Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Unfortunately, many of the business professionals I meet these days in my mentoring and consulting activities feel perennially stressed and out of control, versus calm and satisfied with their position. Make every effort to have your mind be totally present for each challenge from a team member or customer.

Demand 103

Demand Activity Email Mentor 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

If you aren’t yet adapting to the market and your customers, you are falling behind. I define business agility for my consulting clients as the ability to change your business rapidly to meet customer and environmental changes, with minimal organizational disruption and cost. Demand and reward speedy analysis and execution.

Competition 148

Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2020

It goes without saying that if you find yourself in a really negative headspace PLEASE reach out to any trusted mentor, friend or family member. In the words of my friend and a CEO with whom I work, “Yeah, I know I need to make some cuts because our demand has changed, but I want to do this with a scalpel and not with an axe.”

Demand 215

Demand Guide Customer Custom 215

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2023

Both authors are recipients of numerous academic and management awards for leadership thinking, and I will summarize here their key strategy insights, combined with my own experiences: Lead with a focus on finding customer value. Aim high to build a better world for customers. Don’t confuse the means with the ends.

Capital 142

Capital Netflix Resource Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. You now need more than loyalty from your customers -- they need to be your best advocates. The days of pushing new and marginal performers into customer service are gone. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility. People-centric leaders drive ownership and engagement down to their customer-facing team members.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

Every one of you business leaders I know struggles with the competing demands of finding and keeping employees motivated and satisfied, versus building and enforcing a set of repeatable processes that work. Leaders who focus on team communication are also more successful in dealing with partners and customers.

Satisfaction 154

Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

While these investors, and early customers, will always argue that they found you, I’m convinced that there is no substitute for aggressive networking on your part. Ability to relate aspirations to customer needs. You need to show insights to real customers and their needs, that get beyond your passions and projections.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2022

Thus, over the years of my mentoring and consulting efforts with entrepreneurs, I have a key list of practices that I recommend to everyone starting and growing a business. You may think it’s great that demand exceeds your supply chain, but customers only remember it as a loss of your credibility, and will tell others.

Startup 134

Startup Training Tool Demand 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

You need a faster and more flexible on-demand hiring strategy, based on the current gig-economy of remote freelancers, contract personnel, and specialists. Freelancers and consultants have to demonstrate results, without training and mentoring, so they can help you more quickly and probably at a lower total cost.

Competition 168

Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2020

As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Don’t demand or expect immediate gratification.

Startup 171

Startup Entrepreneur Activity Ideas 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2014

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. There is more and more evidence that a more human-centered or heart-centered leadership yields the best results with your team and with customers in the long run.

Demand 92

Demand Entrepreneur Startup Training 92

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. The next phase of evolution will demand device independence, enabling an uninterrupted computing experience as we move from device to device throughout our daily lives.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Mauri offers some practical, actionable advice for entrepreneurs who want to develop a leader’s mindset, on how to spread the right message to potential customers, as well as investors. Take a hard look at SpaceX or HyperLoop.

Entrepreneur 118

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network SpaceX 118

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

In other words, how do you recognize the challenges that really need your leadership , versus the less critical demands that seem to always bubble to the top? Customer feedback in the form of online reviews and poor customer service is often rationalized as unreasonable expectations or one or two crazy individuals.

Coach 120

Coach Satisfaction Customer Custom 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2020

In my experience as a business mentor, one of the biggest challenges I see is a failure to focus. In addition to personal focus, I find that the best entrepreneurs build and demand a culture of focus and excellence in their team, their investors, and even their advisors. Demonstrate real knowledge of your market and competitors.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Startup Patents Resource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

These haven’t changed much over the years, but still seem to be often overlooked by business professionals and leaders in their haste to keep up with peers, competitors, and customers in today’s volatile environment. Timely follow-up on customer and team member requests. Loners need not apply. Find what works for you.

Startup 121

Startup Satisfaction Technical Review Ideas 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2023

As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Don’t demand or expect immediate gratification.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 70

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2023

In my experience as a mentor, I find that keeping creative thinking in the balance is a challenge for every startup, due to the natural employee tendency to resist change. Sales people tend to remember the latest product when selling to clients, not the one best for that customer. Not always to good effect. Failure to learn.

Marketing 119

Marketing Metrics Demand Statistics 119

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. Look for validation from your mainstream customers. Even non-profits need income to run a business.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. Direct customer-facing non-technical roles should be the last ones outsourced.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

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.

Pricing 149

Pricing Mentor Entrepreneur News 149

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. There is more and more evidence that a more human-centered or heart-centered leadership yields the best results with your team and with customers in the long run.

Training 142

Training Coach Startup Entrepreneur 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2022

Every business owner I know wishes that all team members were leaders, to proactively tackle the challenges of growth , interact effectively with customers on their needs, and eventually step into your role. Notice people who always take a customer perspective. It’s no secret today that customers are more demanding than ever.

Customer 110

Customer Custom Coach Organization 110

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). It’s time to scale up and I need money to keep up with demand.” Angel investors probably will know your business, and want to be mentors along the way.

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

Passion is great, but it must be backed by data, confirming a real problem and customers willing and able to pay for your solution. Too many business people let the daily challenges cause them to revert to emotional and autocratic demands, failure to communicate, and inability to coach and mentor team members.

Startup 143

Startup Competition Coach Satisfaction 143

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2021

You can learn to be an entrepreneur by working in a startup, talking to peers, and mentoring. In reality, every startup brings new unknowns, new people, new competitors, and new customers. Markets, customers, and competitors evolve, and you must continually update the business to stay ahead.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Satisfaction 171

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2023

These leaders not only recognize team members who have high potential, but they willingly and selflessly customize their coaching to what these special protégés really need. They mentor protégés on talent spotting, creativity, and motivation as well as strategy. Good connections and team building are the keys to success.

Oracle 94

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2022

I’m convinced that the reason for the high rate of startup failures , with well over half not lasting five years, is not that the solutions are not innovative, but that the entrepreneur focuses on the product, rather than the business of attracting and managing customers. No one else can do the solution delivery like you can.

Satisfaction 92

Satisfaction Training Customer Custom 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Yet I find in my mentoring practice that more and more team members prefer the human-centered approach and respond with more engagement and commitment. Start by getting people comfortable with what they don’t know, showing them you are open to new ideas, and don’t demand perfection in all deliverables.

Case Study 112

Case Study Study Startup Examples 112

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2020

In my experience as a mentor, I find that keeping creative thinking in the balance is a challenge for every startup, due to the natural employee tendency to resist change. Sales people tend to remember the latest product when selling to clients, not the one best for that customer. Not always to good effect. Failure to learn.

Metrics 157

Metrics Demand Statistics Sales 157

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 13, 2020

Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Mauri offers some practical, actionable advice for entrepreneurs who want to develop a leader’s mindset, on how to spread the right message to potential customers, as well as investors. Take a hard look at SpaceX or HyperLoop.

Entrepreneur 143

Entrepreneur Social Network SpaceX Ideas 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124