Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2022

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2023

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, and having graduated from a big company myself, I talk to many people who have spent years struggling up the corporate ladder who dream of jumping ship and becoming an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs must be the model of personal empowerment in their new venture. Marty Zwilling

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Almost every entrepreneur starts their journey by developing a solution, based on their knowledge of a new technology or required service. Developer skills are necessary, but not sufficient, to build a business. Emulate the leadership attributes of entrepreneurs you admire, such as Richard Branson.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

If the country is to recover financially and politically, new leaders will have to emerge to fill the leadership deficit – new leaders who understand that leadership is a privilege, not an entitlement, according to executive coach Michael Schutzler in his classic book “ Inspiring Excellence – A Path to Exceptional Leadership.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. Work out of your home, and keep your own books. A programmer can build a new smartphone app for a few thousand dollars.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2022

Every entrepreneur can learn from a mentor, no matter how confident or successful they have been to date. Yet most entrepreneurs simply don’t know how to work with a mentor. Remember that good relationships take some time to develop, so don’t assume that your first discussion will seal the deal.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2021

I see the commonalities detailed well in the classic book, “ Extreme Teams ,” by Robert Bruce Shaw. These teams are motivated to develop approaches to creatively explore new opportunities for growth. Extreme teams are tightly aligned around the company’s top few priorities, while remaining open to new ideas.

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InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

John Lusk, along with his Co-Author Kyle Harrison, leveraged their humble company''s newsletter into The MouseDriver Chronicles , a New York Times bestselling book. Yet, without realizing it, John and Kyle had begun to build a community of virtual stakeholders who eventually developed an emotional bond with the company.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2021

Yet I find that many entrepreneurs struggle and fail with that transition from personally developing an innovative new idea, to building all the relationships necessary to transform their idea into a successful business. As an advisor to new businesses, I’m a strong believer that no one succeeds alone in business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 28, 2022

The answer is a resounding yes today, and I’m convinced that it will be even more true tomorrow, as young idealistic entrepreneurs try to adapt to the long-standing business culture if success is only measured in the money you make for yourself and your business. Look for a mix of talent and balance in your support team.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2022

I saw these summarized clearly in a new book, “ BUILD ,” by a well-known entrepreneur and technologist from Silicon Valley, Tony Fadell. Primarily for these reasons, I always recommend that new entrepreneurs and startups assemble a qualified Advisory Board or Board of Directors early in their lifecycle.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2022

New entrepreneurs tend to focus only on getting the product right, and assume that the right culture and ethics will come later simply by hiring good people. In fact, they need an early focus on developing their moral compass, as well as setting the right ethical tone.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

In my business of mentoring new entrepreneurs and advising small company owners, I recognize that most don’t start as experienced leaders, and most don’t realize that people leadership is a primary key to their future success. I just completed a new book, “ The Self-Evolved Leader ,” by Dave McKeown.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Development schedule and checkpoints.

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InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 15, 2014

Multiple surveys confirm that honesty is one of the most common traits of serial entrepreneurs. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Manual , Richard White cites a survey of venture capitalists which ranks honesty as the single most important characteristic for serial success. Image : Wikipedia. Share and Enjoy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there were over 20 million registered developers in 2018. Above all, don’t forget to develop a comprehensive marketing and promotion strategy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2020

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. As an example of a good resource, I enjoyed the classic book, “ Idea To Invention ,” by Patricia Nolan-Brown, that does a great job on the key steps. Start by developing an “elevator pitch” that you can deliver in 30 seconds to hook a potential investor.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2020

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Effective team leadership, or leadership inside the box, is really only half the challenge that every entrepreneur faces.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2020

Although most people believe that being a successful entrepreneur is all about having the right idea, I’m convinced from my years of experience as a startup advisor and investor that’s it’s more about you as a person. So how do you develop that reputation such that everyone believes in you, and customers jump to try your solution first?

