Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Most entrepreneurs spend far too much time thinking negatively about competitors, and can’t resist making derogatory statements about them to their own team, investors and even to customers. As an investor, I always listen carefully to what an entrepreneur says, and does not say, about competition.

Competition 107

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 107

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

They are looking for startups that have a sustainable advantage over direct and indirect competitor offerings, as well as obvious value to customers living without your product today. Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

So before you decide to move your manufacturing, software development, or call center out of town, make sure you understand the following considerations: Don’t give someone else control of your competitive advantage. Saving cost won’t help you if you can’t make the daily innovations required to stay competitive. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2022

I call this linear thinking , and it’s a sure way to be ultimately overrun by your competition. Plus you can challenge yourself to keep abreast of technology advancements in related industries, looking for a fit in your own. 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

JULY 23, 2023

Your concept has to be understood by customers and investors in 30 seconds or less, and everyone needs to immediately see how awesome it would be, or that they would be nuts not to have it. I’m looking for the “hook” right up front, or I lose interest quickly, just like every customer and investor these days.

Startup 96

Startup Education Ideas Customer 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Because the product plan is aimed internally, it can assume the reader has the relevant technology and jargon background. These requirements must be based on market analysis, expert input, and existing customer feedback. Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Competition. Production.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2023

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance.

Startup 171

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Set milestones and meet them. Ownership. Value creation.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Your concept has to be understood by customers and investors in 30 seconds or less, and everyone needs to immediately see how awesome it would be, or that they would be nuts not to have it. I’m looking for the “hook” right up front, or I lose interest quickly, just like every customer and investor these days.

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes. These days, you can find existing patents and trademarks through Google and the US Patent Office online site without spending thousands of dollars with your favorite patent attorney. Check for intellectual property barriers in your way.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most universities have a file of patents from project work that they are willing to license to any entrepreneur for business commercialization, with little or no cost up front. These often lead to angel investors and venture capital investments later, or connections to local company venture funds for selected focus and technology areas.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

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.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

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. A partnership was announced a while back with the City of New York, to connect and grow NYC's startup ecosystem.

IBM 131

IBM IBM Startup Examples 131

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2018

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. A partnership was announced with the City of New York, to connect and grow NYC's startup ecosystem.

Competition 60

Competition IBM IBM Startup 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

A while back, I wrote about the importance of a “ sustainable competitive advantage ,” and outlined the business plan value and limitations of patents and competitor feature comparisons. But once you start selling products, all of these pale in comparison to your level of customer service. Exceed customer expectations.

Customer 90

Customer Custom Services Startup 90

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

What I want to hear is an innovative marketing and growth strategy that will set you apart in the minds of investors, as well as customers. Today’s customer is especially attracted to companies like TOMS , who donates a pair of shoes for every pair they sell, or Patagonia, with its support for grassroots environmental groups.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Because the product plan is aimed internally, it can assume the reader has the relevant technology and jargon background. These requirements must be based on market analysis, expert input, and existing customer feedback. Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. The average time required to obtain a patent is 36-to-40 months, during which there is no guarantee your adVenture will ultimately receive patent protection. Thus, if a startup team asks, “What is this patent worth to us?”,

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

So before you decide to move your manufacturing, software development, or call center out of town, make sure you understand the following considerations: Don’t give someone else control of your competitive advantage. Saving cost won’t help you if you can’t make the daily innovations required to stay competitive. Marty Zwilling.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Message delivery must be customized for each investor. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors. Registered patents and other intellectual property.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2020

As an aspiring entrepreneur, one of the most important things you need is a memorable “ elevator pitch ,” to communicate your startup value proposition and leave a great first impression on friends, investors, employees, and future customers. For example, “I have patented a new tire that will double the wear mileage at half the cost.”

Sample 127

Sample Summary Startup Slides 127

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

In fact, I think the evidence is clear that many entrepreneurs started their journey while still in college, and capitalized on all the resources there, before moving on: Extend your technology focus with business basics. He learned quickly that several pivots were required for business, legal, and customer acceptance reasons.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most universities have a file of patents from project work that they are willing to license to any entrepreneur for business commercialization, with little or no cost up front. These often lead to angel investors and venture capital investments later, or connections to local company venture funds for selected focus and technology areas.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

Tech may be the tool, but hospitality – making life a little easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable for your customer, is the winning focus. Unfortunately, too many of the technical entrepreneurs I mentor and advise are focused on their technology, and assume that the value will be self-evident to customers.

Technical Advisors 82

Technical Advisors Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2018

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.

Competition 51

Competition Patents Resource Entrepreneur 51

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Your people are the key to innovation, more so than a new technology.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

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. A partnership was announced with the City of New York, to connect and grow NYC's startup ecosystem.

Startup 124

Startup IBM IBM Examples 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

I see too many executive summaries that are simply heavy-duty customer pitches, or lightweight visions of the future. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology." Nice-to-have solutions and customers with no money are not compelling.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” They only want a quick overview of the product, not detailed features and patent secrets.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Message delivery must be customized for each investor. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors. Registered patents and other intellectual property.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2016

Most entrepreneurs spend far too much time thinking negatively about competitors, and can’t resist making derogatory statements to their own team, to investors, and even to customers. As an investor, I always listen carefully to what an entrepreneur says, and does not say, about competition. Position your solution in the world market.

Competition 62

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 62

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2018

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance.

Guide 95

Guide Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 95