Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2017

In my role as an advisor to startups, I often have to remind entrepreneurs to think more like sales people from day one, in finding a real problem to solve and designing the solution. A good entrepreneur actually gets stronger as he or she learns from each growth failure, and responds ever more effectively to customer needs and expectations.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Processes without people leaders will still be chaos.

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Xconomy

DECEMBER 26, 2017

There was a new controversy seemingly every week, whether it was Uber’s myriad scandals ; more personal data breaches ; Russia’s use of social media and other online platforms to try and influence U.S. Xconomy recently reached out to business and technology leaders from around our network to put 2017 in perspective and look ahead.

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TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

“We want to inspire, but we also want to be realistic and show beauty in real life,” Glossier founder and CEO Emily Weiss said in a 2017 interview with Inc, just as the brand had reached what Weiss herself described as “cult status.” It’s more of a mockery,” said Isa Watson , founder and CEO of social media app Squad.

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Xconomy

DECEMBER 26, 2017

A series of highly publicized events this year—from the Equifax and Uber data breaches to foreign use of social media and Web services to influence the U.S. Here’s an edited transcript of our exchange: Xconomy: Do you think 2017 was a turning point in public. Read more » Reprints | Share:

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2013

This data comes from sensors, social media posts, digital pictures and videos, purchase transactions, everywhere. Social media and web data. Social media postings and e-Commerce transactions are just a couple of the sources of external data that are of great interest to many companies. Let me hear from you.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Jordan Glazier: Wildfire has developed a platform for monetizing social messaging. When you look at social messaging, and talk about social messaging, we're talking about social media, text messaging, email, and chat applications. The majority of our time is now spent online.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2019

When someone says Intellectual Property (IP), most entrepreneurs think only of patents. Social media accounts. Immediately go to relevant social media sites and grab the same name, even if you never plan to use the accounts. You need all these before you start looking for funding.

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Tech.Co

JUNE 14, 2024

Some equity-focused organizations are trying to level the playing field, however, by offering female entrepreneurs cash injections to launch or grow their venture. We round up the best business grants for female entrepreneurs taking applications in 2024, so you can spend less time trawling the internet and more time focusing on your business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2017

Thus one of my key messages to entrepreneurs, as a business advisor and angel investor, is “focus.” For example, it’s all too common for a technology entrepreneur to highlight a new battery technology as the ultimate power for smartphones, medical heart pacemakers, and home lighting.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2017

It works best through effective use of social media, mobile apps, societal initiatives, becoming an influencer, and providing a modern easily-found web site with credible customer-focused content. Participate in the top social media sites for maximum impact. Don’t just monitor – engage customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

In addition, like an entrepreneur with a new business, you have to factor in all the indirect costs previously covered by employers, including training, health care, and time off for vacations. In fact, thinking like an entrepreneur is a good strategy today for success, even if you are currently in a long-term employment situation.

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Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

On your birthday, something special happens on social media: you receive hundreds of likes and well wishes from friends, family, high school classmates and people you haven’t talked to for years on Facebook. Download Doppels for iOS and Android is coming Summer 2017. Say Goodbye To The Wish List. At 26, not so much.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2017

When someone says Intellectual Property (IP), most entrepreneurs think only of patents. Social media accounts. Immediately go to relevant social media sites and grab the same name, even if you never plan to use the accounts. You need all these before you start looking for funding.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2017

Here are some key ones that I recommend, based on my experience in business, and my many years as an advisor to entrepreneurs: Choose a name that works across the Internet and the world. All marketing costs money, including viral marketing, search engine optimization, click-through, and social media support.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2017

A good social cause doesn’t always imply a viable business. With interactive social media and blogging, you have every opportunity to test and tune your idea before spending any real money. Formalize a company entity, website, and social media presence. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 04/13/2017.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2017

More recently, most people think of Mark Zuckerberg as the creator of social media, but few remember his earlier efforts at creating video games, a music player, and Facemash, the last being his idea of a great dating app. The best entrepreneurs know they don’t have all the answers, and today’s answers may be wrong tomorrow.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2017

People follow influencers on social media to find what they buy, who they vote for, and which social causes they support. They flocked to businesses like Apple, when influencer Steve Jobs was at the helm, and anxiously await the next moves from visible entrepreneurs, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). The “product” value is difficult to quantify, the costs are nebulous, and entrepreneurs have to clone themselves to scale the business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2017

He talks in detail about ten of the key challenges that Facebook faced in their growth, to move from a tiny social media upstart to one of the most successful companies in the world. Marty Zwilling First published on Huffington Post on 04/12/2017. Now Facebook’s market cap is nearly 500 times that number.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2017

Mark Zuckerberg was not the first to build a social media platform, so he had to find investors who believed in him. She speaks from years of experience coaching entrepreneurs and executives on the magic of a story. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 08/04/2017.

