An important yet sometimes underestimated part of startup success is being informed and learning from others who have had similar entrepreneurial experiences. We decided to feature three non-IDEA, successful ventures to demonstrate what it takes to truly make your mark. These startups are Polyvore, Spool, and Yammer. Each of them have received coaching and venture funding from various companies and as a result, have gained a tremendous amount of success and popularity.

Polyvore is the leading community site for online style where users are empowered to discover their style and set trends around the world. The company collaborates with prominent brands such as Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenberg, Lancome, Net-a-Porter, Gap and Coach to drive product engagement; and its user-generated fashion campaigns have been judged by celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

Polyvore was founded in February of 2007 and is funded by Benchmark Capital, Matrix Parterns, DAG Ventures, Goldman Sachs, and Vivi Nevo (NV Investments). With the help of investments the company has gained over 15 million monthly unique visitors. Additionally, Polyvore’s global community has created over 44 million sets that are shared across the web.

The web is more than just text. Spool allows you to save videos, images, and articles to your smartphone device by simply using WiFi. Point Spool to a URL, and your SpoolBot will grab the content and sync it to all of your devices. This means you can access your content on your phone, laptop, work computer, and tablet at anytime. Then when you’re on a train, plane, subway, boat or anywhere without Internet access, your content is available! You are also able to share your favorite webpages and videos with friends and family simply by adding it to their Spools.

In late 2010, the company’s co-founders, Archival Garg and Curtis Spencer, developed an engine that could record a video from the Internet, play it on any device, and move videos between devices without having to worry about network connectivity. In 2011 this initial technology was generalized to include any type of content. Spool has received over $1M in venture round funding to reach their current success. Investors include, SVAngel, Felicis Ventures, Yuri Milner’s Start Fund and YouTube founder Steve Chen.

Yammer is an enterprise social network, providing a secure way for employees to communicate, collaborate, and share information. Employees using Yammer can discuss ideas, post news, ask questions, and share links and other information. Yammer also serves as a company directory in which every employee has a profile and as a knowledge base where past conversations can be easily accessed and referenced. The basic Yammer service is free. Companies can pay to claim and administer their network

The company was founded in September of 2008 by David Sacks formerly the COO of PayPal. Yammer grew out of the genealogy app Geni as a way for organizations to communicate. The company has received $142M in venture funding. During 2011, Yammer’s total users increased from 1.6 million to 4 million (2.5X growth), and employees increased from 80 to 250.

All of these companies had an innovative idea, and they were able to use venture resources to truly explode in their individual markets. Let the inspiration begin!

IDEA, the student-run venture accelerator at Northeastern, played a role in developing the center and will lead the experiential component of the center.

“The announcement of the Northeastern University Center for Entrepreneurship Education is a huge step forward for not only IDEA, but for the entire Northeastern Community. It truly shows the University’s commitment to entrepreneurship,” said Chris Wolfel, CEO of IDEA.

The center will offer undergraduate students access to entrepreneurial programs, adding more options to the established business classes, the Entrepreneurs Club, and the renowned co-op program. The center also benefits graduate students and NU alumni. Graduate students can participate in the “Lab to Venture” program, assisting researchers at Northeastern to create successful businesses. ”Startup Boot Camps” will be offered to alumni, helping them to create business plans and network with local investors.

Ventures from the Center for Entrepreneurship Education will be directed towards IDEA. With the help of IDEA, the entire Northeastern community – from undergraduates to alumni – has the ability to receive coaching, mentorship, and all of IDEA’s resources.

“IDEA has proven that a university-wide program can not only expand Northeastern’s entrepreneurial community, but help them achieve real success in student and alumni ventures,” said Wolfel. “The announcement of the Center for Entrepreneurship Education enforces what we do and the bright future of Northeastern’s entrepreneurs.”

To view the article released by Northeastern University, visit: www.northeastern.edu/news/2012/05/entrepreneurship-education/

About IDEA
IDEA, Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator, is a student-created and run university program at Northeastern. Our mission is to educate and cultivate the entrepreneurial community at Northeastern University. We achieve this by providing student, faculty, and alumni ventures with coaching, connection to resources, and funding with the end goal of developing self-sustaining and investment-ready ventures.

