Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2015

If an entrepreneur can’t build a culture of excitement and commitment at a startup, the chances of long-term success are negligible. As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked what you can do to build the right culture. Mentoring and training programs need to be put in place early. Every investor knows this.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2022

Many of you business leaders I work with, and entrepreneurs I mentor, have a great strategy and an innovative solution , but struggle with building and motivating the team necessary to run your business. Spend time coaching and mentoring team members. This created a connection with both his team and customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

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. Too many entrepreneurs confuse action with momentum and results. Bottlenecks to team productivity.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2015

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. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

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Entrepreneur Slides News Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2014

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. A recent book, “ Hunting in a Farmer''s World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs like you that I have met in my role as a business advisor are really product creators versus business creators, convinced that a great product will generate a great business. Entrepreneurs are typically focused on the big picture – creating a vision, purpose, and a long-term strategy.

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Metrics Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

As a long-time business advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs, I consistently find that the most thriving businesses are people-centric, and those team members create the best processes, rather than the other way around. Obviously, both are required for a company to stay healthy and growing.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2017

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. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

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Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 54

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2019

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Priority is placed on employee mentoring and coaching.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Every entrepreneur and business leader believes that he or she has the full trust of their team and their customers, and in fact most do in the beginning. Unfortunately, many aspiring leaders I mentor are not aware of the signals people are looking for, or are not attuned to the subtleties of their own actions.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 18, 2010

Find the best and brightest next generation of entrepreneurs and help them to be more successful. Encourage the most successful LA tech entrepreneurs who had previously started companies to get involved as mentors, instructors or just informal advisors. We decided to be less formal about the mentor / mentee relationships.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2022

I believe these same mindsets are equally applicable to the entrepreneurs I mentor, and all of you small business leaders, so I offer you my summary of the authors’ conclusions, paraphrased here, with my own insights: Be bold in vision, strategy, and resource allocation. Get organization alignment through culture and talent.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

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. All this made more sense to me as Dini defined the types of entrepreneurs into four categories.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2017

Aspiring entrepreneurs and new business owners often ask me for a secret formula for success, and they seem surprised when I tell them there isn’t one. Many managers and entrepreneurs love to play the game of persecutor, rescuer, and victim, on every initiative that doesn’t go exactly as planned.

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Jason Nazar

APRIL 2, 2016

The following checklist is my comprehensive criteria for how to grade entrepreneurs. I, like many entrepreneurs, never followed directions that well. Seek out and follow the council of advisors in and outside of the business ( watch : court mentors ). Sales / BD. Know when to set unrealistic goals. Can sell the dream.

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Entrepreneur Tips Organization Sales 46

Frank Addante

OCTOBER 12, 2021

Our focus is on helping entrepreneurs build businesses that focus on social and environmental challenges. After 20+ years of building my own businesses from scratch, I finally figured out that I love helping entrepreneurs build their businesses! We build and invest in startups with impact. Doing good is good business!

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

As an advisor and mentor for many startups and small business founders, following my initial career in big business, I realize that the key strategies to achieve success in small businesses are often different from those that make larger businesses successful. Find a coach who has a holistic view of all elements.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic. And here’s an important point that I think modern entrepreneurs often forget: Investors are “co-owners” of your business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2018

One of the most important skills for every entrepreneur is timely and effective decision making. The best entrepreneurs relish this role, while others struggle mightily and ultimately lose their health and their company. Your job as entrepreneur or executive does not end with picking a solution.

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Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Coach 84

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. “I think the best VCs help drive exits alongside their entrepreneurs. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above).

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2016

One of the most important skills for every entrepreneur is timely and effective decision making. The best entrepreneurs relish this role, while others struggle mightily and ultimately lose their health and their company. Your job as entrepreneur or executive does not end with picking a solution.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2016

Every business wants and needs top performers, but most entrepreneurs and executives assume that if they hire and train the smartest and most experienced people, they will get exceptional performance. I saw the key ones outlined well in a recent book, “ Creating High Performers ,” by William Dann, a leading coach to experienced CEOs.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2015

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. Too many entrepreneurs confuse action with momentum and results. Bottlenecks to team productivity.

