Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

Getting customer attention often takes more innovation today than solving the tough technical problems. If marketing is not your thing, then you need to find a partner or outside expert to help you. As a business adviser, I still see too many new venture founders who skimp on their marketing focus, or start too late.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2020

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often hear the desire to run their own company, to avoid having someone else telling them how to run the business. They then ask me to help them find investors who can provide the funding they need. For directors, your credibility and their ability to help is at stake.

Technical Advisors 125

Technical Advisors Startup News Resource 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2020

The short answer is that some banks will help, if you do your homework. Show focus and your understanding that your company is something more than just a good idea. If you don't have a team on staff, then a banker is going to want to hear about outsourcing and advisors. Be concise as well as complete. Be comprehensive here.

Technical Advisors 162

Technical Advisors Tips Startup Equity 162

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

I generally am working as an acting CTO for about 3-4 start-ups or other companies at any one time. I also found this interesting graphic of the changing needs around the CTO role in different size/type companies that somewhat echoes my experience. Roger Smith ) This helps explain where I normally play. Great question.

Startup 231

Startup CTO Hire Technical Advisors Technical Review 231

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 2, 2013

I've had several Startup CTO Consulting sessions recently where it became apparent that the Founder needed help with the business and product as much or more than the technology. Then we discussed how they could go about finding this startup business advisor. These are not mutually exclusive and good mentors and advisors get into both.

CTO Coach 259

CTO Coach Mentor Startup Technical Advisors 259

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2011

First and foremost, we're focused on making companies become successful. If you're familiar with YCombinator or TechStars, you know that companies also get access to a deep network of top tier mentors and advisors, who help them with a variety of things, such as product marketing, go-to-market, and funding.

Technical Advisors 176

Technical Advisors Startup Southern California Los Angeles 176

Tech.Co

MAY 22, 2018

To help you crush your next investor meeting, we asked top VCs and tech leaders to share their best pitch advice. Try to compile all the different types of questions you could be asked about your business, like technical details, financial assumptions and projections, marketing, IP, etc., The best advocate for your company is you.

Tips 70

Tips Help Slides Technical Review 70

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2010

The best companies are built on common beliefs and culture – a common sense of purpose. And slowly, over the years, those crazy stories about Danny passed out in the company bathroom after the Summer party get replaced by weddings, births and family picnics. He downs cold ones with the head of biz dev.

Technical Advisors 335

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Offshore Startup 335

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

In my business of mentoring new entrepreneurs and advising small company owners, I recognize that most don’t start as experienced leaders, and most don’t realize that people leadership is a primary key to their future success. Building a business is not a one-person job, and leading by edict rarely works today.

Develop 124

Develop Development Technical Advisors Satisfaction 124

socalTECH

AUGUST 28, 2017

She told us about why so many Los Angeles investors are supporting the company and gave us an overview of what PartySlate is all about. We're focused on larger scale events, not do-it-yourself type events, and we're really for people planning large scale events, looking for ideas, and who are looking for a professional to help them.

Technical Advisors 100

Technical Advisors Technical Review Metrics Startup 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

In the Beginning … This is a very important post to me because I find myself giving this advice all the time and if you don’t follow the basic advice here you can cause yourself much heartache down the line – even if your company ultimately becomes über successful. It’s hard enough to build a successful company.

Startup 365

Startup Technical Advisors IP Ideas 365

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2019

Steve Jobs started his technical career creating circuit boards at Atari, before joining Steve Wozniak to build personal computers in his garage. Get out of dead-end jobs, and don’t be afraid to move on to a new company if the current one is not healthy. Your career will only grow as the business grows.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Startup Satisfaction Customer 75

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 28, 2017

Composed of a three-month boot camp , the program aims to help startups build their brand while figuring out the nitty gritty of finance, manufacture, distribution and sales. But your company is only eligible for the boot camp if it’s generating a minimum of $200,000 in annual revenue with a primary focus on dairy.

Incubator 70

Incubator Santa Clarita Technical Advisors FAQ 70

Eric Greenspan

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Your BBB has formed a strategic alliance to help save you money in your everyday costs starting immediately. Real quickly, most companies that offer credit card processing are a middle-man (most banks are middle-man). In most cases these viewings are done by potential customers who are checking on your company’s rating.

Santa Barbara 265

Santa Barbara Technical Advisors Email Technical Review 265

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

As a self-made entrepreneur and former chairman of Diamond Resorts International, he asserts that the five biggest companies by market value today, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, aren’t really tech, but hospitality companies. Do well by doing good for others as well as yourself.

Technical Advisors 82

Technical Advisors Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 82

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

The short answer is that some banks will help, if you do your homework. Show focus and your understanding that your company is something more than just a good idea. If you don''t have a team on staff, then a banker is going to want to hear about outsourcing and advisors. Be concise as well as complete. Be comprehensive here.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Entrepreneur Equity Ideas 75

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Before his career moved online, Len worked on major marketing campaigns for credit card companies and rolled out MCI’s highly successful “Friends and Family” marketing campaign. Despite this technical glitch, I opted to publish our discussion, given the high-quality content of his comments.

