Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

As an entrepreneur advisor, I am surprised at how often I hear the same or very similar proposals of an incremental innovation to an existing process, versus a really new or breakthrough solution. But we all know that these are not solutions by themselves, but require integration into an innovative framework to solve real customer problems.

Startup 134

Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

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

MAY 22, 2023

Most of the entrepreneurs and aggressive business owners I meet in my consulting practice are focused on finding new disruptive solutions and killing competitors as the key to success. As a mentor to many business professionals, I find many who are risk-averse or not confident in their own abilities to make forward-looking decisions.

Capital 142

Capital Netflix Resource Customer 142

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. Great entrepreneurs are not just idea people and then managers, they are extraordinary leaders. Have you addressed all sources of drag or friction on your snowball?

Coach 114

Coach Framework Entrepreneur Tool 114

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

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. For example, I often hear from aspiring entrepreneurs that “I had that idea first, and he stole it, and is now making money on my idea.” Build your character and reputation with personal values.

Capital 114

Capital Coach Satisfaction Ideas 114

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? I’m only 52!

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2018

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Funding 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2013

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. Great entrepreneurs are not just idea people and then managers, they are extraordinary leaders. Have you addressed all sources of drag or friction on your snowball?

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Coach Framework Tool 101

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 won’t even be considered without a business plan.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

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

SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for others, 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. Move to a higher platform.

Technical Review 99

Technical Review Marketing Mentor Entrepreneur 99

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2014

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Funding Equity 113

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?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

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?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

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. Great entrepreneurs are not just idea people and then managers, they are extraordinary leaders. Have you addressed all sources of drag or friction on your snowball?

Coach 96

Coach Framework Entrepreneur Tool 96

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

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Technology 86

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 86

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

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. The simple answer is that we all have to start thinking like entrepreneurs, rather than entitled employees. With one of these, the step into the gig economy will be much less painful.

Artificial Inteligence 96

Artificial Inteligence Startup Social Media Training 96

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. That's where I learned I enjoyed interacting with customers and working with development teams to build and launch products. We are creating a platform that enables users to play instant games and apps directly on the computer desktop.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

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. For example, I often hear from aspiring entrepreneurs that “I had that idea first, and he stole it, and is now making money on my idea.” Build your character and reputation with personal values.

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Startup 107

Startup Cloud Computing Social Media Entrepreneur 107

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

JANUARY 3, 2015

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. Great entrepreneurs are not just idea people and then managers, they are extraordinary leaders. Have you addressed all sources of drag or friction on your snowball?

Product 103

Product Coach Framework Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2017

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. Great entrepreneurs are not just idea people and then managers, they are extraordinary leaders. Have you addressed all sources of drag or friction on your snowball?

Coach 64

Coach Framework Entrepreneur Tool 64

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

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

Tech.Co

JULY 12, 2017

“The Disney Accelerator has provided The Walt Disney Company incredible opportunities to connect with and be inspired by many talented entrepreneurs from all over the world,” said Michael Abrams, Senior Vice President, Innovation, The Walt Disney Company. Meet the 11 startups for 2017: Ambidio.

Artificial Inteligence 108

Artificial Inteligence Startup Entertainment Press 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

I explain to her that, like the contestants on the show, we work with very early startup entrepreneurs to build the next great product. We invest time and money into helping them develop their ideas, and help develop those companies and the entrepreneurs as leaders. Make in LA is one hundred percent focused on hardware. percent equity.

Startup 100

Startup Incubator Invest Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2014

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Cloud Computing 99

Cloud Computing Social Media Entrepreneur Networking 99

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

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. For example, I often hear from aspiring entrepreneurs that “I had that idea first, and he stole it, and is now making money on my idea.” Build your character and reputation with personal values.

Coach 59

Coach Satisfaction Ideas Entrepreneur 59

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. And I had been telling my partners for a couple of years that I thought Ethan was one of the more talented entrepreneurs I had come across in San Francisco. MyTime aims to be the first industry-wide platform to help create consistency across the SKUs in services businesses.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

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. His checklists cover everything from building a vision, to consistently delivering results, for entrepreneurs up to mature business executives. I wish it was that easy.

Cloud Computing 61

Cloud Computing Startup Social Media Networking 61