Paychex 401k Withdrawal 2007-2024 Form

Payoff.com is a social finance platform enabling communities to fulfill their individual and collective dreams. We launched public beta in January 2011 and have collected 1,000+ dreams, of which over 90% are related to money. Payoff helps people fund their dreams and signNow their goals, like saving for a house or vacation, adopting a child, paying off credit cards, and starting a business, in addition to connecting them with other people working towards the same things. The current product enables users to share their dreams, set up goals, link and track financial accounts, earn badges, and receive cash Sur-Prizes for progress. We provide tools from top-quality partners, as well as educational content to help move users to action and success. Ultimately, we provide a more intuitive way for users to understand how they are spending their life -- it’s not about the dollars, but it’s about the positive use of money, time, talent, and charity. We aim to own dreams and achievement on the web.  Payoff will create meaningful social connections and dialogue through dreams, goals, implicit communities based on personal transactions (the “real-life check-in”), and our partners.  In addition, our relevance and recommendation engine is guided by a Science Advisory Board, with leaders from Cal-Tech, USC, and Northwestern. We recognize that achievement and financial behavior, like most decisions, is driven by emotions, not budgets and lists, and we are signNowing people in this emotional space. One user told us, “I feel more encouragement from these badges than I think you will ever know.  I'm not the most emotional person but I have been so poor for most of my adult life trying to get through school that the day  [the] "STASH" badge was awarded to me I cried!” Payoff is founded by Scott Saunders (Walz Group, Inc 500) and Eden Warner (pre-revenue to profitability CFO at Fandango), along with folks from Yahoo! and SpotRunner. You can view a video about us at and contact us at scott@payoff.com. Also, check out what folks are saying: AOL WalletPop: http://www.walletpop.com/2011/01...Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/p...U.S. News Money: http://money.usnews.com/money/bl...

Comparing total GDP figures hides a lot of factors.Both countries are very different and so are their economies and societies. The economic and social decisions of one country doesn’t directly apply to the other.All the answers here give chinese perspective but I feel it is one sided so I should provide the US perspective.China has a population of 1.4 Billion vs US which has a population of only 323 Million. That is almost 5 times compared to US.Now let's try to understand this by an example. Let's say there are 2 teams Team A and Team B. Team A has 10 members while team B has 50 members. Team B will outperform team A in terms of productivity.Let us assume all the members are equally productive and produce the same output in value.If both the teams are given a task, let's say fishing, then the output from team B will be much higher than team A. Even if team A has a head start, team B will eventually catchup and overtake team A at some point of time. Let's say both the teams are given task to catch fish. Let us say that every member in Team US is a highly skilled fisherman and catches 10 fishes each day while each member of team China is only able to catch 5 fishes each day. The total output of both teams will still be the same even if each member of team China only catches half the no. of fish.Although total GDP of China will surpass US, per capita GDP of China is way below. Currently US ranks 13 in terms of per capita GDP with $ 59,609(this is the output produced by each american) while china ranks 74th with per capita GDP of ~ $ 9,000.(source :http://statisticstimes.com/econo...)Now coming back to both countries. China was destined to outgrow US as the largest economy. There is no surprise there and it is not that US could have done anything(other than adding more population, oh wait..no more immigrants!). Having a government which is focussed on growth and its pro-development policies only accelerated the growth and made China to catch up sooner rather than later.US didn't had to do anything wrong for China to surpass but that said, there are few things that hampered the growth of US:1) Wars - Since the turn of this century, US has been fighting multiple wars at the same time which made a big hole in its pocket. It is estimated that US has spent $4.79 Trillion on the wars since 2001. Let that figure sink in. It is almost half of China's gdp.2) economic slowdowns - US has faced 2 economic crashes, during 2000 and 2008. The 2008 was the worst to be seen till now. The federal reserve bailout for 2008 recession was $29 Trillion.Apart from this, US also provides financial aid to other countries for numerous reasons like humanitarian aid, emergency relief etc. which it does completely on humanitarian reasons and doesn't get returns on it while the chinese investments in other countries are investments either done to boost its own trade. For example, the chinese investments in africa are to cultivate a market for chinese exports. The One belt One road investments in pakistan are being done to ensure free movement of its goods to Gwadar port. This will reduce their export costs and boost economy in their western provinces. The investments done in Pakistan are in fact a loan which they will have to repay. US as a giant economy it is, rightfully takes responsibilities for lot of things globally like protecting rights of citizens of some country which is going through turmoil. US is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and spending billions to protect the citizens of those countries from tyranny and have an elected government. It also provides asylum and refuge to lot of distressed citizens from those countries. This is a huge responsibility as a big nation.It also contributes a huge chunk to the UN budget. Notice that US alone contributes almost 1/4th of UN budget.(image source : https://factly.in/united-nations...)But are you saying, US shouldn’t do any of those efforts and instead compete on retaining the crown of largest GDP? I strongly believe US is doing what is morally right and is completely justified.As Leo Wong & others have pointed out in their answers that US did not focus on building infrastructure. That’s not true!. US already has a great country wide infrastructure. Sure, it is aging but it has country wide network of freeways, powergrid and is also investing heavily in development of all key scientific area including AI. It does not have a high speed rail which kind of sucks but having a country wide high speed rail network like China is not feasible in US.China has a high population density and is feasible to build and operate a high speed rail network. US for most parts is either populated on east and west coast while the central america is huge and very sparse in terms of population.The population density is too low to break even the huge infrastructure costs required to build such a network. It has a great network of freeways and almost everyone can afford a car and also people fly all the time! There is a project for high speed rail between San Francisco to LA but the ticket price is too high and ridership is so low that there are concerns about revenue even before construction[1][2].See the population density of USVs ChinaBased on population density, you can almost guess how the high-speed rail network of China would beYou can see that the provinces near mongol border & near tibet, nepal, India border doesn’t have high speed rail for the similar reason that there are not enough people there to build a rail network.Now, let’s understand what factors helped China to continue economic and social development :Foreign exports :- China capitalized on its population and has nurtured SMBs(small and medium business). They established themselves as manufacturing hub which helped them increase their GDP.Closed economy - China doesn’t allow outside investment and especially not in tech sector. Companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber etc are not allowed to operate freely and instead have their own services. This protected the interests of chinese companies and control the competition.This in short means lot of cash flowing in China but not out of China.China has done a remarkable job in uplifting its economy and will become the largest economy but it still has a long way to go to become a driving force in the global economy. I hope Xi Jinping’s second term will usher a new era and his roadmap includes opening China’s economy and society.[1] - https://sf.curbed.com/2017/9/19/...[2] -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca...

