Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Startup 99

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2021

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Startup 173

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 173

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. The reality is that starting a business, as well is working an existing business, has always required perseverance.

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Startup Satisfaction Technical Review Ideas 121

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2022

In my role of business advisor to startups, I often recommend these to increase initial brand identity and market penetration. With the rate of market change today, and the advent of worldwide competitors, you need every strategy you can muster to keep up, and respond quickly to new threats. Show potential customers that you care.

Marketing 119

Marketing Social Media Mentor Conference 119

Tech.Co

JANUARY 10, 2018

If you’re needing some tips to jumpstart your strategy and attract female consumers, take this advice from these female startups founders. “Focusing on emotion is key when communicating with female customers. Most importantly, humor can get customers talking about your product or service. Connect With Your Customers.

Tips 71

Tips Customer Custom Dollar Shave Club 71

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2020

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. This fallacy, often called historical myopia, essentially involves extrapolating only from recent positive events, and ignoring the reality that markets saturate or evaporate. Extrapolating you as the target customer.

Startup 124

Startup Netflix Social Media Customer 124

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. Thus I often recommend that before you kick off your own business, you join another startup or existing business to see how things really work.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

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. It should end by asking for something, to start the relationship. Give and you will receive.

Entrepreneur 140

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2023

Almost every entrepreneur starts their journey by developing a solution, based on their idea of a new technology or required service. A real business requires leadership – thought leadership to attract customers and mind share, as well as people leadership around a team, partners, and investors. Manage the stepping up process.

Develop 110

Develop Development Startup Entrepreneur 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2021

As an angel investor in early-stage startups, I’ve long noticed my peers apparent bias toward the strength and character of the founding entrepreneurs, often overriding a strong solution to a painful problem with a big opportunity. Find and enjoy the company of one or more mentors. Virtuoso leaders know their life story.

Entrepreneur 165

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Invest 165

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2022

They don’t realize that it takes more to succeed in business or a career – it takes leadership skills to get people to follow you, including peers, a team, business partners, and customers. Start now in building a vision of your future self as a leader, rather than a follower. Luckily, you can learn needed leadership skills.

Startup 114

Startup Mentor Conference Networking 114

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I made every textbook mistake at my first startup, which is why I believe I was much more effective at my second one. The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. I worked with an entrepreneur who was to appear at a startup networking event where he was to talk about his company’s plans.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. Kara said “no” because she wanted to start her own company, which she did and I backed. In any job you either find leadership opportunities for your best people BEFORE they ask or other people start asking them to become leaders somewhere else.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2021

No matter how smart or experienced this person may otherwise be, things must change or they will kill your startup. Your brain has leveled all events and activities into a desert of sand dunes, where just getting from one to another is a struggle, and there is nothing new to see over the next hill. Ask a mentor for support.

Startup 129

Startup Mentor Satisfaction Writing 129

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. This fallacy, often called historical myopia, essentially involves extrapolating only from recent positive events, and ignoring the reality that markets saturate or evaporate. Extrapolating you as the target customer.

Entrepreneur 125

Entrepreneur Netflix Social Media Startup 125

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. She leveraged herself and even sold many of her possessions to get started. She started her business from a personal need.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2022

Too often they are also hesitant, inexperienced, and fearful of hiring people or finding a mentor to be the partner they need. Your business is not all about what is best for you, but what is best for your customers. Startup challenges become more depressing than energizing. You start playing the blame game.

Help 131

Help Startup Entrepreneur Mentor 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. Draw up a list of the best prospects, and put together your best story for follow-up. But don’t wait for them to contact you.

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Statistics Entrepreneur Funding Social Media 98

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 4, 2020

It’s with profound sadness we mourn the loss of a true visionary, author, mentor, thought-leader, investor, and friend, Tony Hsieh. Tony was also our neighbor for 8 years in downtown Las Vegas, where the company grew its homebase and hosted monthly events for locals and visitors from around the world, with Hsieh’s Downtown Project.

Commerce 206

Commerce Statistics Customer Custom 206

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2015

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. See my article a while back “ Entrepreneurs Learn Best From Business Networking ” on how and where to get started. It should end by asking for something, to start the relationship. Give and you will receive.

