Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

You will realize much more from the ultimate sale of your business even if at a considerably lower price than if splitting the proceeds with investors. And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup. There is a lot to say about retaining control.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

InfoChachkie

JULY 11, 2012

Vince Lombardi is widely considered the best football coach of all time, and ultimately may be the greatest coach in the history of all sports. How can today’s entrepreneurs leverage the teachings of Vince Lombardi to identify talent that will drive the company to success? It has a price.

Coach 160

Coach Tips Competition Pricing 160

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

I’ve written about the topic of convertible debt at length before specifically about how angels & entrepreneurs should think about pricing. Convertible debt is an investment that “converts&# into equity in the future usually at a discount to your next funding round price and sometimes has a “cap&# (maximum price).

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? You know the basic ingredients, and you can visualize the results you want. For now, get cooking!

Startup 112

Startup Metrics Coach Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. Have you set the right price for your entrée, and correctly included all costs? You know the basic ingredients, and you can visualize the results you want. For now, get cooking!

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

The bar is being raised, so every entrepreneur needs new initiatives just to stay in the ballgame. Some entrepreneurs are so focused on their technology, they assume their customers think the same way. It must be written down, with measurable team objectives, validated by metrics and compared against competition.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it. Train and coach continuously. Involve, empower, and inspire.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2017

Most entrepreneurs relish being their own boss, but find the transition to “ownership thinking” to be more difficult than anticipated. Incidentally, if you never thought of yourself as being an A-Player employee, you probably will struggle even more in the competitive entrepreneur world.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Competition 54

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. In the same year they won Business Insider’s Startup competition. And I had been telling my partners for a couple of years that I thought Ethan was one of the more talented entrepreneurs I had come across in San Francisco. The company was called Red Beacon.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire GRP Partners 359

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). The “product” value is difficult to quantify, the costs are nebulous, and entrepreneurs have to clone themselves to scale the business.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Statistics 56

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

Entrepreneurs could learn about loneliness of success: nobody talks about. The Yo-Yo Life of a Tech Entrepreneur. Advisors / Coaches / Mentors. But needed to be seen. Mark Suster (@msuster) July 19, 2015. And the immediate reaction was obvious – that failure can be pretty lonely, too. Of course that’s true.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2013

One of the big advantages of being an entrepreneur and starting your company from scratch is that you get to set the culture, which is much easier than changing the culture of an existing business. Training is coaching, rather than criticizing, to improve the outcome next time. The challenge is how to do it, and how to do it right.

Startup 101

Startup Training Study Customer 101

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. Entrepreneurs are neurotic about it. They’re competitive. It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. Entrepreneurs are neurotic about it. They’re competitive. It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

But I would posit that in order to sustainably build great products in an intensely competitive industry with skills shortages – people management is one of the most critical soft skills organizations need. If you give up after this you’re not an entrepreneur. That worked for two years but then the tensions began.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

It designs its own glasses, and sells directly to customers, cutting out the middleman and keeping prices low. While Google still gets stellar reviews for pay, perks and advancement, there are also some employees who note growing pains that you’d expect from such a huge company, including the stress associated with a competitive environment.

Examples 100

Examples Company Companies Google 100

Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

It designs its own glasses, and sells directly to customers, cutting out the middleman and keeping prices low. While Google still gets stellar reviews for pay, perks and advancement, there are also some employees who note growing pains that you’d expect from such a huge company, including the stress associated with a competitive environment.

Examples 100

Examples Company Companies Google 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2012

One of the big advantages of being an entrepreneur and starting your company from scratch is that you get to set the culture, which is much easier than changing the culture of an existing business. Training is coaching, rather than criticizing, to improve the outcome next time. The challenge is how to do it, and how to do it right.

Training 109

Training Startup Study Customer 109

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. Entrepreneurs are neurotic about it. They’re competitive. It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits ;-).

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2010

It's trying to determine if there is a viable way to go to market, and also deal with competitive issues. Tags: richard koffler john morris interview startup entrepreneur venture capital spinout tech transfer technology university college education research. Where is this talent coming from? Thanks, and good luck! READ MORE>>.

Networking 215

Networking Research Startup USC 215

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

We try to hire people who we believe will be upfront and respectful of entrepreneurs and know that it’s far easier to judge ones decisions on the outside than it actually is to have to make the tough decisions inside of a startup every day. Empowerment is hard for most startup entrepreneurs. Happy New Year.

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

Berkonomics

APRIL 24, 2014

Often I see executive summaries from entrepreneurs who have never managed any form of business, or even managed employees in their past life, and who don’t know the first thing about business formation and managing for growth. I used to tell them to find a partner with knowledge in business creation and management.

Coach 250

Coach Seed Funding Summary Incubator 250

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

Many business professionals and entrepreneurs I know are quick to attribute success of a peer to luck, rather than any recognition of a unique strategy or personal attributes. You need to acknowledge the risk factors you expect, including competition, and identify your efforts to mitigate these risks.

Startup 143

Startup Competition Coach Satisfaction 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2019

Much has been written recently about the requirement to focus today on the total customer experience, as a competitive edge or even for survival. The challenge I hear from savvy business owners and entrepreneurs operating on a shoestring is that providing a superior customer experience costs money.

Customer 96

Customer Custom Coach Sales 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2012

Typically entrepreneurs and even professional sales people think this means more emphasis on the customer selling process, when in fact it really means spending more time understanding the customer buying process (view from the customer). " When the product is simple, and there is no competition, buyers can make a quick decision.

Sales 96

Sales Customer Custom Competition 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2011

Typically entrepreneurs and even professional sales people think this means more emphasis on the customer selling process, when in fact it means spending more time understanding the customer buying process (view from the customer). " When the product is simple, and there is no competition, buyers can make a quick decision.

Sales 93

Sales Customer Custom Competition 93

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. I never suggest that entrepreneurs just randomly pitch VCs. You’ll never make a great entrepreneur. So your journey to fund raising begins by strengthening your relationships with other entrepreneurs.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366