Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Founder insistence on non-dilute clauses, arms-length relationships, and quick closure without due diligence will short-circuit active interest. Having a patent, trademarks, or other “barriers to entry” are always a critical advantage in attracting funding, since investors need to see real commitment to beating competitors.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 108

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

In the past few years, colleges have been publishing the number of businesses which they have played an active role in launching. Ask: How many patents were filed by students and faculty during each of the past five years? Ask: What hands-on activities are incorporated into the entrepreneurial curriculum?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Class Patents 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2018

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Guide 95

Guide Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

Founder insistence on non-dilute clauses, arms-length relationships, and quick closure without due diligence will short-circuit active interest. Having a patent, trademarks, or other “barriers to entry” are always a critical advantage in attracting funding, since investors need to see real commitment to beating competitors.

Funding 123

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Invest 123

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

The most common proposals I hear are for yet another social networking site ( over 200 active ), or another dating site (now over 2500 in the US alone). Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the key to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage. Accountability. Observe and measure. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2016

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Startup 103

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Each of these activities should have associated costs and resource requirements. Related activities must be defined, including performance expectations, quality certification, and proof of concept. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. Development schedule and checkpoints. Quality testing and approval processes.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2016

The most common proposals I hear are for yet another social networking site ( over 200 active ), or another dating site (over 2500 in the US alone). Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the kay to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage. Accountability.

Coach 64

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 64

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2012

Of course, the first one gets the patent. But patent disclosure requirements often make imitation easier, and smart technologists can work around most patents anyway. Good imitators actively look for a new country or market as the innovation, rather than a new technology. Learn from competitors and early adopters.

Patents 84

Patents Startup Statistics Course 84

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2018

Many customers now actively seek out new technologies, rather than wait for many others to try it first. It may sound counterintuitive, but when you are creating a new market, competition helps legitimize it and increases the size of the pie. The leading edge was too often the bleeding edge.

Marketing 92

Marketing Demand Examples Social Media 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

Angel investors are still the lifeblood of early-stage startups, despite the surge of activity in crowdfunding and an increasing early interest from venture capitalists. In the interest of getting you off on the right foot, here is my priority list of recommended preparation activities.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

Each of these activities should have associated costs and resource requirements. Related activities must be defined, including performance expectations, quality certification, and proof of concept. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. Development schedule and checkpoints. Quality testing and approval processes.

Product 55

Product Startup Summary Entrepreneur 55

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2011

Of course, the first one gets the patent. But patent disclosure requirements often make imitation easier, and smart technologists can work around most patents anyway. Good imitators actively look for a new country or market as the innovation, rather than a new technology. Learn from competitors and early adopters.

Startup 91

Startup Patents Statistics Course 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2013

According to a recent MIT study , only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Startup 105

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 105

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. A good start is taking an active role in relevant technology groups, trade associations, university activities, and local business groups.

Angel 104

Angel Screening Summary Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2012

According to a recent MIT study , only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Nearly all new businesses aspiring to reach meaningful scale require some sort of outside funding to finance a competitive growth trajectory.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 94

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

He saw that the industry was being disrupted globally, and actually started with the idea of building a new company that could be scalable, and flexible, and offer delivery of that content at competitive pricing. 3 very active, 3 have been deployed. Who are your core customers? Kanaan Jemili:We have about six areas we focus on.

Content 113

Content Startup Mobile Platform 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

The value of patents and trademarks is not certifiable, especially if you are only at the provisional stage. NewCo has filed a patent on one of their software tool algorithms, which is very positive, and puts them several steps ahead of others who may be venturing into the same area. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Startup 108

Startup Invest Patents Outsource Development 108

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

There is a strong argument that can be made for preparing to sell your company from Day 1 by strategically positioning your company in a growth industry where merger and acquisition activity is likely. The good news is that business success requires careful attention to these same key ingredients.

Startup 40

Startup Acquisition Outsource Development Outsource 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2017

A strong work ethic is great, but patents and intellectual property are critical. A key aspect of mitigating risk is to first identify the competitive risk elements early, and build contingency plans, in case the risks materialize. Then establish trigger points to clarify when contingency plans need to be activated.

Metrics 58

Metrics Resource Startup Training 58

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2014

Whether that''s for competitive analysis or market analysis, our product is basically able to monitor--on a very large scale--things that are important to your particular company. which are super actively traded, those stocks that we all trade. million municipal bonds, which is a huge number, and they are not actively traded.

