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One Simple Paragraph Every Entrepreneur Should Add to Their Convertible Notes

I’m so tired of seeing young entrepreneurs get screwed by their angel investors on convertible notes and I know I can’t convince you not to do it so I’d like to offer one simple bit of advice to help you avoid getting screwed (at least on one part of your note). When you do a convertible note with a cap that converts into the next round of funding one of the unintended consequences is that if you’re successful and raise at a larger price than your cap the early angels often get “multiple liquidation preferences” on their dollars in. Here’s how it works: Angel gives you $500,000 at a $5 million cap (thus they will own at least 9% of your company if it converts at a price higher than the cap). If you raise at a lower price they will own more than 9%. [This is called a “full ratchet,” which is also historically a term that VCs would be crucified for trying to get away with but I’ll avoid talking about that in this post.] With a normal 1x liquidation preference this investor woul

Now Students Can Pursue Education Abroad Easily

Government of India launches eSanad for online attestation of education certificates In an attempt to promote digitization, the government of India is coming up with various initiatives, which will help and encourage people to embrace technology in their daily lives. The impact of digitization can be noticed in each and every sector from health, tourism to education and commerce because it has effected a remarkable change. This year, the Narendra Modi Government launched various e-portals to assist citizens under its ‘Digital India Programme’ initiative. The government’s campaign to promote cashless transactions generated a positive response among Indians, encouraging them to participate in the country’s digital transformation drive. IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the digital economy would touch $1 trillion in the next five years against $280 billion currently. He added that digital services and offerings would get a major push in the next few years with the major

9 Keys to Staying Mentally Sharp

You can have a youthful brain at any age Learning how to integrate brain, mind, and heart into a harmonious whole has never been more needed. The sheer number of  demands that compete for our limited time, attention and energy  is unprecedented in human history, and it is no wonder that we cannot always manage them with ease. This pressure may partially account for the explosion of chronic health challenges that plague people the world over. And with an aging population, experts expect an  epidemic of age-related brain illnesses  that society will be ill equipped to confront. In the face of these challenges, developing the resilience and vitality to better adapt and thrive in the second half of life has never been more urgent. The second half of life will no doubt be filled with  unavoidable challenges . But there is a clear path through these challenges, a path rooted in brain science, in practices attentive to the physical needs of body and brain, in mindful awareness, in

Five Rude And Insulting Interview Questions -- And How To Answer Them

You are a well-brought-up person with perfect manners, or at least you aspire to be. You probably know that the rudest thing you can do is to call out, mention or acknowledge another person's bad behavior! When someone is rude to you, the best thing to do is to smile and ignore the impolite behavior. As a well-brought-up person, that's what you will do when you run into rudeness on the job search trail. Sadly, I can almost guarantee that you will run into rude interviewers asking terribly impolite and intrusive questions. Here are five of the most insulting questions an interviewer can ask  you. All five of them are very common. Interviewers are  badly trained. Somewhere along the line, somebody taught them that in the business world, it's okay to ask people questions you would never dream of asking someone you were meeting for the first time in any other setting. We would never presume to ask someone at the gym, the grocery store, a block party or a place of

Stop Comparing Yourself to Competitors. Start Perfecting Your Craft.

We’re hard on ourselves professionally. Competition is fierce in the business world. We compare ourselves to the competition every chance we get. But I’m here to tell you to stop. Stop the comparisons. They’re doing nothing to your competition. Much like disliking a person that doesn’t know you exist, it only hurts you. Emotional energy is what makes us great. It is the blood, sweat and tears that we experience when pursuing our deepest passions and dreams. The smile that comes when you get the sale or the tarnished ego that ensues when you don’t. It’s the yearning desire to want more and to keep pushing. It can also be very draining and damaging if you don’t focus on the necessity of positive emotional energy. Do not sabotage yourself by draining your emotional energy on what everyone else is doing better than you. Your craft needs that emotional energy much more than your competition. Your craft needs your passion, your fire and your creative genius to push forward. Your co

These are the most powerful brands in the world

For the last five years, Apple held on to the title of the world’s most valuable brand. Then this year, the iPhone maker lost the top spot to Google, according to consultancy  Brand Finance’s Global 500 rankings . As Apple’s brand value tumbled 27% to $107.1 billion in 2016, Google’s increased to $109.5 billion. Amazon, with 53% brand value growth, was close behind at $106.4 billion. Image: Brand Finance Global 500 2017 Eight of the top 10 brands on Brand Finance’s 2017 list are American, reflecting the global dominance of US brands. So where does this leave the rest of the world? Visualizing brands as countries Using Brand Finance’s ranking, cost information website  HowMuch.net  has taken the most valuable brands in selected countries and turned them into a map. Each country is sized to reflect the global value of its biggest brand. After Google, the next most valuable national brand is South Korea’s Samsung, which is in sixth place on the Global 500 list at

If You Want Greatness, Take Responsibility

“If you had to pick one quality that someone needs to possess, what would that be?” someone recently asked me.  After I was forced to give just one answer, I said, “If I had to pick just one quality, it would be taking complete and full responsibility for your life.” Yes, there are a plethora of different qualities and habits that must be developed to truly become great, but there is no better starting point than taking complete responsibility for your life. We live in a world where maximum results are expected with minimal effort given. If something goes wrong, it’s someone else’s fault. If you’re not happy financially, it’s the economy’s fault. If you’re not happy in your marriage, it’s your partner's fault. If you’re not being compensated as much as you would like, the company doesn’t pay enough. Any of those sound familiar? Chances are some hit home. It’s human nature to blame circumstances or the next person instead of taking ownership. However, in order to live a