I raised $500,000 at 19. I was on my way to change the world. Three years later everything burned down.This post is not about how to shoot for the stars or run a company. Others are better at that.This is about what not to do.I’ve made every mistake possible. But ironically, I’m constantly meeting teams doing the exact same things that caused my first startup to implode. Everything I’m writing about I’ve experienced first hand through my own startups as well as various businesses I’ve been involved in. It’s been all my fault and this is my story.Some of you will disagree with me. Others will have things to add. I’m happy to discuss in the comments.Here’s my attempt.ZUCKERBERG SYNDROMMy girlfriend didn’t know what I was working on for nine months. I slept with a chair blocking the front door. My phone was tapped. Corporate America and Uncle Sam were listening. Someone was going to kill me to steal the idea.I really believed this. So I did everything possible (literally) to avoid getting feedback out of the fear of having our idea stolen.Ultimately, secrecy and stupidity killed us. Three years and hundreds of thousands later, we released an alpha version to a modest 30 people for the first time. Everyone hated it. Our capital was gone. Our morale: zero.I see this all the time. Startup founders hiding their ideas because of the fear that someone will steal it. Remember: no one cares about you. Your biggest issue is getting discovered. If someone steals your idea, that means you’re doing something right.Because of this syndrome, most startups are wasting their time and money building products no one wants. Why? Lack of testing. The biggest mistake a company can make (product wise) is to avoid talking to and testing with potential and current users. Every day. It’s also one of the main reasons startup’s fail.If you’re not constantly releasing and looking for feedback you’re either a) delusional (me) thinking too many people will sign up/buy your product and you won’t be able to scale b) scared that it’s not good enough (me) or c) someone will steal your idea (as I was).A. SCALING“Your priority, in short, is proving that people will use your product at all. If they won’t, then it won’t matter if you can’t scale. If they will, then you will figure out a way to scale. I’ve never seen a startup die because it couldn’t scale fast enough. I’ve seen hundreds of startups die because people refused to embrace their product.” — Guy Kawasaki [Emphasis mine]I’ve done this and I’ve experienced this in the past three startups I’ve worked in. It’s completely delusional. If five out of five people tell you that they wouldn’t use your product (before you build), quit. If eight out of ten people tell you that they hate this feature and you empirically see that they’re not using it, kill it. Don’t assume. Always be testing.More on feedback below.b. TESTINGSee point A.C. STEALING(!)No one will steal your idea. It takes time, money, skills and immorality to steal. Not everyone is born that lucky.Most importantly, no one cares about your idea.They’ll only start caring when there’s a massive amount of initial traction (50,000+ users). By then, you’ve already established a strong user/customer base and it’s too late for the others.HIRING FOR WEAKNESSOnly hire for a strength that needs to be filled in your company. Never for a weakness.Not once did any of the startups I worked in hire for a strength. I repetitively recommended hiring people purely out of loneliness, fear and scarcity repetitively. Each time it sunk us deeper.But what does that mean?Hiring for a weakness means that you attempt to fill a weakness in the fundamenetals in your company by hiring for a weakness. Example: If you’re building a product and it’s not gaining traction and your company doesn’t have inherent fundamentals, hiring Ryan Holiday to sell your product won’t help. You can’t fight weakness with weakness.However, if you have a rockstar engineering team and you want to add a marketing person to help take the product get to another level, then you’re adding a strength.Hiring for weakness also means:a. You hire a B+ player instead of a A+ player.b. You hire people so that they go through the struggle with you, so that they share your fears and paranoia. Not so they execute on what’s needed.c. Hiring someone to fill a position. Not to compliment the rest of the company.d. Hiring someone and not having any idea of what the hell you want them to do.e. It means hiring someone because you think there’s no one else. Scarcity.f. Hiring a client’s friend. Because you’re scared.It’s ultimately about the fundamentals. If the fundamentals of the product and the team aren’t there, adding someone is just adding a weakness. It won’t help, because it’s not a strength.PAINTER’S DILEMMAApproving emails? One week treks. Our first wireframes? $40K and four months. Did we have a working product after all this? No. We failed.The Painter’s Dilemma is when you’re so deep in the details of your project that you don’t even know what the idea is anymore. You’re blind. When you’re too deep you need help.How to solve it? Stop. Talk to people. Get feedback. Iterate and build. Release. Breathe.Repeat the loop.The more feedback you get the healthier you and your product are.FEEDBACK*I can’t emphasize this enough. If you don’t get feedback (everyday) you will die. I never got feedback. EVER. Well, until the cash ran out. Oops.If you’re not getting qualitiative and quantitive feedback/data everyday, the cancer will start.It’s easy: speak to people, Google Analytics, send surveys. Just don’t hide from it.*This is the crucial and worth a dedicated blog post in the future.COMMUNICATE“Don’t talk to him, he doesn’t understand. He’s out of the picture next funding round anyways.” I hid everything internally. It was easy, we were in 5 different countries! Our developers were remote (I’ll get to that) and Basecamp was our only means of communication. In other startups, I wouldn’t included people from discussions because “it isn’t necessary. That isn’t their job”New features, awful designs, conniving plans were all pushed through a funnel. I was the leader of the deceiving. Architecting a blue print to push my own delusional “never test and succeed” agenda. My style? The longer the email the less likely someone important will read it. What a strategy. As always, the CEO is the biggest idiot.I don’t care if you’re a church, a tech startup or a non-profit. If you don’t have a system of communication in place that keeps everyone aware of what everyone is doing in the company, in real-time, for every milestone, everyday, you will die very soon.Lesson: Live and breath Scrum.SCREW LAWYERSLawyers are criminals.I spent $15,000 on legal documents/fees we never used. Every entrepreneur/startup I’m involved with thinks lawyers are the first step to success. Bullshit.DOCSAll the legal documents you ever need are available online. If you’re B2B, all companies that you’ll work with have their own standard LOEs, NDAs, etc., that they anyways steal from Fortune 500 companies. Request it. Then use it. B2C? Here.BUT I NEED A TRADEMARK!Unless you have 10,000 clients you don’t need to think about copyright or even the name. Prove the concept first. Worry later. If you do have to worry, those are very nice worries to have.PATENT IT!Patenting something that isn’t validated with at least 10,000 clients is moronic. Ironically, this is the only mistake my first startup didn’t follow through with (fully, at least).DECISION MAKINGI was traumatized from taking decisions. Most startups never take decisions. In