Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2022

By most definitions of the term, an entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business, incorporating innovative changes to existing products, services, business models, and creating new markets. What does it take to get to that level? What does it take to get to that level? Persuasive and empowering. Marty Zwilling.

Examples 131

Examples Entrepreneur Technology Resource 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2022

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Marketing News Slides 124

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

But if you level up , raise capital and grow customers, revenue and staff – life changes. This is when your job function truly starts to match the definition of “leader” because that’s exactly what your role is. They want to help the organization determine what must be built and when. What do you do?

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Fourth, there is the matter of control.

Resource 180

Resource Invest Summary Startup 180

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. After a decade on the job I’ve started to speak more openly when newer industry colleagues now ask me what I’ve learned. I don’t think this is the job.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital CTO Coach Startup 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2023

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture you will love this message. It is also what explorers do – they go and look, instead of trying to predict from a distance what they will find. Build and use social capital.

Startup 142

Startup Capital Resource Research 142

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. Today, we share the thoughts of Peter Cowen , Managing Director of Sutton Capital Partners (www.suttoncapitalpartners.com).

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2020

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur. Help entrepreneurs with constant learning. Learning doesn’t have to be all work.

Entrepreneur 137

Entrepreneur Tips Startup Education 137

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 28, 2023

Why do a few entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, seem to come up with all the real innovations, while the majority of business leaders seem stuck in the rut of linear thinking? He connects breakthrough thinking to four initiatives, which I believe every entrepreneur should practice: Questioning deeply-held beliefs and assumptions.

Startup 128

Startup Entrepreneur Tool Ideas 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Capital Class Startup 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

He is regarded by many as the number-one authority on virtual staffing and personal outsourcing, and is himself a successful entrepreneur based in the Philippines. I was impressed with his summary of the top ten outsourcing mistakes made by entrepreneurs, followed by real guidance on how they can and should be avoided. Be flexible.

Outsource Development 121

Outsource Development Outsource Entrepreneur Summary 121

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

Finally, the VC wants to know what your progress will look like at the end of this period to know how easy it will be for you to raise your next round. Are you raising an appropriate amount of capital relative to your progress, relative to your team size and relative to your needs? Cash In Cash in. A VC is looking for reasonableness.

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. If the entrepreneur wants total control of their own venture, with no one looking over their shoulder, they should work within the limits of their own resources, a process called bootstrapping.

Funding 173

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Report 173

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. Looking ahead at the next decade I am excited by what I believe will be viewed as one of the best and most rational investment periods for venture capital due to seven discrete factors: 1. This article originally ran on PEHub.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 5, 2022

What if an influencer collective could be truly collaborative, rather than fodder for a depressing Netflix reality show ? A few minutes away from downtown Atlanta, Collab Studio ATL describes itself as “a tech-based one-stop shop for content creators, HBCU students and young entrepreneurs to achieve their business goals.”

Platform 210

Platform Social Media Netflix Content 210

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

Reflexively founders want to raise as much money as they can because they figure it will give them more resources, better chances of competing and a longer runways before they have to do the often painful job of asking, yet again, for money. You will spend what you raise in the same timeframes whether you raise $1.5 Justin is right.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2023

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur. Help entrepreneurs with constant learning. Learning doesn’t have to be all work.

Startup 108

Startup Education Entrepreneur Tool 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs I know charge into battle with only their passion, and hope for the best. Too many entrepreneurs push their product out without the proper scouting on high return or weak points in the existing market. We all start with limited resources, so don’t try to win over everyone with the initial charge.

Marketing 125

Marketing Technical Review Startup Resource 125

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2016

Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) has just announced a brand new, $240M venture investment fund, led by longtime venture investing veterans Jim Armstrong, Sumant Mandal, Gregory Milken and Jamie Montgomery. What is the investment focus for this fund? It's all about the entrepreneur.

Southern California 113

Southern California Capital Funding Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2020

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture you will love this message. It is also what explorers do – they go and look, instead of trying to predict from a distance what they will find. Build and use social capital.

Startup 143

Startup Capital Resource Research 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2022

One of the things I learned from my years in Silicon Valley is that you must always focus on three steps ahead, as well as on what exists today. Why else would name brands with huge resources, like Blockbuster and Kodak , get overrun by upstarts like Netflix and Apple. Capitalize on existing strengths to roll-out new initiatives.

Artificial Inteligence 146

Artificial Inteligence Netflix Resource Custom 146

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Four reasons you should reconsider.

Startup 120

Startup Invest Summary Resource 120

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

The subject of raising money is critical to many businesses and a passing option to others, depending upon the capital efficiency of the enterprise. But few businesses grow into the sweet spot of $20 million to $30 million in worth to an ultimate buyer without the injection of outside capital.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), probably won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2019

Traditionally, the majority of entrepreneurs have been logical thinkers, problem solvers, with full attention to details. Of course, the best solution would be a new wave of so-called whole-brain thinkers, but this term is usually reserved for Einstein and Picasso, and no entrepreneurs that I can name. Creativity is the key word here.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Tips Guide Social Media 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2022

In fact, Conscious Capitalism companies, for example, historically have outperformed the S&P 500 index by a factor of ten. Shared risks (open capital). If you are at the funding stage, try the new crowd-funding platforms or micro-capital investments. Ramp up transparency by making people the boss of what they do.

Organization 126

Organization Social Media Examples Custom 126

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2023

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Sometimes you have to put aside the emotion and the passion, and just look at what is best for your business. No entrepreneur has all the insights they need, and none should be so arrogant as to assume they hold all the cards. Willing to learn from each other.

Startup 105

Startup Outsource Competition Entrepreneur 105

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. What makes their story more remarkable, in the age of 20-something billionaires, is that both of the company’s founders are in their 50’s.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Why do a few entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, seem to come up with all the real innovations, while the majority of business leaders seem stuck in the rut of linear thinking? He connects breakthrough thinking to four initiatives, which I believe every entrepreneur should practice: Questioning deeply-held beliefs and assumptions.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Tool Ideas 102

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. You have a hunch.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The problem is that professional investors (Angels and Venture Capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. For the rest of us, the following suggestions will help you survive the valley of death: Accumulate some resources before you start.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2023

Many passionate entrepreneurs fight to add more features into their new products and services, assuming that more function will make the solution more appealing to more customers. Of course, once you have a brand and more resources, it can pay to expand your book selling to a full e-commerce site.

Startup 114

Startup IBM IBM Social Media 114

socalTECH

JULY 22, 2019

What are you doing at the Techstars Space Accelerator? There are lots of resources available to entrepreneurs in the industry, but they are not necessarily that easy to access, whether that's deep insight into how to work with the government or with NASA, or how to work with the big primes, we felt that we could help create that resource.

Southern California 124

Southern California Startup Entrepreneur Los Angeles 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2020

Why do a few entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, seem to come up with all the real innovations, while the majority of business leaders seem stuck in the rut of linear thinking? He connects breakthrough thinking to four initiatives, which I believe every entrepreneur should practice: Questioning deeply-held beliefs and assumptions.

Startup 127

Startup Tool Entrepreneur Ideas 127