We live in times of information overload. And now, more than ever it is very important for entrepreneurs to be able to quickly locate high quality content to help them take informed decisions in the fast paced world of startups. However, often busy founders and employees lack the time to digest valuable information even when it is delivered by trusted sources. Lengthy articles are not to everyone’s taste as many of us would prefer to get to the key points without much fuss. For that reason we will bring you the Important 3.
The Important 3 is a blog column that highlights notable pieces released in leading digital media outlets every week. I spend most of my time reading on the web, and it would be great to share some of the interesting finds that could prove useful to you.
The column will usually appear toward the end of each week and will contain the highlights of 3 stories delivered in no more than 3 sentences - outlining only the important stuff. The articles/posts are extracted throughout the week after long reviewing of hundreds of tweets brought by the smart minds in a number of fields related to the startup community. The Important 3 can include news, ideas, resources - and just about everything else. Here are the first three.
1. Stats on the state of venture capital investing: Funding for startups hasn’t rebounded strongly since the recession. However, startups with ‘Internet’ or ‘IT’ in their business description are getting funded pretty decently. Bottom line is that competition for securing an investment is higher than ever. Source: marketplace.org
2. When designing an iOS app icon: Make sure you create a unique, striking shape and that you also stick to a limited color palette. Avoid text whenever possible and try to tastefully portray the “material” that’s inside the app. Learn more about creating iOS app icons with this post in Gizmodo.
3. Great free tools: Infogr.am - free & easy way to create impressively looking infographics that you can later apply just about everywhere. Google sites - email is so yesterday, how about quickly making a simple website to be used as internal communication tool within your team? Grid by Binary Thumb: an iOS only app taking the complexity out of Excel and bringing simplicity and life to the spreadsheets.
Give me a shout in the comments box below of any sources from which you would like to see more in the Important 3 - the aim is to have as much relevant content as possible.
Petko