Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2022

Change is about the only thing constant in the world of startups. Chris Musselwhite and Tammie Plouffe, in a classic HBR article on change readiness for large companies, define it as “the ability to continuously initiate and respond to change in ways that create advantage, minimize risk, and sustain performance.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

According to a classic article on Thrinacia , there were over 600 crowdfunding platforms in existence then, estimated to add more than $89 billion to the economy at a compound growth rate of 17% from 2019 to today. Product pre-order model. Startup equity model. Donation good-cause model. Donation good-cause model. In the U.S.,

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Funding Startup Outsource Development Satisfaction 141

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. In stead of doing my typical big long post with 10 PR tips (like I did there), I’m going to break them up into individual (I hope more digestible) chunks.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I made every textbook mistake at my first startup, which is why I believe I was much more effective at my second one. The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. Because market is such a broad topic, I’m restricting these lessons to PR marketing (as opposed SEO, SEM, product marketing, etc.).

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. It’s no fun for either side.

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Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Reducing consumption by expanding the notion of the rental economy and giving people access to tools and equipment has been something of a startup holy grail for some time. “We don’t buy product,” said Perrone. The Los Angeles-based startup Joymode was attempting to do much the same thing.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2022

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” 7% Product Manager,2 -.3% 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Monday, March 12, 2007 MyShape Article - Analyst Misses the Point The NY Times did a piece today on MyShape, a start-up in Pasadena - Log in Your Measurements, and the Clothes May Fit. He has been the CTO for several start-ups, most notably eHarmony.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2022

These people don’t seem to realize that they are hurting themselves, as well as other people’s productivity, and jeopardize the future of the company they are working for. No business can afford that cost in emotional capital, as well as lost productivity. Use the hiring process effectively.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

I recently wrote a post about avoiding the “ Deferred Life Plan &# and some related thoughts about personal productivity that came from Tim Ferriss’s book, The Four Hour Workweek. I would love to say that I’m the productivity guru. I scan it for the most important messages to be sure nothing urgent has popped up.

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Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

A version of this article previously appeared in the Wall Street Journal. I consistently remind my UC Santa Barbara startup students that for most people, money is not a sustaining motivator. They might start a venture with the money as a primary goal, but money alone generally isn''t an adequate catalyst. Poet Slamming.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

Investors, on the other hand, typically don’t even look very hard at the product or service, but prefer to evaluate first the entrepreneur, and secondly the business plan. He and I agree that product ideas must be assessed against the following five key qualities: Depth. A deep product or service has a robust set of features.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales. My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support. However, I advocate a more nuanced approach for early-stage startup teams” 1.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2013

This article originally appeared on Inc.com. Like most startup entrepreneurs, when I began my first company in 1999 I had no formal sales experience. This is a very important to do when you first start a company. Invariably your first efforts at product won’t quite hit the mark – and this is OK. Compelling Event.

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Sales Startup Resource Customer 393

TechEmpower

DECEMBER 11, 2023

This article will primarily focus on locating and evaluating development companies, rather than design firms. Ensure that you investigate the designers' past work, samples of their work product, and their process. Although noteworthy, working with large corporations differs remarkably from working with startups.

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Software Development Software Review Develop Development 295

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2019

Managing Your Startup Board?—?A My talk was about “ managing your startup board ” and the full deck is on that SlideShare link and embedded below. I also wrote an entire series on the topic of Startup Boards if you want to do any more reading that link has several articles you can dig into. How Do Boards Get Out of Sync?

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TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Designed to be a collaborative startup company incubator alongside corporate partners, Launchpad focuses on developing new consumer tech businesses focused on M13’s main investment areas: health, food, transportation, and housing. “ The EIRs will receive a small stipend and equity in the business, Barber said. .

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

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Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Let’s set up a framework. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2021

If so, maybe it’s time to rethink your perspective, and perhaps start enjoying work for a change. As an advisor to new entrepreneurs and new ventures, I’m seeing a refreshing new focus by Millennials on work and successful new companies with a purpose, and more productivity through happy employees. Want to get to work on time?

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Startup Email Satisfaction Product 159

InfoChachkie

MARCH 11, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. These varied responsibilities are analogous to those of a startup CEO, as movie production crews are essentially temporary ventures. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! 120-Minutes With Mr. Affleck.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Use crowd funding.

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Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 87

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 5, 2015

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. In his premier film appearance in the blaxploitation send-up “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” Chris Rock inadvertently addresses a key pricing challenge faced by most entrepreneurs. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles!

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InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Inc. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! Upon graduation from Wharton, John and Kyle launched a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product: a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf driver.

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Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

I think I’ve read Paul Graham’s post on “ Startup = Growth ” three or four times now. Viewing the article through the lens of a venture capitalist there’s much to agree with under the mantra of “growth!” Eventually a successful startup will grow into a big company. Growth, again.

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Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review 390

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2020

The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Use crowd funding.

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Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2013

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. This morning I was reading my social media and came across an article that Christine Tsai had posted on Facebook. I moved back to the US and after a stint in Palo Alto moved to LA where I started to notice Cholula sauce at some of the best Mexican restaurants I visited.

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InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on PandoDaily. When seeking the perfect pitch, in baseball and in the startup world, less is a lot more. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Is One Line Enough? no hits, no errors, no runs). One-liners.

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Product Yammer Technical Review Google 208

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Although UCSB has room to grow with regard to the total number of VC-backed startups it generates, the Santa Barbara region fares well when its relative size is taken into account. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles!

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2016

One of the big advantages of starting up a new company in the region in recent years has been a large number of startup accelerators, who have been driving a lot of the new startups in the area. We caught up with co-founder and General Manager Noramay Cadena to learn more about the accelerator. percent equity.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2013

As I’ve said before, all startups need to realize that every other company still has to see itself naked in the mirror in the morning. You know the truth: You are late shipping product, your potential investors are taking too long to decide, your team is fighting over strategy, not enough of your users are returning.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2019

In fact, according to the latest Index of Startup Activity by the Kauffman Foundation and recent press reports , these Baby Boomers are actually driving a new entrepreneurship boom. With longer life expectancies and greater health in later life, older generations are moving to start new firms -- and mentor young entrepreneurs.

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TechCrunch LA

APRIL 12, 2018

seems like an unlikely place to grow one of the next billion-dollar startups in the booming Los Angeles tech ecosystem. But it’s here in the (other) Valley’s southernmost edge that investors have found a startup they consider to be the next potential billion-dollar “unicorn” that will come out of Los Angeles.

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Glendale Los Angeles Startup Technical Review 271

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 7, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared in The Wall Street Journal. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Parsing The Confusion.

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Incubator Startup News Entrepreneur 238

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2015

I’m not trying to say my picks are great and other products aren’t and I’ll certainly forget some. But this is just a reflection midway in June 2015 of the some of the products I love, enjoy or use frequently, and am not an investor in. Pocket – I was a late convert to Pocket but have really been loving it.

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