Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. Customers won’t buy what they can’t find or don’t understand. Customers need supporting approvals to fully benefit. Incent these early.

Product 141

Product Services Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 141

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2017

In the meantime, we’ll continue publishing thoughts and ideas we’ve learned from great product managers here. It means competition is more fierce because formidable new competitors can arrive overnight. At long last, product managers could collect feature ideas from users at scale. Read on for our top posts from 2017! ??

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Metrics Ideas Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Today’s customers are much more proactive in going online for the latest information, rather than simply reacting to the “push” messages that businesses traditionally use to drive commerce. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Organization Social Media Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

In this world of constant change, new technologies, and a thousand cultures, it’s evident and somehow comforting to me that the basic rules for business prosperity really haven’t changed in the last hundred years. Business success is still more about the people than the technology or idea involved. Master-mind alliance.

Technical Review 119

Technical Review Ideas Entrepreneur Customer 119

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

I’m a believer in the old saying that investors look for great people, more than great ideas. For example, even though Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook as an innovative product, most experts believe it was successful due to his relationship with Peter Thiel and other top VCs that he convinced to invest early.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Give your own customers the same consideration.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. I tell them that if their idea or solution is technology intensive, they clearly need technology strength on the team. Outsource your technical requirements.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Entrepreneur Outsource Development Outsource 94

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

As organizations we have become more open and I believe this is great for businesses and their customers. We spent time out in the marketplace talking with customers, looking at their solutions, comparing ourselves with our competition and then squirreling ourselves away in our offices designing our next set of features.

Organization 280

Organization Customer Custom Tips 280

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Give your own customers the same consideration.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2017

Entrepreneurs are people who dream up new ideas, and then commercialize them into new businesses. Most people believe that the hard part is coming up with the idea, and the easy part is turning it into a business. Don’t assume anything until you have done market research and listened to real customers.

Ideas 72

Ideas Startup Metrics Entrepreneur 72

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location. It’s just the first of many.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Starting an entrepreneurial business, or maintaining the competitiveness of a mature business, requires innovation. In reality, the best business process innovations usually come from regular employees on the front line of your business, just trying to do a better job and better serve customers.

Organization 94

Organization Ideas Technical Review Research 94

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Intellectual property is required for a competitive edge. Even the best college degree is not a substitute. Neither is good.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2012

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. I tell them that if their idea or solution is technology intensive, they clearly need technology strength on the team. Outsource your technical requirements.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Technology Startup Outsource Development 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2021

Starting an entrepreneurial business, or maintaining the competitiveness of a mature business, requires innovation. In reality, the best business process innovations usually come from regular employees on the front line of your business, just trying to do a better job and better serve customers.

Organization 172

Organization Ideas Technical Review Research 172

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

In this world of constant change, new technologies, and a thousand cultures, it’s evident and somehow comforting to me that the basic rules for business prosperity really haven’t changed in the last hundred years. Business success is still more about the people than the technology or idea involved. Master-mind alliance.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Ideas Entrepreneur Customer 126

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. Regularly follow reviews and influencers in your industry. Ask the right questions, and listen to your customers.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Technical Review Software Review 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. According to many observers , we can thank or blame technology for these higher expectations, providing information at the speed of light, leading everyone to expect more. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

He lays out seven thinking strategies for both entrepreneurs and employees that will make them business winners: Focus on the customers at all times. Corporate thinkers often become preoccupied with doing their jobs and following rules, not pleasing customers. They don’t realize that customers are the source of all business payback.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Sales Customer Custom 117

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2023

Thus they are blindsided and try to react quickly when a new competitor starts stealing customers. For example, we all remember when Blockbuster realized too late that Netflix was stealing customers by offering videos online rather than via DVDs, but even then they were unable to adapt their processes and their thinking.

Metrics 71

Metrics Training Netflix Resource 71

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I have often thought that creative endeavors where one has a quick turn-around between idea and realization of one’s work as one of the more fulfilling experiences in life. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. It was a way to make it hard for your competition to compete.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

Today’s customers are much more proactive in going online for the latest information, rather than simply reacting to the “push” messages that businesses traditionally use to drive commerce. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground.

Tips 126

Tips Technical Review Organization Social Media 126

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. There is nothing more pure than building a product, putting it out in the world and seeing paying customers using your product and in some cases loving it.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 12, 2015

While the global economy has proved to be fertile soil for launching small to mid-sized businesses, there has never been a time in which the competition in the small business arena has been as intense as it is currently. The post Here Comes New Ideas from BPM appeared first on TechZulu. Cost Efficiency.

Ideas 40

Ideas Software Review Competition Satisfaction 40

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2019

In the entrepreneur world, it’s still a popular misconception that the “idea” is everything. Even though investors, like myself, have long made it clear that we invest in people, not ideas, new venture owners insist on talking about their latest “ million dollar idea ,” rather than their “ million dollar team.”

IBM 87

IBM IBM Ideas Technical Review 87

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2019

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Give your own customers the same consideration.

Marketing 97

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2022

The ready-aim-fire traditional approach works best in more mature markets, where your strategy is to add features and value to competitive products, or address an underserved new segment of the marketplace. This most often happens due to impatience, which is not typically an entrepreneurial virtue.

Marketing 120

Marketing Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 120

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

In the initial phases of any new market you’re developing a product (hopefully with a minimal set of features), getting feedback from customers, refining your product based on user feedback and then re-launching your product. Rinse & repeat. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. It takes options off of the table. You have a hunch.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Tech.Co

MAY 22, 2018

Truth be told, your only path to some serious funding is perseverance and diligence in getting meetings and being prepared. To help you crush your next investor meeting, we asked top VCs and tech leaders to share their best pitch advice. What startup teams don’t realize is that having competition is good. Know Your Stuff.

Tips 70

Tips Help Slides Technical Review 70

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location. It’s just the first of many.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. It takes a well-rounded and motivated team to run a competitive business today. Once gone, customers won’t be back.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Apparently with a physical storefront where it can convince customers of the wonders of on-demand mobility. Update: TechCrunch has confirmed Lime’s plans for the store, and that the deal to build it came through Lime’s investor Fifth Wall Ventures that arranges partnerships between tech companies and real estate developers.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities. Too Techie - Tone down emphasis on the technology underlying your venture; an interested investor will perform tech diligence at the appropriate time.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

In my role as a Professor of Practice within UC Santa Barbara’s entrepreneurial Technology Management Program (TMP), I have worked with approximately 8,000 students over a ten year period. Note: due to the founders’ relative lack of experience, most student enterprises do not qualify for venture capital.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Class Patents 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2017

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Give your own customers the same consideration.

Tips 75

Tips Marketing Technical Review Startup 75