Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. See my article from way back “ Entrepreneurs Learn Best From Business Networking ” on how and where to get started. Nominate someone as your mentor.

Entrepreneur 140

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2021

As an entrepreneur mentor, my mission is to foster the attributes in you as a startup founder that I believe will lead to success. For example, I worked with an entrepreneur a while back who was clearly intelligent, had a great idea, and communicated well. Your organization, process, and team are in harmony.

Entrepreneur 136

Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Mentor 136

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

It really is possible for an introvert to succeed as an entrepreneur, even though you can’t expect to start and build a business alone. You need to build business relationships with partners, team members, investors, and of course customers. Asking someone to be your mentor is not a sign of weakness, and most mentors love to help.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2020

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Nothing is more discouraging to aspiring entrepreneurs than the high failure rate. Or maybe it’s time to scale back and focus more on organic growth.

Entrepreneur 121

Entrepreneur Startup Statistics Course 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2013

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Most entrepreneurs have lots of ideas.

Mentor 101

Mentor Coach Startup Entrepreneur 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2020

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Effective team leadership, or leadership inside the box, is really only half the challenge that every entrepreneur faces. Square pegs.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Resource Startup Guide 126

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2022

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. True entrepreneurs love the tactical and problem solving challenges.

Startup 137

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 137

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. Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

If an entrepreneur doesn’t find themselves in over their head at least 20% of the time, they are probably not pushing the limits, not taking enough risk, and probably not working on an idea that’s worth doing. Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs I know are terrible at finding and accepting help. You start playing the blame game.

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Startup Help Mentor 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2012

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Most entrepreneurs have lots of ideas.

Mentor 95

Mentor Coach Startup Ideas 95

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. On the other end of the spectrum, entrepreneurs are quick to propose one more feature that they can do easily.

Startup 146

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas 146

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

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2023

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Nothing is more discouraging to aspiring entrepreneurs than the high failure rate. Or maybe it’s time to scale back and focus more on organic growth.

Startup 135

Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Course 135

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Customer 121

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2021

Entrepreneurs often have formidable technical expertise, key to developing a new product or service, but a great naïveté in management skills. It’s here that entrepreneurs must shift their thinking from tactical and operational, to strategic and managerial. Organize your work before you begin. Delegate effectively and often.

Startup 171

Startup Organization Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2022

If an entrepreneur doesn’t find themselves in over their head at least 20% of the time, they are probably not pushing the limits, not taking enough risk, and probably not working on an idea that’s worth doing. Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs I know are terrible at finding and accepting help. You start playing the blame game.

Help 131

Help Startup Entrepreneur Mentor 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2023

Every entrepreneur and business executive I know wants to emulate that boss, but most can’t even describe the attributes required. In my opinion, great examples in today’s entrepreneur world include Elon Musk (Tesla), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and Richard Branson (Virgin Group). Adapt the job or organization to fit the talent.

Oracle 94

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2015

If an entrepreneur can’t build a culture of excitement and commitment at a startup, the chances of long-term success are negligible. As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked what you can do to build the right culture. Customize your organizational structure based on individuals' strengths.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2014

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 is a summary of recommendations from both of us, based on my own business mentoring insights: Re-launch using your enhanced core competency.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Summary 105

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. Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2011

Mentors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you don’t need the mentor anymore. In that sense, you should think of a mentor more like your advisor who has done all he can. Also don’t confuse a business mentor with a business coach. Most entrepreneurs have lots of ideas.

Mentor 98

Mentor Coach Ideas Entrepreneur 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

Thus, in my mentoring of potential technical entrepreneurs who have a real passion for their technology, I often recommend that they find a co-founder who can manage the marketing and execution elements of the new venture. Balance of passion with reality and customer feedback. Pay attention to all.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2022

Today more than ever, the evidence is clear that business people need to find and communicate a purpose that goes beyond making a profit, in order to ensure customer engagement, as well as your own, and drive results in the marketplace. As you grow, so will your team and customers. Driven to reduce personal hardship and suffering.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Coach Mentor Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. 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.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Whether you are a business professional in a big company, or an entrepreneur with a startup, innovation is a key strategy. Many people believe that new ideas are the critical element of innovation, but in my experience as a mentor and investor, long-term business success is more about implementation than ideas.

Artificial Inteligence 114

Artificial Inteligence Ideas Satisfaction Customer 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2023

Every business organization, large or small, has a variety of individual and team member types that factor into your ability to innovate and change the business to meet evolving customer needs and competition. Coach: force for stability and mentoring. Intrapreneur: visionary within corporate boundaries.

Coach 96

Coach Ideas Mentor Organization 96

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 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. Bigger organizations should invest in the new “big data” tools. Working on the wrong problem or assumption.

Tool 121

Tool Statistics Entrepreneur Metrics 121

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

Based on my years of experience mentoring and advising entrepreneurs, you need to attack problems and challenges with a mindset of success, or it is unlikely that you or your business will survive. Every good entrepreneur I know has pivoted at least once. Suppress you own emotions and feelings. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 147

Entrepreneur Help Mentor Customer 147

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. I once met with an entrepreneur who had developed a new algae strain to cure world hunger and make him rich.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

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

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. Every good entrepreneur I know has a “ proactive mindset.”

Competition 148

Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2015

Most entrepreneurs I know want to do the right thing for their businesses, as well as themselves, but they are not always sure what that means. Does it mean the right thing from a customer perspective, societal impact, maximizing business returns or personal benefit? Personally collect and accept customer and employee feedback.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Training Demand Customer 102

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

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. I assert that designers have a lot in common with entrepreneurs, since both must innovate and start a deep understanding of what their customer really wants (“customer-centered”).

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Design Ideas Competition 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2020

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. True entrepreneurs love the tactical and problem solving challenges.

Startup 125

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 125