other statups I work in, decisions took weeks. People join startups for the reason of avoiding bureaucracy but everyone still does it. Why? Lack of trust and overview of the team, so they choke the process (have I suggested Scrum?).The board should decide on the vision and the group should decide what to execute on by creating a backlog for the week. The team should then have the power to execute it. With a great communication process in place, teammates should be able to take decisions without reporting to anyone while keeping everyone updated with everything’s that going on, live. Have a flat structure to achieve this by using Scrum.Let people do their jobs. Trust them. Don’t have a tedious review process as most startups do. Don’t suffocate the system. Empower your people.Read Scrum by Jeff Sutherland on how to manage your team. Then read Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal for how to organize the information flow. Both books compliment each other perfectly.THE BOARDThe ideal board is 3–5 people maximum if you’re a startup. Anything above that means that either no decisions will ever be taken (my first company) or someone has a hidden agenda and profits from a discombobulated board.A business is not a democracy. Unanimous decisions don’t work and will never work.Who’s should I put on the Board?Only investors/shareholders who hold a large stake and are extremely active in the success of your venture.INVESTORSSmart Money vs Still MoneyJust because someone is offering you cash almost always means you shouldn’t accept it.Your investor can have the greatest contacts in the pharmecutical industry. She can be CEO of Merck. If she doesn’t have a massive network in whatever industry you’re in, it’s worthless. The money will be worth nothing. This is true 100% of the time.Always onboard investors that can help you in your niche industry.MEETINGSThis is my top 3 favorites. Most won’t agree with me on this.I’ve never been to a meeting that has made me money/funded my venture. I don’t think anyone has. Has anyone ever handed you a check at a meeting? I doubt it. Today, it usually happens by wire-transfer.Meetings are pointless. Every team I meet, consult for/work with all think that going to meetings is the most crucial part of business. Most importantly, the whole team should be there. Pick up the fucking phone. Travel is time and money expensive. Even if you’re taking a cab.I would fly 10,000 miles for a 3 hour meeting and then fly back to Europe that same day. $30K. Gone.“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be: ‘meetings.’” - Dave BarryMost of the discussion can be ironed out over email and FaceTime.Ok yes, I agree. Meeting in person is important. But not until it’s necessary. Most of the time, it’s unecessary. And even when it is, it shouldn’t always be an excuse to leave work for a business lunch or to Shanghai for the day.Avoid meetings. Get more done.It’s a waste of time 99% of the time.FOUNDING PARTNERS = YOUR SPOUSEYou will be married to your partners and investors for the next 7–10 years. Choose wisely.Know your team. Speak to your investor’s enemies. Get references for everyone.Don’t be a deceiver. Use Scrum.WORKING HOURSWe worked 16 hour days. Yey! Startup life!No. Work 8–10 hours and you’ll get more done than working 18 hours a day. Don’t believe me. It’s proven.Working 18 hour days leads to a burn out, which leads to painter’s dilemma, then delusion, then deceiving others around you, then depression. Then it’s too late.Ultimately, the more you work the more mistakes you’re prone to make. Mistakes made are mistakes that need to be corrected. Mistakes that aren’t correct can take up to 24x longer to correct than if they were corrected immediately.But you can’t see that. You’re burned out. You’re in Painter.PRODUCT / MARKET VALIDATIONAnother reason I refused to test in the three product startups I was involved in was because “the ideas work successfully elsewhere. They will also work here.” Doesn’t work like that.Just because you’re making a mishmash of several products that have product/market validation elsewhere doesn’t mean people are willing to use your product. I have yet to meet a new founder who hasn’t claimed this.In order for someone to switch to your product, your product needs to be at least 8x better.*Is your product really 8x better than your biggest competitor? If the answer isn’t a clear yes, quit.*Read Hooked by Nir Eyal and Ryan Hoover for how to build habit forming products.RECREATING THE WHEEL“God gave you eyes, so plagarize.” -Michael LewisNo need to re-create the wheel. Everything is out there already for a reason. Use APIs, read books (many books), steal functions, designs, ideas, marketing slogans, branding, on boarding processes, software, colors, clients, everything from other people/companies who are successful.This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t test it in your own environment. You must validate every single function that you put out there. Use the Lean Startup KanBan by Ash Maurya for this.DILUTIONWe gave away 51% for our first funding round. How much did we plan to keep when we “exited?” Think about that. It doesn’t make sense.Startups do this all the time. If you retain 51% after the seed round, how much does the founding team plan to keep by Series B? 20%? If you take the average of what you got paid for equity after the exit + your salary you’ll be paying more in taxes with a minimum wage paycheck for the past 8 years it took you to exit. Might as well work in a shoe store.If you don’t have the bargaining power (a validated product) to raise money with, quit.GUYS IN SUITSOur tech partners wore suits. That made us comfortable. They ended up quoting $100k. We ended up with nothing.If you see tech people in suits, run.OUTSOURCINGI lost well over $100,000 for our first version that was outsourced. We were smart enough to not learn from our mistakes so we found another team to outsource with. Another hefty sum gone. Only myself to blame.I’ve had terrible experiences with outsourcing and great experiences with in-house development.However, many products (we all use everyday) have found great success in outsourcing. I also know many entrepreneurs who outsource and are extremely succesful. While there are massive benefits, there are also downfalls. If you plan to, find a free consulting company that has pre-screened teams.Either way, using Scrum increases your chances of success in-house or out.YOUR TEAMEntrepreneurs read about Steve Jobs’ management style and think he was a tyrant. So they curse at their employees and tell everyone that they are “shit.” They think that’s how a company should be run and that’s how teammates should be treated. Wrong. Treat your team like shit and you’ll get shit.Either way, that’s not how Steve Jobs did it. Steve Jobs empowered his team. He told them that what they’re outputting is shit because he knew that they could do better. Because they are the best in the industry. He made them feel good. He challenged them and today Apple is Apple because of that.On the other hand, I lied. Didn’t speak about the hard things and repressed whatever fear or worry we had. We were scared that someone would quit or that we would look bad if we showed our emotions in front of our investors.You should always be able to tell your teammates all the fears and worries you have. Chances are, if you’re worried about something, everyone is worried about the same thing. Bring it up. Talk about it. I keep mentioning Scrum* because it encourages team members telling each other what’s bothering