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Over the last few weeks, I've done a lot of coffee meeting (although I don't drink coffee).

As someone who runs their own business, it's easy to get caught up in your own world. But once in a while, it's important to get out of the office to meet other people. 

When you do meet for coffee or attend a conference, it opens the doors to new ideas and approaches, books to read, shows to watch and podcasts to check out.

In a world in which we increasingly rely on digital tools to communicate, it's important to remember that real connection and business happens in the real world.

More: Thanks to everyone who checked out Story Spark, my new (and free!) course that helps you better answer the question: So, what do you do?

Running the Business
  • Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson looks at burn rates, specifically how much burn in reasonable. [link]
  • How much should startups spend on sales and marketing? Tomasz Tunguz says it's a simple proposition: a lot [link]
  • Pebble launched one of the most successful crowdsourcing campaigns and sold $250-million of smartwatches, Eric Migicovsky looks back what he's about building hardware.  [link]
  • A good elevator pitch is entrepreneurial gold. Here are five key elements of an effective elevator pitch. [link]
  • In the Harvard Business Review, Wendy DuBow and Allison Scott-Pruitt write about the "comprehensive case" for investing in women-led startups. [link]
  • Want to keep your startup employees? Provide them with great benefits. [sponsor]
  • Neil Patel looks at how to double your traffic by finding low-hanging fruit in your blog archives. [link]
  • In the U.S., there are fewer new businesses being created. Apparently, the problem is Big Business. [link]
  • Is there a startup drought happening. Vox's Timothy suggests the last big startup success was Facebook, which is 13-years-old. [link]
  • Have a beautiful Website is great but it has to drive business. Sleeknote looks at how to quickly improver conversation rates. [link]
  • The recent launch of Bodega was a PR disaster. TechCrunch looks at how to avoid these kinds of situations. [link]
  • Apparently, Ev Williams has a new plan for Medium (aka Medium 3.0) as it strives to find a way to make money  [link]

Oh Canada!
Toronto Life shines the spotlight on Toronto's fast-growing startup ecosystem. It's interesting to see the media's growing love affair with startups. [link] 
TheBoardlist, which is building a list of women to serve on boards, released its list of the top Canadian women in tech - here in Canada and in Silicon Valley. [link]
People love using plastic - bags, straws, etc. - but it's bad for the environment. Here's a Toronto-based startup trying to "upcycle" plastic. [link]
For years, Canadians have lamented the "brain drain" of talent to the U.S. Now, it appears there is a reverse brain-drain happening. [link]

Sponsors
CIX is happening Oct. 17/18 in Toronto. Tickets are now on sale. Here's the agenda.
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.
What's your answer to: "What do you do?" Is it engaging or does it fall flat? To create a better answer, take my free Story Spark video course.

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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ME Consulting · 109 Melville Avenue · Toronto, On M6G 1Y3 · Canada