Here is a sneak peek at some screen shots of a mockup of what our newest version of AboutOne will look like. We are so excited about how easy it is to add your information as life happens.

Look for more sneak peeks soon! We will be updating this page often.

A Glance at Our New (not yet released) Mobile App

I was honored to be interviewed on Executive Leaders Radio because it is the premier business radio show featuring the stories of CEOs from a variety of industries. Herb Cohen and Jeff Mack co-hosted the program I recorded.

I recorded the segment on Friday, December 16th with Carl Bader, CEO of Aviom, David Moldoff, Founder & CEO of AcademyOne, Pete Nagy, CEO of Leversense, Brian Fitzpatrick, CEO of Aklero, and Paul Commons, CFO of Holganix. Also on the program was Pennsylvania State Senator Dominic Pileggi, a great supporter of BFTP and the work they do to support entrepreneurs and employment in Pennsylvania.

Executive Leaders Radio doesn’t use a typical question and answer format. As part of our preparation, Herb Cohen had each of the guests share stories that listeners could relate to – stories about our backgrounds, childhoods, and inspiration. The goal of Executive Leaders Radio is to showcase for the listeners not only value of our companies, but to connect with them via our day-to-day lives. The interview consists of nine questions that are designed to highlight how and why a CEO starts his or her business and how that business creates value for their customers.

I was nervous about my taping, which took place in a conference room in the Building 100 Innovation Center located in Philadelphia’s The Navy Yard. The two large microphones in the room came with a reminder that the show is not edited. Another reminder that as a CEO you need to get used to being interviewed!

We spoke about the name of my company, AboutOne, and why our customers love us (we are so lucky to have such amazing customers). The time passed very quickly as I spoke about how AboutOne helps organize your daily life – especially in terms of storing important health information and having easy access to your calendar and contacts.

You can listen to the show’s Webcast here. I had such a wonderful time that I have accepted their offer to come back in 2012 and participate in a longer taping.

I was given this opportunity to be a part of Executive Leaders Radio thanks to Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a seed investor in AboutOne. This reconfirms my belief that when it comes to investors, you need to research the benefits they bring to a company beyond a cash investment!

Las Vegas January 13, 2012

I spent the last week in Las Vegas, promoting the announcement of AboutOne’s latest release at the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). We chose to attend CES for our announcement because it’s the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow and attracts the “who’s who” of the technology industry. This conference provided us with myriad opportunities to connect with traditional and new media, potential partners, and prospective customers. As I wait for my red-eye flight home, I want to share my lessons learned about being an exhibitor at this amazing event.

Lesson 1 – Establish clear objectives for the event: We had two objectives for our time at CES: to connect with media and to identify and connect with potential partners. As careful stewards of our startup’s limited resources, being clear about these objectives allowed us to focus our efforts where they’d have maximum impact.

Lesson 2 – Look for Alternatives to the Standard Event Booth and Plan Ahead: Attending and exhibiting at conferences and trades shows is expensive, and CES is no exception. The type of CES exhibitor package we needed to meet our conference objectives was prohibitively expensive when reserving directly through CES, so we sought alternative solutions. We discovered Living in Digital Times (LIDT) a CEA partner program offering conferences and events that focus on the intersection of lifestyle and technology. LIDT sponsors several “tech zones” within CES, including the Digital Health Summit, Silvers Summit, Sports and Fitness Tech Summit, MommyTech Summit, Kids@Play Summit, and HigherEdTECH Summit, all at rates that compare very favorably with the standard CES rates.

We chose a small turnkey booth in the Cool Products for Moms exhibit in the MommyTech zone, a focused lifestyle exhibition and conference embedded within CES and focusing exclusively on the newest technology innovations and trends aimed at the $90 billion dollar mom market. Our package also included a presence at CES Unveiled (a pre-CES New York press preview in November), a “speed-dating” press event on the first day of CES, and invaluable support from the CES staff throughout the week to help send media representatives our way. We also made arrangement for me to speak on the Moms as CEOs of the Household panel about empowering moms with technology that helps them juggle priorities, stay connected with their families, and balance work and life. This panel was well-attended by both press and potential partners who reached out to us afterwards to express their interest.

In addition to making arrangements for your exhibit space, it’s also important to book transportation and hotel reservations in advance. CES partners with a long list of Las Vegas hotels to offer special rates, but these discounted offers sell out fast.

Lesson 3 – Make Contact Before, During, and After the Event: We requested the CES press list from LIDT so we could send targeted emails before the conference to appropriate media outlets for our customer demographic. In addition, we used Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to connect with conference attendees before, during, and after the event.

Lesson 4 – Attend Panels and Keynotes: This is where we were able to pick up on the latest trends that impact our company’s direction. Of particular interest to us this year were Elisa Camahort Page’s presentation of BlogHer’s 2012 Consumer Electronics Study that identified all-in-one consumer electronic devices as most indispensable to women, and the overall focus on consumers’ desire for anytime, anywhere access to their digital information via PCs, smartphones, TVs, cars, and appliances that are smart and connected.

Ultimately, I plan to compile these lessons into a book with a package of models and templates that I hope will help other entrepreneurs find success in the startup world.

As I celebrate the closing of my first series A funded by Golden Seeds and MAG, I thought I would give you a sneak peak at five lessons I’ve learned about the funding process.

