Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” You have to enjoy working with people -- partners, customers, investors and more -- as well as products to start a business. Yet startup founders are often lonely, since no one else can make their decisions.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2021

In fact, as a mentor to entrepreneurs and an investor, I recommend that entrepreneurs avoid using the term disruptive with investors, since many see it as implying extra high risk, a long time for payback, and extensive marketing to build the new market. Look for sizable customer populations unattractive to incumbents.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Entrepreneur Marketing Custom 157

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. Every entrepreneur needs to leverage social media for better marketing, requirements, and customer service. I wish it was that easy. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Boomer investors are much more likely to get in the game with a high focus on mentoring and give-back, as well as the financial return potential. Manage customer service. Software and hardware development architects and designers. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur Report 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

There is nothing more inspiring than seeing the results of your mentoring and leadership. Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. Maybe it’s that first customer testimonial, or that first congratulations from someone you respect, or seeing your story in the newspaper. Bask in the success as it happens.

Startup 160

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 160

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2021

Once you are able to achieve some real “traction” with your business (paying customers, revenue stream), it may seem the time to relax a bit, but in fact this is the point where many founders start to flounder. The key is to make decisions from data and feedback, once your business has real customers and real products.

Entrepreneur 169

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Mentor 169

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

In my own business career, many years as a business advisor, and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I have validated the following strategies to practice and guide you. A broken process or a subtle quality issue can generate a flood of customer satisfaction problems, cost overruns, and loss of market share.

Satisfaction 152

Satisfaction Mentor Study Startup 152

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

LaunchpadLA, which is among a number of startup accelerators which have emerged over the past few years and turned Los Angeles into one of the hottest startup markets in the nation, offers up $100,000 in an investment, free office space for four months, and access to mentors. READ MORE>>.

Class 168

Class Startup Web Design Mentor 168

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Business owners get their satisfaction from happy customers and happy stakeholders. Startup and development stage.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

The author’s focus is the world of architecture and design, but I’m convinced that the principles and strategy outlined are equally important to every new business or entrepreneurial effort: Instill pride. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing.

Marketing 130

Marketing Develop Development Startup 130

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked for the magic that has made Amazon the world's most valuable brand , from a total unknown only twenty years ago. My simple answer is that they keep their focus on customers, rather than technology. Jeff Bezos has kept his focus on customers.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Custom Customer 123

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Funding is depleted before customer sales ramp up. The world today never stands still.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Custom 131

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

But we all know that these are not solutions by themselves, but require integration into an innovative framework to solve real customer problems. Here are some keys to that mindset that I have seen working for successful entrepreneurs: Think customer-centric rather than technology-centric. Be forever curious and optimistic.

Startup 134

Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Creativity and innovation are applied to increasing output and lowering costs rather than solution design and building a viable business model. Growing the company means growing people through mentoring and training. In addition the best of both groups maintain a focus on customers, love to learn new things, and are always thinking.

Startup 137

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 137

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2019

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” You have to enjoy working with people -- partners, customers, investors and more -- as well as products to start a business. Yet startup founders are often lonely, since no one else can make their decisions.

Entrepreneur 135

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 135

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2020

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I often feel the frustration of someone trying to build a startup in the wrong place and time, and wrongly attributing their struggle to personal limitations. You need partners, mentors, and investors who can complement your own resources to make it a win-win for all involved.

Resource 131

Resource Startup Capital Mentor 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2020

Others pivoted quickly based on customer need changes, rather than just spending more money on advertising and charging ahead. As a mentor to business owners, I still see many praying for the day when things stabilize, their processes are working, and they can relax and enjoy business growth.

Startup 124

Startup Custom Customer Statistics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that many of you have your most creative ideas for your company’s first big bang , but often get bogged down with details as the company grows. By dedicating at least one percent of sales to environmental groups, he locked in engagement from both employees and customers.

Company 148

Company Companies Ideas Mentor 148

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. In addition, creating a business requires leading and interacting with other people, including partners, investors, and customers. You must also learn from your customers. Yes, there are a lot of bridges to cross.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Business owners get their satisfaction from happy customers and happy stakeholders. Startup and development stage.