Startup 108

Startup Social Network Mentor Entrepreneur 108

Tech.Co

APRIL 24, 2018

But if you’re a startup founder, you too have the chance to find your own moment in the spotlight. Over the past decade, startups that have been part of the Startup of the Year programs have made new partnerships, grown into household names, and collectively raised billions of dollars in funding. Startup of the Year!

Startup 70

Startup Competition Google Capital 70

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2020

For example, if you as an entrepreneur come across as arrogant or too casual, many people you need to deal with in business, including investors, suppliers, and customers, will run the other way. Shares views and learns from a personal mentor. These can be honed over time, and can’t be easily faked. Everyone has a story.

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Mentor Metrics Customer 168

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 19, 2017

I got to experience this entrepreneurship focus firsthand helping out as facilitator at the first Startup Weekend with the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles earlier this year where 26 girls came together over a weekend to build companies. By the end of the Startup Weekend event, the judges were floored with the progress the girls had made.

Startup 74

Startup Activity Mentor Guide 74

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2015

If you are one of the many professionals still trapped between jobs by circumstances outside your control, or are about to dump the loser job you have now, you should be actively defining and starting your own business, in parallel with looking for that ideal job. Have startup efforts to highlight in job interviews.

Startup 101

Startup Social Network Activity Ideas 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2020

We all face pressure in our lives, but there’s nothing like that of an entrepreneur facing customer crises and the competitive challenges of a new business. Don’t believe the myth that all you have to do to get rich is bring up an ecommerce website, and the money rolls in while you sleep. Reframe from tension to humor in your approach.

Startup 134

Startup Entrepreneur Competition Press 134

InfoChachkie

MARCH 5, 2012

Expansion League Teams In The Startup World. In the past year, the number of startup accelerators and incubators across the US has grown faster than expansion league baseball. If you use the mentor-driven model that we pioneered at TechStars, you get entrepreneurs who are deeply connected with the broader entrepreneurial landscape.

Startup 270

Startup Incubator Doc Mentor 270

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 10, 2012

This weekend UCLA has put together 48hr Startup and TechZulu will be there to bring you all the final startup presentations live. UCLA 48hr Startup brings together people with technical, design or business background to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups. 7:30pm – Pitches Start.

UCLA 87

UCLA Startup Ideas Mentor 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2023

Many business owners and professionals I know claim they are too busy in their jobs and not interested in taking part in any networking events. For example, if you are an entrepreneur seeking investment or a cofounder, there is no substitute for networking at industry and startup conferences in your area.

Networking 104

Networking Mentor Conference Summary 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Startup 98

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 98

Tech.Co

MARCH 1, 2018

And while that cliché has been said about everything in the Lone Star state for years, it rings particularly true for the hottest startups showcasing their big innovations at SXSW Startup Night 2018 presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo. Beast Mode is taking on a new meaning in the startup world.

Startup 79

Startup Mentor Platform Help 79

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2015

By definition, every startup is predictably unpredictable, since new solutions have no proven track record, startups are usually building a new market, and the world around them is changing faster than ever. Prepare ahead of time to prevent or head them off quickly, before it is too late, as events unfold: Key people let you down.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Marketing Satisfaction 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2022

In my role as a mentor, I challenge every business leader to be more open-minded as they face the challenges of change and new competitors entering their space. Passion and optimism are great for starting a business, but you need to add realism to keep it growing and thriving. Analyze market events in the context of emerging trends.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Customer Custom Social Media 120

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 16, 2013

Today’s startup innovators come from about six hours south of Silicon Valley. Fun Fact: One of the most prominent figures from their firm, Mark Suster t, runs a blog startups follow religiously. By bringing startup companies together with modern facilities and tools, Amplify LA is the engine that powers the cutting edge.

Startup 111

Startup Snapchat Venice Social Media 111

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

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

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

amSTATZ is an online community that brings fitness professionals, athletes and fitness events together into one place. Founded in the summer of 2011 and their first product out a few weeks ago amSTATS wants to help users to follow fitness events and programs near them and find a great fitness trainer to help them stay fit.

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2015

Too often they are also hesitant, inexperienced, and fearful of hiring people or a mentor to be the partner they need. Your business is not all about what is best for you, but what is best for your customers. Startup challenges become more depressing than energizing. You start playing the blame game. Seek help or get out.

Startup 106

Startup Entrepreneur Help Mentor 106