Top Reasons Startups Fail

It takes more than just a good idea for a startup to succeed. Forbes analyzed 101 failed startups and found that The Top Reason Startups Fail, was the lack of need for their product. Launching a startup takes a lot of preparation and research. Make sure you are fully prepared before starting your own.

Down through the years, some startups really struck gold. When Accel Partners invested $14.8 million in a website called "thefacebook.com" back in 2005, they made a return of $5.6 billion - 378 times their original outlay. More often than not, however, startups tend to fail brutally. According to CB Insights, 70 percent of upstart tech companies fail, usually about 20 months after first raising financing. The failure rate is even worse for consumer hardware startups with 97 percent of seed crowdfunded companies failing or turning into "zombies".

CB Insights delved into a compilation of startup failure post-mortems by founders and investors to shed light on why many ventures grind to a halt. The following infographic shows the top-20 cited reasons for failure with products or services that do not serve a market need in first position. Not all startups are lucky enough to attract financial backing as lucrative as Accel Partners' investment in Facebook; in 29 percent of cases, they simply run out of cash. Having the right people onboard from the outset can make a massive difference when it comes to success and ploughing ahead without the right team is the third most frequently cited reason for a startup ending in failure.

For a good infographic, sometimes all you need is a nice clean chart. This design uses a simple bar chart to clearly visualize the data. No gridlines. No axis titles. No value axis labels. No chart legend! It's a horizontal bar chart to allow room for the text labels to be easily read by the audience. All of the information needed is displayed directly in the chart itself.

Found on Forbes.

Abita Beer Release Calendar 2018

In case you're not familiar with Abita Beers, it's a fantastic brewery out of Louisiana. In addition to a core set of beers, they make a number of seasonal brews that are only available certain times of the year. This visual Beer Release Calendar is your visual guide to when you favorite brews are in season!

The new year is here and we're looking forward to another great year of brews! We've been hard at work behind the scenes planning for 2018 and wanted to share some of what we've been working on. Our 2018 Beer Release Calendar is everything we'll be releasing and boiled down to one single sheet. It's our brew bible! Of course, most of your favorites are back, but as you'll see we're bringing some beers you might recognize out of retirement and releasing a ton of new beers. In all, we'll brew and package 31 beers in 2018 and that's not counting the tons of beers we'll be experimenting with and releasing on our pilot system here at the brewery.

I really like this design. The colors come from the individual beer labels, and I appreciate the additional visualization of the available sizes. I appreciate the repeated guide to the monthly column at the bottom. The cursive font, rotated 90° is hard to read.

The gradient bars are a nice touch since those brews don't have a hard end date, they're only available until supply runs out. It looks like the designer accidentally left a few of those as gradient to white instead of gradient to the background tan color.

Why Do Businesses Fail?

Starting your own business can be rewarding, but there are a lot of challenges. Why Do Businesses Fail? infographic from Insurance Quotes and NowSourcing outlines some of the biggest problems, paired with solutions.

Small businesses often have a hard time making it work. Just how hard of a time may surprise you. Did you know that 20 percent of businesses fail in the first year, while 70 percent fail by year 10? The biggest contributing factor may seem obvious — cash flow problems.

Despite all these challenges to starting and maintaining your own business, the payoff can make it worthwhile. Here at insuranceQuotes we want to help you navigate the challenges of starting a small business and understand the pitfalls that lay ahead. Here are some facts and strategies that can put you on the path to success.

Information is key for small businesses to survive and thrive. Keep in mind that having the proper business insurance can help you keep a mishap from becoming a disaster, whether you are just starting out in a new business or have been around for years.

Let us know your thoughts on the information we provided and please share any personal business stories that may help other entrepreneurs on our Facebook page. Your successes or failures could help others.

Big Fonts are not Data Visualziations!

There's a lot of great data included in this infographic, but there's too much text in this design and a number of the statistics could have been visualized better. Way too many statistics are shown as just large text numbers without any visualization or context.

There are a number of things wrong with this particular chart. The bar lengths don't match the data values. The bars for 220,000 and 205,000 should be very close, and they're not. Here I've added corrected bars to each cluster using the existing bar length for the New Businesses bar as the base.

Maybe this is a non-zero baseline chart? If so, this is intentionally misleading to readers by showing the scale.

