How the gender gap in VC funding can be tackled; Why startups should humanise their brand; Six things to consider when looking to raise capital

HOME | ADVERTISE | CONTACT US Dear StartupSmart reader, It’s no secret that more men receive venture capital than women. So how can the gender funding gap be tackled in 2015? Early-stage startups that want to appeal to customers and potential employees should focus on humanising their brand, according to an Australian marketing expert. A Melbourne-based startup is looking to make it easy to create fun,visual polls to drive user engagement for businesses and publishers. With an ever increasing number of new startups, investor pools are becoming smaller and smaller. Clare Hallam asks: is your startup prepared to raise capital? Shoes of Prey and up to 50 other Australian online retailers appear to have had their intellectual property hijacked as part of an online phishing scam. And listen up, all you sleep-deprived entrepreneurs. It might be time to stop hitting the snooze button. Kye White, Editor How the gender gap in venture capital funding can be tackled in 2015 by Broede Carmody A study by Harvard Business School has found venture capitalists prefer funding handsome men in comparison to female entrepreneurs – even when the content of their pitches is exactly the same. VIEW ALL NEWS Why you should humanise your startup’s brand by Broede Carmody Early-stage startups that want to appeal to customers and potential employees should focus on humanising their brand, according to an Australian marketing expert. Aussie startup surveying the online polling market by Broede Carmody A Melbourne-based startup is looking to make it easy to create fun, visual polls to drive user engagement for businesses and publishers. Is your startup prepared to raise capital? by Clare Hallam For startups, investor pools are becoming smaller and smaller. The competition is getting fiercer. Founders need to get smarter in all areas of their business to win. Catch Group, Shoes of Prey and up to 50 other Australian online retailers’ intellectual property caught up in phishing net by Andrew Sadauskas Intellectual property belonging to more than 50 Australian online retailers appears to have been hijacked as part of an online phishing scam. THE NEWS WRAP: FBI reveals Sony hackers failed to hide their IP addresses by Broede Carmody Those responsible for hacking Sony Pictures Entertainment late last year failed to use proxy servers that hid the origin of the attack, according to the Obama administration. READ MORE Resourcing for growth: why you need a flexible hiring strategy by Elance-oDesk Waiting until your workload explodes is far too late to start looking for staff, and it’s no good simply being reactive if you want to grow quickly. READ MORE Morning haze: why it’s time to stop hitting the snooze button by Gemma Paech It’s 6.30am and after a long holiday break, your alarm clock is insistently telling you it’s time to get out of bed. For many people the automatic reaction is to hit the snooze button, often more than once. So, why do some people love to snooze? READ MORE