Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2022

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. True entrepreneurs love the tactical and problem solving challenges.

Startup 137

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 137

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2021

As a long-time business advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs, I’ve always been impressed with the few who seem to always come out ahead, no matter what the challenge. It seems to be more a function of mindset and principles, more than education or natural ability. Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you.

Education 148

Education Mentor Customer Custom 148

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2023

Even customers, while they all want the next big thing, want it to happen with minimal new learning. I believe these principles, paraphrased here, should be adopted by every entrepreneur struggling to accomplish innovation in a startup in any market: Innovation can come from anywhere in the organization.

Artificial Inteligence 114

Artificial Inteligence Google Startup Organization 114

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

They include people like Sir Richard Branson , born in 1950, who has founded over 400 companies, and claims to be just getting started. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated. Manage customer service.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur Report 147

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2021

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” Jumping into a business area you don’t know, because you see a chance for big money, is a surefire path to disaster.

Entrepreneur 138

Entrepreneur Activity Guide Patents 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2022

Deciding to be an entrepreneur is a lifestyle move, and should be part of a long-term strategic plan. You shouldn’t be making this decision just because you are mad at your boss, or you would like to be rich, or someone else thinks you have a good idea. Take inventory of what you have. Visualize the future.

Startup 115

Startup Resource Training Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Examples include the Conscious Capitalism® movement, founded by John Mackey of Whole Foods, the B Team , founded by serial entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, and the Benefit Corporation (B Corp) form of business now available in 35 states. These days, you have to foster a community of support for your business.

Education 151

Education Customer Custom Sales 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2022

True business success and leadership starts with real personal values, extends to building a team, and finally to inspiring customers and your community. My job as a new business advisor is to help entrepreneurs get over this chasm early. Your company finances, reputation, or even your survival may be on the line.

Case Study 139

Case Study Customer Custom Tool 139

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2010

I continue to see stories of really young entrepreneurs, like this article on Business Fastlane , with kids as young as 9 years old who have successful businesses. Another one is The Little Entrepreneur by Michael H. You better start your business now, and have fun while you can, before we all branded as ancient relics.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Commerce Blogging Training 87

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2021

The ultimate compliment that any entrepreneur can get is that they can “see around corners.” Most of you could suggest one more, but not many. Great entrepreneurs seem to all exhibit a common set of attributes which go well beyond the basic skills required to be an entrepreneur: “Larger than life” personality and presence.

Marketing 157

Marketing Design Entrepreneur Ideas 157

Berkonomics

JANUARY 13, 2022

How might you view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build? You’ve worked hard for years to reach the payoff, and the money sure looks good as you contemplate the wire transfer to come, and then watch your bank account fill to a level you only dreamed of during those rough cash flow years.

Writing 156

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Sales 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2022

Too many customers have long felt distanced from many successful brands, seeing them as closed and mysterious environments, focused only on profits and killing competitors. In fact, Conscious Capitalism companies, for example, historically have outperformed the S&P 500 index by a factor of ten. Shared risks (open capital).

Organization 126

Organization Social Media Examples Customer 126

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2023

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. If your solution alleviates a high level of existing pain, customers more readily change.

Case Study 89

Case Study Customer Custom Study 89

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2022

Entrepreneurs are now measured against the “triple bottom line” (TBL or 3BL) of people, planet, and profit. How does any entrepreneur define the right balance, and then measure their performance against real metrics? Starting and running any business is hard work, so the last thing you need is “success” with no satisfaction.

Startup 110

Startup Entrepreneur Capital Examples 110

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. If your solution alleviates a high level of existing pain, customers more readily change.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Customer Custom 174

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?” I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2023

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.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Technology High Tech Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking. Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 24, 2011

There has recently been a common theme among the entrepreneurs I have interviewed and the conferences I have attended: despite the relatively weak state of the world economy, now is a great time to create a high-tech startup. As Guy Kawasaki pointed out in our recent conversation , “…it is cheaper than ever to start a company.