Ideas 127

Ideas Entrepreneur Satisfaction Summary 127

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2013

All true entrepreneurs operate off a set of tenets that are built into their psyche, or drilled into them from training and mentors. In a book a while back by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie from the Columbia Business School, “ Designing for Growth ,” the authors encourage managers to think more like designers. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Design Ideas Competition 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

Boomer investors are much more likely to get in the game with a high focus on mentoring and give-back, as well as the financial return potential. Manage customer service. Software and hardware development architects and designers. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

Startup 124

Startup Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2019

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. As a business advisor and investor in new startups, I see how difficult it is to make any process work, no matter how well designed, if the team is dysfunctional.

Coach 94

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

By contrast, Edison persevered and designed a working light bulb after thousands of failures. Don’t be hesitant to use coaches, mentors, and other resources to test and improve your image by others, and your perceptions of business realities and biases. He went on to start many successful companies, including General Electric.

Startup 122

Startup Satisfaction Summary Coach 122

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2012

All true entrepreneurs operate off a set of tenets that are built into their psyche, or drilled into them from training and mentors. In a book a while back by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie from the Columbia Business School, “ Designing for Growth ,” the authors encourage managers to think more like designers.

Startup 94

Startup Design Entrepreneur Ideas 94

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2010

In billing we literally started thinking about all of the types of bills that would be generated for customers: full payment, partial payment, split payment, senior discount, student discount, level pay plan, etc. The wisest mentor I ever had was Ameet Shah , my partner on several projects. I started by doing billing systems.

Entrepreneur 372

Entrepreneur Startup Design Framework 372

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2017

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” You have to enjoy working with people -- partners, customers, investors and more -- as well as products to start a business. Yet startup founders are often lonely, since no one else can make their decisions.

Mentor 90

Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas Writing 90

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Customer Development. This class is designed to help entrepreneurs understand where they are going wrong.”. There is a mentor program that accompanies the class. What you will get at NEXT: You will be taught the what, how, and why of the customer development process. The Flipped Classroom Approach.

Class 98

Class Mentor Startup UCLA 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2011

All true entrepreneurs operate off a set of tenets that are built into their psyche, or drilled into them from training and mentors. In a recent book by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie from the Columbia Business School, “ Designing for Growth ,” the authors encourage managers to think more like designers. Let others validate.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Design Ideas Competition 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2019

Image via Pixabay Everyone has heard about the big potential for using artificial intelligence (AI) to expand your business, but many of the small businesses I mentor are still wary of embracing it, because they don’t understand how it works, and fear losing control and unintended consequences. Human employees and customers still need roles.

Artificial Inteligence 97

Artificial Inteligence Help Examples Custom 97

socalTECH

JULY 17, 2013

Essentially, we focus on customers who view flowers as living art, and want amazing flowers in their space, either corporate customer in a work environment, or consumers in their home. He''s been a great mentor to me, and the company, as we''ve thought about how to build the company and think about expansion plans.

Legalzoom 165

Legalzoom Los Angeles Startup Commerce 165

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

Given likely market changes, how will we design and build so that the systems can respond to marketplace changes? What other kinds of capabilities such as graphic design, user interaction, product manager, QA will we need? I believe you will find lots of CTOs quite willing to help you as a mentor. What options do we have?

CTO Coach 231

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Develop 231

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. Every entrepreneur needs to leverage social media for better marketing, requirements, and customer service. I wish it was that easy. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

Technology 86

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 86

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

Yet if that leaves you with no documented business plan or unclear strategy, most investors and even customers will walk away. I’m a total believer in servant leadership and mentoring others, but nobody wins when you are in charge as an entrepreneur, and the business fails because you didn’t do your job.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2020

Creativity and innovation are applied to increasing output and lowering costs rather than solution design and building a viable business model. Growing the company means growing people through mentoring and training. In addition the best of both groups maintain a focus on customers, love to learn new things, and are always thinking.

Startup 125

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 125

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. As a business advisor and investor in new startups, I see how difficult it is to make any process work, no matter how well designed, if the team is dysfunctional.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2017

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I often get asked for next sure-fire idea. They will also amplify your inspiration to your customers, and keep it growing in your own mind. These people need to cover the gamut from partners, marketers, suppliers, to customers. Create a great customer experience, not just a product.

Ideas 54

Ideas Study Entrepreneur Custom 54