Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2021

Later, in my second career as an entrepreneur with startups, I realized that limited resources and fresh insights actually created the mindset that relied on market change and innovation to survive. We didn’t notice as technology advances had opened a whole new market. Don’t wait for innovation ideas from top management.

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Marketing IBM IBM Resource 117

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 17, 2021

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 -- Viterbi Startup Garage: Oceanside Chat: Cleantech 2.0: What Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know. The opportunities in this industry are bigger than any other industry, but the challenges of getting new technologies to market have been many.

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Startup Entrepreneur Capital Invest 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. What happened? People were building.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2021

Over my years as an advisor to new businesses and startups, I have learned that the only certainty that I can offer entrepreneurs is the fact they will face many uncertainties. On the other hand, entrepreneurs have a reputation for being one of the happiest and healthiest career paths around.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2021

I’m often surprised when you as an aspiring entrepreneur, looking for investors, tell me your solution is so innovative that you don’t have to worry about differentiating it from competitors, and customers will flock to it without a real marketing campaign. Focus your marketing on real customer value.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2022

Most startups, and many big businesses, still don’t have a clue on how to use social media productively for marketing their business. The next thing that entrepreneurs need to realize is that the process and framework for making social media marketing work are different from traditional marketing, and trial and error certainly doesn’t work.

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Social Media Framework Media Metrics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

In my role as advisor and mentor to many new entrepreneurs, I often find myself suggesting that they think bigger. We all are excited to hear real innovation, and struggle daily to increase every potential entrepreneur’s scope of thinking. For example, smart entrepreneurs look for recognizable patterns in disconnected domains.

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Startup Metrics Ideas Entrepreneur 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Yet as a business advisor I am convinced that making the jump from a startup to a the next unicorn takes a different mindset, and actions most entrepreneurs are reluctant to face. In my experience, less than half of founding entrepreneurs even aspire to stay and scale their company. Switch your focus from product development to sales.

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Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Every entrepreneur and every business I meet in my consulting and mentoring role has great intentions of bringing real innovation to the market, yet I find that most ideas are merely small extensions to existing solutions. Inventors are always talking about what they can do with technology, before sizing the need and the market.

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Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas 146

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

As a long-time business advisor, and an investor in startups along the way, I’m always on the lookout for an entrepreneur who is responding first to a problem in the marketplace , rather than bringing a new technology to the market, assuming it will find a problem to solve. A recurring expense was turned into a recurring revenue.

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Activity Entrepreneur Social Media Satisfaction 132

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

As an advisor to many startups today, I still see that most of you entrepreneurs see yourselves as the sole driver of your new solution, and the key driver of your new business. We all need to be humble and recognize that what we need to know about technology and the market changes daily. Be the model of customer focus for the team.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2021

I often wonder whether you as the entrepreneur have worked as hard on your pricing strategy as you have on your innovative solution. If your innovation is real, it brings added value to the table, so most customers, especially early ones, are willing to pay a premium over competitive products.

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Pricing Startup Competition Examples 145

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 15, 2021

E-commerce is booming, but among the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs of online businesses are finding a place to store the items they are selling and dealing with the logistics of operating. The company plans to end 2021 with eight locations, in particular eyeing the Denver, Seattle and Los Angeles markets.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Most of the entrepreneurs I meet as an investor and advisor have no shortage of right-brain thinking, showing vision and creativity, but often don’t realize that their potential is being limited by a balancing focus on results, metrics, and customer specifics. Every balanced leader does marketing early.

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Technical Review Satisfaction Metrics Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

This might be the recognition that competitors are surpassing your own results, financial growth has disappeared, or the pandemic has eliminated loyal customers. Keep an open channel to customers and influencers. It’s hard to find time to really study the market for new trends, and listen to customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2021

In the eyes of investors like me, to be an entrepreneur, it’s not enough to create an innovative solution – you need to convince me that you can build a profitable business. Creating and growing a business requires creativity beyond the product, in the areas of finance, marketing, and operations.

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Funding Startup Ideas Resource 152

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. Pivot early, as required, to tune your features and marketing to meet the market and technical realities.

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Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

In my experience as an angel investor for new startups, I’m always surprised by how many entrepreneurs are looking for funding without outside advisors. The sooner you face these issues, the more success you will garner from investors and customers. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 01/25/2021.

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Startup Technical Review Equity Entrepreneur 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

As a long-time business advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs, I consistently find that the most thriving businesses are people-centric, and those team members create the best processes, rather than the other way around. You need their full support in today’s rapidly changing market. Only people can look ahead and prepare for the future.

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Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. A passionate entrepreneur I met a while back had found that a certain algae could be grown cheaply, and could end world hunger.

