Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

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SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 27, 2016

Thursday, June 30, 2016 -- Hub 101 Demo Day. The Hub101 Incubator Program is a 13-week incubator for early-stage, high-potential startups from the Conejo Valley and across the globe. The Program brings these startups to sunny Westlake Village and helps them build a repeatable, scalable business model in a mentor-driven format.

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Tech.Co

APRIL 24, 2018

But if you’re a startup founder, you too have the chance to find your own moment in the spotlight. Over the past decade, startups that have been part of the Startup of the Year programs have made new partnerships, grown into household names, and collectively raised billions of dollars in funding. Startup of the Year!

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Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

A great opportunity for any early stage hardware startup. Make in LA makes hardware less hard, working with 5 promising start-ups at a time. Perks include office space, prototype lab, production facilities, mentoring, and investments up to $150,000 in the first 4 months. Up to $150,000 in investments per startup.

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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. Most incubators start their program with some aptitude and business acumen tests. Direction, mentoring and resources required. The best ones also charge an up-front participation fee for services provided.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2023

According to more recent statistics , fewer than a third of all crowdfunding operations end up being successful, and the rest have to return anything they do collect. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations. Risk is increased.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

According to more recent statistics , fewer than a quarter of all crowdfunding operations end up being successful, and the rest have to return anything they do collect. Have you ever wondered what professional startup investors think about all this? Lack of checks and balances on startup valuations. Risk is increased.

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Xconomy

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

View the Slideshow A little more than a year ago, amid a resurgence in San Diego’s software sector, Xconomy identified a baker’s dozen of local tech companies to watch in 2016. The idea was to feature early stage companies in the region that have not attracted much attention or raised a substantial amount of startup capital.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2020

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, it still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic. When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. As You Start to Mature.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2016

Startups don’t last forever -- they either mature into sustainable businesses, get merged into another business or acquired, or sadly join the 50 percent or more that fail in the first five years. Almost every startup has multiple founders, with complementary skills. Evaluate for realistic outcomes. Expand your business relationships.

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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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socalTECH

MAY 10, 2018

Behzad Kianmahd is the co-founder of Los Angeles coworking space Cross Campus , which is one of the major centers of startup activity in Silicon Beachand also involved as co-founder and lead investor in a brand new, venture capital fund, TAU Ventures (www.ideasimmersion.com/tau-ventures/). It was the Summer of 2016, if I'm not mistaken.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2016

In a startup, any decision is better than no decision. Since I’m not a life coach, I can’t comment on the broader implications, but in my role as advisor to many startups, I do often find myself recommending a focus on many of his key points, which I will paraphrase here: Think in terms of action. Assign responsibility for results.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

As a startup advisor and investor, living in an area with several local universities, I’m continually surprised by how little many entrepreneurs know about the resources available from these institutions. Other project and research reports in their library are a rich source of new ideas, if you are still looking for a place to start.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2016

In big businesses, people are quick to defer with “that’s not my department,” and even startup founders too often blame failures on the economy or the lack of investors. His advice starts with a request to stop blaming, and start asking, “What can I do to improve this situation?” The Question Behind The Question.”

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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. You can find a mentor, a coach, a project, or experience, to help you prepare for the role you are looking for. How did you start the company?

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2016

Does it sometimes seem like people all around you are getting promoted, or leaving to start their own business, while all your hard work and experience are getting you nowhere? Particularly in an innovative startup, everyone has to expect problems and change. They certainly would be unlikely to succeed in a new startup.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2016

In fact, according to the most recent Index of Startup Activity by the Kauffman Foundation and recent SBA reports , these Baby Boomers are actually driving a new entrepreneurship boom. With longer life expectancies and greater health in later life, older generations are moving to start new firms -- and mentor young entrepreneurs.

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socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

We caught up with Helen, the co-founder and COO of JOANY, to learn more about the company. Helen Lee: What JOANY does, is we help individuals and families sign up for the most optimal health insurance plan for them. How did you start the company? Helen Lee: Christina and I started the company back in 2014. What is JOANY?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. Here are some key ideas to get you started: It all starts with the right people on your team. Many startup founders are great at putting out fires at the expense of urgent customer priorities.

