Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. 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.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Most experts agree that the pace of business change is increasing , and all the business owners I know are struggling to keep up, much less surpass the wealth of global competitors now entering the market. Highlight the competitive edge you bring to the market. Use test marketing to identify changes before scale-up.

Marketing 116

Marketing Resource Training Startup 116

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

With the latest advances in software technology, it’s no longer cost-prohibitive for business entrepreneurs, who can’t yet afford a human resources department, to take advantage of analytics tools. Almost any startup can start with Excel, and move to open-source data analysis tools, including Python or RStudio.

Metrics 98

Metrics Tool Statistics Entrepreneur 98

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

Since we all have limited resources, and can’t add more hours to the day, the result is usually more things done poorly, rather than a few key things done better than anyone else. Good examples of startup focus before success include Google with their search engine, Facebook with friends networking, and Apple with personal computers.

Startup 154

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 154

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. These are risks that can be mitigated with the right resources. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Customer 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2018

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. Waste in a startup is any activity that spends resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. In the startup world, this is often seen as a lack of focus. That’s a deadly waste you can’t afford.

Resource 52

Resource Training Entrepreneur Activity 52

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. Startups which display real innovation, such as alternative energy sources and new medical treatments, are still rare. People are your best innovation resource. Failure is the best teacher. Ownership.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for every startup to assess the metrics, technology, and platforms they’re using to manage the business. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 5, 2013

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. No-one challenged this number, and it became an unattributed source of the metric for market size for years.

Metrics 239

Metrics Startup Marketing Demand 239

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

In December 2007, I described how I commonly take on an Acting CTO Role in a Start-up. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be. What worries me a bit is how often I read that startups should hire a developer / hands-on lead developer. Gap closed, right? Probably not.

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have enough resources to bootstrap our own startups, so we are completely dependent on investors to help turn great ideas into great businesses. Passion and confidence are a good start, but every investor wants to see a credible plan, with specific milestones along the way.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

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. These are risks that can be mitigated with the right resources. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

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. These are risks that can be mitigated with the right resources. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Startup 115

Startup Resource Metrics Entrepreneur 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2023

Thus they are blindsided and try to react quickly when a new competitor starts stealing customers. I see this happening in smaller ways often, where there is minimal focus on competition. It’s easy to find daily problems to swamp all your resources, such that looking to stave off future competitors is not in your priorities.

Metrics 71

Metrics Training Netflix Resource 71

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

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. These are risks that can be mitigated with the right resources. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Startup 113

Startup Resource Metrics Entrepreneur 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), probably won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Social media is so pervasive in today’s world that every entrepreneur believes instinctively that they know how to use it for their startup. Social media is now one of the key marketing tools, but not the only one, so the challenge is to manage the resource tradeoffs effectively by constantly assessing payback versus cost.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Startup Tips 108

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Continuing my series of posts that I’ve been collecting that live at the intersection of Startups and being a Startup CTO : Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March here are the top posts from May 2010. It is to out friend. Enjoyed this post? Disruptive. We get it! I Be specific.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” To grow faster businesses need resources in today’s financial period to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), probably won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2013

Don’t start from how you want to sell. Start with a new understanding of the real customer need, their search process in finding you (referral, website, social media), and most desired payment model, like one-time payment versus subscription, or lease versus purchase. Include planned measurements and metrics. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 105

Startup Search Engine Optimization Summary Customer 105

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

You can also adjust start and finish dates on-the-fly to account for any delays — or even bring things forward! You can also adjust start and finish dates on-the-fly to account for any delays — or even bring things forward. Find out how Trello stacks up to the competition in our Best Project Management Software guide.

Software Review 152

Software Review Guide Technical Review Class 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kaufmann Foundation , the numbers are finally here to show it. The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Establishing your brand with interactive social media.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media News Tool 61

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. Every startup demands logical changes along the way. Postulate competitive reactions and your responses.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

With the latest advances in software technology, it’s no longer cost-prohibitive for business entrepreneurs, who can’t yet afford a human resources department, to take advantage of analytics tools. Almost any startup can start with Excel, and move to open-source data analysis tools, including Python or RStudio.

Tool 121

Tool Statistics Entrepreneur Metrics 121

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2015

Since we all have limited resources, and can’t add more hours to the day, the result is usually more things done poorly, rather than a few key things done better than anyone else. Good examples of startup focus before success include Google with their search engine, Facebook with friends networking, and Apple with personal computers.

Startup 109

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Usually these are described as revenue growth drivers, as outlined in a new book, “ The Revenue Accelerator: The 21 Boosters to Launch Your Startup ,” by Dr. Allan Colman. Allocate resources to handle bumps along the way. The smart ones were already working on new features, and able to counter competition quickly.

Marketing 133

Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2017

When you are starting a business with an exciting new idea, it’s easy to dismiss potential competitors as not being in the same space, or too fat, dumb, and happy to be concerned that you even exist. Have you lined up the stakeholders who drive success? What metrics should you use to measure success?

Metrics 58

Metrics Resource Startup Training 58

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. Startups which display real innovation, such as alternative energy sources and new medical treatments, are still rare. People are your best innovation resource. Failure is the best teacher. Ownership.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return. Here are eight key business tasks that relate to almost every startup, generally prioritized by criticality. Manage human resources.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. Waste in a startup is any activity that absorbs resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. In the startup world, this is often seen as a lack of focus. That’s a deadly waste you can’t afford.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Resource Training Product 115

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2012

You can’t succeed in your new startup if you can’t win customers, and the new Internet-empowered customers are tough. Bloom’s “ The New Experts ,” that today’s customers are armed with three lethal weapons – instant access to information about every potential purchase, immense choice, and real-time comparison of competitive prices.

Customer 93

Customer Custom Startup Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2016

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. Startups which display real innovation, such as alternative energy sources and new medical treatments, are still rare. People are your best innovation resource. Failure is the best teacher. Ownership.

Coach 64

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 64

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2017

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Sites 59

Sites Startup Technical Review Oracle 59