As we say goodbye to those graduating and wish them luck in their future endeavors, we are happy to announce the new additions to IDEA’s Management Team!

Kevin Walther, Libby Kober, and Ashley Roth: Communications Officers
Kevin, a political science and communications major, interned last semester at Howard Consulting Group in Washington, D.C. He has interned previously in Governor Deval Patrick’s press office and is active in PRSSA.

Libby completed her first co-op at The Boston Globe, working in the public relations and community affairs division. As a communications major with a concentration in media studies, Libby is the Outreach Coordinator for PRSSA, where she has been a member since her freshman year.

Ashley is pursuing a degree in English with a minor in business administration. She recently completed a co-op in New York City at The Association of Magazine Media and was previously the Marketing Chair for NU’s Relay for Life committee.

Kelly Samoiloff: Events Manager
Kelly joins IDEA as an Events Manager. Majoring in business administration, she completed her third co-op this spring with EMC’s events department. Kelly says she is “excited to join the IDEA management team. Everyone has already been so welcoming and it seems like a great group of people to work with.”

Tyler Welsh: Management Team Assistant
After completing his first year at Northeastern, Tyler is “excited to be surrounded by so many people that have more experience than me and can teach me how to excel in the business world.” In addition to joining IDEA, he recently began an internship at a San Diego-based start-up.

Sarah Park: Webmaster
Sarah is a graphic design & interactive media major. Sarah is in her junior year at NU and on co-op at Above the Fold, a user experience design agency. In her spare time, Sarah co-runs a mobile app company for smartphones.

We are excited with the new additions to IDEA and look forward to a great year!

Boston natives, Kevin Tully and Dave Barry, co-founded Moniker in 2012, with the intention  of giving guitar players the opportunity to express themselves not only through their music but through their guitars as well. Users are able to easily customize their Moniker guitar by choosing the shape, color, and component parts. Users can even choose to add text or graphics to their design.

“Traditionally, buying a guitar is a lot like buying a car off the lot in that you’re limited to the options the manufacturer has provided you with.  Moniker is the first to offer musicians, who are creative people by nature, a chance to own a guitar that reflects their musical style both visually and sonically,” said Tully.

Kevin Tully and Dave Barry of Moniker Guitars

Moniker customers will also be glad to know that when you are designing your guitar you’ll get to choose from new and different shapes that are not always seen in the designs of manufacturers like Fender and Gibson. Moniker guitars are also environmentally friendly! They use all water based paints, which are less toxic, and they are all made from domestically sourced wood.

Barry, a 2006 Northeastern University alumni, decided to get involved with IDEA, Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator, when they were getting ready to launch their company. Through working with their coach, Moniker was granted funds in two rounds of Gap Funding. The funding acknowledged their business plan and the need for customized guitars in the market.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the Gap Funding,” said Tully. “It’s been so crucial to everything we’ve done.”

For a limited time only, Moniker is offering $125 off of the order of a guitar by entering the promo code “SXMoniker12” at checkout. They are also offering free shipping and a free case with any purchase of a guitar!

Check out their website at www.monikerguitars.com and be sure to order your customized Moniker guitar before this offer runs out!

Now all I need are some guitar lessons!

Rublev shared his success with friends and family, and saw that they too experienced great results after making changes in their diet. Inspired by the effectiveness of these gradual changes, Rublev and his team created LeanWagon.

Today, LeanWagon is about helping dieters to eat better and lose weight. The LeanWagon experience, however, is unique in that it is highly socialized. When users come to the site, they typically do so through the recommendation of a friend.

Beginning a few weeks ago with the launch of their newest version, users become part of a team immediately upon signing up (their older version had everyone as one big Beta group). Users also gain access to a professional coach.

Rublev explains the goal of this organizational change is to “foster activity within the teams, and enable competition so that teams that are most active in the efforts to help one another lose weight will be recognized and may possibly even win prizes.”

