I'm developing a product which will help local newspapers move into the future by selling more subscriptions through smart devices. I am having a problem getting replies from these newspapers. I know my solution could be extremely beneficial but trying to get a reply and hopefully a meeting has been tough. Any advice on how I should reach them.

Getting in the door at any big company and finding the right person to sell to is hard … if you don’t have the ins or know the right people or know how to get to the right people, then you gotta pound the pavement, knock on doors, cold call, network like a maniac, send emails/packages, etc. It’s for this reason why the best product doesn’t always win … it needs to be coupled with effective sales and distribution or you’ll never get anywhere.

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I want to find a partner who can run my online business. Do you have any advice on how I should go about this?

Answered by Tara Hunt – Founder, Buyosphere

There are lots of people looking to do startups now, but be cautioned: picking a partner for your startup is as important as picking your future spouse. You will spend as m... (more)

I'm starting a t-shirt line I was wondering if you had any advice on how I could get some customer participation interaction with a t-shirt line

Answered by April Dunford – Product Marketing Expert. Posted in Product Development

The key is to really understand your target market and what motivates them. For example if your target is young hipsters you could do a design the t-shirt contest or a con... (more)

Hey, as a Management consultant with a background in software development, I am thinking of starting my own practice in a much smaller scale to start with. I am curious to...

Answered by Farhan Thawar – Engineering at XtremeLabs

Interesting times! Congratulations on starting your own business. Likely you won't have much choice on your consulting gigs (i.e. you'll just take what comes your way to ... (more)

Hi Tim, I have a new startup with a friend doing software development. Contemplated forming an LLC but to keep costs down (we're located in CA with an $800/yr min franchis...

Answered by Tim Berry – Founder of Palo Alto Software

The first step is to shop around for an attorney yu can trust, with real world experience, who has a good answer to this question. The right answer is a series of follow-... (more)

I will be starting up my company in the next few months. It is in the online media space and will require a couple of months of website/app construction to get going. any a...

Answered by Michael Garrity – Founder, CommunityLend

I play sports so I'm prone to sports metaphors. I would argue that you should "throw what you know" (baseball metaphor). In other words, if you are trying to win the game,... (more)

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