We Got Accepted Into Techstars & Turned Them Down

Yes, we were accepted into one of the nation’s most prestigious accelerator programs and turned them down. So are we crazy?   I’m sure there are those of you out there that think we are nuts for turning this opportunity down. That’s fine and you may be right. My goal is not to convince anyone that we were right or wrong or if given the chance, what you should do. Instead, I want to bring you an alternative perspective and hopefully give you some points to consider.   I am emailed about this topic regularly and asked questions such as; “Should I apply to Techstars?” I cringe when I receive these emails, as I’m not qualified to provide an opinion since I don’t know anything about you or your startup. Techstars has a lot of merit and I respect the people behind the program. I don’t want to create the …

Want to Make Your Startup Look Bigger? Get a Virtual Phone System

While huge valuations and giant rounds of venture funding are flooding the imagination of daydreaming “wantrepreneurs”, you are boostrapping your way to success and spending every dollar as it may be your last. You know what needs to be done and how to get there but running a bootstrapped startup is a far cry from the sexy portrayal that seems to proceed what many believe to be the entrepreneur lifestyle. But who cares! Let the others run wild with their imagination while you kick ass and chase the real dream.   “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”   “I’m lean, I’m scrappy, why should I want to appear bigger? Won’t my customers accept me and respect me for my ability to run and grow a successful startup on a bootstrap budget?” Unfortunately, the answer is “No”. You …

How to Run a Business from Your Cell Phone

Once looked upon as a measure of a business’ reputation and size, utilizing cellular phones to conduct direct business with clients is no longer a practice that draws negative criticism. In fact, direct customer contact with cellular devices has increased to unprecedented levels in the past five years. It is no longer regarded as the shady business practice of fly-by-night companies, but is now respected as a legitimate means to communicate with clients in an efficient and effective manner. However, it is easy to get carried away and forget that a level of decorum is expected and sometimes forgotten with business cell phone usage. Running your business from a cellular phone does not have to be obvious. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs are choosing to take their cellular phones to the next level by adding Talkroute to their service.

Braintree Payments Review – A Passion for Startups & Businesses that accept Online and Mobile Payments

You have a great new business and you are ready to start selling your product. However, you haven’t discovered the perfect method for receiving, managing, and storing online and/or mobile payments. Sure, you can setup a PayPal account and start accepting PayPal payments fairly quickly. But if you are selling a complex product or a service that is more than a simple purchase and ship/download, you will find services like PayPal, to be very limited.

VoIP Alternative – Talkroute is an Affordable & Reliable Solution

In our previous article Google Voice Alternative – Focusing on Small Business with Talkroute we talked about how Talkroute is becoming the preferred Google Voice alternative for small business owners and entrepreneurs. More recently, Talkroute is now becoming the preferred alternative to VoIP users nationwide! What is VoIP? VoIP is an acronym for Voice Over Internet Protocol, or in more common terms phone service over the Internet. If you have a reasonable quality Internet connection you can get phone service delivered through your Internet connection instead of from your local phone company. Over the years this has become an increasingly popular option for small business owners and entrepreneurs who desire a phone system with the functionality of enterprise level solution. There are 100’s, if not 1000’s, of VoIP providers to choose from and all provide similar offerings. VoIP Providers boast low prices and reliable service. For many, a hosted VoIP solution seems to …

Port Your Google Voice Number To Talkroute

We get asked about transferring numbers to Talkroute fairly regularly. However, the majority of these requests come from Google Voice users. I wanted to take sometime to address the most common questions and concerns that we receive:   Can I port my Google Voice Number to Talkroute? Yes, as long as you have a paid Talkroute account (no trial accounts) you can initiate a port request by following the steps here.   How long does it take? Google Voice Numbers are generally transferred in 1-7 business days. In the meantime, you can forward your Google Voice Number to your new Talkroute Number. This way the calls you receive from Google Voice will be routed to your Talkroute account while you wait for the transfer to be completed. Once the transfer is complete, the Google Voice Number will be added to your Talkroute account and no further action will be needed …

Talkroute Featured on KillerStartups.com

KillerStartups.com was kind enough to do a story and review of our service. KillerStartups.com is also provides excellent articles and resource for entrepreneurs and startups. We suggest checking them out! An entrepreneur is never not working. Sorry for the double negative, but I used it to really emphasize this point: If you own your own business, you’re basically always on. If you have a startup, that’s even more true because building something from nothing takes thousands of hours of hard work. With advances in technology – mobile in particular – we’re more able than ever to stay constantly on. We can work from home, from the bus, even (although please, please don’t do this) from a restaurant on a romantic night out.

Secret to Success – Todd Zuccone

Our friends at Secret Entourage post incredible success stories and excellent tips for startups and Entrepreneurs. Their most recent story is about Todd Zuccone and his road to success: “Sometimes the ultimate motivator in ones business is the competition. This is certainly the case for Todd Zuccone of Evolution Motorsports. Although Porsche specialized performance shops may seem common, it is those who are able to innovate and continue to raise the bar, that ahead of the competition. Todd has

Businesses that Answer the Phone Win!

You discover an online business, with a great website. They have the product or service you want but you have a simple question you need to ask before you make your purchase. When, lo-and-behold, you discover there is no phone number to call. Just an arbitrary contact form that screams, “You will never get a response…” So what do you do? You move onto the next business in hope for a more accessible means of communication.

Smart Hold – Don’t Miss Important Calls

Many competing services offer users the ability to forward calls to any phone for a set number or “rings”. However, once the established number of “rings” has expired, the call is either disconnected or sent to voicemail. This antiquated method of call forwarding can lead to missed calls and loss of revenue for businesses. 75% of Missed Calls Contact Your Competition Next! Talkroute introduces our proprietary Smart Hold technology. Smart Hold replicates the hold system found in traditional phone systems and brings those features to the Talkroute Virtual Phone System. Here are some of the key features of Smart Hold: