Berkonomics

APRIL 11, 2019

An entrepreneur pitches using a deck with no slide for competition. We have no competition.”. Professional investors laugh when they hear an entrepreneur come out with that one. It is a failed litmus test for the entrepreneur, even if the plan is for a totally new device or service that could take the world by storm.

Competition 120

Competition Slides Research Sales 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2020

As the business economy is expected to rebound from the pandemic, 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.

Competition 151

Competition Startup Framework Pricing 151

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

He wants to compete to be the lead drummer in the competitive ensemble and study under Terence, an obsessive instructor who is hell bent on winning competitions for the school. But the film has my brain buzzing all week about obsessive and competitive people. I absolutely loved the film. I loved the music. We revere musicians.

Competition 394

Competition Startup Writing Marketing 394

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

More than ever before, people want to buy from, work for, and invest in companies that matter. It is no longer enough to just have a great product or service. Your company and team members have to be seen as going above and beyond to solve the problems of internal and external customers.

Company 116

Company Companies Customer Custom 116

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Entrepreneurs play to win and they take losing seriously.

Competition 296

Competition Entrepreneur Startup GRP Partners 296

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 16, 2013

Tracy DiNunzio, Founder and CEO of Tradesy , recently shared her insights regarding the best approach for entrepreneurs to address competition. Tracy addressed the issue of competition head on, telling the largely student audience, "As I started to think about launching Tradesy, I looked around and there was a lot of competition but.

Competition 254

Competition SaaS Santa Barbara Entrepreneur 254

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. But wait for the mic drop… [Email readers, continue here…] Here’s where some intelligent market research might have saved the company and my investment. Hotels were installing the system; guests were satisfied, and the company was growing.

Competition 156

Competition Research Summary Pricing 156

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2020

It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan. I then created a gross domestic and gross international annual market size estimate for my industry’s products. Sources for your data.

Company 156

Company Companies Metrics Resource 156

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2021

In my role as mentor to business professionals, I often get the question about your potential of going out on your own as an entrepreneur, versus your current role of working for a boss at an established company. You need to sell yourself, as well as your product. Entrepreneurs must react and recover quickly.

Entrepreneur 158

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Ideas Social Media 158

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

Technology is so key to every business these days that experienced business-smart but non-tech entrepreneurs are feeling deeper and deeper in the hole. Only one component of running a business is managing technology, but it is a critical component, so no entrepreneur can afford to ignore it or totally delegate it.

Competition 174

Competition High Tech Startup Social Media 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Certainly that has been the strategy of many companies, and has worked in the past, but today’s customers and workers are looking for more. With the pervasive and instant communication of social media and the Internet, businesses can no longer hide behind the mask of their own hype, either inside the company or outside.

Competition 110

Competition Sales Customer Custom 110

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He was a life-long entrepreneur and the first business he created out of college (actually, he founded it while he was at Caltech) was a company that manufactured high quality audio speakers. So he launched a company with exclusively paid search. They were a juggernaut and Google was a small company.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2022

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Organization Customer Custom 110

SoCal Tech Calendar

NOVEMBER 10, 2019

Saturday, November 16, 2019 -- Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum - Transportation. The ways that people and products move around cities worldwide are rapidly changing. As traditional car ownership declines, companies are offering cost-effective alternatives powered by new technology and networks.

CalTech 100

CalTech Entrepreneur Demand Mobile 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more. You need both to survive.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

One of the vivid memories I have from being a startup CEO is the feeling that most people in your company have a look in their eyes that like they can do your job as well as you. Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev.

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2020

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. There are many ways to add levity to a tough challenge, and engaging the team occasionally in some fun activities will work wonders for your team’s productivity and motivation.

Product 129

Product Examples Mentor Activity 129

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2020

For all entrepreneurs, starting a business is the route to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” no matter how risky. According to a classic article and poll by Startups.co.uk , having the independence to make your own decisions is considered the key benefit of being an entrepreneur. Beat the competition and discover yourself.

Entrepreneur 122

Entrepreneur Startup Satisfaction Competition 122

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. I am happy to see reports that young companies are leading the way in these trends, on both the customer and the employee side.

Competition 127

Competition Case Study Platform Yahoo 127

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

The traditional model for hiring permanent employees who can grow their career with your company just doesn’t work, and can jeopardize your business before it even gets traction. Many entrepreneurs still believe they need a traditional multi-level organization to handle growth and scaling, so they start hiring career managers to populate it.

Competition 168

Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Intellectual property is required for a competitive edge. Even the best college degree is not a substitute. Neither is good.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. Building a company and selling are all about gaining commitments.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Startup Sales Customer 134

Berkonomics

APRIL 8, 2021

Discord is a great example of a company going viral mostly from word of mouth. How do you make your product go viral? What are the elements needed to focus upon in making the attempt to take a product viral? Sometimes, it is just the right idea to brand your product inside that of a known presence. Third: cost.

Sites 156

Sites Product Social Network Press 156

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2019

Every entrepreneur believes that their product or service is memorable, and that every customer will quickly see the advantage over competitors. Yet true product differentiation in the eye of the customer is rarely achieved. Isn’t that why you signed on to the entrepreneur lifestyle in the first place?

Product 124

Product Customer Custom Examples 124

Berkonomics

APRIL 19, 2012

Professional investors laugh when they hear an entrepreneur state, “We have no competition.” It is a failed litmus test for the entrepreneur, even if the plan is for a totally new device or service that could take the world by storm. That statement has killed more investment deals than almost any other.

Competition 189

Competition Slides Sales Ideas 189

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. New product process. No risk, no innovation.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that many of you have your most creative ideas for your company’s first big bang , but often get bogged down with details as the company grows. When Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia with creative outdoor products, he pitched also a purpose of helping the environment.

Company 148

Company Companies Ideas Mentor 148

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2020

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Organization Customer Custom 126

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

I was at a dinner recently in Chicago and the table discussion was about building great companies outside of Silicon Valley. I then got my MBA at University of Chicago so I secretly pull for local entrepreneurs as long as they don’t make me visit in the Winter any more. But wouldn’t it want to be great PLUS have Facebook?

Company 369

Company Companies Startup Snapchat 369

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. The company's market is the same. These points may sound obvious, but the process is certainly contrary to the popular “shoot from the hip” approach that is practiced by some entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 92

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 22, 2011

Feature, not a company. Whether something is a feature or a company is clearly subjective. And sometimes features (say, Twitter) turn into companies. It’s intended in a discussion with an entrepreneur to get them to question whether there is really amazing underlying value in the product or service they’re offering.

Company 295

Company Companies Gogii Google 295

Jason Nazar

JULY 1, 2016

Entrepreneurs often lament big companies, but most of us hope we’ll create just that. Add in public company demands, lawsuit targets, & millions of customers to continually satisfy, and you have to have great respect for those doing it well. At scale, product differentiation is taken for granted.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Company Companies Outsource Development 55

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.

Outsource Development 121

Outsource Development Outsource Entrepreneur Summary 121