Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2015

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. Applied faith. Personal initiative.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Ideas Customer Custom 108

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

JULY 23, 2023

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve heard and seen hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs, and the majority of founders are convinced that if you will just give them an hour or more time, you will love their business. Don’t try to explain your technical implementation, your patent algorithm, or your unfair competitive advantage here.

Startup 96

Startup Education Ideas Customer 96

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

JUNE 3, 2023

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve heard and seen hundreds of pitches from entrepreneurs, and the majority of founders are convinced that if you will just give them an hour or more time, you will love their business. Don’t try to explain your technical implementation, your patent algorithm, or your unfair competitive advantage here.

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

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. Applied faith. Personal initiative.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Ideas Entrepreneur Customer 126

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2021

I often wonder whether you as the entrepreneur have worked as hard on your pricing strategy as you have on your innovative solution. If your innovation is real, it brings added value to the table, so most customers, especially early ones, are willing to pay a premium over competitive products.

Pricing 145

Pricing Startup Competition Examples 145

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Starting an entrepreneurial business, or maintaining the competitiveness of a mature business, requires innovation. As a starting point, I like the Wikipedia simple definition of innovation as “the application of better solutions to meet new requirements or market needs.”

Organization 94

Organization Ideas Technical Review Research 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2011

Other writers, like Guy Kawasaki, have irreverently called some of these “entrepreneur lies,” but I prefer to think of them as innocent over-enthusiasm or over-confidence that can kill your deal. At best we can count on it taking many years to catch on, just like other disruptive technologies before you.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Funding Innocal Competition 108

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

billion company in the brutally competitive beauty industry, especially one with such broad appeal. After all, Glossier’s founder and CEO Emily Weiss is very, very far from the first entrepreneur to profit off of our desire to look good. Watson, who holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has raised $4.5

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

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. It definitely works, but may be beyond your budget.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Technology Startup Outsource Development 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2013

By definition, Gen-Y is the generation born between 1977 and 1995 (synonymous with Millennials). There are about 80 million of them, and nearly two-thirds of them are already in the work place as entrepreneurs or with jobs. Lighten your load with technology. entrepreneur gen-y startup j2 Global baby boomers gen-x'

Tips 93

Tips Entrepreneur Startup Tool 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2021

Starting an entrepreneurial business, or maintaining the competitiveness of a mature business, requires innovation. As a starting point, I like the Wikipedia simple definition of innovation as “the application of better solutions to meet new requirements or market needs.”

Organization 172

Organization Ideas Technical Review Research 172

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. Because it addresses an internal audience, it can use technical jargon and assume the reader understands the technology. Competition analysis. Here is where you pick a few of these, characterize what they do, and position your own product to show your competitive advantage.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

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. It definitely works, but may be beyond your budget.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Entrepreneur Outsource Development Outsource 94

InfoChachkie

JULY 26, 2010

Entrepreneurs can emulate de la Guerra’s strategy and make their adVenture appear far larger than reality and thus increasing its influence and market reach while discouraging competitive threats by creating an industry alliance. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Santa Barbara Startup Conference 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2020

As an aspiring entrepreneur, one of the most important things you need is a memorable “ elevator pitch ,” to communicate your startup value proposition and leave a great first impression on friends, investors, employees, and future customers. Describe technology and features, not competitiveness.

Sample 127

Sample Summary Startup Slides 127

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2014

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. Applied faith. Personal initiative.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Ideas Startup Customer 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

I find that the most successful entrepreneurs have mastered the art and skill of building and managing relationships. In my role as a mentor to business professionals and entrepreneurs over the years, I have found that it’s important to take a hard look at the relationships around you on a regular basis.

Tips 95

Tips Mentor Coach Activity 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2015

Even technology solutions with a large intuitive value, such as a cure for cancer, need hype for visibility, education, side-effect considerations and to avoid a scam label. Marketing acceptance, especially for new technologies, actually goes through several predictable stages, called the hype cycle , as outlined by Gartner research.

Startup 97

Startup Marketing Entrepreneur Social Network 97

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

Incubator 106

Incubator Startup Help Resource 106

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Unless you are a serial entrepreneur with a string of successes behind you, you need a business plan to convince investors that you can build a business out of the dream that has been driving your passion to change the world. For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

Incubator 87

Incubator Startup Resource Seed Funding 87

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

These are industries where structural impediments to technology adoption have only recently been broken down by the advent of incredibly powerful mobile devices. As Fifth Wall’s newest partner Greg Smithies noted last year, there’s a massive opportunity in building retrofits and startup technologies to improve efficiency.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions.

Product 55

Product Startup Summary Entrepreneur 55

socalTECH

APRIL 14, 2010

Obviously, some of this is just about technology--such as search engine optimization--and I think lots of readers are initially finding us through social media and search--but I also think that as the find a channel they are most interested in, they are coming back. Is this competitive with Modern Mom? Also, we have lots of content.

Networking 230

Networking Social Media Startup Search Engine Optimization 230

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2016

Every entrepreneur I know starts out with a strong conviction that their solution is a perfect match for their target market, and yet almost every one later admits a need to “pivot” before finding their groove. Few entrepreneurs know that even the most successful startups had pivots, which rarely get mentioned.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Pricing Course Competition 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

When pitching to investors, entrepreneurs always seem to start with a customer pitch, then add a slide or two about the business. Investors are business experts, while the entrepreneur is more likely the product expert. Investors are business experts, while the entrepreneur is more likely the product expert.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

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. while acknowledging that San Fran deals are often higher valuations due to increased competition amongst investors. And of course there are always outliers. That’s fine.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

socalTECH

JANUARY 22, 2019

This morning's interview is with Kevin O'Connor , a longtime investor and serial entrepreneur, who is now running venture capital investment firm ScOp Venture Capital. If we took in other people, we'd have to go after more deals, and bigger deals, and there's plenty of competition in that part of the market. Kevin O'Connor: Definitely.

Venture Capital 145

Venture Capital Startup Invest Capital 145

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

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. Applied faith. Personal initiative.

Technical Review 53

Technical Review Ideas Entrepreneur Customer 53

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. That’s more than a lifetime in today’s technology. Patent offices can’t keep up with software technology. Even if you start with the U.S.

Patents 53

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy. Marty Zwilling.

Incubator 98

Incubator Startup Help Resource 98

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2011

Pull Quote: “If you are smart, competitive, hard working and passionate about what you do you will have the best experience of your life. With that said, what books, blogs or other resources do you recommend for emerging entrepreneurs? Of course, there was so little competition back then so it easier to find uncharted territory.

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur Competition Software Review Course 232