Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2022

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. Platform as a Service (PaaS). Every entrepreneur needs to leverage social media for better marketing, requirements, and customer service. I wish it was that easy.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

For example, I often hear proposals for new online social media or collaboration platforms, maybe more specifically tuned to inventors or artists, or easier to use, and populated by experts, to compete against Slack or Facebook. Remember that your goal is to build a successful business, and customers are in control of making that happen.

Startup 134

Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Every entrepreneur and every business I meet in my consulting and mentoring role has great intentions of bringing real innovation to the market, yet I find that most ideas are merely small extensions to existing solutions. Both fail to look first at what customers really need, and are willing to pay for.

Startup 146

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas 146

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2020

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. It’s tempting to believe that one more new platform will win for crowd funding or video games, like Indiegogo and Wii. Actually, great new customer solutions lead to great platforms, not the other way around.

Startup 124

Startup Netflix Social Media Customer 124

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Even an extraordinary engineer or product lead who have built a breakthrough product aren’t guaranteed success unless they can get access to capital, get much needed press to drive low-cost customer acquisition and persuade fickle business leaders to join their company and help them shape their businesses beyond tech innovation.

Mentor 150

Mentor Venture Capital Marketing Product 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2022

In my experience as an advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs in business, one of the biggest failures I see is a lack of self-leadership. Both self-leadership and business leadership require a solid platform for decisions, based on moral and personal values. You can’t lead a business to success, if you can’t lead yourself.

Capital 114

Capital Coach Satisfaction Ideas 114

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

With the advent and popularity of crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , as a winning alternative for funding your new venture, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs are confused about the need to ever seek a professional angel investor. Crowdfunding is not the best platform here.

Funding 119

Funding Startup Platform Examples 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2021

As a mentor to aspiring business owners. The tougher question is whether you are also wise, in the sense of cultivating the right relationships, understanding team dynamics, and keeping to the correct side of the ethical line to maintain the trust of team members and customers alike. Be willing to adapt quickly as conditions change.

Patents 138

Patents Mentor Customer Custom 138

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested. And all the platform stuff. So What Does All This Mean?

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

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. It is not about leaders becoming coaches; it’s about leaders letting themselves be coached by others – advisors, team members, and even customers.

Coach 114

Coach Framework Entrepreneur Tool 114

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2021

The bad news is we have to think like a business, with all the implications of branding, finding customers, and competitors. She speaks from years of experience mentoring and facilitating independent contractors and helping large companies, since well before the term “gig economy” was even coined. Marty Zwilling.

Pricing 149

Pricing Mentor Entrepreneur News 149

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

The NSF determined eight to ten years ago that the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants they were funding to academic teams, to commercialize technology, they were losing, because not many academics had the background to understand how to go out and source customers, and did not know how to run a startup.

Marina Del Rey 150

Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Here are the key recommendations from both of us, based on my own business mentoring insights: Re-launch using your enhanced core competency. Move to a higher platform. A few are able to move to higher platform, like moving from a sole practitioner physician to create and run a much larger medical organization.

Technical Review 99

Technical Review Marketing Mentor Entrepreneur 99

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for customers that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. Here are the key recommendations from both of us, based on my own business mentoring insights: Re-launch using your enhanced core competency.

Technical Review 59

Technical Review Mentor Entrepreneur Customer 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” Negotiate an advance from a strategic partner or customer. Use online platforms like Gust to find them, and local networking to find ones that relate to your industry and passion.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2014

Here is a summary of recommendations from both of us, based on my own business mentoring insights: Re-launch using your enhanced core competency. Move to a higher platform. A few are able to move to higher platform, like moving from a sole practitioner physician to create and run a much larger medical organization.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Summary 105

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. Platform as a Service (PaaS). Every entrepreneur needs to leverage social media for better marketing, requirements, and customer service. I wish it was that easy.

Technology 86

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 86

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” Negotiate an advance from a strategic partner or customer. Use online platforms like Gust to find them, and local networking to find ones that relate to your industry and passion.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. Major platforms are available online to find Angel groups or VCs, including Gust and AngelList. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2015

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. It’s tempting to believe that one more new platform will win for crowd funding or video games, like Indiegogo and Wii. Actually, great new customer solutions lead to great platforms, not the other way around.

Startup 105

Startup Netflix Entrepreneur Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2019

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. It is not about leaders becoming coaches; it’s about leaders letting themselves be coached by others – advisors, team members, and even customers.