With the latest version, users agree to make gradual changes in their diet and to share their successes and progress with the rest of the team and with their coach. (Coaches are nutrition and fitness professionals, and are paid by LeanWagon.)

Rublev cites WeightWatchers as LeanWagon’s primary competitor, but differentiates LeanWagon’s services as inexpensive, and more convenient. Members do not attend physical meetings but, rather, track whether they are sticking to their commitments through the website. They also have the option to have chat and/or phone conversations with their coaches regarding their progress.

LeanWagon positions itself as a “fun ride to health and pride,” and their motto promises users the opportunity to “socialize your way to weight loss.” The service is available now for anyone who wishes to sign up.

The team behind this social weight loss application consists of three full-time founders who all work on business development, technology, and user interface. LeanWagon also employs two part-time developers. (Recently, the team delivered a pitch at Ultra Light Startup, and won second place honors.)

Currently, LeanWagon is looking for a part time team member to help develop content for the website and for their blog. The position includes collaboration between their web product experts and their product advisory board, comprised of health and wellness experts and creators of other web consumer startups.

Prospective applicants should be ambitious self-starters with an interest in wellness, fitness, food, or

Dean Hantzis and Greg Rublev of the LeanWagon team.

nutrition, as well as with strong writing skills. The position is part-time, with the possibility of a full-time role. LeanWagon’s office is in Waltham, but most work is done remotely. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

To apply, email Greg Rublev, co-founder and CEO, at greg@leanwagon.com.

To learn more about IDEA, Northeastern’s Venture Accelerator, please visit our website.

Aside from his exceptional work as an IDEA coach for the past two years, Greg passionately led a team of 24 as President of the Northeastern University Entrepreneurs Club, an organization of over 1000 members that has—under Greg’s leadership—become the number 6 collegiate entrepreneurship club in the world. He launched multiple new programs and graduated 35 new student-run startups from the club’s influential Husky Startup Challenge.

As COO for Influencers@, Greg will be responsible for marketing campaigns, day-to-day business operations, and the task of building a national network of motivated college students to serve as brand influencers for the company.

Influeners@ is an influence marketing agency that hits the streets and the web to increase awareness and create buzz for brands and solutions, focusing on the 18 to 30 year old demographic. They specialize in generating and delivering influence marketing via word of mouth campaigns, product sampling, street teaming, brand ambassador programs, event promotion & staffing, and promo tours. As an established leader at Northeastern and in the Boston entrepreneurial community, we are more than confident that Greg will prove to be a tremendous asset to the growing organization.

IDEA would like to congratulate both Greg Skloot and Influencers@ on this stellar business partnership. We wish Greg the best of luck as he begins his post-graduate journey on what we know will be the path to success.

Check out BostInno’s coverage of the event to learn more about the winners!

Joseph Aoun, President of Northeastern University, with members of IDEA's Management Team at Demo Day

Here at IDEA, we work with first-time entrepreneurs on a regular basis. Our job is to provide a network of resources as we guide these budding entrepreneurs through all the steps necessary to propel their ideas into real, successful businesses.

We decided to compile a list of the top ten entrepreneurial mistakes we see students make as they learn the ins and outs of what it takes to survive as entrepreneurs in today’s complex society.

1.  Not having a clear focus. The most important—and often most difficult—part of starting a business comes down to knowing how to prioritize and understanding the tasks involved.

2.  Hiring the first person they interview. Venture Capitalists invest in teams, not just business ideas. It is crucial to put the time and energy into bringing the right people on board.

3.  Being too repetitive in their Business Plan. Keep in mind that while repetition can be good, too much repetition is a turn-off to potential investors.

4.  Not being open to constructive criticism. Entrepreneurs sometimes fail to realize that constructive criticism is an invaluable tool for them as they develop their businesses. Learning to see it as positive feedback can be largely beneficial.

5.  Rushing into funding. Entrepreneurs often pursue any and all sources of money before they have thought through their venture.  Planning always leads to more intelligent use of funds.

6.  Getting publicity too fast. Publicity is all about timing.  Waiting until your business has stories to tell and not just dreams to share will yield more effective coverage.

