I want to share a online tool I have been using for a few years to research companies; one of my favorites is Alexa.com.  It is a free online tool that provides a wealth of information at a glance.  You can get started quickly by just inserting the dot com company in the online tool bar, and it will output historical to current analytical data about the website, including graphics and an aggregation of articles about the dot com company.  Site focus is on sharing data.  It focuses on a few key areas: Reach in percent of global Internet users who visit the site, Traffic rank (it is based on a combined measure of page views and users (reach)) and Number of unique page views per user per day for the site.  Other Geography information is provided as well, identifying where the Geo users come from (countries) and Geo traffic rank of the website in other countries (id first 5 countries).  Why would a startup use this tool?  Research; compare your company to someone that delivering a similar or same solution.  The Data will help you create great presentation materials for your future investors.  Alexa business model is ad based and an Amazon Company.  Site does a wealth of other great solutions; recommend you explore this online tool.  Some might say the data isn’t accurate, but it is reliable enough for me.

Posted by Jason Powell

Glenn Kelman, on how to leverage your startup.

more here.

I have been speaking to a number of people about how to encourage universities and colleges to spin out new technologies and businesses.  We often reference the Bay Area universities for their ability to do just that.

This is a good article on how entrepreneurship and startups are ingrained within the culture at Stanford.

Is there a Main Stream Media bias against startups?  Mashable has more.

More news on the emergence of smaller opportunities for investment.  Along those lines, are VCs hurting the startup community by continuing to invest large amounts in startups?

We believe that their is a larger spectrum of startups that will need everything from micro investments to A and B round of investments.   Simply put, many haven’t recognized that their is an emerging need for smaller investments.  Of those companies that receive anywhere from$10k to 100k some will need additional capital investments, but many may be able to scale solely using the smaller investment.

A question then, is how do you invest with smaller amounts and get it to pay off?

Startups are like Monopoly according to Andy Sack and we don’t think he is incorrect.

Mmmm is the word, but John Cook reports on a number of Microsofties jumping ship for startups.  Don’t know which yet, but we should welcome them with open arms!

A few lessons about leaving MSFT for a startup:

1. don’t spend anywhere near the money that you think you should
2. keep it simple and focused
3. take a look at open source solutions (they are cheap and work well)
4. build a small and cohesive team
5. did we mention keeping costs down?

As of today, applications to present at the event are now being accepted.  The event is scheduled for April 24th at Bell Harbor Conference Center.

The event is now in its 15th year, and draws ~ 350 attendees who want visibility on 30 of the area’s most promising tech companies.  Most of the local technology investors attend the event, as well as a decent gathering of investors from the  Bay Area and other locales.  This year’s forum will include representatives from five different sector:

* Digital media
* Early-stage/growth
* Web services/software
* Wireless
* Clean tech

New this year is a partnership between WSA and the Alliance of Angels (AofA), the most established and historically most active angel network in the area.  The AofA will be involved in vetting and selecting the early-stage/growth track.

Deadline for submissions is Feb. 8; applicants are not required to be WSA members. Additional information at http://www.wsa.org/pages/events/events_events_wsaevent.asp?id=08IF.

The Ten Rules for Startups just got Added to…  The 11th Rule. Are there others?