Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Yet, there are constant examples of new entrants into a niche that do grow, prosper and sometimes even become dominant. What if you had abandoned that market, reallocated your resources, and focused instead upon other non–competitive geographical or industry segments? Forgotten about selected vertical markets within the niche?

Resource 156

Resource Competition Examples Custom 156

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. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. A narrow scope doesn’t help your case either.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

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. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. A narrow scope doesn’t help your case either.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

Even in this age of purpose before profits, a business won’t survive by pretending there are no competitors out there to worry about. In the context of offering some inspiring examples of small business success, she includes some timeless business lessons that I believe every startup entrepreneur should take to heart and follow in practice.

Startup 146

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Training 146

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2022

I’ve learned over the years that you need to start with specific goals, a focused strategy , and a motivated and prepared team in order to penetrate competitive defenses. They assume their innovation will overwhelm any competition, anywhere. Capitalize on territory the competition has not penetrated.

Marketing 125

Marketing Technical Review Startup Resource 125

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Or concentrate our available resources on just plain money as an attraction? Salaries or hourly wages must be within reasonable limits set by the industry and matched by the competition, both regionally and for the same job classification. But how about listing the basics for designing an excellent incentive compensation program?

Design 156

Design Examples Competition Pricing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. They can also connect you to area businesses.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2020

It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan. That’s likely to be completely unreachable for you with almost any amount of resources. Sources for your data. TAM, SAM, SOM?

Company 156

Company Companies Metrics Resource 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2016

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

Competition 62

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Custom 62

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources. They can also connect you to area businesses.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. If you care about accessing customers, reaching an audience, communicating your vision, influencing people in your industry, marketing your services or just plain engaging in a dialog with others in your industry a blog is a great way to achieve this.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

There is much discussion online and also in small, private groups, about why the price of technology companies – public and private – are falling. Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2012

One of the toughest and yet most important questions you will be asked by savvy potential startup investors is “What is your sustainable competitive advantage?” Yet many entrepreneurs, maybe in their passion for their new product, gloss over this one, or even announce that they have no competition. No one said it would be easy!

Competition 97

Competition Patents Startup Social Network 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2023

Harris, in his classic book “ Transformative Entrepreneurs ,” provides examples of key elements of transformative ideas and leadership abilities that separate the winners from the losers. I found his observations, like the following, to be inspirational for those of us chasing an entrepreneurial dream: It’s all about the people.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2011

One of the toughest and yet most important questions you will be asked by savvy potential startup investors is “What is your sustainable competitive advantage?” Yet many entrepreneurs, maybe in their passion for their new product, gloss over this one, or even announce that they have no competition. No one said it would be easy!

Competition 102

Competition Patents Startup Social Network 102

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 13, 2016

Yet, there are constant examples of new entrants into a niche that grow, prosper and sometimes even become dominant. Email readers, continue here…] What if you had abandoned that market, reallocated your resources, and focused instead upon other non–competitive geographical or industry segments? Quietly abandon a niche?

Resource 120

Resource Competition Examples Custom 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2023

For example, we all remember when Blockbuster realized too late that Netflix was stealing customers by offering videos online rather than via DVDs, but even then they were unable to adapt their processes and their thinking. I see this happening in smaller ways often, where there is minimal focus on competition.

Metrics 71

Metrics Training Netflix Resource 71

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2019

Even in this age of purpose before profits, a business won’t survive by pretending there are no competitors out there to worry about. In the context of offering some inspiring examples of small business success, she includes some timeless business lessons that I believe every startup entrepreneur should take to heart and follow in practice.

Resource 130

Resource Entrepreneur Training Competition 130

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

Harris, in his classic book “ Transformative Entrepreneurs ,” provides examples of key elements of transformative ideas and leadership abilities that separate the winners from the losers. I found his observations, like the following, to be inspirational for those of us chasing an entrepreneurial dream: It’s all about the people.

Startup 171

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Unfortunately, with limited resources, this isn’t possible, and it frustrates customers and the team. For example, Mark McClain, cofounder and CEO of SailPoint Technologies , created an employee growth culture resulting in growth of forty percent a year, with more than $100 million in revenues.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

If you have a software development background like mine, I’m sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. Saving cost won’t help you if you can’t make the daily innovations required to stay competitive. The same applies to manufacturing and almost any process these days.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2021

For example, a couple of years ago, Starbucks' chief executive officer, Kevin R. 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. Accountability is not all about me, myself, and I.

Training 173

Training Examples Startup Social Media 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

For example, it’s great to pursue a higher purpose, like feeding the hungry, but don’t forget that running any business is a hungry mouth you have to feed. For example, if you have ever watched the Shark Tank show on TV, they always ask about the cost of customer acquisition. Postulate competitive reactions and your responses.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2023

For example, many companies are fighting the remote work trend by bringing team members back to the office where they can better focus together on improving customer experience. Predictive – able to anticipate and provide resources. To achieve real growth, business leaders need to improve both employee as well as customer experiences.

Custom 113

Custom Customer Training Tool 113

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 19, 2015

Computers and the Internet have now brought in a new era that relies on data to make profitable business decisions in the competitive environment. Below is a full explanation of how small businesses can leverage technology to earn a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Cloud Services. Social Media Automation Tools. CRM Platforms.

Competition 40

Competition Technology Social Media Tips 40

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

For example, I have a friend with a Ph.D. in Physics who talks passionately about starting a business producing nuclear powered batteries. Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections. I have tried to convince him the general idea alone does not make a business.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

So a better question than asking about the quality of an idea, is asking about the quality of your plan to implement the idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. All the evidence says that over 99% fail to make that leap. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 5, 2013

It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan. Where did you get the data to drive your assumptions of market size or market share? Email readers, continue here.]

Metrics 239

Metrics Startup Marketing Demand 239

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

In more than a decade of writing about the Internet and tech-enabled businesses I’ve learned that mobs don’t do nuance well. My goal is to lay out a basic framework for anybody unsure whom to listen to as a way of helping you think about a way to orient your own views.

Course 280

Course Startup Framework Marketing 280

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

The video of the interview will be available this week and I will talk more about it then because the interview covered so many great topics. And there was a great discussion about generational change at Venture Capital firms handled so well by Benchmark & Sequoia and how Fred is thinking about it.

Competition 150

Competition Venture Capital Invest Organization 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2021

Thomas Edison is the classic example. When a problem or situation arises, they act immediately to either solve it without delay, delegate, or forget about it. Trust in others leads to a solid network of work colleagues and friends, which, in turn, provides more resources to carry out projects than if they were managed alone.

Startup 171

Startup Entrepreneur Networking Resource 171

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. Internally at Upfront Ventures we talk about “high consensus” vs. controversial deals with “high conviction.”

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2021

Remember that being an entrepreneur is all about starting and running a business, after the initial invention. They always give credit to the many things they learned, and the resources they needed, before risking their own career. Actively share info with entrepreneur peers. Do in-depth research on relevant startups and leaders.

Satisfaction 135

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Startup Mentor 135

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2018

Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) recently announced the California Climate Cup ([link] a new startup competition tied into the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco in September. How did the competition come about? Bird is just one recent example.

Competition 100

Competition Incubator Startup Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

If you have a software development background like mine, I’m sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. Saving cost won’t help you if you can’t make the daily innovations required to stay competitive. The same applies to manufacturing and almost any process these days.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122