7.  Not communicating with customers. Entrepreneurs sometimes love products more than customers. Doing adequate market research will help you understand if you are actually meeting the needs of your customers.

8.  Not taking it step-by-step.  Entrepreneurs often don’t know where to start and how to set milestones, so they try to do everything at once. Remember that there is a great deal of value in milestones. What tasks are more important than others? How do you select milestones?

9.  Incorporating too soon. First-timers will often rush to incorporate their businesses before they should. It is beneficial to actually start business ventures before fronting the costs of incorporating to ensure that everything goes according to plan.

10.  Forgetting that entrepreneurs need to eat, too. Many entrepreneurs, particularly students, will draw up a three to five year plan in which they will not pay themselves a salary that allows them to survive after they graduate. Remember that entrepreneurs have needs too (like eating!) that simply cannot be ignored when planning a venture.

Dan Gregory, Chris Wolfel and Evan Stein contributed to this article.

Attendees were invited to engage in a dialogue that yielded insightful discussion around building your team and pitching to potential investors. The evening prompted an anecdotal story about Coldplay and an offer by Bob Davis to pay for more Twitter followers (@bobdavishcp – you’re welcome!).

Chris Wolfel, IDEA CEO, kicked off the discussion by asking, what types of traits are necessary in a young entrepreneur and what kinds of challenges can they anticipate facing? Jon Karlen insisted on a “never say die spirit.” He explained that in this industry ventures will hear “no” a lot, but there needs to be an “ability to persevere past any no” and “retool and go back out again.”

Chris Cuddy echoed Karlen and added that a willingness to ask for help and “reach out to advisors in areas where you don’t have experience” is a crucial characteristic in any entrepreneur.

The combined decades of experience of the panel led one attendee to inquire what the panelists wish they would have known as young entrepreneurs that they now know as investors. “It is okay not to know everything,” answered Bob Davis. He explained that if one comes to that understanding, then they will be better prepared for the finish lane to change. “Successful entrepreneurs can move with the tide and see how the market is evolving. I didn’t know that early on,” said Davis.

In giving advice to entrepreneurs who are at the very beginning stages, Kalen encouraged the audience to remember, “it takes time to get off the ground.” Cuddy stressed the importance of not selling yourself short, while Davis focused on the necessary task of compiling a fully thought out business plan. He explained that as a potential investor, he is not going to read your 50 page plan, but it is crucial for the entrepreneurs to think “through all of those components and a business plan will help facilitate that.”

Another audience member posed a question about using outside consultants and whether or not that raises a red flag to investors. The panelists agreed that there needs to be just cause behind using an outside consultant for one of the core components or expertises that your company is offering. Doing so would be seen as a mistake. Matt Fates cautioned ventures to be mindful that “there are things that make sense to outsource and things you can’t give away.”

Each of the investors offered advice and anecdotes about the biggest shortfalls that they have encountered when hearing a pitch.

• Davis focused on the importance of sharing who you are, not just leading with your idea. He explained that when first meeting with a venture, he considers “people, market and product,” in that order. The entrepreneur and investor relationship has a lot to do with chemistry, explained Davis. He noted that a “great team will turn a marginal idea into something special” and if he gets to know the individuals, he will feel more comfortable asserting that a correct match has been made.
• “Have the confidence to listen,” said Kalen. In pitch meetings, Kalen watches to see how venture team members listen and absorb feedback and their responses to such critiques.
• Fates stressed that you “have to do your homework.” When deciding which venture capitalists or angel investors to target, Fates encouraged the audience to “find investors that are looking for you,” ones that have invested in similar sectors.
• For the audience members who were more concerned about even having the opportunity to pitch potential investors, Cuddy told ventures to utilize connections rather than blind cold calling.

Building the perfect team was a popular topic throughout the discussion, especially since most of the audience members are beginning to scout for their first hires or build relationships with their cofounders. It is important to find “a bunch of puzzle pieces that work well together and complement each other,” said Kalen.

