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What Entrepreneurs Should do about Price Fixing

Both Sides of the Table

I thought I’d try to look at it from a different lens, that of the entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you should assume that. They might not actively “collude&# and say “let’s collectively keep the price down&# but in the resulting discussion pricing information will flow – whether intentional or not.

Pricing 292
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The Changing Venture Landscape

Both Sides of the Table

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way. Are we in a bubble?” By definition?—?I’m Seed has become an option factory for many.

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5 Startup Challenges That Derail Many Entrepreneurs

Startup Professionals Musings

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Too many entrepreneurs think that expert external advisors are suspect, or will slow them down.

Startup 131
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Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. Starting in 2009 I began writing checks consistently, year-in and year-out. I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built.

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How to Talk About Valuation When a VC Asks

Both Sides of the Table

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” VC firms see thousands of deals and have a refined sense of how the market is valuing deals because they get price signals across all of these deals.

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10 Common Startup Mistakes That Are Rarely Admitted

Startup Professionals Musings

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain.

Startup 124
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7 Ways Your People Skills Are The Key To Your Success

Startup Professionals Musings

With services, scaling the business often implies cloning yourself, since you are the intellectual property and the competitive advantage. For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 111