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2020

In retrospect, however, Bill Gates did a lot of things right as a startup that I still look for today in aspiring entrepreneurs and their companies: Build a strong team. Microsoft spent a huge amount of time and money with software developers for applications, and with hardware manufacturers to support multiple PC platforms.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

There are many books written on this subject, but this classic by Chris Ducker, “ Virtual Freedom ,” manages to pack a lot more practical guidance into a small space that many others I have seen. Some entrepreneurs get outsource-happy to save costs and begin outsourcing everything and anything that lands on their desks.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Thus, in my consulting with entrepreneurs, I always encourage them to get more comfortable asking for help. I found some good guidance on this subject in a new book, “ The Leader You Want To Be ,” by Amy Jen Su, a managing partner in an executive coaching and leadership development firm.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 16, 2015

Pasadena-based 17hats , a startup that develops business management software aimed specifically at solo entrepreneurs (solopreneurs), has raised $4M in a Series A funding. The startup's software handles everything from booking clients and managing projects, to finances and other administrative processes. READ MORE>>.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

In my years of mentoring entrepreneurs, a problem I have seen too often is low self-esteem, and over-compensating through arrogance and ego. These entrepreneurs find it hard to respect customers or team members, and their ventures usually fail. Fortunately, both can be fixed. Fortunately, both can be fixed.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2019

Elon Musk via Flickr by TED Conference To be successful as an entrepreneur, you don’t have to be a fabulous person, but it helps. Some people, and some entrepreneurs, have that something extra that you can’t quite put your finger on, like Ryan Seacrest is searching for on American Idol. Be delightfully authentic and honest.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

Most of the entrepreneurs and business owners I work with recognize that they must occupy and practice a primary leadership position , but many will admit that they are not thriving in this role. To thrive as a business leader, you need to assume there will be change and crises, and develop resilience to bounce back and adapt.

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InfoChachkie

AUGUST 2, 2011

Entrepreneurs must be unreasonable in order to dismiss the status quo and create novel solutions. However, an irrational lack of reasonableness will sabotage an entrepreneur’s efforts. Entrepreneurs who have no basis for their confidence are doom to failure. entrepreneurs invariably face a variety of Dream Killers.

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Berkonomics

MARCH 16, 2023

As an early-stage investor, the first test for me is whether “my” entrepreneur is flexible in both the plan and execution of their vision (since from experience almost everything about a business plan changes over time), and whether that person, no matter what age or experience, is coachable. Why should we ask this question?

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2019

In my experience as a business advisor and angel investor these days, I seem to more frequently hear from entrepreneurs and business owners with “can’t-fail” or “get-rich-quick” ideas. Perhaps that’s why I was impressed with a classic book, “ The Emigrant Edge ,” by Irish immigrant and successful business executive, Brian Buffini.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. As an angel investor, I quickly look behind the idea or solution, to gauge the mindset and the leadership capabilities of the entrepreneur. Take a hard look at SpaceX or HyperLoop.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2019

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. I like the guidance from marketing coach David Newman’s classic book “ Do It! Many entrepreneurs fear giving away their very best insights, strategies, or tools via social media – it might diminish the demand and the profit.

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socalTECH

JULY 11, 2019

For today's video interview, we spoke with Ian Chen , the co-founder and CEO of Discotech , a Los Angeles area startup which has developed a service for bottle service booking, discounted tickets and more to clubs and nightspots. Ian tells us about his journey from the world of private equity to the life of a startup entrepreneur.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Some people are good at it and some are not – independent of their IQ or their book smarts (there may even be an inverse relationship here). Entrepreneurs who are great problem solvers within any business are the best prepared to solve their customers’ needs effectively as well. The best entrepreneurs have both.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2016

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. As an Angel investor, I quickly look behind the idea or solution, to gauge the mindset and the leadership capabilities of the entrepreneur. Take a hard look at SpaceX or HyperLoop.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2015

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined.

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