Lesson 1 – Find a local funding mentor.

I started pitching from day one of my idea; not because I thought I could raise money, but because as a first time fundraiser, I needed to learn what investors wanted.

My first step was joining Philly Startup Leaders (PSL), a local entrepreneur group that told me about Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures. I applied to MADV and was surprised when I was accepted for screening. I was accepted to present and I did have to pay to pitch (around $300) but it was worth every penny as they assigned a mentor to walk me through my pitch.  I then asked a local investor to review my pitch and give feedback, hearing his feedback was a major step forward in refining my pitch.

With hindsight, instead of trying to navigate and learn the process myself, I would approach another entrepreneur who had successfully raised funds in my geographic area and offer to pay them to mentor me. I think that would have saved me a lot of time.

I recommend finding a local entrepreneur because I discovered that seed and series A investors want to be close to their entrepreneurs (which I think is wise). Another entrepreneur should be able to recommend or introduce you to local angel groups or VCs and help you prepare the right six minute pitch content (I’ll share the reason for six minutes in my book.).

My final step in the funding process was to investigate local seed stage investors who had credibility. I selected Ben Franklin SEP. My contact Alan Kraus took the time to mentor me through the various steps to be eligible for their funding. He also helped me though their 12 week due diligence program, which really validated that I was doing the right things.  The Ben Franklin funding came with a network, contacts and support – all invaluable when growing a series A company.

Lesson 2 – Cash is king.

The funding timeline is unpredictable and having cash is absolutely critical. It may seem obvious, but know your cash flow, burn rates, and how many months your team can last without the additional funding as you never know what will happen!

When I started fundraising for my series A, I was told the process could take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year. Give yourself enough time.

My AboutOne series A with Golden Seeds from pitch to cash in the bank was July 14th – Nov 30th: 139 days, 20 weeks, or 5 months. I did not anticipate the hurricane with evacuation, tornado, earthquake, and hospitalized child that all occurred in the middle of the funding process, causing a 4 week delay which then pushed me into August, the month when many investors go on vacation.

Luckily, my lead investors worked on their vacations to keep us on track, but in general, my advice would be to avoid fundraising in August. There are always exceptions, but this was my lesson here on the east coast.

Lesson 3 – Research and understand term sheets.

Research term sheets before you start fundraising; you need to understand the whole process. I attended a training session held by PSL (Philly Start Up Leaders) and PACT called “I Signed What?” Understanding Term Sheets and Financing Terms by Farid Naib.

One example of this process that never made sense to me was the option pool reserved for future use. In an institutional funding round, these future options will dilute your current valuation while adding no increase in your valuation, even though the options will have a strike price. Research this so you understand how to size your option pool so it is effective for you in your hiring but has a sensible dilution.

Your startup attorney and accounting team should advise you about these matters during term sheet discussions. Perhaps you can negotiate different terms from the beginning, but when I researched, this seemed to be common practice.  My attorney was Reed Smith LLP and my accountant was Fesnak & Associates.

Lesson 4 – Have a backup plan with a funnel of investors.

Get used to the idea that investors can soft circle an amount for you and then pull out. You will feel emotionally let down, especially if you get to like your prospective investors, so prepare yourself.

This is business. It’s very rarely about you as a person. When they choose to walk away, it’s just the end of their part in your journey. Let them go gracefully and stay in touch with them. You never know if they will help you in other ways in the future.

I had investors drop out, and I removed investors from my list as I learned more about them.

If you have a backup plan, that will ease the stress.

My funding mentor, Amanda Steinberg from DailyWorth warned me this would happen, so I was prepared emotionally and with a funnel of interested investors.

Lesson 5 – Breathe!

One of my Golden Seeds investors emailed me this during the due diligence process: “Just Breathe!” It was good advice.

Give yourself some time to go for a walk, get some exercise, and take a break. I managed the process by trying to make it fun.

I looked at finding investors like finding a husband; I interviewed the investors to be my life partner. I wanted someone who had a portfolio that fit mine and was genuinely interested in my market. I wanted them to believe in me unconditionally, for better or worse, in sickness and in health – like my family.

At this point in time, I feel I found that in my perfect investors with Golden Seeds and MAG, and I hope you do too.
Good Luck!

A former software company executive specializing in cloud technology, Lang recognized that while she had Facebook for friends and LinkedIn for business, there was nothing in the middle to help manage her home life. She designed AboutOne, based on her direct experiences as the mother of four children.

Since launching first on stage at VentureBeat’s DEMO Spring 2011, Lang was named a Forbes Top Ten Female Entrepreneurs to Watch, won the StartupNation and the Startup Princess competitions, received seed funding from Ben Franklin SEP, Series A from Golden Seeds and MAG, and was accepted to the Astia portfolio. A regular blogger on StartupAmerica, Women 2.0, and The Huffington Post, Lang is also a frequent panelist, including the NYU 2012 Women Entrepreneurs Festival with Arianna Huffington (founded by Joanne Wilson and Nancy Hechinger), the CES MommyTech Summit, Women 2.0 Founder Friday, Penn State’s Igniting Innovation Forum, BlogHer’s Entrepreneurs ’12, and was the keynote speaker at the Chamber of Business & Industry’s Annual Small Business Dinner.

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