Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

As a member of the local angel group Selection Committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He presented the idea at the TED conference in the mid 90′s and was literally boo’d while he was on stage. Funny story, after Bill presented at TED (back when Amazon was still a small company) Jeff Bezos was in the audience. they can build teams that really focus on building & marketing great products.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2012

This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. Remember when the Chevy Nova required a rename, once Chevrolet realized that Nova meant "no go" in the Spanish market (not a great name for a car).

Marketing 104

Marketing Startup Patents Offshore 104

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2017

This approach, popularly known as “ glocalization ,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. Remember when the Chevy Nova required a rename, once Chevrolet realized that Nova meant "no go" in the Spanish market (not a great name for a car).

Marketing 54

Marketing Patents Offshore Startup 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2023

Will the solution give you an “unfair competitive advantage,” meaning no competitor already has it, or can replicate your solution without your skills or intellectual property. A smaller market sizing may make a good family business, if you have the funding. Is there an educated marketplace waiting? Do include some quantification.

Startup 96

Startup Education Ideas Customer 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Here are the major elements of the best product plans: Market requirements section. This first section of every product plan defines the market, sizes the opportunity, and discusses individual needs and requirements that will be provided by your product and service. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

A business plan is the outward facing definition of the business you hope to drive with your hardware solution, with a hardware overview in the intro to highlight customer value and competitiveness. For example, “We just patented a new battery technology that will cut your smartphone charge time and cost in half.” and trademarks.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Now get real (cook it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Will the solution give you an “unfair competitive advantage,” meaning no competitor already has it, or can replicate your solution without your skills or intellectual property. A smaller market sizing may make a good family business, if you have the funding. Is there an educated marketplace waiting? Do include some quantification.

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2012

The elevator pitch should be the first few paragraphs of your business plan, your executive summary, your investor presentation, and the first page of your web site. For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost. I need your help in getting it to market.”

Startup 113

Startup Patents Template Competition 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2016

As an investor, I always listen carefully to what an entrepreneur says, and does not say, about competition. Every business area has competition and every customer has alternatives, so a smart entrepreneur needs to acknowledge these as a positive in defining a big market, and position the features of a new solution in this context.

Competition 62

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 62

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2015

This approach, popularly known as glocalization , means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. Remember when the Chevy Nova required a rename, once Chevrolet realized that Nova meant "no go" in the Spanish market (not a great name for a car).

Patents 106

Patents Startup Offshore Demand 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Every startup needs both a business plan and an investor presentation, completed before you formally approach any investors.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. Remember when the Chevy Nova required a rename, once Chevrolet realized that Nova meant "no go" in the Spanish market (not a great name for a car).

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Offshore 97

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. Clearly define the addressable market for your pain reliever, which is a subset of the total number of people who are feeling the pain; the total market size is not relevant.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2012

The honest answer is that ideas and new technologies are worth nothing, outside the context of a specific entrepreneur and a specific business plan that meets a market need for a fair price. Business innovation is taking that technology and successfully bringing it to market in a way people want. Can it even be commercialized?

Patents 95

Patents Journal Ideas Competition 95

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Investors are looking for a concise description of your product or service without technical jargon or fuzzy marketing terms with value quantified in customer terms. This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. What are your specific marketing and sales plans?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

This statement is a huge red flag to investors, who will take it to mean that there is no market for your offering, or you haven’t bothered to look. Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. Always present a balanced and honest picture. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 100

Startup Competition Patents Training 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2011

The honest answer is that ideas and new technologies are worth nothing, outside the context of a specific business plan that meets a market need for a fair price. Business innovation is taking that technology and successfully bringing it to market in a way people want. Is it competitive to the current alternatives?

Technology 95

Technology Patents Journal Ideas 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2011

At any rate, here is my summary of the top ten from my experience with hundreds of elevator pitches, business plans, and executive presentations: “Our product is truly disruptive technology.” Gartner says our market will be $50 billion in 2015.” All we have to do is get 1% of the market.” We have the first-mover advantage.”

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Funding Innocal Competition 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2011

This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. Remember when the Chevy Nova required a rename, once Chevrolet realized that Nova meant "no go" in the Spanish market (not a great name for a car).

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Patents Offshore Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Here are the major elements of the best product plans: Market requirements section. This first section of every product plan defines the market, sizes the opportunity, and discusses individual needs and requirements that will be provided by your product and service. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

This statement is a huge red flag to investors, who will take it to mean that there is no market for your offering, or you haven’t bothered to look. Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. Always present a balanced and honest picture. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 102

Startup Competition Patents Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2015

Rely on marketing content and emotion vs. facts. For example, “I have patented a new LCD with double the intensity at half the cost, already proven locally, and I just need resources to scale for this market.” Your second sentence should acknowledge competition, but highlight your added value.

Startup 104

Startup Summary Patents Examples 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

The elevator pitch should be the first few paragraphs of your business plan, your executive summary, your investor presentation, and the first page of your web site. Do you want their business card, to schedule a full presentation, to ask for a referral? Who is your market? How large of a market do they represent?

Startup 93

Startup Competition Summary Patents 93

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2014

That data--if you could just find the right piece--could be useful in a number of areas, particularly in the financial markets. Whether that''s for competitive analysis or market analysis, our product is basically able to monitor--on a very large scale--things that are important to your particular company.

Orange County 245

Orange County Startup News IBM 245

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2019

Much has been written recently about the requirement to focus today on the total customer experience, as a competitive edge or even for survival. Many, like me, would prefer that someone else do the shopping for them, and present them with the best choices currently available.

Customer 96

Customer Custom Coach Pricing 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

A business needs technical, marketing, financial and many other skills. If your solution and brand are really new and innovative, you need to protect them with a patent, trademark or trade secret. These are required to show that you have a defensible competitive advantage or at least a barrier to entry.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Barry Lieberman: My backgruond is about 35 years in technology, business development, and sales and marketing. I built my own company around marketing services, and have been around business development, marketing, custom service, and sales, and also on the consumer side of technology, a little bit a mix of the two.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2010

At any rate, here is my summary of the top ten from my experience with hundreds of elevator pitches, business plans, and executive presentations: “ Our product is truly disruptive technology. ” Gartner says our market will be $50 billion in 2010.” All we have to do is get 1% of the market.” We have the first-mover advantage.”

Innocal 96

Innocal Entrepreneur Competition IBM 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2010

That means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. Remember when the Chevy Nova required a rename, once Chevrolet realized that Nova meant "no go" in the Spanish market (not a great name for a car). Reinforce your brand in international markets.

Startup 89

Startup Patents Offshore Demand 89

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Now get real (cook it).

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

Here are the major elements of the best product plans: Market requirements section. This first section of every product plan defines the market, sizes the opportunity, and discusses individual needs and requirements that will be provided by your product and service. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment.

Product 55

Product Startup Summary Entrepreneur 55

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2010

This statement is a huge red flag to investors, who will take it too mean than there is no market for your offering, or you haven’t bothered to look. Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. Always present a balanced and honest picture. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 89

Startup Competition Patents Entrepreneur 89

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Over half of the survivors remaining are eliminated during live presentations, and another 6.5% File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. Build an investor presentation and summary. All the conviction and market research in the world are no substitute for real customers paying real money.

Invest 99

Invest Angel Technical Review Summary 99