Google 220

Google Technical Advisors Technical Review Equity 220

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2018

While spending years in a big company as an employee and an executive, I heard many people talking about jumping the corporate ship, dreaming of being an entrepreneur, and totally in charge of their own destiny. I’m not saying success is rare, but the list of famous entrepreneurs who started their career in a big company is small.

Startup 52

Startup Technical Advisors Entrepreneur IBM 52

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2014

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. This patent holding company has charged infringement and demanded royalties from every app developer for the iPhone and Android, for a feature most agree has been in apps for many years.

Patents 100

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 100

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

I often have career discussions with entrepreneurs – both young and more mature – whether they should join company “X&# or not. at a startup that has already raised $5 million the chances of you making your retirement money on that company is EXTREMELY small. This is part of my Startup Advice series. That’s Ok.

Startup 418

Startup Technical Advisors Venture Capital Santa Monica 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 7, 2011

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. This patent holding company is charging infringement and demanding royalties from every app developer for the iPhone and Android, for a feature most agree has been in apps for many years.

Patents 91

Patents Software Technical Advisors Innocal 91

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

If I can help you avoid some of my first-time mistakes it would be a victory. The truth is – there isn’t a “right&# answer so for your company. Most people totally advise against stealth. I have adopted the motto “ good judgment comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgment.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

The short answer is that some banks will help, if you do your homework. Show focus and your understanding that your company is something more than just a good idea. If you don't have a team on staff, then a banker is going to want to hear about outsourcing and advisors. Be concise as well as complete. Be comprehensive here.

Technical Advisors 80

Technical Advisors Startup Equity Ideas 80

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

I had a picture in the office of my first company with the logo above and the capital letters JFDI. (In I spent nearly a decade building software for large companies and then advising companies on the same. but there are some people you just take an (extra) liking to and want to help. This was such a guy.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2012

I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. This patent holding company has charged infringement and demanded royalties from every app developer for the iPhone and Android, for a feature most agree has been in apps for many years.

Patents 93

Patents Software Technical Advisors Startup 93

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2011

I was once asked by a top executive of a major software company why we were not selling more products in Finland. Companies became creative by selling and trading foreign exchange licenses. We retained legal council in Milan and were advised that we would loose if the case went to trial. HR rules are local.

Startup 90

Startup Technical Advisors Sales Examples 90

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

When I was raising money for my first company we had closed a seed round in 1999 and were working on our A round. But we weren’t optimizing for dilution – we were building a $1 billion+ company and we wanted the runway to succeed. Many companies that were in the process of raising money did not. Let me start with a story.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Jason Nazar

APRIL 7, 2011

Who Are You: You corner us at mixers and tell stories about all the great things you do and how wonderful you are, without having any idea if we need your help. You take no interest nor show any curiosity in how technical systems are built or maintained, and Engineering is the least valued/respected part of your organization.

Technical Advisors 112

Technical Advisors Startup Social Media Ideas 112

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2010

I used to fear that this would put me at a disadvantage in starting my own company, but now I’m convinced that it may be the other way around. More importantly, as a parent or mentor, what should you advise young potential entrepreneurs about getting an MBA? I don’t have an MBA. He even had to overcome dyslexia as a student.

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Technical Advisors Education Social Network 60

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

Of course you could start your own company. As I talked about in “ Is it Time to Learn or Time to Earn ” – overwhelmingly the best economics go to those that start successful companies. Of course I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t start a company. For many people that’s the right answer.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

Bijan Sabet – investor & board member in some small companies you might have heard of like Twitter, Tumblr, Boxee & OMGPOP – took issue with the whole notion that you even need a Powerpoint deck anymore. First, if it’s an early stage company, I don’t need to see a powerpoint deck. I funded them 8 weeks later.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2010

I was once asked by a division manager of a major software company why we were not selling more products in Finland. Companies became creative by selling and trading foreign exchange licenses. We retained legal council in Milan and were advised that we would loose if the case went to trial.

Technical Advisors 48

Technical Advisors Sales Startup Coach 48

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

Working with startup lawyers also minimizes the risk of losing control of your adVenture, as they can help you avoid common fundraising and investor pitfalls. In addition, such an arrangement will further cement your lawyer’s incentive to help you succeed. This will allow you to defer a portion of your of up-front legal costs.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Each company is investing untold billions of dollars in developing AI technologies, betting on a future defined by computer systems that can perceive, reason, advise, and decide. Though the participating companies certainly have plenty of lobbying clout individually.) The partnership is not set up as a lobbying organization.

Artificial Inteligence 40

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Technical Advisors Research 40

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

. ► November (1) 2 Ears and 1 Mouth: There's a Reason ► October (2) Be Best at Something Tear Down Your Firewalls ► September (3) Elements of Sustainable Companies We're Not Saving Lives. Web Development & Marketing Technology) Exit: evolved into L90 (next company) Lesson: What you dont know cant stop you.

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40