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. Make sure all new development is buffered, rather than stretch-oriented. The market changes faster than your startup.

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Startup Entrepreneur Marketing Satisfaction 105

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

Surviving as an entrepreneur requires unbridled passion, enthusiasm and a certain naiveté in the face of many unknowns. Of course, entrepreneurs of any age can be young at heart and equally fearless, and still able to use their greater experience as an advantage. They have no legacies to protect or past accomplishments to live up to.

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Entrepreneur Satisfaction Startup Social Media 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2015

As the number of sites on the Internet floats around one billion, the challenge with every new startup is to be found and stand out. In this age of relationships, you, the entrepreneur, are a very important element of your new brand, and it’s never too early to start marketing the value of your expertise, insights and ideas.

Blogging 110

Blogging Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

As a startup advisor, when I suggest cooperating with competitors, most entrepreneurs initially think I'm crazy or suggesting something illegal. And growth is the lifeblood of every startup. And growth is the lifeblood of every startup. Complementary advantages can expand both markets. Be visible and be proactive.

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Startup Customer Custom IBM 102

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Mega startup campuses, the latest trend in coworking, are spreading their wings in Europe. As the founding head of Campus London , Google’s first physical hub for startups and now home to over 80,000 registered members, I thought it would be interesting to share the latest developments in this space from my perspective.

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Startup Google Venture Capital Outsource Development 70

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

San Diego’s innovation clusters continued to grow in 2015, as local startups, funding deals, and job growth extended an economic growth spurt that began in 2013. The Connect Innovation Report found that 405 software, technology, and life sciences startups were created last year in San Diego County.

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San Diego Report High Tech Study 40

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California.

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Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2015

Many entrepreneurs still don’t understand that building a business culture today of doing good, like helping people (society) and planet (sustainability), is also a key to maximizing profit. Learn how to recognize, cultivate, and leverage the competencies of your current talent to develop your leadership team.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

After many years of working in and starting businesses, I’m convinced that implementing new business ideas is much more difficult than coming up with the ideas. Here are the key principles she espouses, extended to leadership teams, based on my own background and mentoring new entrepreneurs: Learn to trust yourself and your team.

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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. Make sure everyone accurately posts their role with your startup on social media profiles, resumes, and references.

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Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2015

Relationships are the key to survival and success for entrepreneurs, and first impressions usually turn into lasting impressions. As an advisor to many early-stage entrepreneurs, I caution them to always be prepared for that chance meeting with a famous investor, a potential partner or an industry guru.

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Entrepreneur Startup Content Platform 105

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

If you find problem-solving to be energizing, you could be the next great entrepreneur. Contrary to a popular myth, problem-solving is a talent that can be developed. To do it well requires a focus on several key activities and practices, including the following: Maintain a positive attitude, since startup problems are normal.

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Tech.Co

JULY 12, 2017

The BB-8 app-enabled Droid had such a global adoption among kids and adults that it was named the number one Star Wars toy of 2015. Other Disney startups such as Atom Ticket , a new movie ticketing app, partnered with the next Star Wars movie and will continue to work with Walt Disney Studios on major film releases. “And Epic Games.

Artificial Inteligence 108

Artificial Inteligence Startup Entertainment Press 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. The middle and above-middle class population of China will grow from 172 million in 2010 to 314 million by 2015. business entrepreneur glocalization localization startup'

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2015

Every entrepreneur I know can’t find enough hours in a day to do the good things they want, and yet they often find themselves saying yes to new requests. In addition to saying yes too often, some entrepreneurs under pressure say no poorly, by attacking the requestor or by avoiding any definitive response.

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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

FEBRUARY 19, 2016

Coming up with a new idea, and launching your startup is one thing, three entrepreneurs do this every second. This amounts to a huge 100 million new startups launching every year. 2016 looks set to be a sobering year for the growth of startups in the world in contrast with the highs of 2015.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

I challenge any entrepreneur, for example, to define the difference between "seed-stage" and "early-stage" financing. Most investors won’t touch a first-time entrepreneur at this stage. Crowdfunding is rapidly becoming the major source of funding for seed-stage startups. Startup incubator seed funding.

