Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2015

A common challenge faced by every entrepreneur is that they don’t have the bandwidth, interest or skills to do everything that is required to build their startup. Investors worry about a single entrepreneur getting overloaded, disabled or led astray, with no balancing and supporting partner. Relocate to a more likely geography.

Startup 105

Startup High Tech Entrepreneur Writing 105

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. For software, websites, and high-tech products, this is the “meat” of what you intend to build. Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.”

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2018

In my experience, the initial idea for a new product usually comes from a single entrepreneur, but the implementation plan for a new business requires a team, or at least a co-founder. Thus I always recommend a common series of steps that I have seen working for other entrepreneurs: Write a partner description for that ideal co-founder.

High Tech 55

High Tech Entrepreneur Writing Startup 55

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 5, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write this post since September of last year when Brad Feld first wrote about the The Founders Visa Movement. I commented briefly on his blog and made a mental note to write a blog post. But it turns out I met a bunch of really interesting entrepreneurs. But TWTFelipe is an entrepreneur.

Technical Review 282

Technical Review Startup High Tech Software Review 282

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison, he is one of the few startup Founders who remained at the helm of their respective companies throughout their entire maturation process. Effective startup leaders allow ideas to percolate from within their company, rather than attempting to monopolize the ideation process.

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

If you are a first-time entrepreneur, I recommend that you team with a co-founder with experiences, connections, and a skill set that complements, but doesn’t duplicate yours. Even experienced entrepreneurs need a partner to back up each other and improve fundability. Get this in writing as a standard pre-nuptial. Hire a lawyer.

Startup 95

Startup Entrepreneur Activity High Tech 95

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2014

Defensible Claims - Some companies take pride in the number of patents they own. Provisional Protection - Most US high-tech companies begin the utility patent process by filing a provisional patent application. Such equity grants might seem "expensive" in retrospect, once your company is worth a substantial sum.

IP 210

IP Patents Journal Equity 210

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2011

Although Los Angeles has become a hub for the high tech startup world, Surprisingly, one of the things which hasn't happened in the Los Angeles area is any huge, successful venture acceleration programs. Our mentors as we've built up this effort in LA are TechStars, Tech Wildcatters in Dallas, and Accelerator Labs in Chicago.

Startup 221

Startup Mentor Southern California Incubator 221

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2011

If you are a first-time entrepreneur, I often recommend that you team with a co-founder with experiences, connections, and a skill set that complements, but doesn’t duplicate yours. Even experienced entrepreneurs need a partner to strengthen their position. Get this in writing as a standard pre-nuptial. Talk to people at work.

Startup 92

Startup Entrepreneur Activity High Tech 92

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

I have long advised startup companies that if you don’t control your messaging somebody else will and your potential customers will form impressions of you shaped by somebody else or by nobody at all. Yet as obvious as it is to create messaging for your company, many people don’t consider their personal brands.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

InfoChachkie

APRIL 9, 2012

These entrepreneurs do not risk everything, work outrageous hours and put themselves under extreme pressure because they want to. If it were a decision to be an entrepreneur, then most right-minded individuals would decide to turn back when they encountered the first inevitable startup crises. Entrepreneurs want to matter.

Startup 243

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Statistics 243

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. For software, websites, and high-tech products, this is the “meat” of what you intend to build. Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.”

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2010

If you are a first-time entrepreneur, I often recommend that you team with a co-founder with experiences, connections, and a skill set that complements, but doesn’t duplicate yours. Even experienced entrepreneurs need a partner to strengthen their position. Get this in writing as a standard pre-nuptial. Talk to people at work.

Startup 54

Startup Entrepreneur Activity High Tech 54

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2011

One trend in the Southern California high tech startup market has been an increasing number of startups--and executives--who have been looking to combine their interests in business with their enthusiasm for giving back through nonprofits and causes. First, for those not familiar with CauseCast, what is the company all about?

Causecast 222

Causecast Startup Content Education 222

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

They taught us to write down questions when they came up and batch them together in point sheets. In fact, they were recently bought by a publicly traded company called Ditech Networks). Dmitry walks the audience through the basic techniques that most high-tech savvy professionals use to streamline our digital lives.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2010

Want to take a year pursuing your dream to write a screenplay, travel through Asia, run a triathlon or start your own fashion line? But if you do and if you sit on the sidelines waiting for the day when the circumstances are right for you to start a company you never will. We were high tech at the very start of the boom.

Startup 295

Startup Email Technical Review Course 295

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2010

A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. For software, websites, and high-tech products, this is the “meat” of what you intend to build. Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.”

Product 48

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 48

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

We spoke with Dipanshu Sharma, Chairman of the firm, to learn more about the company and its products. That's the case with every other company we know of and who we have talked to. Most companies use Microsoft Project, and although there are a bunch of other projects, Microsoft has the most market share.

Startup 100

Startup Software Review Technical Review Software 100

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. Who better to answer than the company's engineering lead. But I didn’t write it for you; I wrote it for myself. But I don’t think so.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. raise money now to weather any storms). VCs get paid to “put money to work.&#.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298