Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2018

The only “sustainable competitive advantage” in business is self-awareness. Most successful business leaders, including Richard Branson and Bill Gates, regularly called on their mentors, Freddie Laker and Warren Buffett, to test their perception of the right questions to ask, and the right issues to tackle. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Competition 81

Competition Startup Examples Coach 81

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

Here are five key ones to celebrate: Enjoy the feedback from every satisfied customer. Talking to real customers is the best way to keep your inspiration alive, as well as the best way keep on track with changing trends and future innovation ideas. Watch that patent provide a real barrier to competitive entry.

Startup 118

Startup Satisfaction Customer Custom 118

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. Good hiring, training, and mentoring are the best motivators. Your display of pride in the company and respect for the customer will translate directly into motivation.

Examples 145

Examples Mentor Activity Product 145

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2022

You may focus only on Facebook, and missing customers who expect to see you on Instagram and YouTube. Get interactive with online users and customer feedback. Publishing your content is positive, but responding to customers online multiplies your impact. Sponsor customer events for visibility and giveaways.

Marketing 119

Marketing Social Media Mentor Conference 119

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2022

I call this linear thinking , and it’s a sure way to be ultimately overrun by your competition. One way to do this is to nurture mentoring relationships with experts in other disciplines, as Bill Gates did with Warren Buffet. You need to see these as opportunities for growth and a chance to get ahead of competition.

Competition 139

Competition Examples Customer Custom 139

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

Thus, in my mentoring of potential technical entrepreneurs who have a real passion for their technology, I often recommend that they find a co-founder who can manage the marketing and execution elements of the new venture. Balance of passion with reality and customer feedback. Pay attention to all.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. You now need more than loyalty from your customers -- they need to be your best advocates. The days of pushing new and marginal performers into customer service are gone. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

As a long-time mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’ve been convinced for some time that good entrepreneurs have the right mindset, and the right attributes, to be good at anything they want. Find and sell your unique competitive advantages. If you don’t highlight your competitive advantages , no one else will.

Entrepreneur 127

Entrepreneur Mentor Competition Study 127

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Get connected to the right mentors and your business may catapult to the next level. I figured if Matt was on the verge of bankruptcy and one mentor changed his trajectory, what if we had a formalized, community-wide program? He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

While these investors, and early customers, will always argue that they found you, I’m convinced that there is no substitute for aggressive networking on your part. Ability to relate aspirations to customer needs. You need to show insights to real customers and their needs, that get beyond your passions and projections.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2020

Here are five key ones to celebrate: Enjoy the feedback from every satisfied customer. Talking to real customers is the best way to keep your inspiration alive, as well as the best way keep on track with changing trends and future innovation ideas. Watch that patent provide a real barrier to competitive entry.

Satisfaction 174

Satisfaction Customer Custom Outsource 174

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Most schools have a rich pipeline of real-world executive volunteers available for mentoring. These also get used for guest lectures in business classes, judges for business plan competition, and introductions to accredited investors.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Intellectual property is required for a competitive edge. Even the best college degree is not a substitute. Neither is good.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2021

In these days of rapid change, the pandemic, and worldwide competition, you need to make sure your entire team is customer-focused, innovative, and always looking around the corner for the next big thing. Find folks who are customer-centric and sensitive to competition. Find people who enjoy being problem solvers.

Coach 174

Coach Activity Customer Custom 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Mark Zuckerberg, while still in school, tested the viability of his “ FaceMash ” technology as a business by rolling it out to other students at Harvard as customers. He learned quickly that several pivots were required for business, legal, and customer acceptance reasons. Take advantage of free startup programs and mentors.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Waste in a startup is any activity that burns resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Then always measure customer results, not work.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Workship - Mentor. Unlike the mentor, who is a coach and teacher, the advocate inspires you to be the best that you can be. The trailblazer is not overly competitive, but always is a few steps ahead and enjoys setting an example that you are inspired by, or motivated to follow. Workship - Advocate. Workship - Trailblazer.