Orange County 245

Orange County Startup News IBM 245

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

Founder insistence on non-dilute clauses, arms-length relationships, and quick closure without due diligence will short-circuit active interest. Having a patent, trademarks, or other “barriers to entry” are always a critical advantage in attracting funding, since investors need to see real commitment to beating competitors.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 57

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 28, 2012

I co-founded LoveIt with Tom Soulanille and Wei Guo alongside our two active board members, Harry Tsao and Talmadge O’Neill. When we discussed the feedback we saw an opportunity to use our backgrounds in search and discovery to help us stand out from the competition. Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?

Organization 90

Organization Content Tool Blogging 90

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2016

As an active angel investor, here are some key ones I have seen, with some guidance on how to improve your odds. Secret sauce' or competitive advantage is not clear. It costs very little to file a provisional patent to begin your protection. Poorly written or missing business plan.

Funding 57

Funding Social Media Startup Patents 57

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

The value of patents and trademarks is not certifiable, especially if you are only at the provisional stage. NewCo has filed a patent on one of their software tool algorithms, which is very positive, and puts them several steps ahead of others who may be venturing into the same area. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Patents Outsource Development 98

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. Having a defensible competitive advantage or “barrier to entry” is another critical step to funding, and another common stumbling block during all phases of the funding process. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. Define some intellectual property.

Invest 99

Invest Angel Technical Review Summary 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

As an active angel investor and startup advisor, I’ve seen many of the same stumbling blocks repeated all too many times. If the market is new and competition is minimal, then the time and costs of educating potential customers probably exceeds your survival time and budget. You need patents and trademarks as a barrier to entry.

Startup 59

Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 59

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 23, 2014

We connect YOU (the passionate enthusiast) with expert video and our active community to help you embrace and practice your wellness passions. Grokker category managers also actively curate a selection of the best videos on each topic available from other Web sources. What makes you unique from the competition?

Help 87

Help Content Activity Networking 87

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. Having a defensible competitive advantage or “barrier to entry” is another critical step to funding, and another common stumbling block during all phases of the funding process. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. Define some intellectual property.

Angel 89

Angel Funding Technical Review Startup 89

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2009

We've got active polymers, an N-type and P-type polymer, which, when mixed together, absorbs sunlight and turns it into electricity. About a year later, we recognized that it was very important to also have the patent, and Dina joined us. That makes solar panels as a product not competitive at all, if you removed government subsidies.

UCLA 159

UCLA Technical Review El Monte Startup 159

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

The value of patents and trademarks is not certifiable, especially if you are only at the provisional stage. NewCo has filed a patent on one of their software tool algorithms, which is very positive, and puts them several steps ahead of others who may be venturing into the same area. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Startup 93

Startup Patents Outsource Development Web 93

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Why Lawyers Don’t Run Startups - Steve Blank , May 27, 2010 Startups need to have a great lawyer, accountant, patent attorney, etc. prefer instead to divide it according to the mindset of users: whether or not they are actively looking to purchase something (i.e. Do fewer structured activities. It's a great talk.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Tech.Co

MARCH 1, 2018

Their platform helps couples improve their communication and interactions through their “LoveTips,” and will help support planning and executing activities such as ordering flowers and writing love notes. Tapping into a niche community is part of Quirktastic Media’s competitive advantage. The Mentor Method (Washington, D.C.).

Startup 80

Startup Mentor Platform Help 80

socalTECH

JUNE 25, 2009

Nobody in our competitive space can do all of those things, because they simply don't control their own destiny, because they don't own their own technology. We're not actively going out, like Vonage, where they spend $300 per subscriber--that must take them a couple of centuries to amortize that investment in a subscriber.

IP 165

IP Pasadena Angels Pasadena Los Angeles 165

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2010

Here are a few of the reasons, from a business perspective: Direct competition is huge. It’s hard to invent and patent more “scientific” methods on how to match people. Online dating is an extension of existing online social activities – just like real life. Some say that’s a billion dollar “recession proof” opportunity.

Sites 49

Sites Social Network Statistics Patents 49

Frank Addante

OCTOBER 19, 2006

► August (1) Invest in Transparency & Active Communication ► July (1) The Fear of Success ► May (2) Optimized for Speed = 30% Waste Happy 1st Birthday Rubicon Project! They are afraid of their competition finding out about the idea, a bigger company trying to steal it or some other entrepreneur doing it first.

Startup 40

Startup Ideas Venture Capital Competition 40

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2008

They want a means of representing themselves that is animated, and changeable, and actively communicates in places like MySpace, Facebook, and other social networks. One problem with other avatar technology, is that in most competitive cases what people are doing is using a standard head model and trying to apply a face to that model.

Entertainment 100

Entertainment Clearstone Venture Capital Media 100