelist during the Swedish–American Entrepreneurial Days in Goteborg, Sweden from Nov. 8 – 10, 2010. His panel’s topic is “”How to Sell to Americans – U.S. Business Culture.” Mike will post his presentation before he leaves for Sweden November 2.

The Swedish–American Entrepreneurial Days has become the most important trade and networking event in Sweden, providing an effective platform for trade and commerce between the U.S. and Sweden. Since 1997, the Entrepreneurial Days has enabled small, medium, and large companies to connect and develop new business. For the past thirteen years the Entrepreneurial Days has not only grown larger, but has also become global in scope with American business leaders networking with their Swedish counterparts. What makes this business-to-business event so worthwhile and successful is that it brings together entrepreneurs and experts from a variety of fields – all sharing their expertise and knowledge of American and EU markets.

For more information, see: http://sacc-edays.org/goteborg/speakers/#9

Mike spent fourteen years in corporate America with Bendix and Allied Signal corporations. Positions he held included divisional chief marketing officer, new product development manager, marketing channel manager, national sales manager, marketing communications manager and acquisition manager, . Since 1989, he has been in the consulting industry. Of Mike’s current clients, three are start up firms. He holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), and a M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, (Los Angeles, CA), and is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (Greensboro, North Carolina) to conduct 360º leader assessment and development programs.

Over the last 20 years, one observation I have gained from working with startup companies, or any company, is the failure of management to assign the right talent for the right roles. A serial entrepreneur told me once, “You can take my ideas, money, computers, equipment, buildings and people and if you only let me have one back, I’ll take my people. I will then restart my business and make better and stronger. You can have the rest.”

So, it cannot be emphasized too strongly the purpose of a business plan is to first and foremost demonstrate you and your management team, Board of Directors and Advisors have the skills, experience and capabilities to start, launch and grow your company.

Through your Business Plan, you demonstrate your business has:

• A robust management team.
• Sufficient demand for our product.
• Sustainable competitive advantage.
• Realistic goals & objectives.
• Well thought out financials.
• The Business Plan also shows investors it has:
• Focus. Too many Business Plans promise too much, too soon.
• A well thought out roadmap to an exit strategy.
• Realistic financial forecasts that show acceptable return to your investors.
• Funding needs that support the forecast.

Some resources:

• Angel Investor Network www.angel-investor-network.com
• Capital Vector (Venture Capital directory) www.capitalvector.com
• Keiretsu Forum SoCal www.keiretsusocal.com
• Los Angeles Venture Association www.lava.org
• Maverick Angels www.maverickangels.com
• Pasadena Angels www.pasadenaangels.com
• Tech Coast Angels www.techcoastangels.com

Mike spent fourteen years in corporate America with Bendix and Allied Signal corporations. Positions he held included divisional chief marketing officer, new product development manager, marketing channel manager, national sales manager, marketing communications manager and acquisition manager, . Since 1989, he has been in the consulting industry. Of Mike’s current clients, three are start up firms. He holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), and a M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, (Los Angeles, CA), and is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (Greensboro, North Carolina) to conduct 360º leader assessment and development programs.

In today’s competitive environment, it is imperative to frequently reach your current customers (to keep them sold) and prospective customers (to encourage them to consider your products and services). To do so, public relations is a good no or low cost method to do so. Services such as Business Wire, PR Newswire PR WEB are good resources to distribute your content. These services offer on-line “how to’s” so you can do it yourself. Knowing the effectiveness and return on your investment of your Public Relations campaign is important. These services track how many people read your release, where it was picked up, and where your prospects
learned about your business in detailed reports.

Utilizing sites like Linkedin and Facebook are other good methods to distribute your news. Your blogs is also an effective way to share your news.

E-mailing your releases, or e-newsletters, to your customer base, prospective customers, employees, agents, distributors, suppliers, strategic alliances, service providers (e.g. – your CPA and lawyer), board members, and investors is recommended to keep them up to date. Don’t forget to notify appropriate members of the press. Constant Contact is one resource to support your e-mail and e-newsletter programs. Encourage all to respond with their comments and suggestions.

Each release should focus on one topic each, so you do not dilute the effect. You can plan a series of releases over time. To be most effective, no less than one release per month is suggested. Typical release topics feature 1) a new product or service, 2)personnel news; e.g. – someone was promoted or hired, and 3) company news, e.g. – a new office was opened in Europe or a new distributor is now representing your company.

Through these efforts, traffic to your website will increase.

About Mike:

Mike spent fourteen years in corporate America with Bendix and Allied Signal corporations. Positions he held included divisional chief marketing officer, new product development manager, marketing channel manager, national sales manager, marketing communications manager and acquisition manager, . Since 1989, he has been in the consulting industry. Of Mike’s current clients, three are start up firms. He holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), and a M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, (Los Angeles, CA), and is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (Greensboro, North Carolina) to conduct 360º leader assessment and development programs.