them and what’s impending the growth progress. This is key to not failing.Not once, in any of the startups I was in, did I or others get credit for great work or for their ideas that ended up being implemented. Not once did anyone congratualte a teammate on a engineering triumph, a beautiful design or a new lead. Startups think “business is business. This isn’t a cute place to pat each other on the backs.”BUT THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT A BUSINESS SHOULD BE. You should be holding each other up, helping one another and listening to the problems in the team. Because ultimately, you’re on the same mission.The second the negativity flows in people become scared. They stop raising issues, telling you how they feel and how to improve the business. When that happens you start to slowly die because you’ve fell into dillusion that everything is working. Six months later, you’re on the street.Empower your team. Congratulate people. Love each other. When someone screws up, tell them that. But also tell them how to improve and ask them why they think they screwed up and how to make their job easier.You’re a team. Be one.*Believe it or not, I’m not affiliated with Scrum in anyway. I’m not even a Scrum Master.—When I reflect on all the stupidity I’ve personally done and the startups I’ve been involved in, I realize that the only thing I ever followed up through and executed with absolute perfection, were the things that eventually ended up killing us: not telling a soul what our idea was. Talking to lawyers. Partnering with bad teams. Hiring out of weakness. Going to too many meetings. No decision making system. Not using Scrum. Hiring people out of fear. Hiding from reality.Mistakes are simple to make but hard to correct. They’re usually the first option that pops up. But as entrepreneurs we do thing because they’re hard, not because they’re easy.Hard choices take a long time to get right. It takes guts, intuition, experience and lots of luck. But never settle. Never accept your situation.Life can always be better.…..This was originally posted on the NY Observer and our blog on Penta.Follow me @lukaivicev or contact me directly at luka@getpenta.com.

TL;DR: "In the short term, the market is a voting machine. But, in the long term, the market is a weighing machine". -- Ben Graham[1]Part 1: How the stock market worksPart 2: How does one evaluate StocksPart 1: Basics of a Stock MarketHistory: A long time ago, humans ran businesses with just their money. The businesses they ran were small and they grew the businesses only with their own profits. However, not all businesses can be built with your own money. What if you wanted to build a new factory that costs more than a million dollars? Banks won't lend money for young companies and your friends won't have that much.In the 15th-16th century as the Europeans started exploring Asia and Americas, the big explorers felt they needed a lot of money and their kings were not providing them anymore. The wealthy guys demanded a lot of interest. Thus, they felt they need to raise money from a bunch of common people. Thus, in 1602, the Dutch East Indian company became the first company to issue shares of its company in the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and get traded on a continuous basis.What is a Stock? Stocks in a company provide you a share of the company's future profits in return for the capital invested. For instance, if you buy 1 stock of Apple now, you will be assured one-billionth of Apple's profits in the future (as there are almost a billion such stocks that Apple has issued now).Listing: In a stock market, 1000s of companies are listed and these companies (called public companies - as they have given out their shares to common public) pay a fee to the exchanges, along with a promise to provide all important info to the markets. In return they get an opportunity to put their company in the stock market's board & have the ability to get money from people visiting the market. The first time a company's stock appears on the stock market's board is called an IPO (Initial Public Offer).Brokers: Conceptually, a stock exchange is similar to eBay. These guys allow companies to be listed and connect the buyers & sellers. Since millions of people trade in the market and it is practically impossible for these exchanges to deal with all the individuals, they have assigned brokers who act between the exchanges and the individuals.Part 2: How does one value a stockBasic Terminology:We will use a term EPS (Earnings per share) that is exactly as it sounds. It is the profits of the company divided by number of shares. For instance, Apple has $41 billion in profits and about 950 million shares, giving an EPS of about 41000/950 = $44/share. Thus, if you own a share of Apple, you are entitled to 44 bucks of Apple's profits this year.Calculating Share price:To evaluate how much you need to pay for that 1 Apple stock you need to do a simple addition of all the earnings you will getStock Price = EPS in Year 1 + EPS in Year 2 +...Now, you know that a dollar earned 10 years from now is not the same as a dollar earned now. Because, there is an interest rate i involved and money you get in 10 years is less worthy than the money you have now. Thus, you need to adjust that formulae.Stock Price = ((EPS in Year 1)/(1+i))+ (EPS in Year 2/(1+i)^2) +...Now, there is a whole bunch of math involved (starting from the compound interest formula) and for the sake of simplicity, I will get you to the final results and reduce the stock price to two cases:1. In case of a mature company that doesn't grow:  Stock price = EPS/Interest rateThe expected Interest rate is relatively easy to calculate and depends on how risky the company is, how risky the market is and the current long term interest rate of government bonds. For many mature utility companies this interest rate comes to about 10%. Thus, utility companies that doesn't grow much is generally traded at about 10-15 times the EPS. (insert in the formula above).The stock prices of these companies are very smooth and change only when there is a change in long term interest rates, the risk profile of the company (can change when hurricanes such as Sandy hits) or when market risk changes (for instance 2008 financial crisis). But on a regular day, not much action here. Let us move to the second category of shares:2. For a growing company: Stock price = EPS of next year / (interest rate - expected growth rate of the company)Let us use a simple example. If you assume Apple's next year EPS will be $48, the expected interest rate for such a risky company at 15% and an expected annual growth rate at 5%, you will get:$48/(15%-5%) or $48/10% or $480 as the ideal stock price for the company. Where did I get this magical 5% number?Getting the growth inputs:Now, we need to find the growth rate of the company and figure out what the company will earn in the next year, the following year and so on. This is not an exact science and no one has a perfect answer to this question. This is why we need stock markets. Collectively, we all pool our intelligence to figure out the future growth of the company and thereby its current price.To do this collective prediction, we constantly get new inputs and project that to future. For instance, if the company management gets hotshot new engineers, then we predict the future will be bright. What are the other news that investors typically use:Periodic financial results of the company that gives us a view into the company;s workings and its financial positionPeriodic