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. Potential investors don’t need this data, except perhaps as part of a final due diligence after an initial signed agreement.

Technical Review 61

Technical Review Patents Ideas Social Media 61

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2017

Even the most diligent investors are often surprised by apparently solid business startups that fail, while others succeed, despite the odds. 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.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Startup Mentor Study 60

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

Some investors are all about making money, while others care more about changing the world, advancing technology, or curing a disease that has ravaged their family. Obstacles are abundant, including the scarcity of warm introductions, enough traction to satisfy investors, and unending due diligence requirements.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Equity Capital Entrepreneur 88

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2019

My recommendation to entrepreneurs is to recognize these concerns as an opportunity to make people’s life better, rather than worry and dodge the risk. There are others, like LifeLock , acquired in 2017 by Symantec for $2.3 Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Symantec Social Network News 78

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Report Entrepreneur 87

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2017

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Here again, the entrepreneur will be the one hurt most, by having fewer funding sources to access.

Startup 76

Startup Angel Funding .Net 76

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2017

Entrepreneurs are people who dream up new ideas, and then commercialize them into new businesses. Yet, in my experience as a mentor to entrepreneurs, the majority of failures I see are related to starting and growing the business, not developing the solution. In today’s world, the market evolves even faster than the technology.

Ideas 72

Ideas Startup Metrics Entrepreneur 72

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

A classic article in the Harvard Business Review “ The Truth About Customer Experience ” defines it as your customer’s end-to-end journey with you, not just the key touchpoints or critical moments when customers interact with your organization. Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist. Show your passion and creativity in every solution.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Marketing 85

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2017

The business leaders who create real technology paradigm shifts, or have changed the world of commerce, don’t advertise their failures, but they still feel them. They tried to make traffic signals intelligent way back in the early ‘70s, but found out that it takes more than technology to change government bureaucracies.

Social Media 63

Social Media Technical Review Entrepreneur Commerce 63

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2017

Yet in this age of technology, many seem to favor tools and data to get the edge, or can’t find the time to talk to real people. Each time I mentor an entrepreneur, I learn new things about their technology, customers, and business domain. Regularly review progress and adjust focus (Review and Renewal).

Mentor 61

Mentor Technical Review LAMP Coach 61

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2017

Entrepreneurs always work hard to create an innovative product or service, but often count on standard seller marketing for sales. Reports suggest that 90% of today’s shoppers skip marketing pitches, to research online before they buy, and over 50% check user reviews before making a decision.

Search Engine Optimization 58

Search Engine Optimization Startup SEO Customer 58

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. The new company, expected to launch in 2017, will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “BIVV” when the split is complete. —The U.S. —David H.

Google 40

Google Technical Review News Research 40

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.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Demand 56

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2017

Today, the move to digital technology is driving marketplace change at a seemingly ever-increasing rate. The question every entrepreneur and business executive should be asking is what are the drivers of the digital transformation, and how can you make them opportunities rather than costs. How tired are you feeling today?

Demand 54

Demand Technical Review Pricing Customer 54

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2017

As an advisor to startups, and a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m still surprised at the number who are determined to go it alone. They don’t realize that these only increase their workload, due to training and management, rather than offloading real work. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 10/09/2017.

Help 66

Help Startup Course Technical Review 66

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2017

Many business executives and entrepreneurs I know are convinced that business success is all about having the right solution for the right price. Smart business executives learn to use new technology software to give them new insights and more free time. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 08/02/2017.

Software Review 57

Software Review Technical Review Startup Press 57

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2017

Of course, nobody really knows all of what tomorrow will bring, in terms of globalization, digital technology, or demographic shifts, but most experts agree that certain elements are already obvious, and things must be done today to get your business ready in time. Data technology facilitates more fact-based decisions.

Company 55

Company Companies Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 55

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

That seed funding was really to let us prove the concept and build the technology to enable returns in person at retailers, and let us figure out whether or not customers wanted to return this way, and get an idea of how to scale. We checked all of those boxes, and then went back out to market in Spring of 2017, last year.

Training 100

Training Customer Custom Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2017

Of course, it’s no surprise that most entrepreneurs don’t have a background in hiring teams, and don’t have a budget for training or human resource consultants. Define a disciplined process, take the time to find multiple candidates, and do proper reviews. Marty Zwilling First published on Huffington Post on 03/13/2017.

Training 58

Training Case Study Resource Statistics 58

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2017

Next week is the Montgomery Summit (www.montgomerysummit.com), one of the longest running technology conferences held in Los Angeles. It's now an internationally recognized showcase for technology here in Los Angeles, and we also get to showcase Southern California companies, as well. We've seen some notable successes.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Conference Silver Lake Cornerstone OnDemand 100

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. Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.

Entrepreneur 66

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Satisfaction 66

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Mayor Eric Garcetti at Upfront Summit, February 2017 I first sat down with then councilman Eric Garcetti on the Ides of March 2012 — almost 5 years ago exactly. He was running to be the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles and he outlined his vision to “open up the city government to technology and innovation” if he were elected.

Riot Games 191

Riot Games Los Angeles Technical Review Venture Capital 191

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2019

According to current Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship , the share of new entrepreneurs who started businesses to pursue opportunity rather than from necessity now exceeds 86%, more than 12 percentage points higher than ten years ago at the height of the last recession. Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.

Startup 128

Startup Social Media Satisfaction Entrepreneur 128

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 23, 2018

However, just like the early days of the Internet, when Google’s search engine could be fooled with bogus backlinks and content laden with repetitive keywords, some entrepreneurs are trying to game smart audio platforms, in the hopes of engaging smart speaker users. However, the speed with which the technology is being adopted is astonishing.

Platform 100

Platform Technical Review Research Entertainment 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2017

In my role as an advisor to you as an entrepreneur, I always recommend that you move to a more proactive customer service strategy, to include interactive social media campaigns, self-service options on your website, and personalized handling of unique requests. Use technology to personalize and expedite requests.

Customer 95

Customer Custom Services Technical Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2017

As an entrepreneur advisor and startup investor, it always amazes me how obvious these alignment issues are from the outside, and how hard it is to make them visible inside and get them corrected. All too often, employees pay lip service to their management, but execute their own agenda, due to lack of understanding or disagreements.

Company 54

Company Companies Technical Review Coach 54

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2017

Ironically, the most common desire I hear from entrepreneurs selling wholly online, is the need for their entry into retail, as the next step in their growth strategy. People must be measured in performance reviews against industry best practices, rather than previous results in your business.

Customer 52

Customer Custom Technical Review Summary 52

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2017

I have found that the most successful entrepreneurs and business executives have an impressive work ethic, and they surround themselves with a team of comparable commitment. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 01/05/2017. Starting and running a business is hard. Business is more about people than product.

Funding 55

Funding Satisfaction Customer Custom 55

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2017

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. Being transparent in 2010 felt like more of an anomaly but being transparent in 2017 feels like more of a requirement to me.

Startup 197

Startup Blogging Technical Review Writing 197