Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. Others still routinely have phone hold queues for customer contact that can last up to an hour, with no alternative options.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2018

Most entrepreneurs see their new venture as a fun adventure, until the pressures of a cash flow crisis, or a manufacturing quality problem, or a major customer satisfaction problem hits. Even with all my years of experience mentoring in business, I can’t predict how you will prepare for and react to pressure situations.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. Mentoring and technical assistance from volunteer or paid experts. Direct seed funding, for a share of the equity, and introductions to investors.

Incubator

Tech.Co

APRIL 24, 2018

Being one small company amongst the sea of thousands of startups vying for customers, capital, and talent, the way to get noticed above the crowd, connect with that next big partner, and raise some capital is to throw your hat in the ring to compete at Startup of the Year. It’s time to get noticed! APPLY HERE.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Unfortunately, I often find team members who are not believers, or have a different view of the customer. Thus you need to understand how quickly anyone on your team can be the key to attracting a new set of customers, or the reason that critical partners, vendors, investors, or customers walk away. The result is no deal.

Marketing

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2018

The facts, as well as what motivates your peers, customers, and business leaders are changing daily. You need a plan on how to train yourself, or be mentored, for each step along the way. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 09/20/2018. The most important thing you can learn in college today is how to learn.

Examples

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2018

Most successful business leaders, including Richard Branson and Bill Gates, regularly called on their mentors, Freddie Laker and Warren Buffett, to test their perception of the right questions to ask, and the right issues to tackle. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 10/17/2018. Make every one count.

Competition

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

As an advisor and mentor for many startups and small business founders, following my initial career in big business, I realize that the key strategies to achieve success in small businesses are often different from those that make larger businesses successful. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 10/29/2018.

Sales

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2018

In fact, most see a more direct relationship between customers and their business success, so employee focus by default will end up in third place. Once this product-first, customer-second, and employee-last culture is set, it is extremely hard to change. Recruit, mentor, and promote talent to highlight opportunity. Start today.

Metrics

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Use mentoring to help people develop as your business develops. Focus on satisfying your ideal and best customers. The more services you provide to a wider mix of customers, the more variability you have, and the harder it becomes to provide extraordinary and consistent services.

Resource

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2018

I made the jump myself from IBM several years ago, and now have a satisfying startup advising small businesses and mentoring entrepreneurs. I look for interests and plans that ignite a fire inside you every day, solves a real problem in the marketplace, and can attract customers with money to spend.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2018

Help your employees build their individual strengths with customized coaching and special assignments. This may seem counter-intuitive to many managers who fear losing their best employees, since managers never seem to have time to focus on recruiting and mentoring new talent. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 08/06/2018.

Mentor

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2018

They need your mentoring, tools, and historical data to be a top performer. Thus paying for sales volume, when you desire customer satisfaction, will not get you high performance. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 06/27/2018. Diligently provide follow-up and support on assistance requests. Now is the time to be one.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2018

As a mentor to aspiring business owners, I often get asked to find that partner for them, since founders are usually too busy with their solution. These areas may have not just your co-founder, but also the robust ecosystem your startup needs for investors, programmers and customers. Explore candidate values and goals outside of work.

High Tech

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

The final clip is Fred & I talking about whether “the best product wins” and my assertion that the bias in today’s Silicon Valley dominated tech world there is probably too much emphasis on tech at the expense of how to sell, implement and service customers. I remember writing about online video nearly 5 years ago.

Venture Capital