results of similar companies that helps us guess this company;s results. Thus, when Apple sneezes everyone else catches a cold.Changes in the sector. If a new report comes that people are more inclined to using mobile phones, we predict growth of these companies will be high.Changes in the broader market.Changes in the international economyMarket Estimation:In short, we try to use every possible information to guess the future growth of the company, plug that into our formula and find out the stock price. For instance, if Apple comes out a report saying people are buying less of iPads, we might ding Samsung too as we believe their Galaxy Tabs will sell less too.Estimating growth rate is an art rather than a science, and is collectively done by millions of humans in a place called the stock market. Since, we need to constantly adjust the growth rate based on new information, stock prices constantly fluctuate.Main advantages of a stock market:1. Starting/building a business: The market lets companies get money from a large number of people. That means there are more options to get money to build a business.2. Spreading risk: It lets you spread the risk of a business into a large number of people. Since, each person is investing only a small portion of their income in the stock of a particular company, the risk of a single company collapsing doesn't signNowly affect investors.3. Collective estimation of value. Summary: Modern corporations require a lot of capital, which is beyond the signNowes of a few individuals. Markets help companies raise money from a large number of people and together these investors value their company. The theory is that when a large number of people do their independent valuation, the company's price comes more closer to its ideal worth."In the short term, the market is a voting machine. But, in the long term, the market is a weighing machine". -- Buffett(Disclaimer: This is an answer targeted at basic-intermediate level investor & not high frequency traders or experts. I deliberately approximated a few things to improve clarity).[1] Buffett's metric says it's time to buyBalaji Viswanathan (பாலாஜி விஸ்வநாதன்)'s answer to What should everyone know about investing?Balaji Viswanathan (பாலாஜி விஸ்வநாதன்)'s answer to What should everyone know about economics? Which websites or books do you suggest for someone dipping their toe into the subject?

Quora currently monetizes through advertising. Read more at Quora's advertising platform is now open to all businesses by Ryan Browne on Quora for Business.

Startups 101: How to Create a Business PlanThe first thing you need to do is create an executive summary and a mission statement.  After that, you need to study your market, compare yourself to your competition, create a share structure, outline financials, and fill out the rest of the pertinent data like the other people suggest.Below is an example of the last executive summary and mission statement that I created for a company I was planning to launch earlier this year.Since I own the company, wrote this from scratch, and decided that I will not be launching this product, I decided to share. (Yes, it is heavily focused on marketing, but that's my primary expertise, if I'm even somewhat good at it... Who in the world knows...)I worked with a Product CEO and operated as the COO at this company and recruited a highly talented team, however the Product CEO decided to part ways so we scrapped the business.Also, you may not want to make a public benefit company unless you already have investors you can turn to for sure who don't care what kind of business you own. If you are seeking to raise money from venture capital, then it is highly unlikely that they will invest into your model. 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARYCompany Name | Tagline | An American Public Benefit Company Founded in February of 2013, (“SE”) features contemporary women’s fashions specializing in comfort, fit and sexiness, established by a diverse group of individuals, led by the C.E.O. Ms. Lee.  SE holds idealistic aspirations of giving back to the underprivileged, creates American Jobs and gives back to the community, while keeping the clientele engaged through social interactions  SE provides:  • A Philanthropic Vision.  • Patriotism.  • Quality Clothing.  • Best Styles for women of the 21st Century.  • Quality Content. • An Interactive Community.  SE’s innovative design and marketing team constructs visionary product campaigns and strategies, designed to push SE to the forefront of the industry. Derived from the fictional character, Sophia Serrano, from the film Open Your Eyes, SE’s inspiration is characterized by Sophia’s radiant qualities of being: positive, down-to earth, original, mysterious, sexy, and guileless in a perfect world.  Sophia is the “ideal” woman because not only is she divine in nature, she is able to cope through the greatest obstacles that obstruct her from her path. Simultaneously, Sophia is so unique, she makes a man follow her into the afterlife of his dreams. Not only did she (tagline) in the real world, she left him in need of her in the afterlife.  SE wants other fashion brands and the world to know that everyone in this world matters, no matter your race, ethnicity, financial background or country of origin.  SE empowers people to make a difference by:   • Helping the Underprivileged Children of America. • Creating American Jobs.  • Providing a more Eco-Friendly environment.  All of SE’s products are made in the United States, providing more opportunities to influence economic growth.  SE ensures no usable fabric goes to waste by collecting all the scraps of fabrics and donating the items to (charity), with the sole intent to create exclusive items, blankets, or articles of clothing for the less fortunate. In addition, SE donates 10% of all sales to (charity) , to help feed, clothe, and provide shelter for the less fortunate.SE plans to take a creative approach to branding and marketing the company.  Not only will SE use traditional methods of marketing, such as mailing clothes to celebrities, look books to bloggers and editors, buying editorial spots, sponsoring events, and advertising online, SE will take grass root efforts to the next level in attracting hits to the website, along with social media to keep the clientele engaged. Sending celebrities, fashion editors and bloggers free gifts never guarantees the promotion of an item, so SE has decided to implement a revenue sharing program with its clothing. Each individual influencer will have a personalized URL to direct their clients to SE’s website. Each purchase made within thirty days by the referral of an “influencer” will generate an earnings check of $25 to the referrer. Checks will be cut once the accumulated balance signNowes $300, or can be exchanged to store credit. SE will seek out make up artists, photographers, stylists, and other professionals within the fashion industry to provide an opportunity to earn an extra source of income through its revenue sharing program. SE will also provide clothing to stylists, to have featured in editorial along with video content. SE’s grassroots efforts will take place in the form of carefully selected event sponsorships. Through event sponsorships, models will be showcased wearing the SE product through a trade booth. SE will take pictures of celebrities who try on the products and feature blog posts through social media efforts of the celebrities, while distributing the highly sought out images to fashion bloggers. SE will then pass out $10 SE Clothing Branded Gift Cards to people who fit the role of the target consumer of the brand at the event. Initially, 50,000 gift cards will be made for distribution within the first year, of which we expect at least 25,000 to visit the website URL.  