Remove Competition Remove Design Remove Invest Remove Patents
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7 Ways Your People Skills Are The Key To Your Success

Startup Professionals Musings

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 111
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7 Success Factors When Your People Are The Solution

Startup Professionals Musings

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 174
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10 Business Model Components Required In Every Plan

Startup Professionals Musings

There are dozens of sources to help you construct your business model, and a good example is a classic book by venture capital investor Elizabeth Edwards, simply named “ Startup ,” which is really designed as a handbook for launching a company for less. Competition. Investors look for a sustainable competitive advantage, like a patent.

Sales 102
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Your Product Needs to be 10x Better than the Competition to Win. Here’s Why:

Both Sides of the Table

We talked about patents. Bill doesn’t think you should over invest in them but he does believe in protecting ideas when you have a true invention and many of his companies have done so. His first “real&# business came in college where he designed audio speakers. We had a nice discussion on this topic.

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10 Key Business Plan Elements Not In A Product Spec

Startup Professionals Musings

A business plan is the outward facing definition of the business you hope to drive with your hardware solution, with a hardware overview in the intro to highlight customer value and competitiveness. For example, “We just patented a new battery technology that will cut your smartphone charge time and cost in half.” and trademarks.

Product 169
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10 Rules of Thumb for Startup Investment Valuation

Startup Professionals Musings

The founders now need a $1M Angel investment to do the marketing for a national NewCo rollout, build a team to manage the rollout, and maybe even pay themselves a salary. The value of patents and trademarks is not certifiable, especially if you are only at the provisional stage. NewCo doesn’t have any of these yet.

Startup 108
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10 Preparation Steps to Win an Angel Investment

Startup Professionals Musings

File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. Having a defensible competitive advantage or “barrier to entry” is another critical step to funding, and another common stumbling block during all phases of the funding process. Prepare an investment-grade business plan. Define some intellectual property.

Invest 99