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.

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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

OCTOBER 5, 2016

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. It’s up to you to clear the way. Opening relationships and creating opportunities.

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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. If you have a proven business model with some sales, it’s credible to apply a multiplier of five to 10 times this number for the first element of valuation.

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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 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. It’s even acceptable to make up a place with a “what if.”

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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. For example, at any given moment in your business, you may be limited by development, marketing, or sales.

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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. Start thinking outside the box.

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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

socalTECH

APRIL 21, 2017

Georg Richter: For the five years before I started the company in January of 2016, I was at Guthy Renker, which is one of the largest and biggest direct marketing companies in the world. It was a logical system to start offering up cloud-based systems like those we had developed. It's like a cliffhanger in a movie.

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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? Even when I had babies, I started a company making baby clothing with designers for a few years. What is Fuel50?

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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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InfoChachkie

MARCH 24, 2016

Unlike sites of the past that were deemed illegal, the current crop of election sites appear to well positioned to exploit the unprecedented focus Americans are applying to the 2016 election cycle. As discussed in Mini-ventures Build Entrepreneurial Muscle , I am an advocate of students starting side businesses while in college.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2016

All too often as a startup investor, I hear the term “disruptive technology” from an entrepreneur, played like a trump card that should override any other potential business qualms. Real breakthroughs in business, as well as in technology, usually start with BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).

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Technology Competition Custom Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2016

Take an honest look at your motivation, resources and relationships before initiating a startup. Put aside the rose-colored glasses of your passion, and ask a financial expert to validate the total costs required to build the business as well as realistic sales volumes and growth. Buffer your resource estimates by at least 20 percent.

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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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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

million in funding on TechCrunch led by Harmony Partners and Upfront Ventures to double its footprint of 3 cities (New York, Chicago & Washington DC) to 6 in 2016. Incumbents became increasingly annoyed with our successes in the country’s largest market – NYC – that they started even taking out ads against us.

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socalTECH

NOVEMBER 6, 2020

We caught up Stewart to see how the company has significantly pivoted its vision for the company, the recent deal with Honda to offer up certified pre-owned vehicles to its users, and more. Let's start out at the top, for those who haven't been following what's been going with Fair, what is your business now?

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2016

Even worse, this “feature creep” often makes the final product late to market, sluggish and more expensive than competition. Focus” is the key to success in a startup, and a minimum viable product (MVP) that does a few things better than anyone else will get more attention quicker from your market. Sometimes it pays to say “no.”

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Product Competition Custom Customer 61

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again. As an advisor to many startups, I often spend hours with business owners helping them anticipate every possible obstacle to the adoption of their solution, and developing a rollout plan to include antidotes.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

Examples of VC platform services include: recruiting, marketing, design support, inside sales reps, consulting, accounting services and so forth. Nearly every startup I have spoken to over the years – including some where I’m a co-investor – talks positively about the support they’ve gotten from A16Z.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2016

Does your business have a visible positive strategy, or do your customers and employees still see your primary focus as closing more sales and killing competitors? It all starts with setting the right company strategy, including these elements: Inspirational statement of purpose and direction. Competitive and leadership leverage.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2016

Every startup has limited resources and people, so rolling out your solution in multiple channels will likely mean a weak implementation in all, and customer confusion. Resist the channel sales pitch for exclusivity. Avoid direct sales forces and wholly owned channels initially. Set marketing plans accordingly.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2016

It’s no wonder that half of startups fail in the first five years , and an even smaller percentage ever see a return for their years of effort. Hiring requirements must be anticipated and implemented with the same precision and tracking as manufacturing volumes, sales leads, and customer service. It won’t happen by default.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2016

As a business advisor, I certainly recognize the need for talking to make an investment case, close a sale, or communicate with your team. Responsible, effective communication will give you a sustainable competitive advantage over both your peers and your competitors, by allowing you to get more done in less time.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2016

If you expect an equity investment from reputable investors for your new startup, you need to know the boundaries that often limit their interest. There are many other more mundane reasons that your startup might be deemed non-fundable, depending on your own circumstances, where you live, or the case you have put together.

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Funding Social Media Startup Patents 57

Xconomy

JULY 19, 2016

In 2015, Cybersecurity startups saw 332 funding deals with investments hitting the highest ever at $3.8 For 2015, there were 133 information security M&A deals, according to 451 Research’s Tech M&A Outlook 2016. Symantec Forces the Industry to Stay Competitive. billion (235 percent growth over 5 years).

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2016

Despite the fact that the number of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for startups have continued to decrease, I still hear it touted often as the preferred exit strategy. The total proceeds raised in Q2 2016 from IPOs diminished by three-quarters compared to Q2 2015. The public company corporate culture may not fit you and your startup.

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Company Companies Acquisition Entrepreneur 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2016

That’s the right place to start, but real growth and scale requires attracting customers who are not like you. More dramatically, both Facebook and YouTube started out focusing on people dating but expanded their focus when they found dating was giving them limited growth. Extend your solution features to meet new interests.

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Custom Customer Marketing Social Media 55

Xconomy

AUGUST 26, 2016

Mylan bumped up the price of the EpiPen 400 percent, presidential nominee Hillary Clinton responded with a tirade against drug price hikes, and—much like when Clinton railed against drug pricing last year—biotech indexes promptly plummeted more than 3 percent. —Pfizer wasn’t done after scooping up Medivation.

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Pricing Thousand Oaks Startup Research 40