Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

Perhaps sparked by the recent pandemic, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. Listen to your customers to arrive at acceptable and marketable solutions.

Startup 135

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review 135

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Harry was gracious enough to invite me back so this past week we recorded an episode discussing the current market environment. Nobody will be immune because in a bull market executives are paid to “innovate” so they sign software contracts and run projects. If you’re a clear “market winner” like Stripe, Robinhood or Airbnb.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. Continuous improvement (replace it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Based on my experience as an investor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, one of the quickest ways to kill your credibility and your startup is to offer a poorly written business plan, or none at all. A great business plan doesn’t have to be a book in length, with extensive financial statements.

Startup 102

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 102

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

The road to becoming an entrepreneur is a journey , and it’s not a short trip. I was pleased to find a new book, “ The Entrepreneur’s Faces, ” by Johnathan Littman and Susanna Camp, which outlines the key stages and provides examples of real people making the transformation from one stage to the next.

Entrepreneur 139

Entrepreneur Help Incubator Startup 139

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2023

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Entrepreneurs have to be careful not to look too hard for evidence that confirms their passion and positive perspective.

Marketing 119

Marketing Metrics Demand Statistics 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2021

The most successful entrepreneurs and executives I have seen are savvy business people first, and experts in their field second. The issue in these cases was usually not the technology per se, but the bigger business picture of marketable prices, ease of use, and support infrastructures. Even the best have mentors they really use.

Mentor 139

Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas Networking 139

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

Every new business dreams of growing from a startup to a global market leader in a few years, like Amazon.com, but that goal is elusive. As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked for the magic that has made Amazon the world's most valuable brand , from a total unknown only twenty years ago.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Customer Custom 123

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. The result, called resourcefulness, allows entrepreneurs to create opportunities in the face of scarcity. Every entrepreneur needs to avoid locked-in ways of thinking.

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

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. Anyone can build a new web site, or publish a smartphone app for a few thousand dollars, but getting market penetration requires a lot more. People who shape the future, like Steve Jobs, did this.

Entrepreneur 118

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network SpaceX 118

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

If you want the full SlideShare deck with many slides not in either post it’s in this link –> The LA Tech Market. ” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. Has it begun to mature or is it just better marketed than in was say 5 years ago?

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2021

Every entrepreneur with a new technology tells me that his innovation will be industry-disrupting, meaning that it will render the existing technology obsolete, and create a new market. I suspect that several of these will surprise most entrepreneurs as being counter-intuitive to their thinking.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Entrepreneur Marketing Customer 157

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2012

I’m a big fan of mentoring in business, and have been at different times on both the contributing and receiving end of the process. These days, I seem to often hear from entrepreneurs who are struggling to find a mentor, or complaining about their lack of effectiveness.

Mentor 94

Mentor Coach Entrepreneur Press 94

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. More features and inventory added early will be wasted as you will need to pivot to match the real market.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2021

Based on my experience as an investor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, one of the quickest ways to kill your credibility and your startup is to offer a poorly written business plan, or none at all. A great business plan doesn’t have to be a book in length, with extensive financial statements.

Sample 137

Sample Writing Mentor Content 137

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Perhaps sparked by the now forgotten recession, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. Listen to your customers to arrive at acceptable and marketable solutions.

Satisfaction 53

Satisfaction Marketing Mentor Entrepreneur 53

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2014

Perhaps sparked by the recent recession, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. Listen to your customers to arrive at acceptable and marketable solutions.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Mentor Technical Review Satisfaction 102

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for others, that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. In his recent book “ Invent, Reinvent, Thrive ,” Lloyd E. Negative advice on an unknown is easy and safe to give, so every entrepreneur hears it over and over.

Technical Review 99

Technical Review Marketing Mentor Entrepreneur 99

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2015

Entrepreneurship is all about leading – leading customers to a new product or service, leading a startup team to peak performance, and leading a new business to the market opportunity, while providing maximum return to stakeholders. Authentic entrepreneurs lead through the power of personal influence, rather than coercion.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Mentor Coach Customer 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2022

I learned some good lessons along these lines from the classic book “ The Way of the SEAL ,” by Mark Divine. He now teaches these key principles to business leaders, focusing on the following lessons and strategies, which I recommend for every entrepreneur: Lead from the front, so that others will want to work for you.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Training 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2019

Perhaps sparked by the now forgotten recession, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. Listen to your customers to arrive at acceptable and marketable solutions.

Mentor 85

Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review Summary 85

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.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. The result, called resourcefulness, allows entrepreneurs to create opportunities in the face of scarcity. Every entrepreneur needs to avoid locked-in ways of thinking.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2021

Career survival today requires thinking and acting like an entrepreneur starting a business, staying nimble and resilient, willing to pivot, and supersensitive to the market realities of supply and demand. Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn, helped me crystallize these similarities with his classic book “ The Start-up of You.”

Startup 143

Startup Entrepreneur Demand Competition 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2015

Every entrepreneur with a new technology tells me that his innovation will be industry-disrupting, meaning that it will render the existing technology obsolete, and create a new market. I suspect that several of these will surprise most entrepreneurs as being counter-intuitive to their thinking.

Marketing 102

Marketing Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2014

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for others, that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. I just finished a new book “ Invent, Reinvent, Thrive ,” by Lloyd E. Many entrepreneurs get their first taste of success running their own consultancy or practice.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Summary 105

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. They rarely highlight their marketing and relationship skills , even though, in my experience, these are more often the key to success in business than product skills.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. There is no room in this realm for negativism, excuses, or lack of confidence.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2010

It was difficult to make the transition to a “top down&# thinker but as a senior executive – and as an entrepreneur – you’re far less effective without this skill in your arsenal. The wisest mentor I ever had was Ameet Shah , my partner on several projects. He coached me that I had to start with the answers.

Entrepreneur 372

Entrepreneur Startup Design Framework 372

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2021

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” If you don’t market your business, you won’t have one. Marketing and advertising are business realties.

Entrepreneur 138

Entrepreneur Activity Guide Patents 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2023

Most of the entrepreneurs and aggressive business owners I meet in my consulting practice are focused on finding new disruptive solutions and killing competitors as the key to success. I found many non-disruption recommendations in the new book, “ Beyond Disruption ,” by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

Capital 142

Capital Netflix Resource Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. A great innovation starts with at least three ideas.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

Thus, in my mentoring of potential technical entrepreneurs who have a real passion for their technology, I often recommend that they find a co-founder who can manage the marketing and execution elements of the new venture. The competition will improve, the market will change, and your customers will demand more.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2017

Most people agree that entrepreneurs have to think differently and take risks to have much chance of building a successful business. In the classic book “ The Entrepreneur Mind ,” from serial entrepreneur Kevin D. Johnson, he outlines 100 essential beliefs, insights, and habits of serious entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 71

Entrepreneur Startup Customer Custom 71

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. Anyone can build a new web site, or publish a smartphone app for a few thousand dollars, but getting market penetration requires a lot more. People who shape the future, like Steve Jobs, do this.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Social Network SpaceX Ideas 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Most people agree that entrepreneurs have to think differently and take risks to have much chance of building a successful business. In his book from a while back “ The Entrepreneur Mind ,” by serial entrepreneur Kevin D. Johnson, he outlines 100 essential beliefs, insights, and habits of serious entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Startup Customer Custom 107