Mentor 91

Mentor Competition Summary Coach 91

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. Just as Yves mentored me when I became his co-managing partner in 2011, he didn’t seek to ride off into the sunset either. So What Does All This Mean?

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

There is nothing more inspiring than seeing the results of your mentoring and leadership. Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. Love that sustainable competitive advantage. Your own learning should be the biggest inspiration of all. Your solution fills a real market need.

Startup 160

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 160

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. There are many free generalized tools, including Google Trends , which can be used to track customer behavior in looking for things that don’t exist yet.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Technical Review Software Review 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2021

The most effective leaders marshal existing resources and incent people to create innovative yet competitive solutions. A community requires two-way communication and respect – including advisors, partners, and customers. True leaders don’t let their ego or competitive nature create a façade.

Coach 162

Coach Startup Resource Competition 162

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. Yet, as a business consultant, I still find many of you business leaders relying primarily on your technology, word-of-mouth , or location to attract necessary customers.

Marketing 133

Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. Actually, great new customer solutions lead to great platforms, not the other way around. Extrapolating you as the target customer. Never mix up what you like with what your customers will buy.

Entrepreneur 125

Entrepreneur Netflix Social Media Startup 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. People-centric leaders drive ownership and engagement down to their customer-facing team members.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

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. Test your innovation with at least a hundred customers.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Subtraction leads to simplicity, better usability, and easier education of your customers. Find new ways to augment. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2023

They need incentives to investigate market trends and competitive actions, as well as continuous communication of the bigger picture of the business and current objectives. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing. Give credit.

Startup 95

Startup Coach Mentor Social Media 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

Others are really marketers out to make money fast, and believe that they can entice customers to any offering. These are the ultimate chess players in the game of business, always looking to be two or three moves ahead of the competition. Ultimately, most get the best help from business advisors and mentors. Opportunist.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Framework Mentor Web 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

As a long-time business advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs, I consistently find that the most thriving businesses are people-centric, and those team members create the best processes, rather than the other way around. People-centric leaders realize that the right motivated and accountable people are their real competitive advantage.

Satisfaction 154

Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2021

The bad news is we have to think like a business, with all the implications of branding, finding customers, and competitors. She speaks from years of experience mentoring and facilitating independent contractors and helping large companies, since well before the term “gig economy” was even coined. Know your competitive value.

Pricing 149

Pricing Mentor Entrepreneur News 149

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. Direct customer-facing non-technical roles should be the last ones outsourced.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2010

At VT KnowledgeWorks we screen prospective clients for their Market opportunity, for the Magic that they offer to their prospective customers, and for the Moxie displayed by the start-up team. There is a growing fellowship of special-case start-up programs operated by closely-knit, permanent groups of angel-mentors.

Incubator 80

Incubator Mentor Capital Startup 80

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

As with most investors and advisors, I always look first at some key personal characteristics and leadership strategies that I find often make you a more likely survivor and winner in the highly competitive world of businesses, both new and mature. Able to maintain customer trust and team confidence.

Startup 143

Startup Competition Coach Satisfaction 143

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Customer 121

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2022

Be sure to encompass all your constituents, especially including customers. Whole Foods , for example, has built their business with a commitment to natural and organic foods, and have a culture of loyal employees and customers, resulting in 500 stores worldwide. Foster collaboration rather than competition.

Product 109

Product Training Customer Custom 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2023

We all face pressure in our lives, but there’s nothing like that of an entrepreneur facing customer crises and the competitive challenges of a new business. Thus, here is my own reframing of the authors generalized rules into some specifics for an entrepreneur or business leader: Reframe competitive threats to opportunities.

Entrepreneur 82

Entrepreneur Competition Press Commerce 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2023

If you are an introvert like me, this may be difficult, but remember that your business needs collaboration with partners and vendors, as well as good customers. Effective networking can also lead you to great coaches and mentors, as well as business and customer connections. Quickly seek common interests from new relationships.

Networking 104

Networking Mentor Conference Summary 104