Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2015

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Outsource Development 99

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 99

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. It takes a long immersion in the marketplace for someone to be a true insider, understand the subtleties of the competitive landscape, recognize the people who are true assets (independent of titles), and look through the propaganda of technical collateral and PR campaigns.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2016

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Ideas 62

Ideas Outsource Development Startup Competition 62

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. It takes a long immersion in the marketplace for someone to be a true insider, understand the subtleties of the competitive landscape, recognize the people who are true assets (independent of titles), and look through the propaganda of technical collateral and PR campaigns.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. It takes a long immersion in the marketplace for someone to be a true insider, understand the subtleties of the competitive landscape, recognize the people who are true assets (independent of titles), and look through the propaganda of technical collateral and PR campaigns.

Technical Advisors 98

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 98

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Competition analysis. Market research and competition. Market research.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2012

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Sales/Marketing.

Sales 97

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Use a simple accounting tool like QuickBooks, get away from co-mingled funds, and you have the first business process you need. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Competition analysis. Market research and competition. Market research.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2011

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Sales/Marketing.

Sales 98

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 98

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 1, 2013

Especially keep an eye on the balance between expenses and sales. Before going through the expensive process of sourcing, recruiting, and hiring an employee, look into outsourcing, especially for non-core functions such as HR, accounting, and legal. Do your due diligence to perform competitive analysis.

Startup 93

Startup Pricing Outsource Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

Over funding often produces bad behavior in early-stage companies. “9 women behavior&# is not restricted to just fund raising. I had my sales teams telling me we needed certain features to be competitive. He didn’t feel my pressures on sales, marketing and ops. You can’t get 5 years into one.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Others hire consultants, or outsource much of the real work. An obvious reason is limited funds, but a more important reason is the need to know and intimately understand what is really going on in the business and the market. Too many entrepreneurs are reluctant to start the sales process, preferring to tweak and refine the product.

Startup 103

Startup Entrepreneur Template Mentor 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Use a simple accounting tool like QuickBooks, get away from co-mingled funds, and you have the first business process you need. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Training Outsource Metrics 92

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2012

Others hire consultants, or outsource much of the real work. An obvious reason is limited funds, but a more important reason is the need to know and intimately understand what is really going on in the business and the market. Too many entrepreneurs are reluctant to start the sales process, preferring to tweak and refine the product.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Template Mentor 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Use a simple accounting tool like QuickBooks, get away from co-mingled funds, and you have the first business process you need. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2010

Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Competition analysis. Market research and competition. Market research.

Product 48

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 48

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Use a simple accounting tool like QuickBooks, get away from co-mingled funds, and you have the first business process you need. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. Public relations at a startup is a sales process.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

This is why I am such a big fan of General Assembly both because they’re teaching more tangible skills but also because they’re working directly with employers to fund classes as well as to onboard the more successful GA students directly. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

Whether you’re fund raising from angels, seed investors and VCs?—?as It’s like the entire industry wants to outsource its brain to the smartest person they know and then follow that person. I mention this because it’s critical that you not let the fund raising process psyche you out. as an industry we succumb to “herd mentality.”

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

They are: Fred Wilson: Lead Investors, Dipshit Companies, and Funding Every Entrepreneur. I've funded some myself. The expanding pool of angel, seed, and super seed funds is another. There is no competition. While I agree that many VCs are crummy seed investors, I think there are some that are excellent seed investors.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

Outsourcing ► April (1) GoogleClick - Who owns your cash register? Venture Capital Funding 7. Prior to raising $16M+ in funding from top-tier venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital, Globespan Capital and Evercore Ventures, StrongMail was self-funded and cash-flow positive. A BIG THANK YOU. Relaxing 2.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2010

The conversations bleed into the sales messages the next time, they wend their way into software designs and form the plan of attach against competition. If they’re not I won’t fund. I’ve heard the line a million times, “one of us will move after we’re funded.&# I know, I know.

Technical Advisors 335

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Offshore Startup 335