socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

Last week, the University of Southern California 's Viterbi School of Engineering announced that it had established a new, business plan competition, the Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition ([link] specifically aimed at students in the engineering school. Why a business plan competition, and why in engineering school?

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent. In a startup this is a mistake. In this instance I typically recommend that startups NOT hire a big, well-known PR firm.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

There is nothing quite as thrilling in business as igniting a startup and watching it blossom. Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. Write your own Hollywood script. Do you ignore the warnings of experts?

Hollywood 120

Hollywood Writing Press Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2021

In my role as mentor to many of you aspiring entrepreneurs, I often find you convinced that all you need to start is a unique innovation or idea , and now you are ready to jump in with both feet and enjoy the ride. Remember that being an entrepreneur is all about starting and running a business, after the initial invention.

Satisfaction 135

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Startup Mentor 135

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. I said both in the article but felt compelled to provide a statement up front for the skimmers.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup. Market Size.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Larry Ellison, he is one of the few startup Founders who remained at the helm of their respective companies throughout their entire maturation process. Great Startup Ideas Come From Everywhere. "At One Of The Most Important Startup Skills. "The " [Tweet this quote].

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2023

I have found that the ability to make effective decisions is a key starting point, and a tough one to learn. Eliminate any potential penalty for disagreement and speaking up. In addition, I find that most big decisions require research. In my experience, making no decision most often leads to the worst outcome.

Help 94

Help Framework Statistics Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many shortcuts leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time.

Startup 57

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Ideas 57

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Lower costs to start a business (95% reduction), many more companies created & funded by angels / seed. Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.”

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

When to start PR? It’s why in this article I advise that people “market today not futures” because you don’t want your playbook in the hands of the competition. In a startup this is a mistake. It’s like “direct” traffic to your website that seems to magically appear.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. Below is the outline Upfront.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2014

A number of teams have recently been looking to turn that vision into reality, as a result of the Qualcomm Tricorder Prize , a $10M competition being run by the X Prize Foundation to create a real life Tricorder. Mike Outmesguine: We''re one of about thirty teams left in the challenge, out of more than 300 that signed up last August.

Startup 262

Startup Competition Software Review UCLA 262

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

of all statistics are made up. I’m writing this post to make sure you’re all on that same playing field. Here’s how I learned my lesson: I started my life as a consultant. I had to read each report, synthesis it and then come up with our best estimate of the markets going forward. I say it deadpanned.

Statistics 415

Statistics Startup Report Research 415

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

In the Los Angeles startup world, there are lots of high profile, buzzy companies which have lots of attention and funding--but which haven''t earned a dime of revenue. We caught up with CEO and co-founder Brett Rossman to learn more about the company and how it''s been able to grow, profitably, all without raising a dime of outside capital.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer. And fifth: Competitive risk. . Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and Angel investor, I still see too many common failure causes that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Ideas 105

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 2, 2014

The rise of startups is becoming one of the strongest engines of job growth and economic growth all around the world. As the capital needed to start a small business continues to fall, the number of software companies being started is exploding. There’s a lot of uncertainty in startup companies.

Startup 102

Startup Social Media Writing Google 102

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 26, 2011

There is nothing quite as thrilling in business as igniting a startup and watching it blossom. Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. Each new customer, each mention in the press or online adds to the feeling of early accomplishment.

Press 149

Press Hollywood Writing Startup 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2021

Keyword research and budget forecasting. All these models start with the advertiser choosing the right search keywords to match user searches. PPC experts charge you to research, analyze, and estimate hit ratios, to optimize your success and set a campaign spending budget for you. Campaign setup and ad copy writing.

PPC 154

PPC SEO Paid Search Search Engine Optimization 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2013

Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Current young adults have grown up hearing about Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), who dropped out of Harvard, as the paragon of success. Academic research supports that this experience pays off. Supplement course work with practical experience.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Course Education 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return. Here are eight key business tasks that relate to almost every startup, generally prioritized by criticality. Develop your business plan.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Current young adults have grown up hearing about Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) as the paragon of success. Academic research supports that this experience pays off. Most schools have business plan competitions, and even give out seed money to winners.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Course Education 105

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 15, 2012

It seems so long ago that we had to start hiding our Blackberry’s in our pockets to avoid always being chastised. Yet their business was disrupted entirely by email because a small company called Research in Motion came out with a device that did email flawlessly – the Blackberry. Sign me up. Up 86% in just 6 months!

Email 386

Email Startup Marketing Competition 386

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Statistics show that the failure rate for new startups within the first 5 years is higher than 50 percent. No intellectual property.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Here are eight key business tasks that relate to almost every startup, generally prioritized by criticality. Develop your business plan.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. In my post “ Measure twice, cut once ” I’ve outlined how to plan before you start raising. You can short-hand this as “engagement.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2013

What most people don’t realize is that, according to new research , 90% of search engine users rarely look at the paid results. Keyword research and budget forecasting. All these models start with the advertiser choosing the right search keywords to match user searches. Campaign setup and ad copy writing.

Paid Search 90

Paid Search PPC Organization SEO 90

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer. And fifth: Competitive risk. Second: Market risk. Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service?

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Here are eight key business tasks that relate to almost every startup, generally prioritized by criticality. Develop your business plan.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Of course, there's no law saying you have to go to college to start a business. Current young adults have grown up hearing about Bill Gates as the paragon of success. Academic research supports that this experience pays off. There is nothing like writing and pitching a business plan that makes you realize what you don’t know.

Technical Advisors 90

Technical Advisors Startup Course Entrepreneur 90

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2010

Keyword research and budget forecasting. All these models start with the advertiser choosing the right search keywords to match user searches. SEM experts charge you to research, analyze, and estimate hit ratios, to optimize your success and set a campaign spending budget for you. Campaign setup and ad copy writing.

SEM 90

SEM Marketing Startup Search Engine Optimization 90

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2012

Fred Wilson wrote two posts in 2010 that were very influential with the startup community. I know that they really impacted an entire cohort of startups because every company that was coming to pitch me businesses was (is) saying, “I’m a ‘mobile first’ company.” Try writing long reviews of a restaurant.

Web 334

Web Mobile Startup Software Review 334

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2010

I grew up believing that human behavior was 20% nature, 80% nurture. I wasn’t going to write about it since he had just covered the topic and echoed my point of view. of all data is made up. OK, not literally made up. So going into a startup scenario you bring these innate skills or you don’t.

Startup 289

Startup Statistics Entrepreneur Study 289

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

You must recognize that change is the new norm in business, so problems represent opportunities to learn something new, improve your productivity and competitiveness of the business. Write down your top 5 core values and review them often. Pressure and emotion in business is often an indication of core value conflicts.

Coach 137

Coach Training Satisfaction Mentor 137

socalTECH

JUNE 30, 2010

Last week, Los Angeles-based Stroome (www.stroome.com), a new startup originally spawned out of a project at the USC Annenberg School of Communications, won $200,000 in the 2010 Knight News Challenge. Tom Grasty: Essentially, we started off as a graduate school project at USC. A few months later, we won the USC New Venture Competition.

Journal 187

Journal USC News Startup 187

socalTECH

OCTOBER 10, 2012

The clean technology sector is infamous for taking a big toll on startups--requiring large investments, risky technology propositions, steep international competition, and fickle government policies. We spoke with founder Neal Roche about his startup, which provides testing tools for the electric vehicle (EV) market.

Help 178

Help Startup San Fernando Southern California 178