Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. Provide a simple yet complete description of your product or service and its competitive marketplace. Be concise as well as complete.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Entrepreneur Equity Ideas 75

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

As a self-made entrepreneur and former chairman of Diamond Resorts International, he asserts that the five biggest companies by market value today, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, aren’t really tech, but hospitality companies. I just finished a new book by Stephen J. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 10/22/2018.

Technical Advisors 82

Technical Advisors Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. The reason that lawyers get large fees for patent filings is that legal negotiation and strategy have become more important than technical merit.

Patents 53

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2019

Steve Jobs started his technical career creating circuit boards at Atari, before joining Steve Wozniak to build personal computers in his garage. I advise owners that they have to know when to give up a business, as well as when to buy one. This starts with picking your roles carefully – to be in the right place at the right time.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Startup Satisfaction Customer 75

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. Provide a simple yet complete description of your product or service and its competitive marketplace. Be concise as well as complete.

Technical Advisors 80

Technical Advisors Startup Equity Ideas 80

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. In these kinds of businesses I’m on the record as advising “ Ring the Freakin Cash Register.” Think DropBox, Airbnb, Uber, Maker Studios. Valuation.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2011

Our own subsidiary, of a major technology company, started to repair and service competitive products in order to maintain our own technical staff and service capabilities. We retained legal council in Milan and were advised that we would loose if the case went to trial.

Startup 90

Startup Technical Advisors Sales Examples 90

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I would argue that this mostly consists of consumer Internet companies (although not exclusively) and it is predominantly early-stage people who are product gurus and have a mildly technical bend to them. The quote from Bryce is: “When an entrepreneur steps to the whiteboard the energy in the room totally changes. Mobile app?

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2010

Our own subsidiary, of a major technology company, started to repair and service competitive products in order to maintain our own technical staff and service capabilities. We retained legal council in Milan and were advised that we would loose if the case went to trial. Respect local customs and practices.

Technical Advisors 48

Technical Advisors Sales Startup Coach 48

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 10, 2012

Here are just a few: Nolan Bushnell , a seasoned entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc. Effects Artist and Technical Director, Dreamworks AnimationJason hails from Kentucky, where his parents met at a Renaissance Faire, hooked up at the Wicca Coven, and raised him at sci-fi conventions. for ourselves, our culture, and our planet.

Technical Advisors 89

Technical Advisors Design Education Study 89

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Based on my experience advising new entrepreneurs as well as more mature businesses, I recommend the following strategies for building business momentum, while still optimizing the limited resources of every small business: Find more customers that like what you do best. Track competition to stay ahead of copycats.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

It is surprising how often entrepreneurs forget this simple fact. Your lawyer is a trusted advisor, but in the end, you run your business, your lawyer does not. As noted in Frugal is as Frugal Does , entrepreneurs on The Fringe only spend their cash on items that add value to their adVentures. but They Make Great Guard Dogs.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

A reminder that it is important for all entrepreneurs is to remember to be careful about “deal drift.” Don’t over shop – If the deal you’re involved with involves raising venture capital or selling your company you naturally want some competition. Don’t be complacent – What really winds me up is when entrepreneurs are complacent.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

I decided that I was going to consult/advise a few companies and relax for a bit. He went from recruiter to IT manager to technical sales… Then, he did such a great job in sales that we had to build up more infrastructure for our ad-serving and email delivery platform to support the increased demand.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

We didn’t hire resumes and experience, we hired smart, good people who wanted to be entrepreneurs. The interesting thing is that we never looked at our competition, we never did any kind of competitive analysis on the products we wanted to be leaders, so we acted like leaders – we focused on our customers, not our competition.

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2010

The conversations bleed into the sales messages the next time, they wend their way into software designs and form the plan of attach against competition. I often advise these CEOs to make the tough choices early in the company’s history – either move up North or build your tech team in LA. What about offshoring?

Technical Advisors 335

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Offshore Startup 335