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

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. The startup was listed in TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2023 too, alongside industry heavyweights like Nvidia and SpaceX.

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

With services, scaling the business often implies cloning yourself, since you are the intellectual property and the competitive advantage. For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2021

Based on my experience as an investor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, one of the quickest ways to kill your credibility and your startup is to offer a poorly written business plan, or none at all. An entrepreneur who can’t manage a plan, probably won’t be able to manage the new business.

Sample 137

Sample Writing Mentor Content 137

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. This moment is not to be spoiled by such mundane warnings from advisors or consultants to plan carefully, research the market and competition, and execute the plan with tenacity and enthusiasm.

Hollywood 120

Hollywood Writing Press Startup 120

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Burn rate in case you don’t know is the amount of money a company is either spending (gross) or losing (net) per month. (it Conversely if you’re burning $600,000 per month (yes, some companies do) then you only have 5 months of cash left. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

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. Write down your business model and five-year plan.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2022

Deciding to be an entrepreneur is a lifestyle move, and should be part of a long-term strategic plan. Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. If you are thinking nonprofit (social entrepreneur), can you rally the world around your cause?

Startup 115

Startup Resource Training Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2013

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. We can all point to examples of successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college, but still went on to make a big impact.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Course Education 105

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So, it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business. And fifth: Competitive risk. .

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. With a bit of humor, he provides some serious guidelines for struggling career professionals looking to move up, and new entrepreneurs looking to build a company. Anything less makes you non-competitive.

Startup 153

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Screening 153

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

Business success is all about having the best team, yet the average entrepreneur has little prior experience with hiring people and building top-notch teams. Most new entrepreneurs assume their passion will attract and motivate the right team members. Failure to include company culture in the hiring criteria.

Organization 104

Organization Satisfaction Entrepreneur Screening 104

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. No one has heard of you, your company or your solutions. Rationale: A cooperative relationship with a big company will significantly enhance my startup’s chances of success. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. As a whole, venture capitalists viewing the policy were underwhelmed.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

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. What makes their story more remarkable, in the age of 20-something billionaires, is that both of the company’s founders are in their 50’s.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. We can all point to examples of successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college, but still went on to make a big impact.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Course Education 105

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital. You now own 20% of a company valued at $50 million but you’ve put in $4m to get that. Why investors care about prorata rights.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2013

Deciding to be an entrepreneur is a lifestyle move, and should be part of a long-term strategic plan. Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. If you are thinking non-profit (social entrepreneur), can you rally the world around your cause?

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Training 97

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2021

In my experience, many entrepreneurs rely too much on the perspective of a trusted advisor, or try to emulate a competitor who is getting attention. The challenge is how to develop that self-leadership in every aspiring entrepreneur and business professional role. Every person and every company needs a set of core values.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Course Satisfaction Guide 132

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2020

Business success is all about having the best team, yet the average entrepreneur has little prior experience with hiring people and building top-notch teams. Most new entrepreneurs assume their passion will attract and motivate the right team members. Failure to include company culture in the hiring criteria.

Organization 135

Organization Satisfaction Entrepreneur Screening 135

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. Board rules and governance policies should be articulated in writing and voted upon. Board members in constant conflict can kill your company more quickly than any market forces.

Startup 145

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. File a provisional patent, register a trademark, and reserve your company domain names.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2012

It’s a well-accepted axiom in the investor community that entrepreneurs learn more from their failures than their successes. Don’t focus too much on the competition. Don’t put your company before your people. A company is an entity that can be pivoted at will. Make the company fit the people, rather than vice versa.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Tips Startup Ideas 97

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. How can you improve your odds?

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Statistics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Deciding to be an entrepreneur is a lifestyle move, and should be part of a long-term strategic plan. Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. If you are thinking non-profit (social entrepreneur), can you rally the world around your cause?

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Training 106

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. Let’s say you have built a SaaS company where a large part of the early revenue comes from a few big customers or a large part of the revenue is services based vs. software based. Let me give you an example.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. As such, they are hesitant to acquire a company which has not sought formal protection of their IP for two reasons. Intellectual Property (IP) is an ugly thing at a startup.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I was speaking recently to the team at NuOrder , an LA-based company we’re an investor in about “realism in startups” — an impromptu talk I have given to any of our portfolio companies who ask. I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly. “I I work with a few computer vision companies.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” As an entrepreneur it can feel as intimidating as going to buy a car where the dealer knows the price of every make & model of a car and you’re guessing at how much to pay.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. Competition analysis. Here is where you pick a few of these, characterize what they do, and position your own product to show your competitive advantage. Market research and competition.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2016

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. Board rules and governance policies should be articulated in writing and voted upon. Board members in constant conflict can kill your company more quickly than any market forces.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Startup Mentor Writing 58

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Unless you are a serial entrepreneur with a string of successes behind you, you need a business plan to convince investors that you can build a business out of the dream that has been driving your passion to change the world. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” Especially if you are in the early stage of growing a business, these five risks can and often do derail entrepreneurs before realizing the riches of a great exit. And fifth: Competitive risk. . So, let’s examine them and mitigate them.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. But succinctly this press places a marker in the ground for your company.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2011

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entree for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. then you can start writing a recipe. All the investment money in the world won’t make your company succeed, if you have the wrong team.

Entrepreneur 91

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Metrics 91

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

I try to steer entrepreneurs away from over-introducers and I often find myself wanting to be careful about them becoming an investor in companies I back. A person at a board meeting starts listing all the people they know at companies a, b and c. It starts seemingly innocent enough.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Deciding to be an entrepreneur is a lifestyle move, and should be part of a long-term strategic plan. Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. If you are thinking nonprofit (social entrepreneur), can you rally the world around your cause?

Startup 94

Startup Resource Training Ideas 94