Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2018

The only “sustainable competitive advantage” in business is self-awareness. Most successful business leaders, including Richard Branson and Bill Gates, regularly called on their mentors, Freddie Laker and Warren Buffett, to test their perception of the right questions to ask, and the right issues to tackle. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Competition 81

Competition Startup Examples Coach 81

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Mark Zuckerberg, while still in school, tested the viability of his “ FaceMash ” technology as a business by rolling it out to other students at Harvard as customers. He learned quickly that several pivots were required for business, legal, and customer acceptance reasons. Take advantage of free startup programs and mentors.

Entrepreneur 157

Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

They have connections to industry associations and entrepreneur organizations that can kick-start your networking efforts, both locally and globally. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Most schools have a rich pipeline of real-world executive volunteers available for mentoring.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2023

Encourage networking. They need incentives to investigate market trends and competitive actions, as well as continuous communication of the bigger picture of the business and current objectives. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing.

Startup 95

Startup Coach Mentor Social Media 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2023

These leaders not only recognize team members who have high potential, but they willingly and selflessly customize their coaching to what these special protégés really need. Measure by relationships as well as competitiveness. They mentor protégés on talent spotting, creativity, and motivation as well as strategy.

Oracle 94

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 94

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. Message delivery must be customized for each investor. Of course, previous successes provide more direct evidence of a network of the right people.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2020

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I often feel the frustration of someone trying to build a startup in the wrong place and time, and wrongly attributing their struggle to personal limitations. You need partners, mentors, and investors who can complement your own resources to make it a win-win for all involved.

Resource 131

Resource Startup Capital Mentor 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

They have connections to industry associations and entrepreneur organizations that can kick-start your networking efforts, both locally and globally. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Most schools have a rich pipeline of real-world executive volunteers available for mentoring.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. Through networking with other entrepreneurs, you should find one or more to visit that have relationships with this investor.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

Encourage networking. They need incentives to investigate market trends and competitive actions, as well as continuous communication of the bigger picture of the business and current objectives. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing.

Marketing 130

Marketing Develop Development Startup 130

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

You need to build business relationships with partners, team members, investors, and of course customers. As an introvert myself, I remember worrying that I could never be comfortable giving a sales pitch, or networking to find clients. Asking someone to be your mentor is not a sign of weakness, and most mentors love to help.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections. In addition, creating a business requires leading and interacting with other people, including partners, investors, and customers. Build your own personal brand image through blogging, industry forums, and networking.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2020

These leaders not only recognize team members who have high potential, but they willingly and selflessly customize their coaching to what these special protégés really need. Measure by relationships as well as competitiveness. They mentor protégés on talent spotting, creativity, and motivation as well as strategy.

Oracle 124

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2022

I’m convinced that the reason for the high rate of startup failures , with well over half not lasting five years, is not that the solutions are not innovative, but that the entrepreneur focuses on the product, rather than the business of attracting and managing customers. No one else can do the solution delivery like you can.

Satisfaction 92

Satisfaction Training Customer Custom 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2021

Use social networking and blogging to get your message out. Offer to help a couple of customers free, just to get your act together and your presence known. It will definitely show off your energy and vision, and will make you a more competitive candidate for any role. You don’t even need an investor. Get business cards made.

Startup 156

Startup Social Network Activity Ideas 156

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. Message delivery must be customized for each investor. Of course, previous successes provide more direct evidence of a network of the right people.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

Assess who you can get for value and mentoring. Be ready to network for investors and team members. These relationships must be nurtured over time, balanced against your personal life, and grow to include major customers, competitors, and potential acquirers. These may evolve from an advisory arrangement to a board of directors.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2010

What is the idea behind the Tech CEO Network? The Tech CEO Network is there to fill the gap. John Morris: I think it's trying to make a decent connection with customers, and trying to assess the size and viability of the market. To better understand what they're trying to do, we spoke with both Richard and John about the group.

Networking 215

Networking Research Startup USC 215

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

Tech.Co

APRIL 24, 2018

Being one small company amongst the sea of thousands of startups vying for customers, capital, and talent, the way to get noticed above the crowd, connect with that next big partner, and raise some capital is to throw your hat in the ring to compete at Startup of the Year. A Strong Alumni Network.