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LATechDigest

JUNE 20, 2016

Startups in the Sky. Bixel Exchange (@BixelExchange) June 15, 2016. LATech Digest (@LATechDigest) June 15, 2016. LATech Digest (@LATechDigest) June 16, 2016. LATech Digest (@LATechDigest) June 16, 2016. Suzy Ryoo (@suzywillow) June 16, 2016. TechSparks (@techsparks) June 16, 2016. Make a Documentary.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2016

Business success begins in the mind of the startup founder and the team. A winning startup is built by an entrepreneur as an embodiment of who you really are rather than an artificial façade built on the myths around Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. So before you decide to start a new business, take a hard look at your own mindset.

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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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LATechDigest

JUNE 6, 2016

06/07/2016. 06/07/2016. 06/08/2016. 06/09/2016. 06/09/2016. 06/09/2016. 06/09/2016. 06/09/2016. 06/09/2016. 06/09/2016. 06/10/2016. 06/11/2016 – 06/12/2016. Startup Bootcamp. JJ Abrams Drops by AMPLIFY for a Mentor Talk ( link ).

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

for incorporation should provide you at least the key startup entity considerations you need to address in any business environment around the world. Isolate your new startup business from your personal accounts. The business entity has to be in place before a problem appears and is not recoverable by starting the business later.

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Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Marking the 10 th Techstars corporate program, the accelerator will provide funding, three months of mentorship and guidance from senior leadership at Cedars-Sinai and the Techstars network of more than 7,000 founders, mentors, investors, and corporate partners. We look forward to welcoming program participants to the city in 2016!”

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LATechDigest

MAY 13, 2016

Up to seven companies will be selected for this year’s program, which launches right after Labor Day, and wraps in the middle of November. Each mentor spoke for nearly an hour to the entire group, answered questions, and sat with each company for one-on-one mentoring. SMASHD LABS First-Round Cohorts.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2016

There is no shame in getting knocked down; it’s getting back up that matters. In a startup, pivots and problems will happen. Great businesses these days start with innovation. Great leaders are mentors to everyone on their team. Marty Zwilling Published on IvyExec.com on 01/05/2016. Promote resilience.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2016

In addition, if you are already a CFO, this position is a great springboard to the chief operating officer (COO) or even the CEO position in the startup, based on recent reports. In the case of GrubHub’s Adam DeWitt, he ended up with a salary exceeding that of the CEO. Every startup role requires managing to financial realities.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2016

In fact, I believe the majority of true entrepreneurs are not interested in this new role, and jump ship quickly by hiring an experienced CEO or merging with another company, to start their next entrepreneurial effort. With a startup, everything is an experiment. Growing the company means growing people through mentoring and training.

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Xconomy

JUNE 22, 2016

Radicle representatives plan to discuss their plans for the accelerator during AgTech Week 2016 , an ag investment conference being held in San Francisco this week. So far, Radicle has closed on $6 million in funding, and the accelerator expects its pot will reach up to $15 million. Last month, AgTech Accelerator unveiled $11.5

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2016

As an advisor to startups and an angel investor, I encounter many Millennials as entrepreneurs who are leaders and great role-models for the rest of us in business. Unfortunately, many Millennials were raised by well-intentioned parents who never let them fail, and gave them awards for merely showing up.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2016

Those who proactively seek knowledge and learn fast build knowledge pools and tap into the wisdom of mentors and industry leaders to raise their game. Leadership on ideas is a start, but entrepreneurial leadership requires the ability to deliver on the new reality as well. For them, adapting and stretching their limits is the norm.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2016

Maybe it’s for this reason that as professionals advance in their career, they tend to start asking fewer questions and providing more answers. This question-based leadership approach starts with humility and a firm belief in the old adage, “There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Whether you are starting a paper route, or commercializing a complex technology, the same basic principles of success apply. Although just seventeen years old, Patel has some great insights that I can extrapolate for every aspiring entrepreneur to answer the most common question I get as an advisor and mentor – “Where do I start?”

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2016

Based on my years of experience in both startups and large companies, trusted relationships are more the key to success than a great business model, how smart you are, or how much money you have. These include other business leaders, mentors, visionaries, and influencers. Start practicing it today wherever you are.

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