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

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. Competition. Investors look for a sustainable competitive advantage, like a patent. Decide whether the product is local or international.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

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

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

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

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 product is truly disruptive technology.” Our patent will protect us.”

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

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

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

The practical uses for uBeam technology is limitless. If electricity could be transferred like WiFi but as safe as a soundwave we use on pregnant women’s bellies and at a price-point that was attractive this is a multi-billion market. Did anybody hold patents that would prevent us from using this technology?

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology." " Investors want to buy into an entrepreneur with a startup that can provide evidence of an ability to double customer productivity, at half the cost, with patented technology.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

Sponsor some friendly competitive events with prizes. Elon Musk and Tesla made their battery patents available to anyone, to clear the path for market infrastructure growth and compatibility, which of course benefits Tesla. Let your highly motivated customers be your best marketing advocates for new customers.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2012

If you are an entrepreneur starting a business for the first time, I recommend that you find a product concept that is already accepted and improve on it, rather than tackling that ultimate disruptive technology. Of course, the first one gets the patent. Evidence of success using this approach is all around us.

Patents 84

Patents Startup Statistics Course 84

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2016

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 103

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 103

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Thanks to all of our sponsors, who make our coverage of Southern California's technology industry possible: Sponsors. Backing Southern California's next great technology companies. Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Technology.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2011

If you are an entrepreneur starting a business for the first time, I recommend that you find a product concept that is already accepted and improve on it, rather than tackling that ultimate disruptive technology. Of course, the first one gets the patent. Evidence of success using this approach is all around us.

Startup 91

Startup Patents Statistics Course 91

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2014

A number of teams have recently been looking to turn that vision into reality, as a result of the Qualcomm Tricorder Prize , a $10M competition being run by the X Prize Foundation to create a real life Tricorder. That''s essentially how the Tricoder competition was formed--it''s time for this to happen. It was announced in the 90''s.

Startup 262

Startup Competition Software Review UCLA 262

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2009

For starters, let's talk about your technology. Our technology we have just introduced, is the first and only single chip, single die BiCMOS front end in the world. How much of an advantage does your chipset offer over existing technology, and how does it compare over existing levels of integration? Ghz wireless market.

Patents 100

Patents Sample Technical Review Pricing 100

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Just because your technology is exciting and potentially disruptive doesn’t mean you are ready to build a business. This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. Every new offering has competition and alternatives, so it’s not credible to claim no competitors.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2013

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

Startup 105

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 105

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. This means know your competitors, technologies, and alternatives available. Create superior customer value. Own the “voice of the customer”.

Customer 90

Customer Custom Services Startup 90

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

For example, “Compared to product x, my solution will get the job done in half the time, and at half the price.” Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. You won’t get any credibility for refusing to admit that airplanes are competition for trains.

Startup 100

Startup Competition Patents Training 100

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2015

Our VP of Technology was at Boom Music, which Launch.com acquired and later became part of Yahoo. There is already lots of competition in the streaming music area, what do you think you can add to that area? FM radio has been around for decades, and hasn''t seen any significant changes in technology.

Yahoo 100

Yahoo Social Media Content Media 100

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

What we specialize in, is the way we deliver this content in a seamless way, in high quality, with the latest technology available. Inside that solution, we have technologies like artificial intelligence, data analytics ,and security for streaming machines, and so forth. By doing that, we are a turnkey business-in-a box.

Content 113

Content Startup Mobile Platform 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

As a technology buff, I’m all too sensitive to the common investor complaint that technical people often end up selling yet another “solution looking for a problem,” because they are so impressed with their technology. Business model showing costs, pricing, and margins. Solo entrepreneurs have a hard time finding an investor.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. There was even talk of some phone companies using the patented system for serving communities of guests, not just from a single hotel. Technology advances cannot be stopped. In this case, the competition was not from a company but from a new technology.

Competition 156

Competition Research Summary Pricing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

For example, “Compared to product x, my solution will get the job done in half the time, and at half the price.” Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. You won’t get any credibility for refusing to admit that airplanes are competition for trains.

Startup 102

Startup Competition Patents Training 102

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. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2012

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

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2013

Competitive risk. Even in an open space, you need intellectual property, like patents, to keep potential competitors from overrunning you. The selection of an inappropriate pricing, marketing, or distribution strategy is a large potential risk. Technology risk. Market entry strategy risk.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Social Network 104

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks.

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2012

Competitive risk. Even in an open space, you need intellectual property, like patents, to keep potential competitors from overrunning you. The selection of an inappropriate pricing, marketing, or distribution strategy is a large potential risk. Technology risk. Market entry strategy risk.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Examples Social Network Marketing 108

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2009

In the recent surge in interest in the clean technology and energy investment area, we're constantly surprised by the number of startups in the area focused on some aspect of the industry. Let's start on the technology side--can you tell us about the technology, and its origins? We refer to them as plastic solar panels.

UCLA 159

UCLA Technical Review El Monte Startup 159

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2010

For example, “Compared to product x, my solution will get the job done in half the time, and at half the price.” Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. You won’t get any credibility for refusing to admit that airplanes are competition for trains.

Startup 89

Startup Competition Patents Entrepreneur 89