Coach 96

Coach Framework Entrepreneur Tool 96

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2017

I was mentoring some graduate students at a local university recently, and I sensed again that profit seems to be a dirty word these days to many aspiring entrepreneurs. I’m certainly not a fan of customer rip-offs, but even non-profits have to be cash-flow positive, or have deep pockets, to help anyone for long.

Pricing 66

Pricing Customer Custom Advertising 66

socalTECH

OCTOBER 26, 2015

We have about 350, nationally certified, trainers on the platform, all vetted internally by us, and by our mentor network. Jonathan Kohn: We've been out now in the LA market for four and a half months, we've done close to 1500 sessions in that time, very strong retention, and our average customer works out six times a month.

Training 100

Training Startup Orange County Malibu 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. And because I wanted Ethan to be able to attract a great team, build & iterate a product, test it with initial customers and refine his strategy before having to take the wrappers off of his company. The company was called Red Beacon. So there you have it.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 7, 2019

In my role as a mentor to many business professionals, I still see some who have no idea how to adapt to the new realities. You will find it pays big dividends, even in your personal life, to track and manage expenses with a simple business platform, like QuickBooks or Apptivo , for work and family.

Artificial Inteligence 96

Artificial Inteligence Startup Social Media Training 96

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

In my experience as an advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs in business, one of the biggest failures I see is a lack of self-leadership. Both self-leadership and business leadership require a solid platform for decisions, based on moral and personal values. You can’t lead a business to success, if you can’t lead yourself.

Coach 70

Coach Satisfaction Ideas Entrepreneur 70

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2015

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. Platform as a Service (PaaS). Every entrepreneur needs to leverage social media for better marketing, requirements, and customer service. I wish it was that easy.

Startup 107

Startup Cloud Computing Social Media Entrepreneur 107

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

As a member of the advisory board for several startups and a mentor to other entrepreneurs, I’ve accumulated my own list of strategies and recommendations on where “going the extra mile” can save you from disaster or supercharge your startup for maximum growth under any circumstances. Actively listen to mentor and customer feedback.

Startup 96

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Social Media 96

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2013

What''s the idea behind the incubator--which gives its startups $20,000 in capital, education, mentoring, working space, and more--and how is it tied to USC? We have a top 10 engineering school, a top computer science department, and research going on in everything from big data, mobile platforms, artificial intelligence, B2B, B2C.

Incubator 233

Incubator USC Startup Artificial Inteligence 233

socalTECH

AUGUST 12, 2014

to hear about how the program is both helping the studio tap into the energy and ideas of the startup community, as well as helping those startups find new customers in the media and entertainment business. These companies were each offering a product or platform that really addressed one of those areas. Are you going to do this again?

Startup 159

Startup Technology Hollywood Media 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2016

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. It’s tempting to believe that one more new platform will win for crowd funding or video games, like Indiegogo and Wii. Actually, great new customer solutions lead to great platforms, not the other way around.

Startup 59

Startup Netflix Entrepreneur Social Media 59

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

You can find a mentor, a coach, a project, or experience, to help you prepare for the role you are looking for. We got really serious after the success of that customer, who wanted to make this technology available for all of its employees across the globe. How is it your first customer was in Australia? READ MORE>>.

Help 100

Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

A Maker space is a place where people can work on projects but not businesses, and the majority of accelerators are focused more on software or software platforms, or a mixture of hardware and software. It's about figuring out your market, building a product that resonates with customers. Do you make an investment in those startups?

Startup 100

Startup Incubator Invest Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2017

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. Platform as a Service (PaaS). Every entrepreneur needs to leverage social media for better marketing, requirements, and customer service. I wish it was that easy.

Cloud Computing 61

Cloud Computing Startup Social Media Networking 61

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Bill Gates , for example, shared a common curiosity and mentoring relationship with Warren Buffet, although their business domains were quite different. Build connections with key customers and competitors. Connections across business domains are even better. Contribute time and skills to a non-business higher purpose.

IBM 87

IBM IBM Ideas Technical Review 87

Tech.Co

MARCH 1, 2018

The event is open to tech enthusiasts who want to join an event filled with some of the top leaders, investors and mentors from tech industry to network, find mentors and build their companies. DatavizVR is the world’s first big data analytics and visualization virtual and augmented reality platform. AdWallet (Albuquerque, NM).

Startup 79

Startup Mentor Platform Help 79