Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2016

I’m a practical guy, so I recognize that expecting the real world to be fair is a dream that every entrepreneur needs to put aside as they reach the age of majority. As an example, I am intrigued with the innovation and technology associated with flying drones of all configurations. Technology can change faster than laws.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup Training 57

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I believe that the sooner every entrepreneur and brand builder adapts to this emerging trend, the sooner they will find success.

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Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 173

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Are there any technology innovations, gadgets, devices, software, that you found most interesting in 2018? www.science-inc.com).

Dollar Shave Club 113

Dollar Shave Club Tsavo Userplane Malibu 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

As an angel investor, I’ve learned to believe in this approach, since I have seen great ideas go astray, due to poor execution and I have seen apparently marginal ideas make millions, managed by a savvy entrepreneur. Even social entrepreneurs need milestones, quantifiable results, and revenue to sustain their value.

Ideas 53

Ideas Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 53

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

View the Slideshow A little more than a year ago, amid a resurgence in San Diego’s software sector, Xconomy identified a baker’s dozen of local tech companies to watch in 2016. Tim Rueth, a UC San Diego entrepreneur in residence and member of the EvoNexus selection committee, also screened the list, and offered his perspective.

San Diego 40

San Diego Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2017

With the Identity Theft Resource Center® reporting a 40 percent increase in data breaches in 2016, there seems to be a growing population out there worried about all the people intent on hurting them. My plea to entrepreneurs is to recognize these concerns as an opportunity, to make people’s life better, rather than stoke the fires.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup Symantec 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Investors talk to each other and they love warm introductions to up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Successful entrepreneurs understand the difference between a good business relationship with more people and having more friends. In the world of entrepreneurs and startups, professional relationships are critical. Many entrepreneurs will admit that they get almost all of their business through relationships.

Entrepreneur 66

Entrepreneur Social Network Technical Review Social Media 66

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2018

According to the 2017 Kauffman Startup Activity Index , the share of new entrepreneurs who started businesses to pursue opportunity rather than from necessity reached 86 percent, more than 12 percentage points higher than in 2009 at the height of the Great Recession. Thus a record number of entrepreneurs (and team members) are getting rich.

Entrepreneur 66

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Satisfaction 66

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

Investors have also learned not to invest in ideas but only in entrepreneurs and teams who can deliver solutions. As a result, Google has become a verb, and the company is a tech giant with record growth rates and a revenue of $74.5 Targets are benchmarked against competitors, customer reviews and industry expert expectations.

Ideas 59

Ideas Technical Review Google Startup 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2016

The reality is that entrepreneurs usually don’t have the money or time for executive recruiters to do the filtering and selection for them. Next comes the more arduous process of reviewing every applicant, looking for key attributes including the following. Get it reviewed and approved by peers, including salary and perks.

Technical Review 56

Technical Review Coach Training Screening 56

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2017

For the first time, in a long time, traffic deaths and crashes are rising, due to drunk and drugged driving. How did the company and its technology come about? Marcus Filipovich: I joined as Chief Executive Officer in January of 2016, however, our founders are really the pioneers in the area of using eye signs for drug enforcement.

Pasadena Angels 100

Pasadena Angels Pasadena Technical Review Southern California 100

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

Anne Fulton: Fuel50 is a career pathing startup, part of the HR technology landscape. We're a disruptor, the third wave in human resources technology. Anne Fulton: I've always been a technology lover, although I'm an organizational psychologist by training. I can't help myself in being an entrepreneur. What is Fuel50?

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Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2016

In addition to funding, the good news is that all of these provide aspiring entrepreneurs with an opportunity to perfect their marketing pitch, get some valuable target customer feedback and improve visibility to other funding sources. While all this is definitely a boon to entrepreneurs, it does come with its own set of challenges.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Platform Entrepreneur Funding 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

I still generally advise software startups to file a patent as a barrier to entry from competitors and to increase their valuation by investors, but every entrepreneur needs to understand the tradeoffs. That’s more than a lifetime in today’s technology. Patent offices can’t keep up with software technology.

Patents 53

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2017

Starting back in 2015 and throughout much of 2016 people started commenting that my blog had become a lot more political. My blog has always been a mixture of what was on my mind and a blend of venture, startup life, tech views and current society events that related to my interests: Venture, startup & tech.

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Startup Blogging Technical Review Writing 197

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

And here’s an important point that I think modern entrepreneurs often forget: Investors are “co-owners” of your business. Reviewing financial & operational performance. There are just as many bad entrepreneurs who do bad things. Offering a sparring-partner function on strategic decisions. Mentorship.

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Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

As an active angel investor myself, I understand how the process works, and I see the disappointment in the eyes of entrepreneurs who approach angel groups for funding and often get turned away for not being timely or prepared in the minds of potential investors. A business needs technical, marketing, financial and many other skills.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2016

Many entrepreneurs assume that everyone will love their solution as much as they do, so they tune their marketing focus based on their own needs and wants. Update your technology to reach new customer segments. They are looking for online reviews and social-media recommendations from their friends.

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Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 55

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Others, like Guy Kawasaki , have irreverently called some of these “entrepreneur lies,” but I prefer to think of them as innocent enhancements or omissions that can kill your deal. Terms “paradigm shift” or “disruptive technology” used more than once. Entrepreneurs in this category are usually dreamers.

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Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Much has changed in the past four months of the technology startup world and how outsiders value the business. As we noted in our survey of more than 150 VCs we know in the industry, many saw drops in Q4 valuations last year with nearly all of them projecting decreases in 2016. This prudence is smart and welcomed.

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Startup Pricing Venture Capital Statistics 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2016

Things change so fast these days in business that your first priority as an entrepreneur is to stay current, by talking to customers, peers, and experts. Now it’s all about how fast you recognize and adapt to market change, new competitors, and new technology. Smart entrepreneurs restrain their ego and don’t react defensively to input.

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Social Media Metrics Startup Technical Review 67

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Startup 64

Startup Slides Technical Review Research 64

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

According to many observers , we can thank or blame technology for these higher expectations, providing information at the speed of light, leading everyone to expect more. The bar is being raised, so every entrepreneur needs new initiatives just to stay in the ballgame. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2016

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Funding 57

Funding Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 57

Xconomy

AUGUST 12, 2016

government’s Precision Medicine Initiative is an ambitious effort to collect the genomic data of 1 million Americans, and tech giant Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG ) is deeply involved. That story and the rest of the week’s biotech headlines below. —The U.S. —David H.

Google 40

Google Technical Review News Research 40

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

The good news is that everyone expects entrepreneurs to make mistakes, since founders explore uncharted territory. It’s tempting to tell everyone about all the future potential uses of your new technology and risk confusing them, having them wait for your future or disappoint them with several poor solutions.

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Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2016

Customers today extrapolate their relationships not only from personal contact, but from every aspect of their interface with your company, including web site and social media interactions, access to peer reviews, as well as the actual services experience. Infusing technology within the customer experience.

Services 54

Services Social Media Technical Review Media 54

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. In our industry we applaud the efforts for entrepreneurs to have tried and we know that today’s failure can bring the experience for tomorrow’s success. But that’s harder to build in 2016 than it was in say 2005. No, thanks.

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