Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization. Most are sitting on large portfolios of private companies that are raising money now or will need to do so in the future and they know that they’re up against some headwinds.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2016

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve met many aspiring entrepreneurs, and I often get asked the question, “I have a great idea for a startup – do you agree that it real potential?” If we build it, they will come” is not a viable startup strategy. A startup is no place for the Lone Ranger.

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Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Sample 67

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Visibility to startup job opportunities and career guidance.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2016

As an advisor to many startups, I often see business principles espoused that may make sense for a large and established business trying to foster innovation but won’t work for a new startup. Startups don’t typically find any funding from investors until they prove they can execute, have a proven model and are ready to scale.

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Startup Resource Entrepreneur Ideas 58

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. In our industry we applaud the efforts for entrepreneurs to have tried and we know that today’s failure can bring the experience for tomorrow’s success. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

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Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2016

I find that this type offers the most value to new entrepreneurs or startups in the early idea stage. Here are some of the key parameters that will help you decide where you fit in this spectrum: Your commitment to the entrepreneur lifestyle. Most incubators start their program with some aptitude and business acumen tests.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Despite a valiant effort, we only briefly succeeded in putting IBM in the personal computer business, but our efforts changed my view of entrepreneurs forever. No consideration can be given to experience running a startup, breadth of skills, or even thinking like an entrepreneur. Every such deal was an exception.

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IBM IBM Entrepreneur Technical Review 85

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2016

Every new entrepreneur who has not spent years in corporate life has the advantage of an unbiased look at business opportunities, but at the same time has the disadvantage of missing critical business experiences that can cost them dearly in their first startup venture. Startups don’t come with formal training courses.

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Entrepreneur Training Startup IBM 64

Xconomy

JUNE 11, 2018

Helen Torley, who was highlighted in 2016 as the only female CEO of a public life sciences company in San Diego , was recognized last week for her operational excellence at Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO ). The regional competition is part of the global. The 16 finalists are in the above photo.)

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San Diego Entrepreneur Competition Company 45

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2014

It’s enough to drown any business which tries to fight it or ignore it, and it’s an opportunity to ride higher and faster than even the successes of Google and Facebook, for those startups that use it as their driving force. zettabytes by the year 2016. For startups, this is an engagement opportunity worth billions of dollars.

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Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 99

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2017

It’s enough to drown any business which tries to fight it or ignore it, and it’s an opportunity to ride higher and faster than even the successes of Google and Facebook, for those startups that use it as their driving force. exabytes per month at the end of 2016, of which half was video. Smartphone penetration in the U.S.

Startup 55

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 55

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2016

In my role as an advisory board member for several startups, I’m always excited to see that initial surge of revenue from a great rollout campaign. At the startup entry level, most entrepreneurs find little need for Profit and Loss statements and Income statements – they know all the key transactions.

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Startup Training Entrepreneur Custom 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2016

Starting a new business is not an informal process, and should never be treated like a hobby between friends. Unfortunately, as a startup advisor and angel investor, I’ve seen too many ventures with great potential get destroyed or set back by legal and other shortcuts that should never have been allowed to happen.

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Startup Patents Entrepreneur Writing 62

socalTECH

AUGUST 3, 2016

Los Angeles-based pet sitting marketplace DogVacay has announced its first, DogVacay Scholarship, a $3500 award which was open to any, entrepreneurial student either entering as a freshman to college in the Fall of 2016, or a student currently enrolled at a university. The company says it plans on another scholarship competition next year.

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GRP Partners Conference Venture Capital Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

As an entrepreneur looking for professional investors, one of the quickest ways to lose credibility and get rejected is to start with a ridiculously high pre-money valuation. Patents filed, even provisional, as well as trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets count as barriers to entry and sustainable competitive advantages.

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Startup Patents Invest Blogging 71

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

The biggest challenge for every entrepreneur and every startup today is to get noticed and remembered in today’s information overload. The number of entrepreneurs worldwide is huge, starting an estimated 50 million new businesses in the past year, or 137,000 per day. Place where it happened.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Every new entrepreneur soon realizes he or she has some big ones, but very few figure out how to use these them to their advantage. I believe that the resourcefulness to turn constraints into competitive differentiators and new opportunities is a trait that separates the great entrepreneurs from the “wannabes.”