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Resource Startup Entrepreneur Training 105

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

After all, I am no stranger to the publicly expressing the frustrations of dealing with the downside of this industry as I wrote about in 2006 when I was an entrepreneur. The best VCs don’t try to help entrepreneurs. And Coach Campbell. I read Andy’s post with a knowing smile on my face. But VC is like congress.

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Frank Addante

OCTOBER 12, 2021

Our focus is on helping entrepreneurs build businesses that focus on social and environmental challenges. After 20+ years of building my own businesses from scratch, I finally figured out that I love helping entrepreneurs build their businesses! We build and invest in startups with impact. Doing good is good business!

Startup 52

Startup Case Study Ideas Invest 52

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2018

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. Too many entrepreneurs confuse action with momentum and results. Bottlenecks to team productivity.

Resource 52

Resource Training Entrepreneur Activity 52

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

You can find a mentor, a coach, a project, or experience, to help you prepare for the role you are looking for. We were originally operating as a coaching company, and we built out this assessment technology for our own clients. Anne Fulton: I've always been an organizational psychologist crossed with a serial entrepreneur.

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Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of never devolving power. Due to the language and culture issues in Europe we opted for a country structure with an MD in each country and local sales, marketing & customers support staff. This is akin in the US to having sales staff in NY, SF & LA with your HQ in one of these locations.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2018

Here are some specific actions I now recommend to every entrepreneur, and to every senior executive, to get top performance from every member of their team: Clearly and iteratively communicate team goals and objectives. Practice process coaching, but not edicting decisions. Yet in the long run, you get what you pay for.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup Training Netflix 51

Tech Coast Venture Network

MARCH 9, 2011

Investors and entrepreneurs who won at the fundraising game during and after the Great Recession offer advice on landing equity money. To help you get a jump-start with fundraising, I’ve gathered tips from active early-stage investors and entrepreneurs who managed to beat the odds by raising capital during and after the Great Recession.

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Tips Capital Tech Coast Angels Screening 100

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 20, 2013

Who is the sales person? But Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich used his many years of experience to deliberate a plan that was well executed and surprised even the experts in the game, leading the underdog team to a Game 7 against the defending champions. Who has the business mindset? Who is the technical person?

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Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 9, 2013

Katie’s journey from corporate lawyer at a top firm to a social good entrepreneur has been a zigzag of twists and turns, luck and tenacity. On the advice of mentors and friends, she started pounding the pavement and setting up meetings with people in that space who wanted to know what issue she was most passionate about.

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Organization Startup Research Ideas 98

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2009

Everyone in the outside world is talking about how great you are but internally you know that your sales aren’t ramping, your product isn’t shipping on time, you have doubts about the quality of your code, you’re not convinced you’re doing a good job on marketing – whatever. Your solution? My advice: don’t.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2016

You Need to Find Your Mojo A Chip On Your Shoulder A few years ago I wrote a blog post on entrepreneurs with a chip on their shoulders. A chip on one’s shoulder as in, “F**k the system, it’s broken and I want to fix it” is exactly the energy I look for in entrepreneurs. We’ve all been there — every entrepreneur. But that’s hard.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

Last year I wrote a blog post on entrepreneurs with a chip on their shoulders. A chip on one’s shoulder as in, “F**k the system, it’s broken and I want to fix it” is exactly the energy I look for in entrepreneurs. My point … We’ve all been there – every entrepreneur. Confidence.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 2, 2011

Thiel and friends will also agree to mentor these young entrepreneurs. Actually, they’ll get even more attention because this selection will put them in an even more exclusive peer group and will introduce them to even more connected mentors. At least not as an entrepreneur. Here is their inaugural class.

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Education Startup Incubator Class 322