Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Most entrepreneurs relish being their own boss, but find the transition to “ownership thinking” to be more difficult than anticipated. Incidentally, if you never thought of yourself as being an A-Player employee, you probably will struggle even more in the competitive entrepreneur world.

Entrepreneur 159

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Competition 159

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2019

Most entrepreneurs are quick to assert to potential investors that their product or solution will kill the competition, but unfortunately your opinion alone is not enough to convince most experienced investors. A competitive advantage to a non-problem or tiny niche is not interesting to investors.

Competition 86

Competition Patents Startup Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

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. The result, called resourcefulness, allows entrepreneurs to create opportunities in the face of scarcity. Rethink or reframe the challenge.

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Too many entrepreneurs think that expert external advisors are suspect, or will slow them down.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Of course, as you work with contract players, explore the potential for a long-term relationship, and wait until your organization matures to pursue career positions. Many entrepreneurs still believe they need a traditional multi-level organization to handle growth and scaling, so they start hiring career managers to populate it.

Competition 168

Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

Anyone who works with entrepreneurs will tell you that all are different. I’ve always wondered if there was some way that I could quickly deduce a new entrepreneur’s “sweet spot,” and optimize my mentoring to those strengths and weaknesses, maybe similar to the Myers-Briggs type indicator for business professionals. Specialist.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Framework Mentor Web 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. Attend trade shows and network to find the right players and pitch your product. All the evidence says that over 99% fail to make that leap.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Thus, in my consulting with entrepreneurs, I always encourage them to get more comfortable asking for help. She suspects, like me, that no self-respecting entrepreneur wants to seem weak, needy, or incompetent, and none of us like to feel indebted to someone we see as a peer or a competitor.

Help 123

Help Entrepreneur Course IBM 123

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

socalTECH

MARCH 29, 2011

San Diego-based MP3Tunes , the cloud music storage service startup headed by Michael Robertson, has some stiff new competition today. Amazon.com said last night that it has launched its own, cloud music and storage service called Amazon Cloud Drive , along with corresponding web and Android music players. READ MORE>>.

Competition 140

Competition Startup San Diego Web 140

InfoChachkie

MAY 26, 2016

Should millennial entrepreneurs go to college? Like James and Bryant, these talented players opted to skip college, in favor of a professional career. I asked them to devise reasons an entrepreneur should remain in college. A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. In sports, outliers generate headlines.

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur Case Study Education Seed Funding 150

TechCrunch LA

MAY 29, 2019

The company raised $46 million last year—its first year operating—with the vision that owning the infrastructure for competitions and expanding it to encompass other social elements of gaming can make it the largest gaming company in the world. Eric P: You have a fascinating background as a serial entrepreneur while you were a teenager.

Startup 204

Startup Coach Competition Los Angeles 204

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. The result, called resourcefulness, allows entrepreneurs to create opportunities in the face of scarcity. Rethink or reframe the challenge.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

From apps to hardware, to KickStarter successes and international startups, we’re inching closer to finding out who will take home the title of Startup of the Year competition at our annual Celebrate Conference in October. Among the dozens of participants that applied for the online competitions, only a few progressed into the semifinals.

Competition 123

Competition Mobile Startup Technical Review 123

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 8, 2011

Amarillo’s advice is consistent with my comments in the Startup Competition ; get to know your competitors on a personal basis, while appearing as innocuous as possible. Amarillo’s advice is consistent with my comments in the Startup Competition ; get to know your competitors on a personal basis, while appearing as innocuous as possible.

Startup 207

Startup Entrepreneur Competition Guide 207

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

These things change so fast these days that the primary role of the entrepreneur as CEO is to be the Master of Realignment. The basic alignment framework of strategy, customers, people, and processes hasn’t changed, but the pace of technological, competitive, and social change has increased at an amazing rate.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

TechCrunch LA

MAY 24, 2020

One entrepreneur who’s spent time on both sides of the business as a startup founder and an employee for one of the biggest brands in athletic wear has launched a new app to try build a bridge between the physical and virtual fashion worlds. Fashion is having its moment in the metaverse. Head to our Stories for download codes.

