Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs like you that I have met in my role as a business advisor are really product creators versus business creators, convinced that a great product will generate a great business. Entrepreneurs are typically focused on the big picture – creating a vision, purpose, and a long-term strategy.

Metrics 140

Metrics Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction 140

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. Greathouse: Did you decide to bootstrap the business from the start or did you initially plan to take in investor capital? I’ve been there.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), probably won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2023

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Most true visionary entrepreneurs have unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks.

Startup 82

Startup Ideas Organization Entrepreneur 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2015

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Social Media 111

socalTECH

AUGUST 12, 2019

Vanessa Dawson: The Vinetta Project is an entreneurial ecosystem and deal flow pipeline that works with early stage, female tech founders, and helps them to access both resources and capital for their business. We've helped entrepreneurs raise over $225M in early stage, venture funding.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Metrics Los Angeles Help 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2023

Commonly, I find that business owners and entrepreneurs look first at solutions which solve painful problems, or have high profit margins, regardless of their own commitment to a higher purpose, such as saving the environment or helping the underserved. Make sure your plan makes business sense before committing real resources.

Satisfaction 114

Satisfaction Customer Custom Social Media 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2020

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Most true visionary entrepreneurs have unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks.

Startup 131

Startup Ideas Organization Entrepreneur 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2014

Capitalize on the lessons from early adopters and competitors. Smart startups save cost and time by capitalizing on the pivots of others before them. The auto industry and others have used this model for generations, so business processes and metrics for innovation are well documented.

Technology 103

Technology Entrepreneur Study Research 103

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 16, 2013

Hamet Watt is a longtime serial entrepreneur, who just recently join LA''s Upfront Ventures (www.upfront.com) as a Venture Partner. Hamet was previously co-founder at bLife and MoviePass, founded NextMedium, and was Entrepreneur-in-Residence with True Ventures, among other experience. Congrats on the new position.

Entrepreneur 191

Entrepreneur Startup Metrics Capital 191

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2016

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Most true visionary entrepreneurs have unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks.

Startup 55

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Organization 55

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. On the one hand, an entrepreneur should not be overly paranoid and should know the ropes that VCs and other professional investors generally will not sign NDAs to see the concept or a prototype--and even if they did, it would not provide much protection.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 9, 2013

At Rincon Venture Partners , we have invested in several female entrepreneurs(so far), including Tracy DiNunzio, Founder and CEO of Tradesy. Making access to capital easier for women founders is part of what inspires and motivates me to win big with Tradesy.". What Gives? Sara Blakely of Spanx, Oprah, etc.), Bias Beyond Women.

Customer 185

Customer Custom Study Metrics 185

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

Clearly the founders and senior executives of a company are the most valuable resources and their time should be maximized on the most valuable tasks. It freed up Ophir to grow out our sales organization, to work more closely with agencies, to innovate on product and to raise capital. Another thing entrepreneurs f**k up?

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), probably won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Cloud Capital--has managed to coax those equipment rental yards into the digital age, and how the company has tackled other challenges in focusing its business. Cloud Capital. One of the mistakes that most startups make, is they get impatient, and throw lots of capital at something. Scott tells us how the company--backed by St.

Startup 174

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2015

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Most true visionary entrepreneurs have unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks.

Startup 99

Startup Ideas Organization Entrepreneur 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

This has led VC & entrepreneur bloggers alike to similar conclusions: start raising capital early and be careful about having too high of a burn rate because that lessens the amount of runway you have until you need more cash. But the hardest question to actually answer is, “What is the right burn rate for your company?

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2013

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Startup 102

Startup Technical Review Oracle Entrepreneur 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2019

Most people agree that leadership is primarily a set of behaviors that capitalize on relationships and a current market and customer understanding in a complex world. The best leader personality for larger organizations is one of providing help and resources, rather than extracting performance.

Tips 97

Tips Mentor Coach Metrics 97

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Social media is so pervasive in today’s world that every entrepreneur believes instinctively that they know how to use it for their startup. Social media is now one of the key marketing tools, but not the only one, so the challenge is to manage the resource tradeoffs effectively by constantly assessing payback versus cost.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Startup Tips 108

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2017

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Sites 59

Sites Startup Technical Review Oracle 59

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. In many of them I get asked similar questions, including the inevitable “what makes a great entrepreneur?” Tesla is not. It's a great talk. It says what?!”).

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 24, 2010

Startups consistently identify more ideas and opportunities than they have the time or resources to pursue, such as potential partnerships, new products, entering emerging markets, etc. The ability to objectively critique ones creative output is vital to an entrepreneur. Evaluate each of the following metrics on a scale of 1 – 10.

Ideas 187

Ideas Resource Technical Review Startup 187

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2016

Entrepreneurs don’t realize that Facebook spent over $100 million, before revenues from advertising turned cash positive. You need metrics to show dominant penetration of the relevant customer demographic, added value over existing media, and real customer testimonials of value. Business founders need deep pockets for this model.

Advertising 63

Advertising Content Social Media Satisfaction 63

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2016

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined.

Search Engine Optimization 55

Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Entrepreneur Social Media 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2016

Good entrepreneurs are all about managing change, but too many forget that they have to change themselves as their dream evolves from a startup to a scalable business. Many entrepreneurs gave grown to prefer the relative quiet and isolation of their garage, and their ability to set their own schedule.

Social Network 59

Social Network Startup Demand Entrepreneur 59

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

I do think the way we work with companies is a little different from other programs, in that we view it much more like the wasyI personally think about investing and venture capital. What''s your one piece of advice for entrepreneurs? It''s not really a set timeframe where they work out of your office and that''s it. READ MORE>>.

Incubator 187

Incubator Southern California Startup Ideas 187

Tech.Co

APRIL 30, 2018

Just across the Potomac river from our nation’s capital sits Arlington, Virginia, a beautiful city filled with bustling businesses, thriving tech startups , and an innovative vibe that is drawing founders to this growing region. . This one-stop-shop interface aims to save time, money and simplify the freight process. “We’ve

Startup 70

Startup Tool Platform Metrics 70

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a new book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media News Tool 61

socalTECH

JANUARY 30, 2017

As a serial entrepreneur, what has been the biggest lesson you have learned from your experience with startups, that you are applying here? Figure out what is working, and put more resources on that. While the company has raised money, they haven't taken any venture capital�it's all been from angels and other institutions.

Startup 100

Startup Social Network Southern California Mobile 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. ” I believe firmly in capital efficiency in the early days.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2012

If you are a new entrepreneur, you business life depends on using the following four decisive moments in their buying process: Your now-or-never moment. You need a reliable system of metrics to measure your performance here. Clear a path for them, see what they come up with, provide resources, and support them.

Customer 93

Customer Custom Startup Competition 93

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 8, 2014

And for the entrepreneurs who have tuned in, he also gives some insights into best practices for those looking to raise cash, so you don’t want to miss out! Chance is a local grown entrepreneur with a 15 year track record. His dual experiences, both as an entrepreneur and investor yielded him double the frustrations.

Invest 83

Invest Platform Entrepreneur Paramount 83

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate the myth that focusing on profits is ALWAYS the right answer and then I hear many entrepreneurs (and certainly many “normals”) repeating the same mantra. Have easy access to capital by investors who are committed to building businesses at Interent scale.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418