Found on Entrepreneur

Divergent Realities: The Difference Between 'VR' and 'AR'

If you have a business idea that uses either virtual reality or augmented reality, now is the time to look for investors. By 2021 both technologies are expected to be a $108 billion market.

Divergent Realities: The Difference Between 'VR' and 'AR' was designed for Lumus Vision (a company that designs wearable technology) by Now Sourcing and attempts to outline the key differences that set VR apart from its AR counterpart. It also breaks down some of the most popular hardware and software options, the inner workings of both technologies and the ridiculous amount of money they are expected to generate over the coming years.

This article was originally posted in Inc. Magazine, June 8, 2017 by John White. 

Virtual reality has been around for decades - Nintendo's Virtual Boy anyone? But today's smartphones are being offered with VR capabilities, leaving developers scrambling to find new and innovative ways to make use of this hot technology that everyone with a smartphone has access to. Today The Discovery Channel produces Shark Week content with virtual reality users in mind, leaving many folks wondering where this technology is going.

Virtual Reality Is Hot Now, But It Is Being Replaced With Augmented Reality

Augmented reality combines the visual aspects of virtual reality with other sensory cues, such as haptic feedback and binaural audio. By 2021 both technologies are expected to be a $108 billion market, with augmented reality alone clocking in at $83 billion. In 2016 the development of augmented reality gear cost over $2.3 billion.

Even Apple is getting in on the augmented reality development boom - they recently released their own AR development kit that will make integrating AR content into existing technology easier. According to a CNBC report, "Virtual and augmented reality product company Marxent has been developing AR apps for Apple products for six years. The company's CEO and co-founder, Beck Besecker, called the announcement a "game changer" because it will help to embed the tech into everyday life.

"(This) could theoretically add a 4th dimension to how we experience the world. Once Apple starts integrating AR into the most popular apps, like email, texting, photos, maps, and music, it will bring AR into our lives in a deep and meaningful way on a daily basis." he told CNBC in an email comment.

First, I'm not a fan of the color scheme. The contrasting colors are harsh and actually detract from the credibility of the design.

Side-by-side comparison infographics are very common and this is a perfect use of one comparing these two very similar technologies.

Found on Lifehacker.com

How 5 Tech Giants Make Their Billions

How 5 Tech Giants Make Their Billions is a good doughnut-style data visualization design from Visual Capitalist.

These five tech companies are the most valuable stocks in the U.S. market, worth a collective $2.9 trillion in market capitalization. In 2016, these companies combine for $555 billion in revenue, and a $94 billion bottom line.

Each of these companies is pretty unique in how they generate revenue, though there is some overlap:

• Facebook and Alphabet each make the vast majority of their revenues from advertising (97% and 88%, respectively)
• Apple makes 63% of their revenue from the iPhone, and another 21% coming from the iPad and Mac lines
• Amazon makes 90% from its “Product” and “Media” categories, and 9% from AWS
• Microsoft is diverse: Office (28%), servers (22%), Xbox (11%), Windows (9%), ads (7%), Surface (5%), and other (18%)

The doughnuts are simple and easy to read with match brand colors and a minimal number of slices. I always prefer that pie charts and doughtnut charts consistently start at the top, but these are aligned with the callouts to the right. I also prefer the slices to be sequenced in descending order.

One potential issue is that the doughtnut charts are all the same diameter, which can visually imply that all of these companies are similar in size. I know the market capitalization, revenue and earning are shown in bars to the left, but they're much smaller. I think it would work better if the doughnut charts were actually sized to match each company's revenue number.

Elon Musk's Resume of Failures

It's very common for super successful people to have their fair share of failures along the way. But Elon Musk has an astonishing amount of failures that has led to his massive success! In fact, so many that Kickresume has created a resume out of them. The Elon Musk's Resume of Failures highlights his major negative business and personal moments in his adult life. Probably more of a timeline than a resume.

Failure is frustrating. Failure is something you don’t put on your resume. On the contrary! One does not simply write a resume of his or her failures (Hint: we’re going to do it). At the same time, if you attempt great things, your failures are probably going to be just as impressive as your accomplishments.

There’s probably no other person alive today who embodies this notion more than Elon Musk.