SE will implement a referral based program, where if a friend is referred to purchase an item through the SE website through their email or social media link within 30 days, the customer will have the choice to have one of the following occur: • $25 will be credited to the referrer’s account for Future Purchases. • $25 will be donated to the referrer’s Charity of Choice. The referee will also receive $10 credited off their first purchase. Studies indicate that 1 out of every 3 customers will refer their friends to a site that they trust and enjoy.  SE will partner with publishers and affiliates such as Google Affiliate, Commission Junction, Avantlink, Affiliate Window, Webgains, Pepperjam, Integrate, Etc. to allow professionals to earn a profit by referring their clientele to purchase items from SE.  In order to create better organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) results to guide more online traffic to the website, SE will carry lines of both popular name brand and up-and-coming American Made products by other designers, such as Nasty Gal, Diesel, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Etc. In order to acquire the product necessary, SE will create a strategic partnership with its manufacturer to sell their excess inventory.  Once new customers visit the SE site, they will be given an opportunity to register on the site to claim their $10 credit. Through registration, information such as the customer’s name, email address, phone number, address, and social media profiles will be gathered.  Once the customer registers, they will be able to access the site. A welcome email will be sent to the customer within one day, welcoming them to the site. Within 5-7 business days, a letter stating SE’s appreciation of the customer with an outline of the brand’s philanthropic vision will be physically mailed to the customer on company letterhead and hand signed by the C.E.O., Ms. Lee. The customer will then be emailed, informing them that their gift card will expire in 30 days, 3 weeks, 15 days, 7 days, 3 days, 2 days, and a final offer email. This cycle will repeat for another 30 days for a total of 60 days, which will trigger a sense of urgency within purchasing an item within the allotted timeframe.  SE will engage with customers by providing the first few sentences of educational content through email, while providing links to the blogging section of the website to read the full article, along with social media efforts on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, DeviantART, Tumblr, Google+, Polyvore, Wanelo, Quora, Lyst, Etc. to build trust with the clientele, and keep them engaged with the brand. SE will track user activity through analytic services provided by Kissmetrics to measure which campaigns work best, to better understand our audience. SE will influence increases in transaction sizes by donating one item to charity for every $300 spent in a single transaction. Not only would revenues increase, the philanthropic vision would accelerate to creating a bigger influence to society, which in turn will create a better image for the brand. SE will have a section on the site where users can upload images of their new purchases, how they pair their outfits, provide feedback to others, and like other consumer’s styles, creating an engaged society of buyers who become advocates and prosumers of the brand.  SE will begin sales on the retail website, then slowly trickle into many online boutique stores, physical boutique stores, then into major department stores. Since bulk purchases from vendors decrease manufacturing costs, the business model is extremely scalable. As SE becomes a more established brand, price increases will be implemented in 10% increments per season, increasing profit margins while manufacturing costs decrease. SE will create separate databases for consumers who have at least purchased one item and another database for loyal consumers. In regard to the database of consumers who have purchased, collateral material providing a promo code for a promotional discount will physically be mailed to the clients two weeks prior to an anniversary or holiday sale, to provide exclusive access to the promotion. SE will randomly select users from the loyal consumer database to provide a free gift with purchase, expedited or free shipping, and various other promotional tools to reward brand loyalty.  Once SE establishes a loyal client base, verticals will be integrated one product at a time in minimal quantities, initially to test the market to see how well the product does. Verticals will range from products such as cosmetics, shoes, handbags, hats, stockings, scarves, jewelry, and other womenswear based products. Led by C.E.O. Ms. Lee, SE has hand selected a managerial team of 8 creative unique individuals to grasp a portion of the $500+ billion dollar market by creating quality content, negotiating with vendors, managing finances, and laying out the long term growth of the company, all while creating beautiful product.  10 years from now, in the year 2023, SE plans to be acquired by LVMH, PPR, Richemont, Valentino Fashion Group, The Aeffe Group, Puig, Diesel, Phillips-Van Huesen, Hermes, Liz Claiborne, Inditex, The Arcadia Group, or Aurora Fashion for a strike price of $300 million. SE is currently seeking seed financing in the amount of $275,000 to be used to cover manufacturing, marketing, legal and operational expenses to establish the brand. MISSION STATEMENTUnited together, SE’s commitments to society are as follows:#1. To Mother Earth:We vow to make sure that no usable fabric is wasted. All usable scrap material will be recycled into specialty items, blankets or created into articles of clothing for the less fortunate.#2. To Our Nation:We vow to Shop American. We vow to only manufacture our product in America. We are creating American jobs and doing our part in rebuilding the American economy.#3. To Our World:We vow to take a stance against child labor. We take a stance against the Chinese sweatshops with hazardous work conditions.#4. To The Less Fortunate:We vow to provide food, clothing, and shelter for children who are unable to take care of themselves, especially the ones right here at home.#5. To Our Customers:We vow to make sure you feel beautiful and (tagline). We vow to create the sexiest, most reliable products made from the best material we can find. We will provide the best fit possible. We will listen to your opinions and make decisions based off of your feedback. Your voice will be heard. #6. To Our Design PartnersWe vow to provide our client base accessibility to your designs to increase your exposure in the market place. Whether you are a small designer who is just beginning or an established brand, there is a place here for you to showcase your items, as long as the product is manufactured here in America.#7. To Our Employees: We vow to bring the jobs back home and provide fair wages. We vow to provide a fun and friendly stress-free work environment.