Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

In fact, an entrepreneur friend of mine, who made millions on her marketing expertise, asserted recently that most inventors fail in business because they refuse to believe that any business expertise or experience is worth more than 5 percent in partner equity. The ultimate risk is trying to sell a solution that customers don’t need or want.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

A few years ago, before the Internet was pervasive, before everyone carried a smartphone and before do-it-yourself software tools were available for free, it was difficult to reach a critical mass of new customers without spending a million dollars on a website, custom software and television advertising. Both are wrong.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Outsource Development 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2015

Every new baby gets a name before it is introduced to the world, and yet some entrepreneurs continue to send me business plans with TBD (to be determined) in place of a business name on the front page. Your business name will have the same impact on potential customers. Tricky spellings send customers to competitors.

Social Media 103

Social Media Customer Custom Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

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. So what should an entrepreneur do to convince themselves, as well as potential investors, that they have a viable business model before it is totally proven?

Startup 107

Startup Sales Customer Custom 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2015

Treat a startup as a customer, not a client. A client relationship suggests that the consultant is in charge, whereas the customer designation recognizes the more modern model of the customer in control. It also highlights all aspects of required customer service, satisfaction, loyalty and referrals to peers.

Services 100

Services Startup Software Review Social Media 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2015

In fact, for startups, it usually makes sense to announce your solution on social media and blogs even before you have built the first one. Let me summarize the advantages of this to your startup: Immediate real customer feedback. Time to train and prepare staff to deal with customers. Maximum agility for required pivots.

Startup 63

Startup Social Media Resource Training 63

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2014

Bryce Maddock: TaskUs is the best provider in the world of customer care and back office services for emerging growth companies. Customer care, obviously, is emails, phone calls, and customer service back office services. The two of us really wanted to be entrepreneurs. What''s the story behind the company?

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Startup Technology Outsource Santa Monica 231

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2015

Customers and opportunities don’t wait. Some of you may remember MySpace , which came early to social media, but lost the lead to Facebook by evolving too slowly, many analysts say. People on the team need to see progress, investors relish growth and customers love brands that appear to be on the forefront of a wave.

Startup 103

Startup Social Media Customer Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. 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.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media News Tool 61

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2016

Most first-time entrepreneurs seem to believe the myth that they need a minimum of a half a million dollars to start a business. Managing employees and contracts is difficult and expensive, and new entrepreneurs aren’t very good at it anyway. Entrepreneurs who start without a plan spend more money.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media Entrepreneur Equity 61

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2015

Most new entrepreneurs assume that great investors will find their startups based on the compelling solution the founders have created. Thus it behooves every entrepreneur to optimize their investment strategies early, based on time and dollar costs, as well as odds of success. There are just too many scams.

Startup 101

Startup Keiretsu Entrepreneur Invest 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2016

Crowdfunding is the hot new vehicle for raising money to support your entrepreneurial efforts, with over 1,250 website platforms around the world to help you, according to a 2015 industry report. While all this is definitely a boon to entrepreneurs, it does come with its own set of challenges. Keep all IP details close to the vest.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Platform Entrepreneur Funding 58

Tech.Co

JULY 31, 2017

Yet as an entrepreneur, you can rarely hide under the rock and pretend there’s nothing else happening around you and no one is demanding your attention. While back in 2011, a cell phone user received or made 12 phone calls a day on average, the number has dropped to just 6 calls in 2015.

Snapchat 66

Snapchat Product Email Social Media 66

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2012

Marketers see it as a better way to target customers, but the current consumer offerings have been slow to deliver. But entrepreneurs need to look more broadly into the B2B space for more lucrative opportunities. Segments mentioned include product tracking, navigation, safety, security, local business search, and payments.

Services 82

Services Competition Mobile Entertainment 82

Eric Greenspan

JANUARY 24, 2016

Like Ice Cube and Dr. Dre use rap lyrics, Seth and I use social media instead. I was cool with this and we agreed that I would handle the site build out, site management, all customer facing responsibilities, all sales, marketing and operational aspects of the business except for our accounting of course. I did the rest.

Content 100

Content Blogging Burbank Course 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2015

It’s all about getting customers to make a buy decision. Customers are more in control of their buying decisions than ever before, with the wealth of alternatives and information available online, and interactive access to sources they trust via social media. Get the view from the customer early by talking to real people.

Customer 65

Customer Custom Sales Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs look for that one magic bullet -- an exciting new technology, perhaps, or their own determination to make the world a better place -- to override any shortcomings in their startup model. A near-term customer value proposition. In all cases, you need customer support, formal processes and training in place.

Pricing 100

Pricing Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2015

Image via Flickr by Side Wages Some entrepreneurs forget that they need an innovative business model along with an innovative solution to have a successful startup. In fact, both customers and investors often avoid the perceived high risk of innovative technology pitches. Inventors alone, or business gurus alone, generally fail.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Startup Social Media Competition 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

How many times have you heard or suspected that a certain entrepreneur was just lucky? Without fully discounting that random good things sometimes happen, I’m a firm believer that great entrepreneurs make their own luck. In the heat of a thousand daily crises, it’s too easy for an entrepreneur to delegate expense management.

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Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Social Media 96

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 26, 2016

In 2015 an additional 237 thousand joined the online community. Top media giants Facebook and Alphabet are determined to grow this number with the introduction of various airborne devices designed to bring internet to the far corners of the globe to boost their revenues. The global online audience currently stands at some 3.2

Commerce 40

Commerce Mobile Technical Review Google 40