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A few weeks ago, I wrote about the proliferation of side gigs. I hinted about something that I was working on, which is finally ready to unveil.

Story Spark is a free video course that helps you answer the proverbial cocktail question: "So, what do you do?".

I meet too many entrepreneurs who stumble badly rather than being crystal clear and engaging.

As much as storytelling is probably over-hyped, telling good stories is ultra-important, even when it involves answering simple questions such as "What do you do?".

People tend to over-complicate their answers or tell too much too soon. It leaves the audience scratching their heads rather than interested or inspired.

I'm hoping Story Spark makes your storytelling better, smarter and, as important, compels people to say "Cool. Tell me more."

Let me know what you think. Mark

Running the Business
  • The demise of Juicero provides valuable lessons to entrepreneurs and investors. Bloomberg looks at what happened. [link]
  • Your startup employees should have benefits. IPFS helps you make that happen. Use a chatbot on the Website to instantly get coverage costs [sponsor]
  • Two of the key questions for entrepreneurs is what are the building and why. GAN Ventures' Reilly Flynn provides some insight. [link]
  • Amid all the hype about AI, Vinod Khosla says there are dangers if the technology is embraced by people pushing agendas against the greater good [link]
  • What happens when young entrepreneurs like Travis Kalanick succeed too early in their careers. The New York Times takes a look. [link]
  • One of the key considerations for entrepreneurs is splitting the work rather than trying to do everything themselves [link]
  • Fascinating story by Melanie Baker about two female entrepreneurs who created a male co-founder to see how it changed their business. [link]
  • Have a speaking engagement? Check out The Speakers Business Development Toolkit, an online course about what to do before, during and after your gig. [sponsor]
  • Sol Orwell talks about why he has spent more than $250,000 on domain names, including Examine.com. [link]
  • For all the talk about the importance of storytelling, too many companies struggle with bad stories. [link].
  • Hussain Bandukwala puts the spotlight on five reasons why project management is a no-brainer for fast-growing startups. [link]
  • How much should a startup founder make? This calculator will help you figure it out. [link]

Oh Canada!
Toronto's campaign to attract Amazon's new headquarters is surging ahead. [link] The bigger question is whether it would be good for Canada's tech ecosystem.
Canadian Business unveiled its STARTUP 50 rankings. Kelowna-based Strawhouse topped the list with two-year growth of 3,034%. [link]
Just when you think the Canadian government likes startups, they propose a new tax regime that's "an assault on small business". [link]
In a new report, the Impact Centre questions if Canadian VCs are limiting their own returns by financing companies later, less frequently and with less money. [link]
ScaleUp Ventures unveiled the third and final close of its first fund, which raised more than $100-million. It plans to make 20 to 30 investments. [link]
Toronto-based DeepLearni.ng, which works with enterprises to build and deploy AI systems, raised $9-million from Fidelity Investments. [link]

Cool
The New York Times' Nick Wingfield writes about how he keeps on top of technology while he writes about it. [link]
As Amazon embraces automation and more robotics, its workers are finding new roles. [link]

Advertising
Your startup employees should have benefits. IPFS helps you make that happen. [sponsor]
Reach nearly 2,100 entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and service suppliers. Send me an email to talk about options.
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Who Writes This Newsletter?
Mark Evans helps fast-growing companies grow even faster with marketing that actually works. My consulting and coaching and advisory services harness processes, frameworks, and creativity to drive strategic plans and tactical execution. 

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