Startup 70

Startup Competition Google Capital 70

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

They include real mentors, facilitators, visionaries, motivators, and negotiators. Use social networking to improve your work relationships. Compounding these strategies in today’s startup environment are two divergent concepts: a heightened degree of competitiveness, and a greater emphasis on teamwork.

Startup 127

Startup Social Network Mentor Networking 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2023

Many aspiring entrepreneurs I mentor can talk at length about their innovative ideas and passions, and ask lots of good questions, but never make much progress in building a real business. Write all goals in the future tense, be as specific as possible, and make an effort to raise each goal one level higher to set you above your competition.

Writing 92

Writing Ideas Startup Entrepreneur 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

The fitness professional network develops business tools that make it easier for fitness professionals to run their businesses and keep their clients engaged between training sessions. We have 115 paying customers right now. Any competition in LA? We haven’t identified any competition in LA, specifically. How many users?

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. Through networking with other entrepreneurs, you should find one or more to visit that have relationships with this investor.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

With some coaching and mentoring from other leaders, I was able to do it myself, so I know you can do it too, by committing to the following strategies: Train yourself to always look for positives, not negatives. Optimistic business leaders see value in every new business challenge, rather than stress and risk.

Coach 137

Coach Training Satisfaction Mentor 137

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

Thus, as an initial step in my mentoring efforts to young or older aspiring entrepreneurs alike, I always recommend ways of dipping your toes in the water, before risking all your life savings, some important personal relationships, and your own well-being for a long time to come. You may also calibrate your own level of commitment.

Sample 126

Sample Entrepreneur Ideas Startup 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2020

In her classic book, “ Rookie Smarts ,” Liz Wiseman, one of the top thought leaders in business, amplifies this point as it relates to hiring and cultivating the curious, flexible, youthful mindset in keeping a mature company young and competitive, as well as keeping experienced employees more productive. Swap jobs with a colleague for a day.

Startup 122

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction Ideas 122

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Many aspiring entrepreneurs I mentor can talk at length about their innovative ideas and passions, and ask lots of good questions, but never make much progress in building a real business. Write all goals in the future tense, be as specific as possible, and make an effort to raise each goal one level higher to set you above your competition.

Ideas 121

Ideas Writing Startup Entrepreneur 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 7, 2019

In my role as a mentor to many business professionals, I still see some who have no idea how to adapt to the new realities. I’m not looking for a personal guess, but some real homework done via networking and the Internet to see what other companies pay for the same role. Build your reputation and visibility beyond your company.

Artificial Inteligence 96

Artificial Inteligence Startup Social Media Training 96

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Encourage networking. They need incentives to investigate market trends and competitive actions, as well as continuous communication of the bigger picture of the business and current objectives. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing.

Marketing 89

Marketing Coach Mentor Social Media 89

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2013

There is nothing more inspiring than seeing the results of your mentoring and leadership. Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. Love that sustainable competitive advantage. Reserve the same names on the leading social networks and blogs. Both are networks. Bask in the success as it happens.

Startup 100

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2012

There is nothing more inspiring than seeing the results of your mentoring and leadership. Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. Love that sustainable competitive advantage. Reserve the same names on the leading social networks and blogs. Both are networks. Bask in the success as it happens.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Ideas 102

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Bill Gates , for example, shared a common curiosity and mentoring relationship with Warren Buffet, although their business domains were quite different. Build connections with key customers and competitors. Very few businesses can grow organically fast enough to stay ahead of competition.

IBM 87

IBM IBM Ideas Technical Review 87

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2010

Custom Insurance Programs for Technology Companies. pushing CEOs and business owners to innovate to outperform the competition. With Vistage, you'll benefit from: Advisory Board Peer Group Meetings; Private 1-to-1 Mentoring Sessions; Expert Speaker Workshops; Content and Connectivity Online. Need office or Tech Space?

SoCalTech 127

SoCalTech Advertising Rustic Canyon Glendale 127

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. Message delivery must be customized for each investor. Of course, previous successes provide more direct evidence of a network of the right people.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107