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InfoChachkie

AUGUST 8, 2016

I thought it would be interesting to understand the challenges and concerns of entrepreneurs who began selling online for the first time in 2016, so I sat down with Heidi Muther, COO at Z S upply , LLC. Founded in 2011, Z Supply, LLC has created five women’s fashion brands with a sixth brand and extension into Men’s, launching Spring 2017.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often have to deal with people who are convinced that they must get me to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before they begin talks about their new venture. Some entrepreneurs avoid the patent process, since patent details become public once a patent is issued.

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Xconomy

JANUARY 7, 2019

Looking back over the past two years, it seems that public perceptions of tech companies have shifted, compared with the eager acceptance that often prevailed as innovations from these businesses transformed social interactions, transportation, and other aspects of life.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2017

As an advisor to startups and entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that all new businesses must start with a great idea. I believe the best entrepreneurs start by finding a large opportunity, and only then use good ideas to capitalize on that opportunity. I just finished a new book, “ The Entrepreneur’s Playbook ,” by Leonard C.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2017

In my role as a mentor to entrepreneurs and an angel investor, I find that too many are stuck in this myth that a good pitch, and good marketing content, should consist of more product features, and more hype on customer benefits. Marty Zwilling First published on Huffington Post on 11/25/2017.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2017

A good entrepreneur is not necessarily born a good salesman. Julie is known as the entrepreneur’s selling mentor, for both men and women. In my view, every entrepreneur has to be a great salesman to succeed (among the many other required skills), so you should take a hard look at these points: Dust off your moxie.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

The advent of social media and real-time interactive feedback via the Internet allows every customer to build and expect a relationship with your business, rather than just touchpoints. Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist. Marty Zwilling Published by Xerox Small Business Solutions on 07/31/2017.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2017

In the entrepreneur world, most of the energy I see is focused on the current opportunity bubbles, now including anything mobile, the new sharing economy (Uber, Airbnb), or yet another social media app (Snapchat, WhatsApp). I do believe we are entering a new era of opportunity for entrepreneurs.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

Most budding entrepreneurs don’t realize that nine out of ten startups fail within 24 months. One resource that’s worth your time is a new book, “ The Ultimate Start-Up Guide ,” by a couple of entrepreneurs and marketing experts who have been there, Tom Hogan and Carol Broadbent. Find co-founders to complement your expertise.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2017

I found this perspective validated in a new book, “ Plan Commit Win: 90 Days to Creating a Fundable Startup ,” by serial entrepreneur and strategic consultant Patrick Henry. The result is a win-win-win situation for investors, entrepreneurs, and customers alike. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 05/22/2017.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2017

In this age of interactive social media, your culture image quickly spreads to customers, and determines their loyalty. Everyone knows and admires the leaders , including Google and Zappos, but most entrepreneurs have only a fuzzy idea of what to do to get there. So, how do you build trust? Demonstrate honesty and vulnerability.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2017

With real-time online reviews and feedback via the Internet, and instant relationships via social media, a voice from the top that is inconsistent with what is heard from the firing line defines a dysfunctional and noncompetitive company for today’s customer. Marty Zwilling First published on Huffington Post on 02/12/2017.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2017

With the advent of the Internet, social media, and instant communication via texting, customer expectations for service, as part of their entire customer experience, have changed. As well as phone support, customers expect you to accept mobile messaging, and provide quick responses via social media and multiple Internet websites.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2017

It's a line from an old movie "Field of Dreams" which is still leading to the demise of too many startups, led by entrepreneurs who really started their business to build an exciting new product or service. Use social media in concert with a web site and offline media. “If you build it, they will come.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2017

Each time I mentor an entrepreneur, I learn new things about their technology, customers, and business domain. Shared social media is the new networking. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 05/02/2017. A mentor/mentee relationship must be a win-win and learning experience for both.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2017

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve heard and seen hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs, and the majority of founders are convinced that if you will just give them an hour or more time, you will love their business. Highly saturated domains (more than 10 existing players), such as niche social media sites, are highly risky.

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