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Five Equity Tips for a Successful Startup

By Claire Kalia (Founding Managing Partner, Kalia Law Group) Equity issues are critical to most startups because equity determines central questions such as ownership, control and compensation.

At the early stages of a company, it’s especially important to make sure that equity is issued in a way that meets the company’s current needs and future plans.

Here are some tips for smart things to do (and things to avoid doing) with your company’s equity.

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Negotiation for Women: Learning To Ask For What You Want

By Jamie Lee (Operations Manager, Tipping Point Partners) Initiating the conversation about salary negotiation with the successful women in our network is the first step to acquiring a negotiation muscle.

I saw how tapping one's network can positively impact a woman's career after making an introduction to two female friends.

One was an executive with great deal of professional experience, and the other was just about to start her professional career and seeking career advice. Let's call the first friend

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Support Women Running Growth Businesses

By Karen E. Klein (Contributing Writer, Businessweek) Women represent only 35 percent of startup owners in the U.S., even though 50 percent of college students and 46 percent of the U.S. workforce is female.

Women’s startup businesses also “tend to experience less growth and prosperity than do firms started by men,” according to a paper released this week by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. “Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers” notes that increasing numbers of highly qualified women work in science and technology, industries that frequently

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Doing It for Themselves: The Self-Made Woman

By Colleen Leahey (Reporter, CNN) Chelsea Handler, comedian and television personality, is a known quantity. But allow us to introduce you to Chelsea Handler, businesswoman.

In 2009, Handler co-founded Borderline Amazing Productions with Tom Brunelle, the head writer of Handler's late-night show. The company has produced four shows.

Celebrities with production companies are as common as starlets with fluffy, teacup-sized dogs.

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If I Had More Time… (Part 2)

By Raissa Nebie (Co-Founder & CEO, Spoondate) A few months ago, I wrote a post enumerating a few things I would do if I had more time. Back then, I was 100% focused on work and launching a startup.

Six months later, I’ve learned that maintaining balance is critical to happiness. Work and success are great, but a life without fun, family, friends, etc. sucks.

I started to make room for simple pleasures, starting with taking a full day off per week, and it made a huge difference.

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A Field Guide To: Version 2.0

By Sara Holoubek (Founder & CEO, Luminary Labs) In the fall of 2010, A Field Guide to Female Founders, Influencers and Dealmakers went live. It was a rapid affair to create a resource we could point in response to the refrain "where are the women?"

To put it bluntly, we hit a nerve.

Over the past year, a number of people have dedicated time to solving the "let's get more women in here" problem. This is a good nut to crack, as it is about quantity, or achieiving scale, if you will. The more women in the room, the more normal it will seem,

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Y Combinator’s Paul Graham & Great Startup Quotes (Good Reads)

By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0) A few weeks ago, Sue Khim (Founder & CEO of Alltuition) quipped in an interview with Women 2.0:

My recommendation if you are to read any startup literature, Paul Graham influenced me the most and I liked to read what he had to say about startups. Action first. And if you have to read anyone, read Paul Graham.

Today, co-founder & CEO Raissa Nebie of Spoondate blogs this gem from StartupQuote:

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The Case Against the All-Male Startup

By Eric Markowitz (Contributing Writer, Inc.) Is your startup starting to feel like a frat house? New research suggests that having more women at your company, and increasing diversity in general, can improve your chances of success.

"I thought I saw a growing disparity between the growth in the number of venture-backable women, and the actual dollars that were going into companies that had women on the founding team," Cindy Padnos says. "And I was confused by that."

To address her hypothesis, Padnos, along with

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A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating (Tips & Tricks)

By Melissa Fudor (Program Manager, Women in Wireless) The Women in Wireless Educational Series officially launched last Thursday with a workshop on negotiation skills, taught by Professor Lee Miller (author of “A Woman’s Guide to Negotiating”) in New York City. The workshops aim to teach professional women valuable skills that are essential for career advancement and feature special guest speakers who are experts on subjects like negotiating, public speaking, and sales tactics.

Professor Lee Miller began his talk with this little visualization exercise:

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Skimble’s Backflipping Presentation Earns Top Score

By Shana Lynch (Assistant Managing Editor, Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal) Heavy-hitting health venture capitalists and professionals were on hand for the DC to VC: Hit Startup Showcase event, organized by Morgenthaler Ventures. And one startup founder was doing backflips for their attention. Literally.

Maria Ly, co-founder of Skimble, which makes exercise applications for mobile, showed off her product with a backflip. Skimble, based in San Francisco, uses personal trainers to coach work-out exercises, with game-style add-ons to keep it fresh.

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Partner event: O’Reilly Android Open Conference

Android Open (October 9-11 in San Francisco, CA) is the first conference to cover the entire Android ecosystem. We're gathering software engineers and programmers, product managers, marketers, and entrepreneurs to discuss, dissect, and explore all things Android. The comprehensive program will not only teach you new tips and tricks but will also present valuable business information geared to take your company to the next level of success. Women 2.0 members save 20% with discount code "ao11web" when you register here.

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