Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2020

One of the characteristics that every good investor looks for in an aspiring entrepreneur is resilience , or the ability to learn from and bounce back after a failure. With startups, almost every entrepreneur I know has failed at least once, often several times, but never gave up, and ultimately achieved their goal.

Startup 173

Startup Mentor Activity Entrepreneur 173

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2020

As a new business advisor, I hear facts all the time about how hard an entrepreneur is working, but often have a hard time getting them to quantify results. Even you as the entrepreneur, who may not be getting paid at all, are tricked into thinking that if you had more hours, you could get better results.

Metrics 124

Metrics Entrepreneur Satisfaction Study 124

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. For example, I believe Bill Gates would have failed without his partners Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2013

Entrepreneurs are now measured against the “triple bottom line” (TBL or 3BL) of people, planet, and profit. How does any entrepreneur define the right balance, and then measure their performance against real metrics? Starting and running any business is hard work, so the last thing you need is “success” with no satisfaction.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Startup Examples Satisfaction 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2019

Entrepreneurs are now measured against the “triple bottom line” (TBL or 3BL) of people, planet, and profit. How does any entrepreneur define the right balance, and then measure their performance against real metrics? Starting and running any business is hard work, so the last thing you need is “success” with no satisfaction.

Startup 93

Startup Entrepreneur Capital Examples 93

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. They present a convincing story that every entrepreneur has the same potential, but most get sidetracked and bogged down by their technology, competitors, and internal organization.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Customer Custom 123

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Greathouse: Your collective experiences have clearly made bootstrapping a viable option for you, more so than might be the case for a typical, younger entrepreneur who needs more direction, doesn’t have cash discipline, etc. Semick: We’re a very metrics driven company, and we have been from the beginning.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2014

Entrepreneurs are now measured against the “triple bottom line” (TBL or 3BL) of people, planet, and profit. How does any entrepreneur define the right balance, and then measure their performance against real metrics? Starting and running any business is hard work, so the last thing you need is “success” with no satisfaction.

Startup 104

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Satisfaction 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2017

Entrepreneurs are now measured against the “triple bottom line” (TBL or 3BL) of people, planet, and profit. How does any entrepreneur define the right balance, and then measure their performance against real metrics? Starting and running any business is hard work, so the last thing you need is “success” with no satisfaction.

Tips 55

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Examples 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2018

Thus creating the right company culture must be a top priority of every entrepreneur and business leader. It’s easy to see how cultures go astray, for example, when you pay only for sales volume, but expect a high focus on customer satisfaction. Establish metrics on the culture, as well as the product.

Metrics 57

Metrics Startup Netflix Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2019

For example, Howard Schultz was not the founder of Starbucks, but started his career in one of their first 60 shops. Quantify your results in terms of cost per transaction, higher customer satisfaction, lower prices, and profit per employee, rather than number of transactions or hours worked.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Startup Satisfaction Customer 75

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2013

Maybe it’s just another example of nature abhorring a vacuum, but I prefer to think it’s a natural evolution of the pervasive social networking communities, where people relate to and expect to interact with businesses and products they like. Values start and emanate from you, the founding entrepreneur. Input = output. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 100

Startup Customer Custom Social Network 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

Maybe it’s just another example of nature abhorring a vacuum, but I prefer to think it’s a natural evolution of the pervasive social networking communities where people relate to, and expect to interact with businesses and products they like. Values start and emanate from you, the founding entrepreneur. Input = output.

Startup 101

Startup Tips Education Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2017

Many business executives and entrepreneurs I know are convinced that business success is all about having the right solution for the right price. Takers can never get satisfaction, and they antagonize those around them. Some things need to be done whether we like them or not; for example, daily cash-flow analysis and business metrics.

Software Review 57

Software Review Technical Review Startup Press 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2012

Maybe it’s just another example of nature abhorring a vacuum, but I prefer to think it’s a natural evolution of the pervasive social networking communities, where people relate to and expect to interact with businesses and products they like. Values start and emanate from you, the founding entrepreneur. Input = output.

Startup 100

Startup Customer Custom Social Network 100

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 10, 2011

The venue was lined with vibrant and inviting decor, a spacious loft style presentation room, and plenty of mini-workstations for the motivated and social entrepreneur; a great setting for the presentation at hand. Metrics-Guided. The casual but informative evening started off with a buzz, with plenty of smiling faces and greetings.

Startup 86

Startup Santa Monica Los Angeles Custom Development 86

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Maybe it’s just another example of nature abhorring a vacuum, but I prefer to think it’s a natural evolution of the pervasive social networking communities, where people relate to and expect to interact with businesses and products they like. Values start and emanate from you, the founding entrepreneur. Input = output.

Startup 92

Startup Customer Custom Social Network 92

Steve Reich

JUNE 11, 2012

The good news is you can do it, too, and there are great examples in Socal. MBO is very metrics driven, and their shareholder reports are dense with detailed, disciplined reporting that remind you that Rick is former Naval officer. Why do so many of us have iPhones? It gives the best customer experience of any phone.

Customer 97

Customer Custom Software Review SaaS 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Based on my experience advising new entrepreneurs as well as more mature businesses, I recommend the following strategies for building business momentum, while still optimizing the limited resources of every small business: Find more customers that like what you do best. Your long-term success and satisfaction depends on it.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

One of the attributes that I often recommend to the business professionals and entrepreneurs I mentor is to always be totally accountable for your actions and ideas. Setting your own metrics, and measuring yourself , will facilitate accountability. Lack of accountability can permeate an entire organization.

Activity 109

Activity Organization Mentor Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2022

After many extended coaching sessions with entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’ve found myself wondering if my value-add was anything more than you could get by self-coaching. For example, you may find out that being your own boss is a driving force in your life. Envision and focus on getting to that destination.

Coach 105

Coach Help Satisfaction Metrics 105