No track record

Depending on the sector, I would advise Andrew to start boot-strapping before looking for investors
-

Hi this is Andrew from Singapore. And currently in your facebook and mailing list.

Currently , I have just started my company in Malaysia aiming to do adv online. However,like many start-up capital is a problem and there is no track record on my company.

May I know how do I solve this problem or do you have investor on your side.

Andrew
+60172188297

Fwd: Xconomy's Guide to Venture Incubators

Useful guide to venture incubators

Dear Friend of Xconomy, Since most of our readers are keenly interested in the startup and entrepreneurial scene, I wanted to let you know about the one-of-a-kind, just-released Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators. Compiled exclusively by the editors of Xconomy, the guide includes details about all the top startup incubator programs--19 in total--in the United States. Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur or just contemplating your first startup, you will find this exclusive guide essential to getting the lay of the land--what incubator programs are out there, what they specialize in, the mentoring and other services they provide, and what they ask in return. We have published two versions of the guide. One, available free of charge on our website, simply lists the programs. The other, available right now for a modest introductory fee of just $45, includes such vital details as: Application Deadlines and Procedures Stipends Paid Equity/First Rights of Refusal Policies Notable Graduates Number of Firms Incubated per Year You can find the free version here: http://tinyurl.com/incubator-guide A sample entry from the premium version is available here: http://tinyurl.com/incubator-sample And you can purchase the premium version using your credit card or PayPal by clicking the "Buy Now" button below. In creating this guide, we spent weeks scouring the country to identify all the top startup incubators--and to weed out the myriad programs that call themselves incubators but mainly provide rental space and infrastructure for startups. To qualify for the Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, programs have to go beyond basic services to provide such benefits as actively mentoring entrepreneurs, helping them craft business plans and presentations, and making the connections critical to putting money in a new company's coffers. I am sure you will find both versions of the guide valuable. But if your plans and interests require the more complete details about the programs that are really helping startups get off the ground, be sure to take advantage of our introductory price of just $45 now, as prices will increase effective September 1, 2009. And please let us know what you think. Best, Bob Buderi Editor in Chief Xconomy

This email was sent to yinglant@gmail.com by bbuderi@xconomy.com. Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Email Marketing by Xconomy | 101 Rogers Street | Suite 402 | Cambridge | MA | 02142

Careme

The leading brand of bread in China.

Dianping

With Zhang Tao, CEO of Dianping.
Global vs Local
Dianping is an online forum were consumers share their experiences - users post opinions of restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues. The website publishes a Restaurant Guide (餐馆指南) that collects member-contributed restaurant reviews. 

Re: Request to add group on facebook

Thanks for your note. Have added you to the group.

On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 9:20 AM, CHARTERMIND <chan@chartermind.com> wrote:

Dear Group Manager,

This is a brief about myself. If you don't think I should be your member, just forget my request, but don't ask me to summit further details.

I don't have a degree or any professional title. After high school, I worked at different industry and finally settled at the finance and investment consulting business. I worked at a HongKong listed Company (at that time called First South China Limited and ownership changed already) from a clerk to Financial and Investment Manager. Then I ran my company - Valiant Peacock Investment Limited (Major in private investment and financial consulting). The Company closed at 98. I did some trading business (Chartermind Resources Limited). Then take a break for the last few years.

Now, I set up "CAPITAL PROJECT LIMITED" with partners. CPL focus at China.

(You can check my story before 91 if you get the "CAPITAL MAGAZINE - NOV 91, PAGE 124 - 127")

Regards
Nelson Chan

--
http://yinglan.easyurl.net

- Tan Yinglan
yinglantan@stanfordalumni.org
yinglan_tan@hksphd.harvard.edu

Check a little update/history on me

http://www.linkedin.com/in/yinglantan
http://twitter.com/yinglantan
http://facebook.com/tyinglan
Skype: yinglantan

About As Close As Venture Capital Comes To A Ponzi Scheme

 

 

Sent to you by Tan Yinglan via Google Reader:

 

 

About As Close As Venture Capital Comes To A Ponzi Scheme

via WSJ.com: Venture Capital Dispatch on 8/3/09

Last week, Fortune magazine columnist Stanley Bing inexplicably wrote that venture capital is worse than a Ponzi scheme, citing one example of a pal who raised venture capital and later sold the company, and the VCs walked away with all the money.

"Forget the occasional Ponzi scheme," he wrote. "Venture capitalism may be the greatest scam going."

That statement, and its lack of support, is certainly sensationalistic - and careless, most entrepreneurs would agree, no matter how badly bruised they are from a bad experience with a venture capitalist.

Not but a few days later, however, we have news that two groups of investors were separately creating venture capital funds (that's perhaps being generous) as they allegedly stole millions of dollars from people. Considering that venture capital is a long-term investment strategy that usually takes years to reap a return, this would be one terrible Ponzi scheme. But these aren't your typical venture capitalists.

Last week, a firm called BBC Equities was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme involving $50 million and at least 440 investors who believed they were putting money into real estate. The suit claims John Bravata, a former police officer, and Richard Trabulsy used investors' money for hunting trips to Russia and Canada, a $500,000 sailboat, jewelry, gambling, luxury cars and houses.

Now, while that firm supposedly dealt in real estate, the SEC also alleges that Bravata and Trabulsy hatched a plan to salvage and perpetuate their Ponzi scheme by forming a new entity called BBC Capital, also known as Phoenix Venture Capital. In a February television interview, Bravata described BBC Capital as a venture capital fund and holding company for BBC Equities and Bravata Financial, according to the complaint. In late June or early July, Trabulsy gave a radio interview promoting Phoenix, the filing said.

