Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2020

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. Only rare great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have proven to be both. Detailed product specifications and prototypes.

Ideas 122

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup IBM 122

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. Each of these can go astray as follows: Your product or service hits unexpected snags.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Custom 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2023

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. Only rare great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have proven to be both. Detailed product specifications and prototypes.

Startup 155

Startup Ideas IBM IBM 155

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

In his classic book, “ The Leadership Capital Index ,” Dave Ulrich, a best-selling author, business consultant, and business school professor, provides some real insights and metrics on what makes up the elements of goodwill in the minds of top valuation experts. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact.

Technical Review 129

Technical Review Funding Organization Coach 129

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I challenge them to think beyond what I call linear extensions to a current trend, such as another “easier-to-use” app for smartphones, a new dating site for pets, or another niche social network. Why doesn’t this product or service already exist? Great social entrepreneurs are rare.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Examples 126

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. Like many product managers, my background is fairly eclectic. That's where I learned I enjoyed interacting with customers and working with development teams to build and launch products. Tell me a bit about your background.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

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. Plan to deliver a family of products, rather than a one-trick pony. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Custom 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

And there is so much money around being thrown at so many entrepreneurs that many firms don’t even care about board seats, governance rights or heaven forbid doing work with the company because that would eat into the VCs time needed to chase 5 more deals. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way. of the fund.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2021

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. Usually the real culprit is procrastination, lack of focus, or low productivity and lack of metrics. Wait and hope for a miracle.

Startup 164

Startup Class Entrepreneur Coach 164

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

In the aftermath of the recent pandemic, which caused many businesses to close, a new raft of business workers and entrepreneurs are deciding to pursue their own dreams of being a new business owner, and controlling your own destiny. The remainder use outside funding, including crowdfunding, friends and family, banks, and investors.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. Count on six months from beginning the funding process until a new check is cashed. The best entrepreneurs manage cash flow ruthlessly and never delegate decisions about spending money. Martin Zwilling

Search Engine Optimization 103

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 103

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. Of these 19 have received funding (10 have received significant amounts of VC funding) and 5 have been acquired (2 for more than $30 million).

Venture Capital 287

Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Jim Semick: I’ve been launching and managing software products for 15 years now, going back to when you and I worked together at Expertcity before it was acquired by Citrix. I have always worked on early stage products. Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

When pitching to investors, entrepreneurs always seem to start with a customer pitch, then add a slide or two about the business. Remember, investors are buying into the business, not the product. Investors are business experts, while the entrepreneur is more likely the product expert.

Product 103

Product Slides Custom Customer 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Almost every early-stage startup who has approached investors for funding has heard the innocuous sounding rejection “I love your idea, but come back when you have more traction.” Free and freemium products need a solid base. What does traction really mean to investors, and how much is enough? First of all, a definition.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Custom Customer 121

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Marketing is everything these days. Plan for a real revenue model.

Custom 109

Custom Customer Satisfaction Sales 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. Count on six months from beginning the funding process until a new check is cashed. The best entrepreneurs manage cashflow ruthlessly and never delegate decisions about spending money. You will make mistakes.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2018

Many experts will tell you that you can’t succeed as a part-time entrepreneur, as any good startup will require a 100 percent commitment of your time and energy. But not many of us have enough savings to live for a year or more without a salary, fund the startup, and still feed the family. Marty Zwilling.

Ideas 102

Ideas Entrepreneur Tips Startup 102

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

Trying to do everything is a sure way to maximize stress, lower job satisfaction, and minimize productivity. If you are a genius at invention, for example, then that is the role you should seek to keep you motivated and productive. We all need to play to our strengths, and team with others for complementary needs.

Activity 108

Activity Satisfaction Metrics Startup 108

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

VC funding. We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. You grow from 8 to 45 people over night.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

When you are starting a new business, every resource is precious, including time, funding, and people. It’s always tempting to think that more product variations will satisfy more customers and lead to new sales. Lack of attention to team and process productivity. Most challenges you have are not unique to your business.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

From my consulting with entrepreneurs in Europe and other countries, I’m convinced that we all could benefit from adapting to meet their environments. In other parts of the world, innovators often need to develop both the ultimate product or service, as well as the enabling infrastructure that underpins it. Marty Zwilling

Capital 138

Capital Marketing Ideas Venture Capital 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for that disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to Gallup. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales.

Search Engine Optimization 131

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2022

As companies grow, they tend to become more structured, to the point of discouraging risk by team members, and using metrics to identify mistakes and allocate bonuses. Jeff Bezos credits much of Amazon’s long-term ability to grow and thrive to his funding of new product experiments, even when he did not agree.

Startup 154

Startup Artificial Inteligence Metrics Netflix 154

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 20, 2023

Many experts will tell you that you can’t succeed as a part-time entrepreneur, as any good startup will require a 100 percent commitment of your time and energy. But not many of us have enough savings to live for a year or more without a salary, fund the startup, and still feed the family. Marty Zwilling

Startup 110

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Metrics 110

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

These things change so fast these days that the primary role of the entrepreneur as CEO is to be the Master of Realignment. Most entrepreneurs recognize the need to pivot on a regular basis, but many forget that pivoting usually requires a realignment effort to get all the players back in sync. Change out team members as required.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Marketing is everything these days. Plan for a real revenue model.

Sales 165

Sales Custom Customer Social Media 165

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2020

I’m sure you have all seen entrepreneurs and startups with great ideas that never seem to live up to their potential, while others with more mundane solutions seem to take off quickly and never slow down. Define success metrics, and measure progress regularly. Look for tools to automate and simplify strategy execution.

Startup 123

Startup Outsource Development Entrepreneur Outsource 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2016

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. Usually the real culprit is procrastination, lack of focus, or low productivity and lack of metrics. Wait and hope for a miracle.

Entrepreneur 59

Entrepreneur Startup Class Coach 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. Valuations here are always low, and funding generally depends on friends and family, or a few forward-thinking angels.

Marketing 174

Marketing Startup Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. Count on six months from beginning the funding process until a new check is cashed. The best entrepreneurs manage cash flow ruthlessly and never delegate decisions about spending money. Martin Zwilling.

Search Engine Optimization 124

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. A passionate entrepreneur I met a while back had found that a certain algae could be grown cheaply, and could end world hunger.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162