Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. There is no room in this realm for negativism, excuses, or lack of confidence.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2021

In my experience, many entrepreneurs rely too much on the perspective of a trusted advisor, or try to emulate a competitor who is getting attention. Of course, this kind of leadership has a big risk, since you have no one to blame if you get it wrong. Many entrepreneurs I know wait for that big event to celebrate their leadership.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Course Satisfaction SpaceX 132

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. With a bit of humor, he provides some serious guidelines for struggling career professionals looking to move up, and new entrepreneurs looking to build a company. Anything less makes you non-competitive.

Startup 153

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Screening 153

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Supplement course work with practical experience.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Course Education 105

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. There is no room in this realm for negativism, excuses, or lack of confidence.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. There is no room in this realm for negativism, excuses, or lack of confidence.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. But if there is nothing wrong with you then please don’t let early rejections alter your course. Of course you need to have answers to all of the hard questions that you know you can anticipate about your business?

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. Of course once submitted you could send out links to your friends and ask them to upvote your content and that would help.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” As an entrepreneur it can feel as intimidating as going to buy a car where the dealer knows the price of every make & model of a car and you’re guessing at how much to pay.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Thus, you have negotiating leverage as long as a legitimate, competitive threat exists. Your commitments to investors must be significant enough to compel them to write you a check. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

It should help some entrepreneurs to better access early-stage capital and should allow some angel investors better access to deal flow. If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. million round I might write $1.8 – 2.2 So What’s the Big Deal?

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. Of course, if the board is set up or used incorrectly, the impact can indeed be more negative than positive. In my view, nothing could be further from the truth.

Startup 145

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2013

So what’s an entrepreneur to do to get his new business noticed these days? Most entrepreneurs I know are too busy creating a compelling product to give proper focus to the four phases of building a people and media platform that Hyatt says are equally critical for long-term success: Platform creation prior to launch. How about yours?

Platform 105

Platform Entrepreneur Startup Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2012

It’s a well-accepted axiom in the investor community that entrepreneurs learn more from their failures than their successes. Don’t focus too much on the competition. You hear about all the parallel entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs running Apple and Pixar at the same time. Wise people can become great entrepreneurs.

Tips 97

Tips Entrepreneur Startup Ideas 97

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. How can you improve your odds?

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Statistics 109

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. What advice you can offer entrepreneurs validating their new products? How do early-stage entrepreneurs go about doing it?

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Of course, a real contract or purchase order from a big customer is even better.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

I try to steer entrepreneurs away from over-introducers and I often find myself wanting to be careful about them becoming an investor in companies I back. It’s hard enough building a valuable product or service in competitive global markets without spending time on unproductive tasks. It starts seemingly innocent enough.

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Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly. “I As a starting point I have to believe the founder has the attributes of an entrepreneur that matter most to me : Tenacity, resiliency, inspiration, perspiration, attention-to-detail, competitiveness, decisiveness, risk tolerance and integrity.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

Based on my experience as an investor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, one of the quickest ways to kill your credibility and your startup is to offer a poorly written business plan, or none at all. An entrepreneur who can’t manage a plan, probably won’t be able to manage the new business.

Startup 109

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” Especially if you are in the early stage of growing a business, these five risks can and often do derail entrepreneurs before realizing the riches of a great exit. And fifth: Competitive risk. . So, let’s examine them and mitigate them.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2016

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. Of course, if the board is set up or used incorrectly, the impact can indeed be more negative than positive. In my view, nothing could be further from the truth.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Startup Mentor Writing 58

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2010

I’ll confess up front that I’m a big fan of Guy Kawasaki’s humor and writing style. Back when he was writing to entrepreneurs, he published the book “ Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition.” Of course, there is much more, but I think you get the idea.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Sample 92

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. I had been thinking a lot about this recently because I’m often asked the question of “what I look for in an entrepreneur when I want to invest?” My first response mentally was, “Of course!”

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

Berkonomics

MAY 29, 2014

Richa is a successful entrepreneur and technologist giving back to the entrepreneurial community in many ways, including his weekly Internet TV program on entrepreneurism, and participation in several mentoring programs. . If you don’t know these things, how are you going to course-correct if things go differently than forecast?

Startup 166

Startup Guide Help Mentor 166

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? ” Of course not. I am a VC. I hand out money.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. ” An angle can be, Starbucks is piloting this product in 500 stores; or.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

Sometimes those motives are positive (they really want the chance to work with you, they think you have unique skills) and sometimes they are less positive (their first-tier of “go to” referrals passed on the deal, they don’t want to write another check themselves, etc.). I seek out great entrepreneurs. End of story.

Venture Capital 337

Venture Capital Invest Ideas Entrepreneur 337

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” Of course strongest industry players don’t stand still. Why is this?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. With a bit of humor, he provides some serious guidelines for struggling career professionals looking to move up, and new entrepreneurs looking to build a company. Anything less makes you non-competitive.

Startup 93

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Screening 93

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. And of course there are always outliers. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Many believe that entrepreneurs are born, not made. While I agree that successful company builders usually have a natural inclination to be entrepreneurs, a good education helps polish that apple. Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Supplement course work with practical experience.

Technical Advisors 90

Technical Advisors Startup Course Entrepreneur 90

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

Of course there’s no exact number of VCs you should meet?—?these If you’re raising a round where a new lead investor would invest $5 million the VC fund must have no less than $100 million and if you’re looking for them to write $15–20 million as the lead their fund realistically should be at least $400 million.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

Serial entrepreneur, venture investor and startup accelerator pioneer Brad Feld has notoriously mocked traditional marketing throughout his career. When the entrepreneur is obsessed with the product and the company has organized all of its activities around that, it’s very powerful.”. Write Your Own Playbook.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. It’s insanely competitive to get into our industry so most have degrees from institutions like Stanford, Harvard, Wharton and University of Chicago (blatant plug ;-). VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) Most VCs are book smart.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 3, 2012

Seth is a design-oriented entrepreneur, with little desire to document details. In my UC Santa Barbara Entrepreneurial course, I require the students to submit a venture idea every week. The more you play around with ideas and you write them down, the better. Competition – which competitors will prove to be the most formidable?

Ideas 266

Ideas Guide Startup Santa Barbara 266

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

Investor and customer attention spans are short, and both will write you off quickly. This statement leaves no confusion in the minds of investors, or customers, of what the company does and how it is different (and better) than the competition. Of course, now that you have investor attention, the devil is in the details.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Custom Customer 73