Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2022

Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Put your risk capital into a separate checking account before you start.

Startup 122

Startup Ideas Framework Entrepreneur 122

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Let’s set up a framework. by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. There are many times when being overly capitalized before you’re ready is a negative.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

I thought I’d try to offer a framework for thinking about the topic. This conversation seems to come up very frequently these days both with portfolio companies and with entrepreneurs just looking for mentorship. So here’s my framework. How much capital do I need to run my business effectively right now?

Help 303

Help Startup Competition Framework 303

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2014

Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Put your risk capital into a separate checking account before you start.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Framework 106

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing Raising Venture Capital (VC) series. Yesterday I had lunch with a really interesting and capable serial entrepreneur who is raising his A round. So I thought I’d try to lay out a framework for how you should think about it as many you will inevitably be faced with this experience.

Venture Capital 279

Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur Framework 279

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

This has led VC & entrepreneur bloggers alike to similar conclusions: start raising capital early and be careful about having too high of a burn rate because that lessens the amount of runway you have until you need more cash. But the hardest question to actually answer is, “What is the right burn rate for your company?

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Put your risk capital into a separate checking account before you start.

Startup 127

Startup Ideas Framework Entrepreneur 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2013

As the business economy rebounds, many entrepreneurs are thinking that life will soon get easier, and their opportunity can only grow. Porter proposed his Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment which I think makes even more sense today. Way back in 1979, Michael E. Threat of new competitors entry.

Startup 80

Startup Framework Competition Pricing 80

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2015

*. If you are a 20-something tech entrepreneur you could be forgiven for thinking that seed-stage investors, Angellist Syndicates and widely available angel money always existed. I began asking around who the likely investors were for such a market. It is, of course, a very recent phenomenon.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Invest Cloud Computing 150

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

We caught up with Amos to learn about his new book, and to gain some tips for startup entrepreneurs on how to figure out when you're actually ready to scale your sales team. A customer development person is a cross between a sales person and a product marketer. That was four years ago. What's the new book about? It is a playbook.

Sales 113

Sales Startup Custom Development Framework 113

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2019

Perspectium recently raised a funding round from TVC Capital. The company is all about data solutions which combine meaningful application frameworks together. The third part we're trying to help get into this is the service provider market. What's your biggest lesson you've learned as an entrepreneur? So, it's quite new.

SaaS 113

SaaS Startup Customer Custom 113

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

"Authentic" is dead - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , May 3, 2010 It's time to retire the following phrases. Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. Enjoyed this post?

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2015

Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Put your risk capital into a separate checking account before you start.

Startup 109

Startup Ideas Framework Entrepreneur 109

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a new book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media News Tool 61

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2012

As the business economy rebounds, many entrepreneurs are thinking that life will soon get easier, and their opportunity can only grow. Porter proposed his Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment which I think makes even more sense today. Way back in 1979, Michael E. Threat of new competitors entry.

Competition 94

Competition Startup Pricing Framework 94

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 20, 2014

Leave it to me to spend 14 hours in Dallas on the very day that three of my favorite industries crush capital… * Social marketing, with $14M through Bessemer Venture Partners and Harrison Metal Capital to Main Street Hub. It’s as subtle, yet important, as the distinction between “social marketing” and “social media.”

Technical Review 71

Technical Review Commerce Yahoo Web 71

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2018

Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Put your risk capital into a separate checking account before you start.

Startup 63

Startup Ideas Framework Entrepreneur 63

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Investors take that to mean either 1) there is no market for your product, or 2) you don’t understand the concept of business and competition. Porter proposed a Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment which I think still makes a lot of sense today. Either way you lose. Way back in 1979, Michael E.

Startup 86

Startup Competition Pricing Framework 86

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2017

Most often, these roles revolve around a company’s major assets, including intellectual property, leading brands, key production assets, and unique routes to market. In today’s dynamic markets, it’s virtually impossible to enact and update rules with sufficient frequency. Place difference makers only in business-critical roles.

Product 58

Product Startup Guide Framework 58

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2015

We caught up with serial entrepreneur Derrick Oien , who is CEO of the company, to learn more. While there, I was approached by a guy with an idea around sports statistics, and we spent about two months to figure out what was interesting about the sports market. That's a very fragmented market to capture. I was at MP3.com,

Media 100

Media Startup Avalon Social Media 100

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2015

We caught up with serial entrepreneur Derrick Oien , who is CEO of the company, to learn more. While there, I was approached by a guy with an idea around sports statistics, and we spent about two months to figure out what was interesting about the sports market. That's a very fragmented market to capture. I was at MP3.com,

Media 100

Media Startup Avalon Social Media 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. Something like, &# I was thinking about jumping into the demo first before discussing the market.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. You’d get a lot more experience from reading about marketing online or in books and then testing out the concepts for yourself. I had to laugh a bit reading it.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

While great strides have been made in the mobile economy, there are still many challenges and opportunities to consider, and much we can learn from the market frontrunners. The company recently closed an impressive $19 million in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital to build out the engineering teams. ” He notes that 1.2

Mobile 71

Mobile Technical Review Platform Startup 71

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

What is the role of a VC for entrepreneurs? I was recently contacted by an entrepreneur who was consider a few different business models for his company. I barely know the guy (or his markets) but he wanted me to weigh in one “which market I thought he should pursue.” ” I responded. ” I responded.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Course Guide Entrepreneur 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 3, 2015

It spoke to me because it so resonates with my nearly daily advice to entrepreneurs and VCs alike. The rest of our partners, principles, associates and EIRs can weigh in with commentary on their views of the quality of the entrepreneur, the market, the product, competition and so forth. conviction > consensus.

Startup 150

Startup Venture Capital Invest Framework 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

While there is no right or wrong answer, having seen the extremes I’d like to offer you a framework for considering the right answer for yourselves. So let’s consider a bad (but likely) scenario where either you don’t hit your targets, the market sours or competition is kicking your butt making it hard to fund raise. .

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Startup Invest Pricing 314

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2011

Some investors are team focused, others market focused, others seems to look for product / market fit. Only then can I even care about product, market or their nebulous “fit.&#. These are the skills I look for in entrepreneurs and leaders. It is the very fabric of what I believe forms the entrepreneur DNA.

CTO Hire 363

CTO Hire Technical Review Startup Demand 363

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Anyone who works with entrepreneurs will tell you that all are different. Others are really marketers out to make money fast, and believe that they can entice customers to any offering. The Opportunist is the speculative part of the entrepreneur in all of us. Of course, discovering your entrepreneur type is only the beginning.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Mentor Framework Web 96

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

My goal is to lay out a basic framework for anybody unsure whom to listen to as a way of helping you think about a way to orient your own views. This market structure in which the few, large players use their market position to eliminate competition is inevitable. It’s Hobbesian economics 101. Enter the decentralized Internet.

Course 280

Course Startup Framework Marketing 280