Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2022

Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. With no competitive advantage, startups with new ideas gaining traction are never feared, and are usually eaten for lunch as sleeping giants wake up. In the business world, we call this finding the right strategic alliances. If you want to be feared. If you want to mate.

Startup 112

Startup News Framework Outsource 112

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Many entrepreneurs are paranoid about the partnership approach, and think that M&A is only an alternative for large companies who are flush with cash. Building through internal development, or organic growth, makes the most sense when you have a core set of skilled internal resources. Add basic partner contracts or alliances.

CTO Hire 91

CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development Resource 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2012

Companies today are paranoid, afraid that even their friends will steal their business. Your goal is “ coopetition ” - to find a way to partner with your competitor in such a way that both parties can substantially benefit from the other's resources - without stealing customers or damaging anyone's credibility.

Company 96

Company Companies Startup Examples 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Most entrepreneurs underestimate the resource and time requirements for scaling, and overestimate their own range of capabilities. You need to talk about partnerships, employee roles, distributors, and strategic alliances. Postulate competitive reactions and your responses.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2019

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. Relevancy for an early-stage company is the discovery and understanding of the real addressable market for a product or service.

Startup 97

Startup Education Customer Custom 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2015

Too many startups rush into battle early, assuming any progress will somehow give them the competitive advantage. Lining up your resources is critical, but so is time to market. Pick the key challenges and attack them will all your resources, rather than stay spread so thin that every initiative is jeopardized.

Startup 115

Startup Entrepreneur Resource Training 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2019

Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. With no competitive advantage, startups with new ideas gaining traction are never feared, and are usually eaten for lunch as sleeping giants wake up. In the business world, we call this finding the right strategic alliances. If you want to be feared. If you want to mate.

Startup 94

Startup News Framework Outsource 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2016

But in my experience as a startup advisor, too many entrepreneurs get stuck there, and always find excuses for not really exploring mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and alliance alternatives. Investigate strategic alliance alternatives. Acquire or merge with another company.

Startup 56

Startup Outsource Development Organization Outsource 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2014

Too many startups rush into battle early, assuming any progress will somehow give them the competitive advantage. Lining up your resources is critical, but so is time to market. Pick the key challenges and attack them will all your resources, rather than stay spread so thin that every initiative is jeopardized.

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Resource Training Competition 119

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2018

Too many startups rush into battle early, assuming any progress will somehow give them the competitive advantage. Lining up your resources is critical, but so is time to market. Pick the key challenges and attack them will all your resources, rather than stay spread so thin that every initiative is jeopardized.

Entrepreneur 53

Entrepreneur Resource Training Competition 53

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2013

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. Relevancy for an early-stage company is the discovery and understanding of the real addressable market for a product or service.

Startup 117

Startup Education Customer Custom 117

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2012

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of your management team, or your sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. Relevancy for an early-stage company is the discovery and understanding of the real addressable market for a product or service.

Startup 99

Startup Education Customer Custom 99

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2016

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. Relevancy for an early-stage company is the discovery and understanding of the real addressable market for a product or service.

Capital 58

Capital Startup Education Customer 58

socalTECH

MARCH 8, 2016

Once upon a time, one of the best benefits that employers could offer up an employee was a company contribution to their retirement plan. Santa Monica-based Tuition.IO (tuition.io) has s created a way for companies to both help their employees tackle that mound of student debt, as well as attract better and more loyal employees.

Help 100

Help Startup Platform Santa Monica 100

InfoChachkie

MAY 23, 2011

As noted in Contract Traps Entrepreneurs Should Avoid , exclusivity can kill a small company. Unfortunately, many Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) assume they must unfairly skew the market in their favor by precluding you from freely working with anyone you choose. An Alliance Of Two.

Technical Review 183

Technical Review Marketing Sales Competition 183

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. With no competitive advantage, startups with new ideas gaining traction are never feared, and are usually eaten for lunch as sleeping giants wake up. In the business world, we call this finding the right strategic alliances. If you want to be feared. If you want to mate.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup News Framework 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2013

The opportunity for change is huge, with everyone taking a new look at the world after the recession, but the competition is also huge, since the cost of entry is at an all-time low. Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. In the business world, we call this finding the right strategic alliances.

Startup 99

Startup Competition News Framework 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2017

Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. With no competitive advantage, startups with new ideas gaining traction are never feared, and are usually eaten for lunch as sleeping giants wake up. In the business world, we call this finding the right strategic alliances. If you want to be feared. If you want to mate.

Startup 57

Startup News Framework Entrepreneur 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2011

Companies today are paranoid, afraid that even their friends will steal their business. Your goal is “ coopetition ” - to find a way to partner with your competitor in such a way that both parties can substantially benefit from the other's resources - without stealing customers or damaging anyone's credibility.

Startup 90

Startup Examples Customer Custom 90

Xconomy

AUGUST 16, 2016

The authors made the point that, given the size of companies today, a single garden-variety blockbuster hardly moves the needle. A recent Silicon Valley Bank report noted that large corporations have dramatically increased pre-clinical acquisitions in the last three years under the pressure of limited supply and competition from IPOs.

Product 40

Product Journal Venture Capital Demand 40

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2010

For “coopetition” (also called a strategic alliance) to work, companies need to very clearly define where they are working together, and where they are competing. Here are some examples of common alliances between competitors that are synergistic deals: Cost sharing and economies of scale.

Startup 48

Startup Customer Custom Sales 48

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

And while many of the people bringing you the great applications and infrastructure you now rely on are benevolent, there is of course an inbuilt incentive for these companies to use their scale advantages to continue to dominate the markets they’re in, making it harder for upstarts to compete. It’s Hobbesian economics 101. Enter blockchain.

Course 280

Course Startup Framework Marketing 280

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2016

People who failed to industrialize, however well intentioned one’s goals, were at a competitive disadvantage to those who had. And he talks specifically about how water trade lowered the costs of transportation and thus products and gave such a resounding advantage to those with great water resources that other nations struggled to keep up.

Education 150

Education Resource Class Course 150