Cuddy shared his Coldplay connection, explaining that he knew lead singer, Chris Martin, long before the band hit it big.

Chris Cuddy, Jon Karlen, Bob Davis and Matt Fates

Cuddy explained that Martin once said to him, “we decided to be the best we that we could.” Martin was referring to his band mates, the people that he surrounded himself with. They decided not to focus on whether or not they were the best musicians or knew the most about the industry; rather they focused on what made them unique and special.

The closing pieces of advice from the panelists summed up an insightful evening into the investment world for all entrepreneurs in attendance.

• “Do something where you feel you have something special. Maybe it’s the idea, maybe it’s the team,” said Fates. “And always show up prepared.”
• “Everyone doesn’t have to be a founder. All of the companies in our portfolio are hiring and there is a lot to be said for the opportunity to learn” before starting your own company, explained Davis.
• “Make sure you are in business with great people and learning everyday,” said Kalen. “The single biggest impact will be your team.”
• Cuddy reminded the audience to “use the help that is in this community.” He urged, “using the resources that are available to you.”

To see more highlights from Investor Insights, check out our live tweets from the evening @IDEANEU or visit our website for more information.

8:00 a.m.  Zack wakes up and replies to various emails from Collegiate Contact’s clients and students.

10:00 – 11:15 a.m.  Zack has a presentation in his entrepreneurship class for which he must pitch a venture idea.  The presentation aims to draw other classmates to his idea, form a group, and proceed in maturing the idea.

11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.  He then has a midterm in his Operations Management class, which kept him up until 3:00 a.m. the night before.

12:45 – 2:30 p.m.

• Zack receives a phone call from a potential client. After listening to the client’s needs, he determines that the best approach would be to configure a 10-person street team and run a guerrilla marketing event for three days.
• After sealing the deal and hanging up the phone, Zack immediately sends an email to his Vice President of Student Relations to start reaching out to Collegiate Contact’s student network.
• Next he has a phone interview with an online magazine, where he discusses the premise of Collegiate Contact and how it is a useful service for both students and companies.
• Zack then creates a recap for a client’s past event.  The recap consists of an overview, results, and pictures from the event.
• Lastly he finishes up a case study that is due for his Business Law and Ethics class.

2:30 – 3:45 p.m.  Zack attends his Business Law and Ethics Class.

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.  Zack has a business meeting over dinner to discuss options for increasing Collegiate Contact’s online advertising.  He feels that creating online awareness of their service is very important in building a larger student-and-company network.

6:30 – 7:15p.m.  Zack uses his time after dinner to construct a phone call with a student interested in joining Collegiate Contact’s network.  In order to play the “matchmaking” role between clients and students, he needs to fully understand what the student is looking for, get a feel for their personality, and understand his or her capabilities.

7:30 – 8:00 p.m.  He then meets briefly with Collegiate Contact’s Vice President of Sales to get client updates and review new job opportunities for their students.

8:00 – 9:30 p.m.  Zack runs their weekly team meeting in which they review their completed assigned tasks and the overall progress of the company. They discuss creative opportunities, strategic marketing approaches, and upcoming events for their students.

9:30 – 11:00 p.m.  Following the meeting he works with the Vice President of Operations to construct, organize, and update their student database. They also work on their company website by adding new pictures from recent events, updating their social media outlets, and working towards improving their online application process.

11:00 p.m. – 12:30 a.m.  Zack now must work on his homework and finish studying for his Marketing exam.

12:30 – 3:30 a.m.  This is the time when Zack gets to focus on music.  Music has been a part of his life for many years, starting when he learned how to play the piano at the age of 7.  He writes, composes, records, and produces all of his music.  He rarely has time during the day to pursue this passion because of his many other responsibilities as a student entrepreneur. Therefore, he is only able to work on music late into the night unless he has a scheduled recording session with local artists.

Despite such a hectic schedule, Zack never loses the big smile on his face as he completes each task on his lengthy list of things to do. “It’s all about doing what you love,” he says, “and I’m just trying to do it all!”

Check out Collegiate Contact’s website, Twitter and Facebook for more information!