#8. To Our Shareholders:We vow to provide you a seat on our board. We vow to listen to your expertise. We vow to provide returns in a timely manner. We vow to fulfill your philanthropic vision.Oh, it might be in your best interest to include a mind map as well.The first five pages should include the following information:BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN MARCH 2013 ****** CONFIDENTIALITY & DISCLOSURE NOTICE ****** IMPORTANT: This document is for information purposes only and sent at your request and is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act 18 U.S.C. 2510‐2521. This is neither a solicitation of investment nor an offer to sell and/or buy securities. This communication may contain non‐public, private, confidential or legally privileged information and documents intended for the sole use of the designated recipient(s). The unlawful interception, use or disclosure of such information is strictly prohibited under the applicable laws of the U.S.A. and the State of Nevada. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons/entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this document and / or a transmission of this document in error, delete any electronic copies of this document and / or return this document to (Name, Address) CONFIDENTIALITY & DISCLOSURE NOTICE IMPORTANT: This document is for information purposes only and sent at your request and is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521. This is neither a solicitation of investment nor an offer to sell and/or buy securities. This communication may contain non-public, private, confidential or legally privileged information and documents intended for the sole use of the designated recipient(s). The unlawful interception, use or disclosure of such information is strictly prohibited under the applicable laws of the U.S.A. and the State of California. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons/entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this document and / or a transmission of this document in error, delete any electronic copies of this document and / or return this document to (Name, Address) CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT The undersigned reader acknowledges that the information provided within this Business Development Plan (“BDP”) is confidential; therefore, reader agrees not to disclose it without the express written permission of SE. It is acknowledged by reader that information to be furnished in this BDP is in all respects confidential in nature, other than information which is in the public domain through other means and that any disclosure or use of same by reader, may cause serious harm or damage to SE and other sources identified herein. The information, estimates and projections contained herein have been prepared by SE in good faith and on a basis believed to be reasonable; such estimates and projections involve signNow elements of subjective judgment and analysis. No representation or warranty, expressed or implied, can be made as to the accuracy or completeness of such information, and nothing contained in this BDP is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation as to the past or the future. This BDP is submitted in connection with the evaluation of a potential transaction and may not be reproduced or used, in whole or in part, for any other purpose.  Upon request, this document is to be immediately returned SE,.  ___________________ Signature  ___________________ Name (typed or printed)  ___________________ Date This is a Business Development Plan. It does not imply an offering of securitiesFORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT This document may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements as to future operating results and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. We use words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, the negative of these terms and similar expressions to identify forward looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason. References herein to “the Company,” “we,” “our,” “us” and similar words or phrases are references to SE, and/or its subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires.  CONTACT INFORMATION Inquiries may be directed to the appropriate party below:Leonard Kim COO SEAddress:Phone: Fax: Email:The Table of contents should include the following information that no one, aside from analysts read:TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY1.1 OBJECTIVES1.2 MISSION1.3 KEYS TO SUCCESS 2.0 COMPANY SUMMARY2.1 CAPITALIZATION SUMMARY2.2 COMPANY LOCATIONS AND FACILITIES.3.0 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES3.1 THE SE TECHNOLOGY3.2 COMPETITIVE COMPARISON3.3 MARKETING MATERIAL3.4 TECHNOLOGY FULFILLMENT3.5 FUTURE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES4.0 MARKET ANALYSIS SUMMARY 4.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION 4.2 TARGET MARKET SEGMENT STRATEGY4.2.1 MARKET NEEDS4.2.2 MARKET TRENDS 4.2.3 MARKET GROWTH4.3 SERVICE BUSINESS ANALYSIS 4.3.1 BUSINESS PARTICIPANTS 4.3.2 DISTRIBUTING A PRODUCT 4.3.3 MAIN COMPETITORS 5.0 WEB PLAN SUMMARY5.1 WEBSITE MARKETING STRATEGY5.2 DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS6.0 STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION SUMMARY6.1 SWOT ANALYSIS 6.1.1 STRENGTHS6.1.2 WEAKNESSES 6.1.3 OPPORTUNITIES6.1.4 THREATS6.2 STRATEGY PYRAMID 6.3 VALUE PROPOSITION6.4 COMPETITIVE EDGE 6.5 MARKETING STRATEGY SUMMARY6.5.1 POSITIONING STATEMENT 6.5.2 PRICING STRATEGY6.6 SALES STRATEGY 6.6.1 SALES FORECAST 6.7 MILESTONES7.0 MANAGEMENT SUMMARY 7.1 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 7.2 MANAGEMENT TEAM 7.3 MANAGEMENT TEAM GAPS 7.4 PERSONNEL PLAN 8.0 FINANCIAL PLAN8.1 START-UP FUNDING 8.2 KEY FINANCIAL INDICATORS8.3 BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS 8.4 PROJECTED PROFIT AND LOSS 8.5 PROJECTED CASH FLOW 8.6 PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET 8.7 BUSINESS RATIOS 8.8 THE INVESTMENT OFFERING8.9 VALUATION8.10 USE OF FUNDS9.0 APPENDICESTABLE: SALES FORECAST TABLE: PROFIT AND LOSS TABLE: PROFIT AND LOSS TABLE: CASH FLOWTABLE: CASH FLOWTABLE: BALANCE SHEETIf you're using a business plan to try to attain a loan for a small business... I took a different business plan for a nightlife company, brought a cofounder with a 680 credit score, and went to Long Beach SBDC and they helped me get approved for a loan from a credit union for $30,000 two years ago. The whole process took less than a week, since we already had our business plan finished prior to showing up. We ended up not taking the loan because our programmer ran off with the money we had paid him prior without delivering our technology.There are Small Business Development Centers, sponsored by the Small Business Association, all across the United States that will help you make a business plan for free, read it, and even shop it out for business loans.If you're using a business plan to attain financing from an Angel Investor or VC, then all that matters is your executive summary and your slideshow. I mean, you still need the other data filled in, but these are the only two areas of which they put their main focus on. However, a lot of investors use two financial analysts to carefully go over every detail within a business plan prior to investing their own cash. So, the fine details are pretty important regardless of what anyone else says. Also, if you need to know how to split equity with your startup, read more here: How much equity do you give early employees when the company is bootstrapped?Read more at my blog: Startups 101: How to Create a Business Plan