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Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Yet in my experience on both sides of this equation, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs focus only on the best idea , assuming that it will attract the right investors. Investors love entrepreneurs who come across as constantly on the lookout for new ideas, and able to grasp the larger implications for market change.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2021

As a long-time advisor to new entrepreneurs here in the USA, I’ve long been impressed with the number that come here from other countries, and the positive traits that most of these seem to bring with them. Look at the world as today’s global market. Go out of your way to meet and learn from others.

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Startup Resource Summary Entrepreneur 146

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

Today, with the Internet and social media, if you aren’t visible in a positive way to everyone, including customers, your leadership efforts will be lost. You need to be visible in marketing efforts, viral videos, and interactions with key customer segments. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 08/19/2021.

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Mentor IBM IBM Social Media 145

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2021

But the magic that makes one entrepreneur stand out over others is hard to quantify – yet we all recognize it when we see it. Focus on customers and people over profits and ego. Especially in these modern times, both your customers and your team are looking for personal relationships to incent their engagement and loyalty.

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Customer Custom Metrics Ideas 157

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2021

Based on my experience with startups, trust is the most valuable asset you can have, especially when asking people to step into the unknown by funding your innovation, by joining your team, or just buying your new product as an early customer. Proactively market and defend your trust image. This approach is not conducive to trust.

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Company Companies Metrics Entrepreneur 165

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

We are bridging the gap between casual, self service dating apps, and traditional matchmaking, and doing it for business professionals in the dating market. Right now, there are no real efficient products in the dating market. Constance Curtis: I have been a successful entrepreneur for the past thirteen years.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2021

As a long-time business consultant and investor, especially to entrepreneurs, I recognize your sparkle of vision , to build the ultimate world-changing product. I found these maladies summarized well in a new book, “ Radical Product Thinking ,” by entrepreneur Radhika Dutt. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 09/28/2021.

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Metrics Product Yahoo Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2021

In my experience as a business advisor and occasional investor, many of you won’t make it that far, succumbing to the high costs of getting those first customers, funding an initial inventory, and building an operational support process. In these cases, you both win by expanding the market. The advisor will give you real credibility.

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Startup Resource Customer Custom 161

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2021

The tougher question is whether you are also wise, in the sense of cultivating the right relationships, understanding team dynamics, and keeping to the correct side of the ethical line to maintain the trust of team members and customers alike. This locked in engagement from his employees and customers. You too can be one of these.

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Patents Mentor Customer Custom 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2021

Confidence and self-esteem are critical to your success as an entrepreneur, or any business role. On the other hand, most business professionals and the customers we all need in business recognize that professionals with a healthy self-esteem will always be more resilient, creative, listen better, and treat others with respect.

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Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

In fact, Here's the post in its entirety: We have signed an agreement to be acquired by Amazon and are looking forward to working with them as we continue to build easy-to-use tools for entrepreneurs. Nothing is changing for our customers at this time, and we’ll be in touch with customers as and when we have further updates.

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News Acquisition Platform Sales 136

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Every entrepreneur and business owner I know has had more setbacks than they would like to admit, in this age of rapid change and constant surprises, like the current pandemic. Rather than get angry and upset, fall back to your initial process for evaluating markets, customer needs, and financial implications.

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Mentor Satisfaction Customer Custom 127

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

After all, Glossier’s founder and CEO Emily Weiss is very, very far from the first entrepreneur to profit off of our desire to look good. Like with many consumer brands geared toward women, we buy in not just because of the marketing, but because of the product itself. And who cares?

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Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2021

In my current role as a consultant to entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’ve accumulated my own list of insights on how some people get more done. Start with your own story, the mission of your business, and how to make everyone in your domain, including customers, into advocates and teachers.

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Technical Review Coach Satisfaction Mentor 123

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2021

As a logical and data-driven business advisor, I have long focused on facts, technology, and quantifiable pain in guiding entrepreneurs. I now offer the following additional guidelines for how to attract customers and position your product: Find the latest social trend, or even create it. Highlight benevolence to customers and society.

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Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 172

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2021

In my role as mentor to business professionals, I often get the question about your potential of going out on your own as an entrepreneur, versus your current role of working for a boss at an established company. Most importantly, you have to deal with customers, and understand their wants and needs. There are no startup expert roles.

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Entrepreneur Satisfaction Ideas Social Media 158

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2022

Many of you don’t like to think of it this way, but penetrating a target market with your startup is a lot like a military invasion. Too many entrepreneurs I know charge into battle with only their passion, and hope for the best. Too many entrepreneurs I know charge into battle with only their passion, and hope for the best.

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Marketing Technical Review Startup Resource 125