Design 219

Design Los Angeles West Los Angeles Social Media 219

InfoChachkie

JULY 18, 2011

Along with Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham and Marcia Brown’s Stone Soup , the seemingly innocuous board game Monopoly has played a pivotal role in the edification of several generations of entrepreneurs. The players who go first have a higher probability of landing on an available property during their initial trips around the board.

Entrepreneur 216

Entrepreneur Startup Outsource Development Paramount 216

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2015

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. The result, called resourcefulness, allows entrepreneurs to create opportunities in the face of scarcity. Rethink or reframe the challenge.

Resource 98

Resource Entrepreneur Competition Startup 98

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Tech Coast Venture Network is rounding up the finest entrepreneurs to compete for $25,000 in cash prize in their Survivor 7 Pitch Competition this Thursday, November 15th. In the past, the competition allowed anyone to participate in the initial round of 30-second pitches to investors and experts.

Competition 65

Competition Networking TCVN Southern California 65

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 28, 2021

The biggest mistake many corporate marketers, entrepreneurs and even investors make in the initial stages of planning – overstating the size of the (SOM) serviceable obtainable market. Is this a problem or an opportunity? You, the lonely fisherman, must weave a net to catch your fish. TAM, SAM & SOM? This lesson is important. .

.Net 156

.Net Statistics Marketing Research 156

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan.

Startup 124

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 124

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2022

Entrepreneurs and startups are big believers in innovation, but sometimes they forget that innovation must be continual to assure long-term success, rather than the one big-bang idea that initiated their journey. Get the right players on board and enable them to do great things. Hire slowly and fire fast.

Metrics 102

Metrics Startup Organization Demand 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

The recent pandemic was a strong signal for change, and I see most of you entrepreneurs and business owners responding to the business changes required and new opportunities presented. An example is the transportation industry moving to electric – key player positions are changing rapidly. Scan for unmet needs to match new products.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

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. Without a trace of how the business will get that one percent, the entrepreneur confidently shows that this is all it takes to make us all rich.

Company 156

Company Companies Metrics Resource 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2012

These things change so fast these days that the primary role of the entrepreneur as CEO is to be the Master of Realignment. The basic alignment framework of strategy, customers, people, and processes hasn’t changed, but the pace of technological, competitive, and social change has increased at an amazing rate.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Framework 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2022

The hard part is providing the leadership required to align and motivate all the constituents and players – from engineers, to investors, vendors, and ultimately customers. Great entrepreneurs are not just idea people and then managers, they are extraordinary leaders. Sense of accountability and momentum (snowball metaphor).

Coach 114

Coach Framework Entrepreneur Tool 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2022

These days, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, pitching their latest and greatest new idea, and looking for someone to give them money. Angel investors, like me, have long figured out that asking to see the prototype is a quick way to separate the ‘wannabes’ from serious players. Quantify the implementation challenges.

Outsource Development 110

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2021

The biggest challenge for every entrepreneur and every startup today is to get noticed and remembered in today’s information overload. The number of entrepreneurs worldwide is huge, starting an estimated 50 million new businesses per year, or 137,000 per day. These attributes include the following: Specific moment-in-time indication.

Startup 125

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2023

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve heard and seen hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs, and the majority of founders are convinced that if you will just give them an hour or more time, you will love their business. Highly saturated domains (more than 10 existing players), such as niche social media sites, are highly risky.

Startup 96

Startup Education Ideas Customer 96

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. It wasn’t always like this and frankly it took a lot of joy out of the industry for me personally. What happened? A LOOK BACK I started my career as a programmer. It was 1991.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

Here is a quick summary of the priorities normally covered by the due diligence process: Evaluation of key players. Here is a quick summary of the priorities normally covered by the due diligence process: Evaluation of key players. That means questioning each of these key players, and calling references or prior associates.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2013

The hard part is providing the leadership required to align and motivate all the constituents and players – from engineers, to investors, vendors, and ultimately customers. Great entrepreneurs are not just idea people and then managers, they are extraordinary leaders. Sense of accountability and momentum (snowball metaphor).

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Coach Framework Tool 101