Sure, he’s considered a genius who also happens to be worth $14 billion.Certainly, many of his ideas have turned into realities. Arguably, he revolutionised every industry he has ever touched: eCommerce (PayPal), automotive industry (Tesla), space flights (SpaceX), and sustainable energy (SolarCity). Still, all of these accomplishments pale in comparison to his ability to fail.

Read more at https://blog.kickresume.com

Thanks to Tomas for sending in the link!

Will Your Meeting Suck?

Are you in charge of scheduling meetings? We all know that nobody tends to like meetings. But you can use the Will Your Meeting Suck flowchart from Join Me to help schedule your next meeting. Avoid some mistakes and maybe you'll be the hero!

Take a spin through our infographic below to consider all the variables of your next meeting – time, location, snack situation – to help determine if your meeting will suck. Once you find out your risk level, you can do something about it

Decision diagrams and flow charts are good at sucking readers in to follow along the different paths.

Thanks to Don for sending in the link!

Made in France

The Made In France infographic by Raconteur uses a Sankey Diagram to plot the many-to-many relationships of top exports with top destination countries.

Infographic outlining French exports and top 10 importers, alternative exports including caviar, cigars and horsemeat and most popular markets

France exported $572 billion of goods in 2015, making it the sixth largest exporter in the world. While aircraft, cars and medicine are the country's highest-value goods, there are many other exports to varied markets.

I'm confused by the introductory paragraph. I don't see aircraft, cars or medicine in the data visualization or represented anywhere else. Did they just choose 8 random product categories they wanted to include?

Showing the two separate values for "Total Exports" and "Total of Top 10 Importers" is confusing. Especially when the Top 10 value is shown within the sankey diagram, but broken apart and connected to the 18 countries shown across the bottom of the visualization.

I really appreciate the magnifying glass interactive feature on the landing page! I like this approach better than the standard zooming interface you soo on many other large, complicated infographics.

Venn Diagram shows Tesla-SolarCity-SpaceX overlap

Yesterday (June 21, 2016) Tesla Motors offered to acquire SolarCity for $2.8 billion in stock. Unless you pay close attention, you may not realize that these are both companies headed by Elon Musk. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has visualized the shared investors and board members with this clear Venn Diagram showing the overlap between his three companies: Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX.

The graphic helps put the merger news into context for the readers. The best infographics and data visualizations make complex information more approachable and understandable for the audience, and this one does that very well.

Found on TechCrunch, where you can see the design.

The Infographic Resume by Hannah Morgan: Interview & Giveaway

The Infographic Resume is a fabulous book by Hannah Morgan from Career Sherpa! I have a chapter dedicated to infographic resumes in my book, Cool Infographics, but this is the only entire book I've seen dedicated to infographic resumes anywhere. Find more on Hannah's book page.

This month I am giving away one signed copy of The Infographic Resume! Register on the Giveaways Page by June 30th to be entered.

Infographic resumes are in, and they’re not just for designers. Free online tools are popping up every day to help anyone create a dynamic, visual resume—adding panache without sacrificing substance for style.

The Infographic Resume provides essential tips and ideas for how to create visual resumes and portfolios that will make you stand out from the crowd. Richly illustrated in full color and including lots of inspiring examples, the book will teach you how to:

• Create a powerful digital presence and develop the right digital content for your goals
• Build your self-brand and manage your online reputation
• Showcase your best work online
• Grab a hiring manager’s attention in seconds

Packed with dynamic infographics, visual resumes, and other creative digital portfolios, The Infographic Resume reveals the most effective tools, eye-catching strategies, and best practices to position yourself for any job in any kind of business.

Everyone should follow Hannah Morgan on Twitter (@careersherpa)! She shares her wisdom and insights on resumes, hiring and career issues openly. You can download her Infographic Resume Cheat Sheet, and she maintains a Pinterest Board gallery of Infographic and Visual Resumes.

Hannah answered a handful of questions about The Infographic Resume:

How would you define an infographic resume?

Hannah: An infographic resume converts your work experience into visual pieces such as charts and graphs. Instead of finding the right words to write about your skills and achievements, you can present the most important parts of your experience visually. While this may sound difficult for some people, especially those without design skills, it can actually be liberating. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Chapter 1 was great! Could you summarize your chapter on How We Got Where We Are Today?