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Startup Resource Entrepreneur Outsource 57

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. I was reminded of a number of these by a recent book, “ The Thing About Work: Showing Up and Other Important Matters ,” by Richard A. Showing up still matters. Anything less makes you non-competitive.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

As a startup advisor, I see too many entrepreneurs get distracted by technology or their favorite cause, and then wonder why they can’t find an investor, attract customers, or build a long-term business. These principles include the following: Free and ultra-low cost may no longer be competitive.

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Custom Customer Competition Netflix 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

After listening to hundreds of startup pitches, and reading even more business plans, most new venture investors develop their own favorite list of “red flags” that signal the beginning of the end of their interest. Every startup needs focus, due to limited resources, so setting irrational goals implies overall poor business acumen.

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Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

The good news is that everyone expects entrepreneurs to make mistakes, since founders explore uncharted territory. In fact, investors recognize that founders usually learn more from mistakes than from success, so a well-explained startup failure can improve their odds of funding the next time around.

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Startup Training Entrepreneur Custom 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. In that context, I offer you my latest collection of popular investor-to-entrepreneur terms and concepts. Could your startup be the next one? Sweat equity.

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Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2016

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Too many entrepreneurs put their best creative thinking into the startup idea, and believe that the business implementation simply requires following tried and true business practices. In my experience as a startup advisor, nothing could be further from the truth. Offer incentives or competition.

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socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

We caught up with Fuel50 founder and CEO Anne Fulton to learn more about the startup. Anne Fulton: Fuel50 is a career pathing startup, part of the HR technology landscape. How did you start the company? Anne Fulton: I've always been an organizational psychologist crossed with a serial entrepreneur. What is Fuel50?

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Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2016

But in my experience as a startup advisor, too many entrepreneurs get stuck there, and always find excuses for not really exploring mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and alliance alternatives. The organic solution is to hire more people, spend more money, and ramp up your focus. Investigate strategic alliance alternatives.

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Startup Outsource Development Organization Outsource 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. Even if you start with the U.S. Patent offices can’t keep up with software technology. That’s more than a lifetime in today’s technology.

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Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Too many aspiring entrepreneurs I mentor can talk at length about their innovative ideas and passions, and ask lots of good questions, but never make much progress in building a real business. Once you learn how to make things happen in your own life, starting a business is easy. Follow up and finish something every day.

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Writing Ideas Startup Entrepreneur 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2018

Both are required to stay competitive. I have added my own insights, based on my experience advising and working with entrepreneurs and startups: Pay for results, rather than pay for work. People who get paid by results have every incentive to think up smarter ways of getting work done. Freelancers now make up 35% of U.S.

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Startup Case Study Platform Yahoo 61

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. The bar is being raised, so every entrepreneur needs new initiatives just to stay in the ballgame. Here are some key ideas to get you started: It all starts with the right people on your team.

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Custom Customer Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

Angel investors are still the lifeblood of early-stage startups, despite the surge of activity in crowdfunding and an increasing early interest from venture capitalists. If you are an inventor, for example, you need to line up the business side of your team before angels will be interested. Simplicity is preferred at this stage.

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Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2016

I meet many entrepreneurs with a real passion for their new idea, but unfortunately they don’t all realize that passion is necessary but not sufficient fuel to turn their idea into a successful business. Take an honest look at your motivation, resources and relationships before initiating a startup. And he is an optimist.

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Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Statistics 62

LATechDigest

MAY 23, 2016

EXPERT DOJO Investor Festival Brings Together Startups, VCs ( link ). — Audrey Bellis (@audreybellis) May 19, 2016. NFTE Hosted Their Annual Entrepreneur Competition. — Scott Perry (@scottperry) May 18, 2016. — John Gutierrez (@johngutierrez) May 19, 2016. pic.twitter.com/J03KX7bIvZ.

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Snapchat Class Santa Monica Venice 45

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2016

Every entrepreneur I know feels the pressure of the thousands of things that need to get done, all seemingly at the same time. Start each day with the highest priority task you need done that day, and leave the emails and phone calls till the end of the day, if you have time. There is just not enough time!

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

The new war for platforms has mostly been waged by Andreessen Horowitz who have raised astounding amounts of capital and therefore had the fees to put into providing more services for entrepreneurs. As a starting point you have to realize that investment firms (which a VC is) have management needs.

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Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

They are painfully aware that tenure on the list of S&P companies is shrinking – from thirty-three years back in 1964, down to twenty-four in 2016, and predicted to be just twelve by 2027. They need inside intrapreneurs who think and act like the outside entrepreneurs who are disrupting their business. Start your tenure from today.

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Company Companies Software Review IBM 93