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. Marketing is everything these days.

Marketing 97

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. Outside of dreams, there is no real business opportunity without risk.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 153

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

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 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

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. Marketing is everything these days.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. Typically this means describing interactions with customer groups, real customer feedback, and showing an understanding of price sensitivity, alternatives, and competitive offerings.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2015

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active Angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. Outside of dreams, there is no real business opportunity without risk.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Startup Marketing Customer 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

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. Marty Zwilling.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. Human-experience design always supplements technology-driven design, and environmentally sustainable design. If you are looking for a competitive advantage, creating a positive total user experience is the place to start.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

Aspiring entrepreneurs often ask me what to do first when starting a business. Instead, entrepreneurs need to focus first on execution disciplines and timing. Your credibility as an entrepreneur is at stake. If your strength is technology, find a co-founder who has a comparable strength in business, finance or marketing.

Entrepreneur 59

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Ideas 59

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Too many entrepreneurs develop a new product without regard to market demand, then build an entire strategy based on creating a need, rather than acting on an existing market need. The best startups find a way to drive the market with their technology, rather than push their new technology-driven ‘solution’ on the marketplace.

Technology 91

Technology Funding Competition Entrepreneur 91

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Thus I find that the best entrepreneurs and business leaders today are people-centric, but they never forget that efficient repeatable processes are required as the business scales up.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

Jason Nazar

JULY 1, 2016

Entrepreneurs often lament big companies, but most of us hope we’ll create just that. Add in public company demands, lawsuit targets, & millions of customers to continually satisfy, and you have to have great respect for those doing it well. Decisions that take entrepreneurs an hour, often take months at large companies.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Company Companies Outsource Development 55

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. Brightwheel is a SaaS childcare management solution that provides technology to preschools. Calendly calendar screenshot.

Startup 213

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 213

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2012

Equally often, I see startups who are on the road to implementing an idea, but haven’t figured out what problem it solves – the business plan waxes on eloquently for 20 pages about how great this product and technology is, but never gets around to defining the problem (investors call this the “solution looking for a problem” syndrome).

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Ideas Competition Startup 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Every engineer who has invented some new technology, or is adept at creating solutions, believes that is the hard part, and it should be a short step to take that solution to market as an entrepreneur. Clearly, engineers should think twice before assuming they have an advantage over the rest of us toward being an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Oracle Customer Custom 104

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2018

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that their idea and passion are so great that failure is not a possibility. I’m convinced that you can learn more from failure than success, so it pays to take these as lessons to improve your success odds before you start: Creating a new technology doesn’t make a business.

Startup 99

Startup Competition Examples Ideas 99

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2018

New technology markets and paradigm shifts have traditionally been bad bets when seeking investors, since these were known to take decades to develop, and cost lots of money. Many customers now actively seek out new technologies, rather than wait for many others to try it first. The leading edge was too often the bleeding edge.

Marketing 92

Marketing Demand Examples Social Media 92

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. Human-experience design always supplements technology-driven design, and environmentally sustainable design. If you are looking for a competitive advantage, creating a positive total user experience is the place to start.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

However, there is already the technology out therefrom San Luis Obispo-based Whitefox Defense (www.whitefoxdefense.com)  to both detect, and neutralize those drones. We spoke with founder and CEO Luke Fox to learn more about the company, and its technology. Explain how your technology works?

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Thus I find that the best entrepreneurs and business leaders today are people-centric, but they never forget that efficient repeatable processes are required as the business scales up.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

Thus, in my mentoring of potential technical entrepreneurs who have a real passion for their technology, I often recommend that they find a co-founder who can manage the marketing and execution elements of the new venture. The competition will improve, the market will change, and your customers will demand more.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2019

After working in business at all levels, and consulting to entrepreneurs for years, I’m still surprised to see so many situations where things that should be easy are painful to customers, and lead to customers hating your business. Accelerating worldwide competition and financial upheavals are undermining established market positions.

Customer 83

Customer Custom Demand Examples 83

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2020

In my work with you as an entrepreneur or small business owner, I find that most understand the need try out new business models and product innovations, but trust their intuition rather than running a disciplined business experiment first. The pace of change to stay competitive in business today continues to increase.

Sample 124

Sample Customer Custom Tool 124

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. It takes options off of the table.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2010

California's technology industry possible. venture funding and business deals, technology develops, and more from Santa Barbara. venture funding and business deals, technology develops, and more from Santa Barbara. Venture Partners , Rustic Canyon Partners , Binary Pulse Technology. Funding great entrepreneurs.

SoCalTech 127

SoCalTech Advertising Rustic Canyon Glendale 127

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. Marketing is everything these days.

Tips 75

Tips Marketing Technical Review Startup 75

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs cringe when they finally realize that marketing is still king, despite the power of technology, and they are up against competitors who have a hundred times their spending power. How does this solution provide a competitive advantage?

Marketing 101

Marketing Startup Case Study Resource 101

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Now is the time to be an entrepreneur and create a business from your passion. On the other hand, everyone is doing it, so that means more competition, and the market and technology are changing faster than ever before. In the early Internet days, it would cost a million dollars to get this far.

Funding 73

Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2013

Every engineer who has invented some new technology, or is adept at creating solutions, believes that is the hard part, and it should be a short step to take that solution to market as an entrepreneur. Clearly, engineers should think twice before assuming they have an advantage over the rest of us toward being an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Oracle Customer Custom 100

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Thanks to all of our sponsors, who make our coverage of Southern California's technology industry possible: Sponsors. Backing Southern California's next great technology companies. Helping entrepreneurs succeed. Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (www.binarypulse.com). Custom Insurance Programs for Technology Companies.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

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

OCTOBER 22, 2017

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. Outside of dreams, there is no real business opportunity without risk.

Entrepreneur 68

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 68

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term. Cote, former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell. Attract, train, and reward only the best leaders.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it. Make your service deliver process “happy.”

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2014

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive dream of a get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active Angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk or no competition. There is no real business opportunity without risk. Find the balance.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 93