Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. You can’t really succeed in life if you are not happy.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Keep intellectual property keys in-house.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Universities have the links you need to patent attorneys, prototyping companies, investment groups, as well as a wealth of peer talent to round out your team and share the work. Write a business plan and pitch deck for learning. Initiate networking to find peer partners and investors. Learning by doing is the only way to go.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

As BCG writes in its report: The good news for SoCal and any region with tech ambitions is that the Bay Area has in some ways been too successful. Caltech generates more patents than any other university while UCLA boasts more startups founded by its graduate than any other school in the nation.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. So, let’s examine them and mitigate them. Make you wealthy someday. The carrot and the stick.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more. For example, “We just patented a new battery technology that will cut your smartphone charge time and cost in half.” For the rest of us, we need a business plan, as well as a product plan.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

It’s true the some VCs have started writing so many checks that they resemble stock pickers but the majority of us still have less than 10 board seats at any time and tend to go pretty deep so the result is that we care deeply about where we commit our time. Did anybody hold patents that would prevent us from using this technology?

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost. List key competitors and alternatives, highlighting your sustainable competitive advantages, such as patents and trademarks. Use concrete terms to quantify value and pain. No more pain of phone shutdown in the middle of a call.”

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Keep intellectual property keys in-house.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. Another is to gain the support of a core vendor who is willing to offer special extended terms to the company as its investment in creating the product in a finished state.

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

Board work does involve a lot of conflict at moments throughout the company. Sometimes conflict comes because a company isn’t hitting its expected targets and investors vs. executives have different views in the causes or the consequences of under-performance. Often we are asked to get involved in executive-level recruiting.

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. Working at a big company is honorable and I don’t believe the narrative that all of this tech disruption is to kill off big companies. We checked patents.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

These were once called secretaries, who looked forward to a long career with a single company, starting in the typing pool, with careers often paralleling top executives. Writing specialists. The days when these roles were stable careers for company employees are gone. Information specialists.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Services Search Engine Optimization Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

The Company. Patents and Trademarks. Who do I write the check to and where do I send it? Hopefully this straightforward format will help you avoid overly obtuse verbiage, while keeping your executive summary to two pages. Opportunity. PAIN: what painful issue are you addressing and how extensive is the issue (e.g., Competition.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison, he is one of the few startup Founders who remained at the helm of their respective companies throughout their entire maturation process. Effective startup leaders allow ideas to percolate from within their company, rather than attempting to monopolize the ideation process.

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

When Nivi published the series he titled it “the top 10 things I look for before I write a check.&# As a result I felt compelled to add this final attribute because it matters a lot to me. If we’ve seen a company present where we feel that the CEO is shady. That in itself will be controversial, I know.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Funding 284

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

It was a pleasure to write them myself. 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. Summary notes, as always, provide below.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

These were once called secretaries, who looked forward to a long career with a single company, starting in the typing pool, with careers often paralleling top executives. Writing specialists. The days when these roles were stable careers for company employees are gone. Information specialists.

Entrepreneur 89

Entrepreneur Services Product Search Engine Optimization 89

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2014

Among those funds is TYLT Lab (www.tyltlab.com), which recently announced a new, $20M early stage investment fund specifically focused on companies here. We''ve also had a pretty wide range of check writing in terms of amount. We''re pretty agnostic in terms of the kind of company, and historically we''ve been all over the place.

Seed Funding 220

Seed Funding Santa Monica Funding Startup 220

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2012

Ideas are not intellectual property, until they have been converted into patents, trade secrets, trademarks, or copyrights. An important key is NOT to dodge the discussion up front, come to some agreement quickly, and write it down. If you are an inventor and have the key patent in hand, that doesn’t mean you should be CEO.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity CTO Hire 101

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Steve Jillings has a long track record of running successful startups in Southern California, ranging from such companies as FrontBridge Technologies (sold to Microsoft in 2005 for over $200M) and Vantage Media (acquired in 2007). Telesign provides authentication services for the largest web companies in the world.

Marina Del Rey 238

Marina Del Rey Startup IP Examples 238

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Clearly willing to provide details of weaknesses as well as strengths of the proposed venture, and the challenges ahead You must be willing to welcome the participation of the angel investor in the company, at least at the advisory level. Values intellectual property.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Course Patents 109

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. I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt. Tempus Fugit.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Keep intellectual property keys in-house.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Clearly willing to provide details of weaknesses as well as strengths of the proposed venture, and the challenges ahead You must be willing to welcome the participation of the angel investor in the company, at least at the advisory level. Values intellectual property.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Ideally, they will have links to distributors you need, or even be investors in your company as well. File a provisional patent, register a trademark, and reserve your company domain names. Ship a minimum product now.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2016

Dean Kamen, while still struggling with the Segway Human Transporter, holds 440 other device patents. This is the self-reinforcing circle of excellence every company needs for success. Bill Gates of Microsoft, even late in his career, wasn’t afraid to jump in and write some code to illustrate a point. Teach others “the how.

Examples 76

Examples Startup Coach Patents 76

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

Ideas are not intellectual property, until they have been converted into patents, trade secrets, trademarks, or copyrights. An important key is NOT to dodge the discussion up front, come to some agreement quickly, and write it down. If you are an inventor and have the key patent in hand, that doesn’t mean you should be CEO.

Equity 91

Equity Startup CTO Hire CTO Coach 91

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Ideally, they will have links to distributors you need, or even be investors in your company as well. File a provisional patent, register a trademark, and reserve your company domain names. Ship a minimum product now.

Startup 104

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2016

Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Keep intellectual property keys in-house.

Outsource Development 53

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 53

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2011

One of the firms which has been active in that area is Los Angeles-based CauseCast (www.causecast.com), run by Ryan Scott , who talked us about the company's relationship with the Huffington Post, its new efforts to provide its technology to companies interested in corporate social responsibility, and other initiatives.

Causecast 222

Causecast Startup Content Education 222

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” in 2014 the data seems pretty conclusive because LA has now become the fastest growing tech startup region by numbers of companies being started and those of us here have noticed this pace accelerating. The patents Overture held became known in small circles as Google’s ’361 problem as outlined here.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2014

We spoke with Mike Outmesguine , CEO and Alan DeRossett , CTO of the company, and how their roots in do-it-yourself, "Maker" projects is key to their entry into the prize competition. The company actually was working on a different project which had dried up at that point, and it was just natural to step into this at that point.

Startup 262

Startup Competition Software Review UCLA 262