Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

Technology is so key to every business these days that experienced business-smart but non-tech entrepreneurs are feeling deeper and deeper in the hole. Only one component of running a business is managing technology, but it is a critical component, so no entrepreneur can afford to ignore it or totally delegate it.

Competition 174

Competition High Tech Startup Social Media 174

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2020

It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan. But many decisions were made within my company walls, and surely by competitors, based upon those numbers. Sources for your data.

Company 156

Company Companies Metrics Resource 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

A continuing question I hear from young entrepreneurs is whether a university degree is important to startup success, or just a distraction in achieving their purpose in the world. For example, I do business mentoring at nearby Arizona State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Learning by doing is the only way to go.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2021

“Intrapreneurs” are entrepreneurs inside big companies, who do corporate spin-offs. A spin-off is merely a startup spawned by a mature parent (company), and conventional logic would dictate that it has a survival advantage over the lowly startup. Foreign companies in the US like to use spin-offs to find expansion opportunities.

Company 125

Company Companies Startup Examples 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2020

Although most people believe that being a successful entrepreneur is all about having the right idea, I’m convinced from my years of experience as a startup advisor and investor that’s it’s more about you as a person. The best entrepreneurs are not just dreamers of the next big thing – they have to be great facilitators and problem solvers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Examples Blogging Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. A narrow scope doesn’t help your case either.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

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.

Examples 145

Examples Mentor Activity Product 145

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

Business partnerships have traditionally been agreements to drive more transactions than either company could do alone. The new paradigm, driven by disruptive technologies, cloud-served supercomputing, and the new generation of young adults with global empathy, is partnering and giving something now for a competitive advantage in the future.

IBM 131

IBM IBM Startup Examples 131

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. A narrow scope doesn’t help your case either.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies … our position is that we hire someone in spite of an MBA, not because of one.” MBA’s are an easy target for entrepreneurs’ scorn. . “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBA’s. ” – Elon Musk, Founder Tesla Motors and SpaceX.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Allegis Startup Competition 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

Winning customers as an entrepreneur in a startup has many parallels to a young army trying to penetrate some formidable new and unfamiliar territory. As examples, I offer my interpretation of some of the key lessons here: Scout the territory first and pick your battles. Prepare thoroughly and strike fast.

Startup 146

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Training 146

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2013

An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft. Some people feel that organic growth is “better” because it requires real innovation and sustained effort to create long-term competitive advantage through differentiation and efficiency. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came quickly.

Organization 97

Organization Competition Startup Acquisition 97

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. We can all aspire to grow companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple, which have the aura of fun, while still improving your lifestyle and offering the dream of untold riches. His focus is on entrepreneurs in America, but what he says applies to every other country as well.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Offshore Technical Review Outsource 87

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2018

Business partnerships have traditionally been agreements to drive more transactions than either company could do alone. The new paradigm, driven by disruptive technologies, cloud-served supercomputing, and the new generation of young adults with global empathy, is partnering and giving something now for a competitive advantage in the future.

Competition 60

Competition IBM IBM Startup 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and Kara said “no” because she wanted to start her own company, which she did and I backed. Kara will now be really involved with what goes on to successfully create and run a firm but while still handling her core duties of funding great entrepreneurs.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

One of the big differences between an entrepreneur and an employee of a big business is that employees tend to have a very narrow focus on their job, while entrepreneurs have to keep the broader focus on business. entrepreneurs consistently claim to be happier , and have a higher net worth than employees. In fact, U.S.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Customer Custom 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2021

By definition, all of you entrepreneurs are leaders, by taking the initiative to start a new company. Most investors will readily admit that they invest in entrepreneur leadership, more so than innovative ideas, but they often find it difficult to separate aspiring leaders from those that are clearly extraordinary.

Coach 162

Coach Startup Resource Competition 162

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

I thought I’d try to look at it from a different lens, that of the entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you should assume that. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. Have you looked at competition? So what is an entrepreneur to do?

