Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. Find technical and legal guidance and advisors.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

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. Of course, existing patents don’t stop you from innovating, but charging ahead into a wall is no fun. Minimize infrastructure dependencies.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” That implies competitive now, and the potential to stay in the lead.

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89

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

DECEMBER 11, 2022

My first suggestion is that entrepreneurs need to forget the old myth that all they need to do is sketch an idea on a napkin, and investors will line up to invest. The most investable ventures stem from painful needs by customers who have money to spend. Investors invest in people, often more so than in the product.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 108

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. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

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

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. Every school recognizes the power of “hands-on” work to help you develop your own ideas into a business.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Professional investors will probe these five risk areas and make the decision to invest based upon their comfort with each. Another is to gain the support of a core vendor who is willing to offer special extended terms to the company as its investment in creating the product in a finished state. And fifth: Competitive risk. .

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Each of these activities should have associated costs and resource requirements. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. List key competitors and alternatives, highlighting your sustainable competitive advantages, such as patents and trademarks. That means they invest first in a set of plans.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

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. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2021

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. It is not helpful to you for funders to love an idea that does not fit the criteria for their investing capability.

Software Review 123

Software Review Seed Funding Funding Startup 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2023

Will the solution give you an “unfair competitive advantage,” meaning no competitor already has it, or can replicate your solution without your skills or intellectual property. Professional investors normally like to invest only in billion dollar opportunities, with double-digit growth rates. Is there an educated marketplace waiting?

Startup 96

Startup Education Ideas Customer 96

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

JUNE 25, 2021

There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. As an example of a good resource, I enjoyed the classic book, “ Idea To Invention ,” by Patricia Nolan-Brown, that does a great job on the key steps. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

My first suggestion is that entrepreneurs need to forget the old myth that all they need to do is sketch an idea on a napkin, and investors will line up to invest. The most investable ventures stem from painful needs by customers who have money to spend. Investors invest in people, often more so than in the product.

Funding 123

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Invest 123

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Will the solution give you an “unfair competitive advantage,” meaning no competitor already has it, or can replicate your solution without your skills or intellectual property. Professional investors normally like to invest only in billion dollar opportunities, with double-digit growth rates. Is there an educated marketplace waiting?

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

Professional investors will probe these five risk areas and make the decision to invest based upon comfort with each. Another is to gain the support of a core vendor who is willing to offer special extended terms to the company as its investment in creating the product in a finished state. And fifth: Competitive risk.

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Each of these activities should have associated costs and resource requirements. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. List key competitors and alternatives, highlighting your sustainable competitive advantages, such as patents and trademarks. That means they invest first in a set of plans.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. Find technical and legal guidance and advisors.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Capital Class Startup 55

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” Our patent will protect us.” We have the first mover advantage.”

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

The bad news is that many are already doing it, with competition growing, so the longer you wait, the less chance you have of getting there first. In a new startup, there is tremendous competitive value in registering intellectual property early, but you don’t need to contract these tasks to expensive experts any longer.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Outsource Development 108

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 30, 2012

Although their book is written for businesses of all sizes, I believe the principles apply especially to startups as follows: Increase return on equity invested. The first purpose of a strategy is to organize and reallocate your resources to increase return on the amount of money invested in your startup to-date.

Startup 99

Startup Competition IP Patents 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2015

For example, “I have patented a new LCD with double the intensity at half the cost, already proven locally, and I just need resources to scale for this market.” Your second sentence should acknowledge competition, but highlight your added value. Your second sentence should acknowledge competition, but highlight your added value.

Startup 104

Startup Summary Patents Examples 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

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. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

This implies high odds of a scalable business, simply needing an investment to lead to success. Intellectual property and sustainable competitive advantage. Patents, trade secrets, and trademarks are very attractive to investors, since these are not easily overcome by competitors.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

Although their book is written for businesses of all sizes, I believe the principles apply especially to startups as follows: To increase return on equity invested. The first purpose of a strategy is to organize and reallocate your resources to increase return on the amount of money invested in your startup to-date.

Startup 92

Startup Competition IP Patents 92

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. It is not helpful to you for funders to love an idea that does not fit the criteria for their investing capability.

Software Review 106

Software Review Funding Startup Seed Funding 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

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. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. As an example of a good resource, I enjoyed a recent book, “ Idea To Invention ,” by Patricia Nolan-Brown, that does a great job on the key steps. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks.

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

My first suggestion is that entrepreneurs need to forget the old myth that all they need to do is sketch an idea on a napkin, and investors will line up to invest. The most investable ventures stem from painful needs by customers who have money to spend. Investors invest in people, often more so than in the product.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 57

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2012

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. It is not helpful to you for funders to love an idea that does not fit the criteria for their investing capability.

Seed Funding 100

Seed Funding Software Review Entrepreneur Funding 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2014

There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. As an example of a good resource, I enjoyed a recent book, “ Idea To Invention ,” by Patricia Nolan-Brown, that does a great job on the key steps. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks.

Ideas 107

Ideas Mentor Entrepreneur Resource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Each of these activities should have associated costs and resource requirements. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. List key competitors and alternatives, highlighting your sustainable competitive advantages, such as patents and trademarks. That means they invest first in a set of plans.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

According to the Angel Capital Association , at least 300,000 people have made angel investments in the last two years, totaling $24 billion in the U.S. They expect to see at least a prototype solution, funded from your own resources, or friends and family or a grant. These are all accredited investors who risk their own money.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

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. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. As an example of a good resource, I enjoyed a classic book, “ Idea To Invention ,” by Patricia Nolan-Brown, that does a great job on the key steps. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks.

Ideas 56

Ideas Mentor Resource Product 56