Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2022

Every new entrepreneur who has not spent years in corporate life has the advantage of an unbiased look at business opportunities, but at the same time has the disadvantage of missing critical business experiences that can cost them dearly in their first startup venture. Startups don’t come with formal training courses.

Training 117

Training Entrepreneur IBM IBM 117

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2014

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Competition Technical Review Oracle 103

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” That implies competitive now, and the potential to stay in the lead.

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2020

Every new entrepreneur who has not spent years in corporate life has the advantage of an unbiased look at business opportunities, but at the same time has the disadvantage of missing critical business experiences that can cost them dearly in their first startup venture. Startups don’t come with formal training courses.

Training 144

Training Entrepreneur IBM IBM 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2016

Every new entrepreneur who has not spent years in corporate life has the advantage of an unbiased look at business opportunities, but at the same time has the disadvantage of missing critical business experiences that can cost them dearly in their first startup venture. Startups don’t come with formal training courses.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Training Startup IBM 64

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

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What new technology area, startup, service, or app did you find most interesting or useful this year, and why? Since 2010, $6.3B

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

In my experience working with entrepreneurs, once they feel they have a winning formula for their business, they are often hesitant to change or update it. By drawing on the current network of drivers and the app technology it already has in place, UberEATS could be a major competitor for food delivery services such as DoorDash.

Customer 143

Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. BlackTech Week was created in 2014, and in four short years, they’ve gained over 2700 participants, 150 speakers, and 3 pitch competitions. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital.

Startup 141

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 141

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2015

The new paradigm, driven by disruptive technologies, cloud-served supercomputing, and the new generation of young adults with global empathy, is partnering and giving something now for a competitive advantage in the future. Too many companies and entrepreneurs find it hard to stop a bad project. Not everything will work.

Startup 100

Startup IBM IBM Examples 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2014

The new paradigm, driven by disruptive technologies, cloud-served supercomputing, and the new generation of young adults with global empathy, is partnering and giving something now for a competitive advantage in the future. Too many companies and entrepreneurs find it hard to stop a bad project. Not everything will work.

IBM 100

IBM IBM Startup Examples 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2019

Conventional business wisdom tells us that entrepreneurs are today’s main source of innovation. In fact, a Wharton Business School study in this decade of the “Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years,” concluded that only eight were first conceived by entrepreneurs, and twenty-two were conceived by employees.

IBM 53

IBM IBM Java Google 53

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2013

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Startup 103

Startup Competition Technical Review Oracle 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2018

The stalwarts should be making the big leaps to be competitive, rather than the other way around. Conventional wisdom is that mature companies are their own worst enemies, too blinded by their success to see the world changing around them, and too focused on repeatability to see the need for innovation and leapfrog advances in technology.

Startup 59

Startup Competition IBM IBM 59

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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2018

In this era of rapid market and technological change, I know I have to challenge my small business advisory clients to keep innovating and stay ahead of the game. Other champions of innovation, including Elon Musk with SpaceX and Hyperloop, always seem to be building future opportunities from trends and technology turns.

Metrics 58

Metrics IBM IBM Competition 58

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2016

I’m a strong proponent of new entrepreneurs starting with a big vision, and believing anything is possible -- but I’m also a pragmatist who believes in factoring some realism into any plan. Entrepreneurs who expect funding at the idea stage are usually disappointed. First-to-market is a key competitive advantage.

Startup 58

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Ideas 58

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” Our product is truly disruptive technology.” Marty Zwilling.

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2014

Bitvore is based in Irvine, and is backed by serial entrepreneur Yuri Pikover, as well as other angels. Tell me about Bitvore - what''s your technology used for? We grew that up, and did very well, and eventually sold it to IBM. I then spent a few years at IBM as their Chief Strategy Officer in their identity management area.

Orange County 245

Orange County Startup News IBM 245

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2016

Every entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. A business that relies on static skill replacement is falling behind, and ripe for the next competitive crisis. Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership.

Framework 59

Framework Competition Ideas IBM 59

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2011

Messenger : Kevin O’Connor , Co-Founder of FindTheBest, former Co-Founder and CEO DoubleClick (sold to Google, $3.1B, seed investor ISS (sold to IBM, $1.3B), co-founder ICC (sold to DCA $25mm). Pull Quote: “If you are smart, competitive, hard working and passionate about what you do you will have the best experience of your life.

