Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

One of the most stressful and unanticipated challenges that comes with starting a new business is hiring and managing employees. I just finished a new book for entrepreneurs, “ Secrets to a Successful Startup ,” by Trevor Blake, which makes the same points, based on his own real-life experience with three successful startups.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

If you want to make a great first impression on a startup investor or an advisor like me, don’t try to convince me or show me how busy you are. For some reason, too many aspiring entrepreneurs I know seem to focus on “actions” rather than “results.” As an entrepreneur starting a new business, you have a lot to learn.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2021

Career survival today requires thinking and acting like an entrepreneur starting a business, staying nimble and resilient, willing to pivot, and supersensitive to the market realities of supply and demand. Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn, helped me crystallize these similarities with his classic book “ The Start-up of You.”

Startup 143

Startup Entrepreneur Demand Competition 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. In a traditional meeting, another person presents you with multiple options, and you make the decision. Start by open listening.

Mentor 101

Mentor High Tech Coach Guide 101

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. When you begin to peel back the onion some surprising data presents itself. Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. High-performing startups today are the ones that use every resource at their disposal. I recommend three or five members to start (an uneven number prevents tie votes).

Startup 145

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 145

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2013

MuckerLab , the Los Angeles startup accelerator headed by Erik Rannala, is presenting its newest startup class today in a Demo Day. MuckerLab's prior class included such hot Los Angeles startups as SurfAir, Retention Science, Wallaby, and InstaCanvas. READ MORE>>.

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Class Startup Incubator Los Angeles 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 1, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs and business owners, and seeing their workload and challenges, it would be easy for me to conclude that starting a business is a big hit to health and happiness. The right reason to start a business is not the money, challenge, or the prestige, but the chance to follow your dream.

Entrepreneur 137

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Mentor Writing 137

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

My biggest takeaway this year was truly understanding the strength and cohesion of the Los Angeles startup community. There was no monetary reward for those who participated (and Startup Boost does not take fees or equity from the companies that we help). What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Startup Coach 157

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Are you an entrepreneur hoping to startup a company in the Los Angeles area? Southern California apparently has no shortage of investors, entrepreneurs, and others eager to help budding entrepreneurs. Howard Marks: We're a startup accelerator, which will help entrepreneurs become successful in 90 days.

CTO Coach 194

CTO Coach Startup Mentor Activision 194

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2010

For the first 5 years of my career I was a “bottom up&# thinker and worker. It was difficult to make the transition to a “top down&# thinker but as a senior executive – and as an entrepreneur – you’re far less effective without this skill in your arsenal. I started by doing billing systems.

Entrepreneur 372

Entrepreneur Startup Design Framework 372

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

We caught up with Ryan (who calls himself an "anti-VC") to hear more about his investment firm, which has invested in such companies as Heal , Elite Daily , Saucey , and FragMob. Tell us a bit of the story on how you started HashtagOne? We want to have startups we can get productive or generating revenue pretty quickly.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

Most entrepreneurs believe they are leaders, even though the feedback I get from their team and partners may indicate otherwise. Even as you stop, look, and listen to messages in the present, you also need to spend considerable time reading, thinking, and talking about the long-term view. Show appreciation for individual excellence.

Startup 133

Startup Activity Mentor Writing 133

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 7, 2013

The good news for entrepreneurs is that there have never been more office space options for early stage companies. If you use the mentor-driven model that we pioneered at TechStars, you get entrepreneurs who are deeply connected with the broader entrepreneurial landscape. Many Sizes, Many Fits.

Incubator 238

Incubator Startup News Entrepreneur 238

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2012

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. In a traditional meeting, another person presents you with multiple options, and you make the decision. Start by open listening.

Mentor 91

Mentor Product High Tech Coach 91

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 30, 2011

TechZulu is excited to invite you to the 2012 Startup and Entrepreneurial Forecast taking place on Tuesday Jan. We have a line up of amazing speakers who will share their insights and forecast for startup trends in 2012. Mike is actively involved with early-stage start-ups as an investor, advisor and board member.