The pair stated that they intended to use BBC Capital or Phoenix to start a new offering to investors through a forthcoming private placement, according to the petition. An SEC Form D filing submitted last week for Phoenix Venture Capital lists John Bravata and Trabulsy as directors and shows the firm raised more than $9 million for an offering targeting $200 million.

Last week, U.S. District Judge David Lawson froze the assets of Bravata and Trabulsy and issued a restraining order that in effect put them out of business. A hearing for the defendants before Lawson is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday in federal court in Detroit.

Messages requesting comment from Bravata and Trabulsy were left Monday on BBC Equities' office voicemail. Their home phones were disconnected Monday until press time

Separately, the SEC filed last week a civil action against Omar Ali Rizvi, alleging that he misappropriated funds raised for Bellwether Venture Capital Fund I Inc.

The complaint alleges that Rizvi paid $1.2 million of the $1.8 million raised to a company he controlled, Strategy Partners LLC, after circulating offering materials stating that no sales commissions will be paid to the officers of the fund. Those same materials also failed to disclose that Rizvi had resigned his license to practice law in California following a conviction on several violent felonies, including assault with a deadly weapon, the SEC said.

Shortly after his release from prison, Rizvi formed Bellwether in September 2002, which was first called Landmark Microcap Fund, then Rhino Microcap Fund, then Tiger Fund, before settling on the Bellwether name in 2005, the SEC said.

In offering materials and on its Web site, the SEC charged, the firm lied about individuals who worked at the firm and about its returns. It returned no money to its investors but claimed returns of 550%, according to the SEC's complaint.

The only known investment by Bellwether was a 2005 investment in Espion International Inc., a maker of email gateway appliances. The company, which trades on the Pink Sheets, was formed with the investment from Bellwether. Prior to 2005, the company was called Horizon Networks Inc. and was in the business of renting independent, foreign and "arts" films over the Web, according to the company's most recent quarterly report. Rizvi did not respond to requests for comment. Officials from Espion also didn't respond.

All of this, of course, comes after it was revealed that the alleged con artist R. Allen Stanford invested in several venture capital firms and start-up companies through his various investment firms.

-With reporting by Scott Denne and Ty McMahan

 

 

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to WSJ.com: Venture Capital Dispatch using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

 

 

Re: 3 Crowd Powered Sites

Swoopo is one of those sites that that I cannot fathom why it works but it is working fabulously.
 

Three Crowd-Powered Sites Offer Killer Deals on... Everything

BY CHRIS DANNENThu Jul 30, 2009 at 10:55 AM

As our nationwide economic turbulence continues, discount Web sites are proliferating. They don't rely on the typical economic mechanisms to get their customers deals--they're not about razor-thin margins, or closeouts, or liquidation. Instead, they use the power of the crowd to make things cheaper.

It's not a new idea, but in the years that the concept has been been around, it's never proven workable; well-heeled startups like Mercata--backed by MSFT principal Paul Allen and beneficiary of a $100-mllion IPO--shut down in January 2001 after the site burned through its capital and couldn't get more investors. But this recession might just be bad enough that customers are readjusting their ideas of what constitutes a reasonable price--and what they'll do for a shot at one.

 

eSwarm

Today, according to its Twitter profile, another contender will launch: eSwarm. The idea works like this: users form a critical mass that wants to buy one particular good, service, or financial product, and sellers compete for the business of the group. It's pretty much the standard-fare group sales model, but this might be the economic milieu sites like Mercata didn't know they were waiting for.

Groupon

A more fun iteration of the group-sales model is Groupon, and it does what it sounds like: it sells discount coupons for food, clothes, gyms, bars, sports tickets, Zipcar memberships, and about a hundred other deal varietals. Here's the secret sauce: the coupons boast really aggressive discounts, and are only valuable if enough people buy them (if that critical mass isn't met, you don't pay a dime). Essentially, the site leverages a guaranteed customer base to a local business, which in turn offers the site a special deal.

Groupon started in the Chicago market--its founder is an enterprising first-year UChicago dropout--but has since expanded into six other markets, including Boston, New York, D.C., San Fran, Atlanta, and L.A., with more to come.

 

Swoopo

Another site that uses the power of the crowd to get good deals--to more destructive effect--is Swoopo. The site has lately reached an explosion in popularity; it's been called the "crack cocaine of auction sites" by Slate's financial page, the Big Money, and it has earned equal parts scorn and amazement from consumer advocates. That's because figuring out the way it actually works is an opaque exercise in combinatorics. But first, let's start with what you get.

Log onto Swoopo, and you'll see high-ticket items--laptops, cameras, TVs--selling for absurdly low prices. A $1700 MacBook Pro I watched late into the night last night ended up selling for about $155, but many sell for just pennies on the dollar. These are brand new goods, and the site is legit. How is this possible?

For every bid you make, the price of the auction jumps just one cent, but you, the bidder, are charged $0.60. Additionally, there's no finite end date to an auction; every time a bid is registered, the auction gets extended for a few seconds, turning the ordeal into an endurance marathon. Sixty cents might not sound like a high price for a bid, but Swoopo auctions only end after thousands of bids, meaning that often times the winning bidder will have sunk several hundred dollars into site fees. Obviously, there are bidders in second, third and fourth place that sunk almost as much, and hence the crack comparison: the more you bid, the more financial imperative you have to win. Swoopo ends up collecting up to five times the MSRP of the MacBook thanks to all those bids, enabling it to give the actual item away for a pittance. Where eSwarm and Groupon harness the combined buying power of you and your fellow users, Swoopo pits you against your peers--but the deals are pretty good, even if antisocially gotten.

If you're willing to give these a try, start with Groupon--it's more straightforward concept will ensure you don't burn money without misunderstanding what you're getting into, since Swoopo requires you to pre-purchase packs of bids before you can start to gamble. Enjoy the frugality.