Hannah: You may have noticed infographics and other visual elements appearing more often in newspapers, marketing materials and social media than in the past. We are inundated with information and rely on our smart phones for on-the-go access. Reading large blocks of text takes time and it is even more difficult to read on a mobile device. Studies indicate that the brain processes pictures faster than words. Other studies say pictures increase comprehension, increase the time people spend on a website, and increase sharing of updates on social media. Job seekers can leverage these trends to their advantage. Savvy job seekers know today’s job market is highly competitive. To make matters worse, almost every company has an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) which typically weeds out candidates and results in the dreaded “black hole” of no response. Technology has enabled job seekers to break out of the standard “apply online and wait” mold. By applying out-of-the-box marketing strategies such as social media campaigns, personal websites and infographic resumes, job seekers can do more to stand out and garner the attention they crave (and deserve). 

How would you describe the current state of the market for infographic resumes?

Hannah: Infographic resumes deviate from the expected and that is the very reason to use one. Most job seekers will not use one either because they don’t know about them, don’t know how to create on or think it would be risky to try and use one. In my opinion, the rewards outweigh the risk. Go ahead, use an infographic resume.

What are some of the more unexpected jobs or careers that you have seen candidates use an infographic resume?

Hannah: The early adopters of infographic resumes were people who had graphic design skills. But infographic resumes are being created by technical writers, sales representatives, information technology specialists and many other types of occupations. Infographic resumes demonstrate creativity and innovative thinking which are qualities valued in marketing departments, information technology, and start-up organizations, just to name a few. Consider the culture of the organization and the requirements of the role to help determine if an infographic resume might be successful opening doors.

Are there any risks associated with infographic resumes?

Hannah: There are some things you should know before you use an infographic resume. First, and foremost, do not use infographic resumes when submitting through applicant tracking systems! The technology used in ATSs cannot read visual content. You should also take into consideration who you are sending your infographic resume to. Typically, people in human resource and recruiting roles expect to see the traditional, conservative text resume. These roles often have to review hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes and do not have time to search your infographic for skills and work history. A better strategy is to send your infographic resume to the actual hiring manager or to a contact you have made inside the organization. Infographic resumes also make a great addition to your LinkedIn profile as embedded media in the summary section. If you have a personal website or online portfolio, an infographic resume works well there too. If you are proactively networking with people in your field of interest, bring your infographic resume to the meeting and share it to guide the conversation. And why not bring an infographic resume to an interview to impress the interviewers?

What types of reactions to infographic resumes are you hearing from hiring managers and recruiters?

Hannah:  About a year ago, I polled the recruiters, human resource professionals and career coaches in my network to get their feedback on infographic resumes and the overwhelming response was positive. In fact, 68 percent said they would look at an infographic resume, 32 percent said it would depend and no one said that they wouldn’t look at one. Here are some of the comments I received: 

“I would welcome a fresh, newer idea, which this is, as opposed to the same old resume.” -Hiring Manager

“Shows some creativity.”  -Other

“Yes! I would be thrilled with the creativity, and it would definitely be a resume that would stand out from the pack.” – Hiring Manager

“Yes, because normal resumes are boring.” -Other

Do you have your own infographic resume that I could share?

Hannah: Since I don’t have design skills, I rely on tools that convert my LinkedIn profile into an infographic resume, like this one created using vizualize.me. There are so many tools available to help create infographics so even people without design skills or familiarity with design software can dabble in infographics. I’ve written about four of those tools here: http://careersherpa.net/4-templates-for-infographic-resumes/

Hannah's Bio:

Hannah Morgan is the Founder, CareerSherpa.net and a Job Search Strategist. She is a speaker and author on  job search and social media strategies. She delivers fresh advice and serves as a guide to the treacherous terrain of today’s workplace landscape. Hannah’s experience in Human Resources, Outplacement Services, Workforce Development and Career Services equip her with a 360 degree perspective on job search topics. Recognized by media and career professionals, Hannah is an advocate who encourages job seekers to take control of their job search. Hannah is frequently quoted in local and national publications and she writes a weekly column for U.S. News & World Report.

Hannah is the author of “The Infographic Resume” (McGraw Hill Education, 2014) and co-author of “Social Networking for Business Success” (Learning Express, 2013). You can learn more about Hannah on CareerSherpa.net and by following her on Twitter at @careersherpa.