Company 257

Company Companies Startup Study 257

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Now that you can find anything on a moment’s notice via the Internet, people have found that a temporarily unused expensive asset, such as a room in your house, or your car sitting idle, is a new business opportunity. Here are some key principles to consider in every case: Solve a significant problem for customers with money.

Platform 145

Platform Startup Social Media Customer 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2020

Even customers, while they all want the next big thing, want it to happen with minimal new learning. I believe these principles, paraphrased here, should be adopted by every entrepreneur struggling to accomplish innovation in a startup in any market: Innovation can come from anywhere in the organization.

Artificial Inteligence 165

Artificial Inteligence Google Startup Organization 165

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 17, 2020

While the business didn’t work out, it put the budding young entrepreneur (and college dropout) on a path that would lead him to launch the Los Angeles-based startup Bambee , a company that lets small businesses give their employees access to the same kinds of human resources services that large companies have.

Services 281

Services Resource Santa Monica Los Angeles 281

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2021

I often wonder whether you as the entrepreneur have worked as hard on your pricing strategy as you have on your innovative solution. If your innovation is real, it brings added value to the table, so most customers, especially early ones, are willing to pay a premium over competitive products.

Pricing 145

Pricing Startup Competition Examples 145

socalTECH

JANUARY 18, 2019

It turned out, that was definitely the case, and that's how the company was created. We haven't done any paid marketing or advertising, but more and more companies are finding us, and our business has started developing. In a world where more and more drivers are moving to electric vehicles, where is EV charging today?

Startup 243

Startup Customer Custom Entrepreneur 243

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. In all cases, the challenge is the same, of finding people that you can work with and enjoy in the business relationship. Some people are too independent to be partner material.

Software Review 154

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 154

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

AUGUST 29, 2020

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2020

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Nothing is more discouraging to aspiring entrepreneurs than the high failure rate. Try bartering services you have for something you need.

Entrepreneur 121

Entrepreneur Startup Statistics Course 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2021

Startups are the corporations of the future, so I have long believed that entrepreneurs who study existing corporate models, rather than ignoring them with disdain, will likely profit from the exercise. These are all huge challenges, as well as huge opportunities, for entrepreneurs. Economic instability. Societal upheaval.

Marketing 135

Marketing Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 135

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

Traditional marketing may be adequate for linear growth, but it likely won’t catapult you to Amazon’s unicorn status , or make waves in the business world. Traditional marketing may be adequate for linear growth, but it likely won’t catapult you to Amazon’s unicorn status , or make waves in the business world.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2020

Technical entrepreneurs love their technology, and often are driven to launch a startup on the assumption that everyone will buy any solution which highlights this technology. Instead, they need to validate a customer problem and real market need first. Customers buy solutions, not technology. Limit the features and complexity.

Technology 127

Technology Marketing Social Media Customer 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2014

The days are gone when a techie or a genius could build things in his garage and customers would find and buy the product, based purely on the “wow factor” of the technology. In fact, we are all media companies now, with our cell phones, computers, and professional-looking publishing tools. New technologies are everywhere today.

Customer 99

Customer Custom Startup Content 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2020

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. True entrepreneurs love the tactical and problem solving challenges.

Startup 125

Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 125

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? It was as much in reaction to my getting blank stares from entrepreneurs when I asked the above question as it was for me to better understand the problem itself. And not every texting application is a Twitter.

Sites 156

Sites Product Social Network Press 156

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

As an entrepreneur, you have to improvise and adapt quickly to survive and thrive in the face of the unpredictable challenges of the market. In business and in comedy, you win most often with “Yes, and …” instead of “Yes, but ….” Tell you team what you want, plus why and how. Be explicit on your intent.

Startup 139

Startup Training Examples Ideas 139

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I often talk about what I’m looking for when I meet with an entrepreneur. Above all else I’m looking for a genuine passion for what the entrepreneur is doing. You need a set of innate skills that differentiate you from the thousands of others who set out on your similar journey. It seems obvious.

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They include people like Sir Richard Branson , born in 1950, who has founded over 400 companies, and claims to be just getting started. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated. Manage customer service.

Startup 124

Startup Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur 124