Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2014

Sponsored by VISA Business Running a small business as an entrepreneur is a never-ending challenge of new products, customers, competitors, and an unpredictable economy. Too many entrepreneurs never find the time to reflect on the positives of their lifestyle, or even take a break. Beat the competition. Few benefits.

Startup 92

Startup Tips Satisfaction Entrepreneur 92

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Few investors these days have the time or patience to read a full business plan, so a better way to catch their eye is with a tightly written and well formatted two-page executive summary. Include your sustainable competitive advantage. Professional investors look for the right people more than the right product.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2013

It’s only 12 minutes long and if you’re a first-time entrepreneur (or second time, frankly) I encourage you to watch it if for nothing else than to get a sense that your struggles are universal. Startups are filled with enormously talented people – often product people & engineers. We learn from losses.

Startup 412

Startup Press Course Entrepreneur 412

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. ” By that we weren’t trying to demean companies building aps, games, photo sharing, etc., Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 10, 2012

Although the exact sequence of events is a bit unclear, it appears that Hacker News user "lukethomas"(who is unaffiliated with Divshot) was prompted to create the Hacker News post after reading a tweet about the initiation of the company's private beta. Be Yourself - Represent yourself, not the company in your comments. Engagement.

News 198

News Sites Startup RSS 198

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2011

Company : FindTheBest. Pull Quote: “If you are smart, competitive, hard working and passionate about what you do you will have the best experience of your life. We all make important, complicated decisions in our life and having accurate, objective data about our choices allow us to find and compare products that meet our needs.

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur Competition Software Review Course 232

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

There were tons of young entrepreneurs showing their latest Web 2.0 Ajax was the new buzzword and many companies went overboard. People mistook extra doses of Ajax for a successful product. and the subsequent acquisition sprees of companies like Google, Yahoo! Cisco and others went out to fill out their Web 2.0

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches?

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2012

The elevator pitch should be the first few paragraphs of your business plan, your executive summary, your investor presentation, and the first page of your web site. Investors expect energy, conviction, and commitment from entrepreneurs. Unlike [competition], we [differentiation].” Present a sustainable competitive advantage.

Startup 113

Startup Patents Template Competition 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. Sales data needs to be correlated to advertising campaigns, price changes, seasonal forces, competitive actions, and other costs of sales. Operating productivity.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2013

Equally often, I see startups who are on the road to implementing an idea, but haven’t figured out what problem it solves – the business plan waxes on eloquently for 20 pages about how great this product and technology is, but never gets around to defining the problem (investors call this the “solution looking for a problem” syndrome).

Ideas 99

Ideas Startup Competition Demand 99

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. My blog was wiped out. Thus begins the venture capital dance.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

socalTECH

OCTOBER 10, 2013

In what is a fairly unusual move, last week, Tradesparq (www.tradesparq.com), a Chinese startup in the area of B2B trade information, said it was planning on setting up its operations here in Southern California, as part of an expansion and scaling of the company. How long has company been around? What is Tradesparq?

Southern California 170

Southern California Startup SoCal CTO Hire 170

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” Our product is truly disruptive technology.” Our patent will protect us.”

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

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. Improve the whole customer experience, as well as the product.

Technical Advisors 82

Technical Advisors Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2015

To make this work, you need heavy traffic on your site -- probably at least a million page views per month -- which most sites never achieve in their lifetimes. When Facebook did it a few years ago, the company used more than $100 million in venture capital funding before it became profitable.

Advertising 99

Advertising PPC CPC Sites 99

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

Play it in the background while you otherwise remain productive (or listen to it while you update your FB page, your call). We help companies reward their employees with perks. Perks are one of the most cost effective ways for a company to recruit and retain employees. Click here to listen to the Audio File.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

The elevator pitch should be the first few paragraphs of your business plan, your executive summary, your investor presentation, and the first page of your web site. Obvious passion - Investors expect energy, conviction, and commitment from entrepreneurs. Here are a few thoughts to help you get started: What is your product or service?

Startup 93

Startup Competition Summary Patents 93

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 24, 2011

We all make important, complicated decisions in our life and having accurate, objective data about our choices allow us to find and compare products that meet our needs. With that said, what books, blogs or other resources do you recommend for emerging entrepreneurs? 10) Kevin, why does the world need FindTheBest (FTB)? . “We

Blogging 219

Blogging Entrepreneur Software Review Course 219

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2011

In the case of SmartyPants Vitamins (www.wearesmartypants.com), it's at the core of the company. There's a real need for what we're doing, and we're super committed to a high quality product produced here in California. Your background is Internet services  howd you decide to instead sell what seems like a more traditional product?

Web 225

Web Social Media SEO Media 225

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Social media is so pervasive in today’s world that every entrepreneur believes instinctively that they know how to use it for their startup. Ask yourself where are the influencers in your market, the majority of your target customers, and what type of interaction will be most productive to your business? Marty Zwilling.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Startup Tips 108

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

One of the things I discuss the most with the portfolio companies I’m involved with is that “you manage what you measure.”. Make them widely available inside the company and share your most important goals with your board. My experience has proven that even some well known companies are under-whelming in this department.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Customer 346

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Use this opportunity to validate their satisfaction and support for your company and your solution. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2017

Equally often, I see startups who are on the road to implementing an idea, but haven’t figured out what problem it solves – the business plan waxes on eloquently for 20 pages about how great this product and technology is, but never gets around to defining the problem (investors call this the “solution looking for a problem” syndrome).

Ideas 55

Ideas Startup Competition Demand 55

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2010

Search engine marketing is simply buying advertising for your business from Google or another search engine company. Their computers then cleverly merge your ads with search results only when users search words imply an interest in your products. This is NOT the same as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Cost per click (CPC).

SEM 90

SEM Marketing Startup Search Engine Optimization 90

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

As a member of the local angel group Selection Committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Solution product & technology. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Competition and sustainable advantage. Solution and benefits.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

But the low cost also means that your competition will also be there in force. In the online world, you need a solid connection between your domain name and your product, brand, or business. Plan to update this roadmap at least once a month, based on results, new information, and competition.

Social Media 93

Social Media Content Startup Web 93

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

We’ve had just one market since then and it could confuse one into thinking: every deal finds downstream investors, every company good or bad finds a home, you know anything at all about brazil, india, china or even saas sales, ecommerce or analytics (you know all these in a bull market). Too much money too early often f s companies up.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

But many entrepreneurs don’t realize that Angels are also extremely discerning in the projects that they will invest in, rejecting approximately 97% of the proposals submitted to them, according to the California Investment Network. In today’s world, if you don’t have a web site up and running, you will not be perceived as a real company.

Angel 104

Angel Screening Summary Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Competition and sustainable advantage. Solution and benefits.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Solution product & technology. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

The idea actually came to him from the Yellow Pages business. 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 the Yellow Page business was always “pay for placement.&#.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

Entrepreneurs could learn about loneliness of success: nobody talks about. As an industry we need to pay attention to those who are struggling as they build their startups and make sure we pay as much attention to the mental stresses of the job as we do to the business challenges like shipping product, hiring staff and raising money.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

And for many companies a good deal of their business is still closed over the phone–through their call centers. This is especially true for companies with expensive and complex products or services that are more consultative in nature, like insurance, financial services, home services, education and travel, etc.

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209