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding 104

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

A popular myth these days is that successful entrepreneurs must attract investors to get their businesses going, when the reality has been that more than 80 percent of new businesses are started and grown with no outside investment at all. You don’t want to risk your own money on development. The need to hire staff immediately.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Entrepreneurs often ask me why investors expect financial projections for a new startup even before the product is built and while the market is still being defined. I recently saw a startup projecting $50 million in revenue for the first year. You shouldn’t invest in an undefined business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kaufmann Foundation , the numbers are finally here to show it. The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. Each has met legal securities minimums for net worth and professionalism, to reduce the risk to entrepreneurs. Most share expertise as well as money.

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Angel Startup Venture Capital Seed Funding 106

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Selz, run by a team of around 50 in Sydney, Australia, bills itself as a one-stop-shop for small businesses to start selling products and services online. ” However, the platform shuttered in 2015, just five years after its launch. Selz currently has a user base of more than 125,000.

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News Acquisition Platform Sales 136

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Most of the technologists I know inherently believe that the terms inventor and entrepreneur mean the same thing, so they are frustrated and surprised when they build their products and no business evolves. The term entrepreneur has always been defined as a person who builds a new business, which may or may not involve inventing a product.

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Entrepreneur Pricing Customer Custom 106

InfoChachkie

JUNE 9, 2015

Good news: a quick review of TechCrunch’s March 2015 List of Top 20 U.S. Note: for purposes of this article, I am using the term “accelerator” to include incubators, startup labs and all other organizations geared to facilitating a startup’s early maturation. Convert Graduate-Founders Into Mentors.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

It’s a new age for aspiring entrepreneurs, where anyone with a dream or a hobby should be turning it into a business. Too many entrepreneurs still think plans are for investors, and investors are required to build a startup. You no longer need to travel to China or hire an expensive prototyping expert to mock up your new design.

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Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Outsource Development 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2015

One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. If you have a good idea, but haven’t started yet, only friends, family and fools will likely be interested. This is all about setting a credible current value on your startup -- not future value.

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Help Startup Equity Entrepreneur 104

StartUp Beat

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Grigori Mikayelyan was a failed and an aspiring entrepreneur; furnished with a new idea – and determined to make a success of it – he became a Lyft driver to conduct customer research with his passengers. I spoke to him over the phone about his unique approach to developing a company.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2015

But for startups with limited resources and experience, I always recommend a soft launch or toe-in-the-water approach in a local market -- and scale up later. 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.

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Startup Social Media Resource Training 63

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2015

If you're an aspiring entrepreneur, you need to take a hard look at yourself before leaving that regular paycheck. Don't assume you will be happier and make more money starting the business of your dreams. Many entrepreneurs fail because they seek out the wrong team. Building a business requires confidence in yourself.

Startup 108

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor News 108

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2012

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. The middle and above-middle class population of China will grow from 172 million in 2010 to 314 million in 2015. Not every international market matters, but some are larger than life.

Marketing 104

Marketing Startup Patents Offshore 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2011

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. The middle and above-middle class population of China will grow from 172 million in 2010 to 314 million in 2015. Not every international market matters, but some are larger than life.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Patents Offshore Startup 103

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.

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Product Mentor Startup Technical Review 99

TechCrunch LA

JULY 21, 2020

When Upfront Ventures partner Kara Nortman first met Natalie Portman a few years ago to talk about ways their non-profit organizations All Raise and Time’s Up could collaborate, she never realized they’d eventually be partners on a sports franchise. For Nortman, the story of Angel City begins with a lifetime love of sports.

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Writing Los Angeles Equity Startup 171

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 21, 2015

Pocket Sun didn’t want to be the only girl in the room at startup conferences. So she started a conference for girls. Hundreds of founders, speakers, mentors, and students flocked to the University of Southern California on March 28 th , 2015 to be inspired by female entrepreneurs. She didn’t stop there.

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Entrepreneur Southern California Conference Startup 40

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

For today's interview, we sat down and talked with Mike Whitmire , the CEO and Co-founder of Los Angeles-based FloQast (www.floqast.com), a developer of financial close management software for enterprise accounting. The company, which started in 2014, now has over 40 employees. We took it to the market in January of 2015.

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Startup Cornerstone OnDemand Software Review Woodland Hills 124

socalTECH

AUGUST 26, 2019

For this morning's interview with an entrepreneur, we spoke with Thomas Russell , the Ceo and co-founder of ETC Solar (www.etc-solar.com), a Los Angeles startup developing technology to improve the efficiency and cost of solar cells. What is the most difficult technical challenge for your startup? What does ETC Solar do?

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