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur Competition Software Review Course 232

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Prior to Tilofy, I had technical positions at Yahoo, Microsoft, and Samsung, ranging from development, to program management, to senior technology person on Samsung''s smart TV platform. Ali Khoshgozaran: Before we started the company, me and my partner had participated in the USC Viterbi startup competition. How did Tilofy come about?

USC 236

USC Southern California Organization UCLA 236

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2010

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. Marty Zwilling.

Innocal 96

Innocal Entrepreneur Competition IBM 96

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Way back in the early eighties, I was privileged to be part of the original IBM PC development team, led by Don Estridge. For example, even though we were leading an entrepreneurial effort within IBM, we found it a challenge to deal with the inbred mainframe culture, reverence for process, and accounting practices of a large company.

IBM 85

IBM IBM Entrepreneur Technical Review 85

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 24, 2011

Messenger : Kevin O’Connor , Co-Founder of FindTheBest , former Co-Founder and CEO DoubleClick (sold to Google, $3.1B, seed investor ISS (sold to IBM, $1.3B), Co-Founder ICC (sold to DCA $25mm). With that said, what books, blogs or other resources do you recommend for emerging entrepreneurs? I am obsessed with technology.

Blogging 219

Blogging Entrepreneur Software Review Course 219

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

StartUp Beat

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

What do entrepreneurs do when they finally establish their startup? It’s a competition where entrepreneurs take the stage and proceed to pitch their startup ideas and their visions for the future. Pirate summit also adds a financial incentive of $50,000 to spice up the competition. Disrupt SF ( Sep 18-20).

Conference 40

Conference Startup Artificial Inteligence Competition 40

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

Los Angeles-based online advertising technology provider Rubicon Project (www.rubiconproject.com) recently had its IPO, making it one of the big success stories of Southern California''s technology startup world. It was all over, geographically, and we did not have a strong community of entrepreneurs. I think that has changed.

Startup 176

Startup Advertising Los Angeles Southern California 176

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

We typically do not ask entrepreneurs to visit our offices in Santa Barbara, but Jeff wanted to meet with Kevin, an investor in our Fund who helped us vet opportunities and occasionally invested alongside of us. billion) and ISS (sold to IBM $1.3 Tech Diligence - Consider The Source. It's Me, Not You.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2012

It’s a great survival strategy for small companies or entrepreneurs, and a good expansion strategy for even the largest companies. Both now lead with the same processors, but Dell offers custom system configuration at ship, while HP capitalizes on more impressive display and battery technology. Marty Zwilling.

Company 96

Company Companies Startup Examples 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2011

It’s a great survival strategy for small companies or entrepreneurs, and a good expansion strategy for even the largest companies. Both now lead with the same processors, but Dell offers custom system configuration at ship, while HP capitalizes on more impressive display and battery technology. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 90

Startup Examples Customer Custom 90

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

My friends who “grew up” with lifetime careers in General Motors, Exxon Mobil, or even IBM, are now often too embarrassed to even mention it. On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. His focus is on entrepreneurs in America, but what he says applies to every other country as well.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Offshore Technical Review Outsource 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

My friends who “grew up” with lifetime careers in General Motors, Exxon Mobil, or even IBM, are now often too embarrassed to even mention it. On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. His focus is on entrepreneurs in America, but what he says applies to every other country as well.

Startup 126

Startup Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Offshore 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2017

Thus one of my key messages to entrepreneurs, as a business advisor and angel investor, is “focus.” For example, it’s all too common for a technology entrepreneur to highlight a new battery technology as the ultimate power for smartphones, medical heart pacemakers, and home lighting. Simplify your solution positioning.

Entrepreneur 63

Entrepreneur Competition Customer Custom 63

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2013

My friends who “grew up” with lifetime careers in General Motors, Exxon Mobil, or even IBM, are now often too embarrassed to even mention it. On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. Existing technologies have been “commoditized” globally. Competitive advantages are rapidly vaporizing on these.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Offshore Startup Technical Review 105