Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

The new era of highly connected and interactive technology is changing not only how business employees interact with customers, but also how they interact with each other, and with their company. Both are required to stay competitive. Measuring results in itself is not new. Explore benefits of employing “mature” workers.

Competition 127

Competition Case Study Platform Yahoo 127

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

He is regarded by many as the number-one authority on virtual staffing and personal outsourcing, and is himself a successful entrepreneur based in the Philippines. I was impressed with his summary of the top ten outsourcing mistakes made by entrepreneurs, followed by real guidance on how they can and should be avoided.

Outsource Development 121

Outsource Development Outsource Entrepreneur Summary 121

Berkonomics

APRIL 19, 2012

Professional investors laugh when they hear an entrepreneur state, “We have no competition.” It is a failed litmus test for the entrepreneur, even if the plan is for a totally new device or service that could take the world by storm. That statement has killed more investment deals than almost any other.

Competition 189

Competition Slides Sales Ideas 189

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Most entrepreneurs spend far too much time thinking negatively about competitors, and can’t resist making derogatory statements about them to their own team, investors and even to customers. As an investor, I always listen carefully to what an entrepreneur says, and does not say, about competition.

Competition 107

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Show that you have a process to hire, fire, and train others as required.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Training and coaching. Value creation.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

MBA’s are an easy target for entrepreneurs’ scorn. I too have taken shots at MBA’s, describing why they are not typically well suited for startup life in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs. MBA’s are trained to design, organize and manage such large-scale, complicated operations. Ventures In Which An MBA Education Is A Plus.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Allegis Startup Competition 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. Train and coach continuously. Train and coach continuously.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

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 14, 2014

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. Waste in a startup is any activity that burns resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Too many entrepreneurs confuse action with momentum and results. That’s a deadly waste you can’t afford.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2018

The most successful entrepreneurs and business owners I know are humble, and they don’t have an inflated sense of self. The only “sustainable competitive advantage” in business is self-awareness. I come from the same world, with an additional decade advising entrepreneurs, and I enthusiastically confirm his view.

Competition 81

Competition Startup Examples Coach 81

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

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. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

He is regarded by many as the number-one authority on virtual staffing and personal outsourcing, and is himself a successful entrepreneur based in the Philippines. I was impressed with his summary of the top ten outsourcing mistakes made by entrepreneurs, followed by real guidance on how they can and should be avoided.

Outsource Development 138

Outsource Development Outsource Summary Training 138

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

It really is possible for an introvert to succeed as an entrepreneur, even though you can’t expect to start and build a business alone. Yet I soon found that knowledge is power, and a little training and determination goes a long way toward removing the qualms. It doesn’t work in business.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

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. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Training and coaching. Value creation.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2021

Most entrepreneurs expect to face the “normal” challenges of starting a business, which include finding the right opportunity, building and executing a winning plan, and financing their venture. Sometimes entrepreneurs are so set on creating a successful business, they forget to create one that they love to work on every day.

Startup 152

Startup Training Entrepreneur Course 152

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 15, 2022

While thinking about it, I realized that it’s really not that different from the toughness required and trained into America’s elite military force of Navy SEALs, who are known to be cool under fire, able to sense danger before it’s too late, and never give up on achieving their objective. Focus on one thing until victory is achieved.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Training 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. Waste in a startup is any activity that absorbs resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Too many entrepreneurs confuse action with momentum and results. That’s a deadly waste you can’t afford.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Resource Training Product 115

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

AUGUST 18, 2018

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Training and coaching. Value creation.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

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

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 25, 2020

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Training and coaching. Value creation.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2015

You have to be extra tough mentally to be an entrepreneur. He now teaches these key principles to business leaders, focusing on the following lessons and strategies, which I recommend for every entrepreneur: Lead from the front, so that others will want to work for you. Focus on one thing until victory is achieved.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Startup Mentor Training 115

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. Almost any startup can start with Excel, and move to open-source data analysis tools, including Python or RStudio.

Tool 121

Tool Statistics Entrepreneur Metrics 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2014

He is regarded by many as the number-one authority on virtual staffing and personal outsourcing, and is himself a successful entrepreneur based in the Philippines. I was impressed with his summary of the top ten outsourcing mistakes made by entrepreneurs, followed by real guidance on how they can and should be avoided.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Outsource Entrepreneur Startup 92

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Entrepreneurs that are not listening, not engaging, and not changing are destined to be left behind even in the best of times. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground. Let your continuous innovation become your sustainable competitive advantage.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Organization Social Media Entrepreneur 151

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and Kara will now be really involved with what goes on to successfully create and run a firm but while still handling her core duties of funding great entrepreneurs. She had all of the skills and traits we sought?—?leadership, And all the platform stuff.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

There are no “overrides” – for example, businesses don’t thrive just because they offer the latest technology, or because everyone wants to be “green,” or because their goal is to reduce world hunger. New entrepreneurs tend to focus only on product direct costs, and underestimate marketing and sales costs, overhead costs, and support costs.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Every entrepreneur needs to learn how to do this by starting with the six principles of User-Centered Design (UCD) , as outlined by Solis in his book, and already adopted by key International standards organizations: Apply multidisciplinary skills and perspectives. Explicitly integrate customers, tasks, and environments.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

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

JANUARY 2, 2021

He later closed more than 8,000 of his stores for a day to provide employee racial-bias training. I often think of the scope of this example in my role as mentor to a struggling entrepreneur who is quick to blame his problems on employee mistakes, or even changing customer expectations. Don’t wait for a crisis to test accountability.

Training 173

Training Examples Startup Social Media 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? Check for intellectual property barriers in your way.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Startup 106