Tech Coast Angels 105

Tech Coast Angels Startup Angel Southern California 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. 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 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur. 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.

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Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2012

TechStars has several excellent mentors on staff, led by founder and CEO David Cohen. By way of a definition, a business or startup incubator is a company, university, or other organization which provides resources to nurture young companies, helping them to survive and grow during the startup period when they are most vulnerable.

Entrepreneur 86

Entrepreneur Incubator Startup Seed Funding 86

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2012

I recently read Brad Feld’s thought provoking piece encouraging founders to sit on the board of another startup company. I found it thought provoking because I’ve always believed startup founders need extreme focus on only their company to succeed. We have Ian Rogers , the CEO of Topspin Media on our board.

Startup 294

Startup Carson Summary Press 294

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2015

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. High-performing startups today are the ones that use every resource at their disposal. I recommend three or five members to start (an uneven number prevents tie votes).

Startup 103

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 103

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

JULY 15, 2015

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. There is no crowd of successful entrepreneurs. Successful startups are all about the right people with the right stuff.

Startup 104

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Slides 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

These days, with the many Internet articles and new courses available, most new entrepreneurs readily cross the gap from lack of business knowledge to knowing, but many never make it over the knowing versus doing gap. Start with a low-risk approach of discussion of your action plan in a one-on-one discussion with a trusted advisor.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2010

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. In a traditional meeting, another person presents you with multiple options, and you make the decision. Management by walking around” in a good start.

Mentor 88

Mentor High Tech Coach Guide 88

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

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

APRIL 27, 2015

If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your own work done, as well as run the many one-hour meetings each team member seems to demand for decisions and mentoring. For one-on-one coaching from the startup founder, I call this approach five-minute mentoring.

Product 99

Product Mentor Startup Technical Review 99

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 25, 2012

On August 9th, Startup Weekend San Diego and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University partnered with Google to host the very first Startup Weekend focused on helping Veterans, Service Members and Military Families turn their visions into reality in creating a startup company.

San Diego 96

San Diego Startup Services Google 96

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

Just because you are an entrepreneur, or work in a startup, you can’t ignore the rules of building and maintaining relationships. From my experience and hers, here are ten top relationship strategies, as practiced by Richard Branson and other well-known startup leaders: Create a favorable first impression. Jan Yager, Ph.D.,

Startup 127

Startup Social Network Mentor Networking 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2022

I find this to be a tough challenge for many entrepreneurs, especially those of you who have long focused on technology as the key to the business opportunity. As a mentor to many early business leaders, I always emphasize that need to switch from a product focus to a team focus. Not showing up or consistently late to meetings.

Coach 95

Coach Activity Mentor Startup 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2016

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. High-performing startups today are the ones that use every resource at their disposal. I recommend three or five members to start (an uneven number prevents tie votes).

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Startup Mentor Writing 58

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Just because you are an entrepreneur, or work in a startup, you can’t ignore the rules of building and maintaining relationships. From my experience and hers, here are ten top relationship strategies for people in startups: Create a favorable first impression. Jan Yager, Ph.D., Jan Yager, Ph.D., Avoid associating with them.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 104

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2011

One of the biggest complaints you hear from both entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles, is the lack of a credible, visible startup accelerator in the Los Angeles area. We caught up with Erik to hear more about MuckerLab, and its efforts to grow the Los Angeles technology ecosystem. Erik, thanks for the time.

Technical Advisors 176

Technical Advisors Startup Southern California Los Angeles 176

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Just because you are an entrepreneur, or work in a startup, you can’t ignore the rules of building and maintaining relationships. From my experience and hers, here are ten top relationship strategies, as practiced by Richard Branson and other well-known startup leaders: Create a favorable first impression. Jan Yager, Ph.D.,

Startup 102

Startup Social Network Entrepreneur Mentor 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2023

As a business consultant and mentor to many young entrepreneurs, I often get questions about leadership challenges , and what you can do to solidify your leadership position and impact. Today’s world demands that you lead up, down, and across, to get your constituents to follow. They want a role in every leadership decision.

Demand 112

Demand Guide Startup Mentor 112