I hate them. Please, hear me out.Unpaid internships provide perverse incentives.One of the biggest problems with unpaid internships is that there is no incentive for an employer to properly manage the hours of the intern. Because they’re not paid, an employer can work their intern 24/7 if they choose. These internships can be considered legal if the intern is receiving school credit or is working for a public agency.Unpaid internships are classist.Not every young person can work an unpaid internship, often due to cost. Many people are from areas where internships are rare, and must relocate to work an unpaid internship. There, they must pay rent and living costs. If they’re not getting paid to intern, where do you suppose that money comes from? This is compounded if the internship demands full-time hours, making it impossible to get a side job that pays the bills. Unpaid internships favor wealthy people whose parents can fund their learning.Unpaid internships can be a cover for janitorial/other non-useful work.At some unpaid internships, “interns” are used for menial tasks, such as cleaning, getting coffee, and other tasks that aren’t really on-the-job learning. While this isn’t strictly speaking legal if the majority of the work isn’t job-related, it isn’t really feasible for most interns to press the issue.Unpaid interns can rarely complain.Many unpaid internships are in fact illegal, but the only way to press the issue is often through legal claims. This can be incredibly intimidating and unattainable for young people. Lower-income young people cannot afford an attorney, and the laws are tough to navigate on your own. In addition, most young people are raised not to complain, to just do the work, and that the boss is always right.Many unpaid internships are illegal, and are NOT “just young people paying their dues”.Unpaid interns cannot be obligated to work full time hours, replacing a paid worker of the company. They cannot do jobs that immediately benefit the company, but should undergo consistent training, with some duties. They cannot be coerced into working ever longer and longer hours. I know some older people may have ideas about paying-dues, but free coercive labor is not the way to accomplish this.If you’re an employer:Please do not hire unpaid interns. Even a stipend or minimum wage is better than placing someone in a coercive position where they are subject to your whim, and effectively discriminating against anyone who is middle or lower class.If you do hire unpaid interns, please make sure the internship is flexible enough they can get another job, or can choose to commit less time if something comes up. Please understand that 70 hours a week is too much to work most employees, but especially someone who is volunteering their time.If you’re an unpaid intern:Ask questions in the hiring process. Make sure that you will not be treated unfairly. This includes not having to work full-time hours or more ( > 40 hours a week) and the ability to choose your work time within reason.If you are treated unfairly, know that you can complain to higher ups, or call a Fair Labor Hotline in your state. Do not let anyone belittle you because of your age or experience level, you’re still a human being and deserve answers. You DO have rights, and you CAN do something about it.Try to get scholarships from your school that can cover housing costs while you work. Most schools offer them if you look hard.It IS sadly legal for the government to work unpaid interns as they choose. Steer clear of these, and if you are really interested, please ask questions about how many hours they really mean. I fell into this trap so you don’t have to.Sources for More Info:Unpaid Internships: Unfair and UnethicalUnpaid Internships: Bad for Students, Bad for Workers, Bad for SocietyU.S. Department of Labor

Recently I have come across a possible scam about counterfeit/fake products in India. Counterfeit/fake products are nothing new to Indian Society. These products are easily available in markets like Pallika Bazar (Delhi), Fashion street (Mumbai) etc. You can get first copy products of many branded companies included Puma, Nike, Adidas, Reebok (shoes, t-shirts etc), Micheal Kors, Guess (hand bags, Purse). There are markets where you can easily get copies of branded wrist watches and even perfumes. But people who buy products from these markets are aware of the fact that these are duplicate products.No, No… This is not the scam I am talking about. The scam starts from next level. It involves giant e-commerce websites including Snapdeal. The people who lives in India are pretty much aware of this e-commerce website and the discounts which it offers on multiple products including clothing, electronics and many other things.Recently, I was surfing on Facebook, then there was an advertisement regarding sales on Nike Shoes. It obviously got my attraction. I was amazed to see the discounts on shoes. Some discounts were close to 60% of the market value. It was a great deal. I thought of giving it a try because I did not want to miss the deal. And I am sure many people like me might have got attracted to same deals and bought the shoes from the website. I received the product within 3 days. When I opened the package, I was shocked to see that the shoes were duplicate (I am a regular user). I showed it to one of my friends, he told that “Shi to hai yaar, tujhe aise hi lag rha h” - (It is good bro, you are having false doubts). But still I wanted to get it tested from official Nike store to confirm. I visited the Nike store and they confirmed my doubt. The shoes were fake. I contacted Snapdeal regarding this problem. They told me that I can return the product and they would be refunding my money. But then I asked, what are you going to do to seller who is sending fake products using your website. He replied with standard answer - “We will look into this matter. We take extreme care before onboarding any seller. Blah Blah…..!!!” He even told me that the seller was Authorised Nike Dealer.Then, I understood the whole concept behind the huge discounts on branded materials. These websites are full of such kind of sellers. The sellers provide huge discounts on branded products (though they are cheap fake products which are easily available in market at no more than Rs. 500–700). They sell these products at Rs. 2000–3000 by showing the original price equivalent to Rs. 6000–10000 (Equivalent to original prices in showrooms). This is how these sellers are looting people by selling them fake products. It it hard to notice if the products received are fake or original for new users as they look exactly the same in every manner. Since they are coming from a trusted channel (like Snapdeal), nobody sheds a doubt and may take them as original.Now, you must be thinking why these website allow such sellers on their websites. The reason is simple, it increases the number of sales on their websites and WHO DOES NOT WANT THAT. After all, the investors are looking for these sales figures.I hope you understood the scam. Beware when you buy such items from e-commerce websites. You might be their next victim.Here are few tricks to avoid buying fake products:When you are buying from these website, look at the original price on which discount is being applied and the visit the official website of that brand. If the price is same, then it may or may not be original but if the price is different, I would suggest you to stay away from that product.Whenever you buy expensive branded products, just get it confirmed from an official store (if you can). It is completely useless to throw away your money on fake products unknowingly.Here some photographs related to this incident:Link to the product on Website: Nike Air Max 2017 Running ShoesLink to the Product on Nike Website: Look what I found at Nike online.