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2023

Every entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. A business that relies on static skill replacement is falling behind, and ripe for the next competitive crisis. Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership.

Framework 96

Framework Competition Ideas IBM 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2023

Most new business owners I know feel the challenges of not enough time, money, and resources, and see these as problems rather than a competitive advantage. Many companies these days start with a single online-only purchase model, but later move to providing subscription services and freemium alternatives.

Resource 111

Resource Competition Outsource Development Startup 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2014

Winning customers as an entrepreneur in a startup has many parallels to a young army trying to penetrate some formidable new and unfamiliar territory. As examples, I offer my interpretation of some of the key lessons here: Scout the territory first and pick your battles. Prepare thoroughly and strike fast.

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Resource Training Competition 119

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

More entrepreneurs want to be socially responsible these days, but fear a negative impact on profits, growth, and the ability to find an investor. I believe this option will continue to spread to other companies, states and countries. Startups can use social responsibility as a competitive advantage.

Startup 149

Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. It takes a wealth of hungry buyers to sustain a great business idea.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

There are no “overrides” – for example, businesses don’t thrive just because they offer the latest technology, or because everyone wants to be “green,” or because their goal is to reduce world hunger. New entrepreneurs tend to focus only on product direct costs, and underestimate marketing and sales costs, overhead costs, and support costs.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

For example, even though we were leading an entrepreneurial effort within IBM, we found it a challenge to deal with the inbred mainframe culture, reverence for process, and accounting practices of a large company. No consideration can be given to experience running a startup, breadth of skills, or even thinking like an entrepreneur.

IBM 85

IBM IBM Entrepreneur Technical Review 85

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2022

Entrepreneurs are now measured against the “triple bottom line” (TBL or 3BL) of people, planet, and profit. How does any entrepreneur define the right balance, and then measure their performance against real metrics? Many young entrepreneurs seem to think that capitalism and making profit are dirty words.

Startup 110

Startup Entrepreneur Capital Examples 110

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2021

I often wonder whether you as the entrepreneur have worked as hard on your pricing strategy as you have on your innovative solution. If your innovation is real, it brings added value to the table, so most customers, especially early ones, are willing to pay a premium over competitive products.

Pricing 145

Pricing Startup Competition Examples 145

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Business partnerships have traditionally been agreements to drive more transactions than either company could do alone. The new paradigm, driven by disruptive technologies, cloud-served supercomputing, and the new generation of young adults with global empathy, is partnering and giving something now for a competitive advantage in the future.

Startup 124

Startup IBM IBM Examples 124

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs I know are just waiting for that unique idea to strike them that will kickstart their new venture, put them in control of their lifestyle, achieve financial independence, and maybe even change the world. For example, TOMS shoes agreed to donate a pair of shoes to the needy for every pair sold.

Startup 159

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Equity 159

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Yet in my experience on both sides of this equation, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs focus only on the best idea , assuming that it will attract the right investors. Investors love entrepreneurs who come across as constantly on the lookout for new ideas, and able to grasp the larger implications for market change.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Every entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. A business that relies on static skill replacement is falling behind, and ripe for the next competitive crisis. Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership.

Tips 160

Tips Framework Competition Ideas 160

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. Examples include charitable organizations, trade unions, and public arts organizations. In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c).

Funding 130

Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2018

Winning customers as an entrepreneur in a startup has many parallels to a young army trying to penetrate some formidable new and unfamiliar territory. As examples, I offer my interpretation of some of the key lessons here: Scout the territory first and pick your battles. Prepare thoroughly and strike fast.

Entrepreneur 53

Entrepreneur Resource Training Competition 53

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. We can all aspire to grow companies like TikTok, Facebook, and Apple, which have the aura of fun, while still improving your lifestyle and offering the dream of untold riches. His focus is on entrepreneurs in America, but what he says applies to every other country as well.

Startup 126

Startup Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Offshore 126

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. Typically this means describing interactions with customer groups, real customer feedback, and showing an understanding of price sensitivity, alternatives, and competitive offerings.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113