Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2020

In reality, the business world gets tougher every day, with new entrants, new technology, and competitors more easily entering the fray from around the globe. Porter proposed his Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment which I think makes even more sense today. Way back in 1979, Michael E. Either way you lose.

Competition 151

Competition Startup Framework Pricing 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2023

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 111

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 111

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

FanWide , a startup which helps users find "viewing parties" for their favorite college or pro sports teams, anywhere they live or travel, has won a the $10,000 prize in the HYPE Sports Innovation competition, held last week at the University of Southern California. Most Valuable Recruit took second place, with MaxOne placing third.

USC 124

USC Competition Southern California Startup 124

socalTECH

APRIL 20, 2021

Los Angeles-based XPRIZE says it has named two winners in its $20M, NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition. The competition challenged teams to convert CO2 emissions into valuable products. According to XPRIZE, it has awarded two companies--CarbonCure Technologies and CarbonBuilt, both working on ways to decarbonize concrete.

Competition 113

Competition UCLA Los Angeles Startup 113

socalTECH

JULY 17, 2020

Irvine-based Ingram Micro , a distributor of technology products, is getting close to awarding $1M to a business-to-business (B2B) software startup, saying it has named the finalists in its annual "Comet Competition".

Competition 124

Competition Software Technology Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2022

In my experience as a business advisor, most organizations, large and small, struggle to keep up with the pace of change and competitive forces today. A question I often get is how to transform that overall team into a smooth-running machine that will keep up with the pace of market change, and competition in today’s world.

Competition 136

Competition Resource Startup Organization 136

socalTECH

JANUARY 15, 2014

San Diego-based Qualcomm Ventures , the venture investment arm of Qualcomm, has kicked off its annual venture competition, the QPrize , dangling seven $100,000 regional prizes and a $150,000 grand prize. Qualcomm said the deadline for the startup competition this year is April 18th. READ MORE>>.

Competition 183

Competition Startup San Diego Venture Capital 183

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

He lived the philosophy that companies must be paranoid in order to survive, and continually disrupt their own markets to prevent overrun by competition. Start small and move quickly to test new approaches that can be scaled up later, with an understanding that some will fail. Be proactive rather than reactive to market change.

Competition 148

Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

socalTECH

JULY 12, 2018

A new, startup competition, called the California Climate Cup --run by te Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF)--says it is looking to identify the most promising startups, globally, who are working on innovations for megacities for zero emission transportation and clean energy.

Competition 100

Competition Startup Incubator Los Angeles 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

Technology is so key to every business these days that experienced business-smart but non-tech entrepreneurs are feeling deeper and deeper in the hole. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology.

Competition 174

Competition High Tech Startup Social Media 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2022

Potential startup founders are always looking for ideas to implement, when they should be looking for problems to solve. A related “red flag” in a business plan is a missing competitive analysis section, or a short paragraph that essentially says, “this product has no competition.” Fix something that’s broken.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Tips Competition 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

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.

Competition 120

Competition Patents Resource Invest 120

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

A new competition--part of the Startup America effort launched by the Obama Administration, and spearheaded locally by Caltech, USC, and UCLA--said today that it is looking to award $200,000 in prize money to university students with clean energy business ideas. The competition is being funded via $360,000 grant from the U.S.

Competition 174

Competition Ideas CalTech USC 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

As a business advisor, I meet many business professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs who are anxious to be their own boss , or have an innovative idea to start or acquire a new business. Also, initiating a startup is quite different from taking over a thriving business, where the focus is on repeatable processes and quarterly profits.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 27, 2017

Sunday, April 2, 2017 -- N3XT CON 2017 - Entertainment, Technology, Startup. Located in Southern California, N3XT CON 2017 will spotlight industries that embody the LA spirit - Entertainment, Technology, and Startups. A pitch competition will also be held. See [link] (more)

Entertainment 100

Entertainment Buzzfeed Technology Southern California 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

socalTECH

APRIL 1, 2014

For veterans of many a technology startup pitch event in Silicon Beach, it might not be all that far fetched, given some of the wild, wacky, and improbable startups making the rounds today looking for investors. pitch dating competition startup improbable comedian joke april1st april' A dating site for puppets?

Competition 196

Competition Sites Hollywood Ideas 196

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. But while competition remains fierce, the advancement and accessibility of smart solutions are making it easy than ever for startups to find their feet. VPN Startup tool: VPN Price: Free Hide.me While Hide.me

Tool 131

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2020

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 125

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 125

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The sales professional. The financial suit.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2022

It’s enough to drown any business which tries to fight it or ignore it, and it’s an opportunity to ride higher and faster than even the successes of Google and Facebook, for those startups that use it as their driving force. For startups, this is an engagement opportunity worth billions of dollars. Cellphone penetration in the U.S.

Startup 126

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 126

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Berkonomics

APRIL 11, 2019

An entrepreneur pitches using a deck with no slide for competition. We have no competition.”. Maybe there is advance knowledge of new technologies around the corner that makes any decision today a risky one. We investors see this all the time. When asked (as we always do,) the response is “This is new.

Competition 120

Competition Slides Research Sales 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2019

Most entrepreneurs are quick to assert to potential investors that their product or solution will kill the competition, but unfortunately your opinion alone is not enough to convince most experienced investors. A competitive advantage to a non-problem or tiny niche is not interesting to investors.

Competition 86

Competition Patents Startup Customer 86

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

From apps to hardware, to KickStarter successes and international startups, we’re inching closer to finding out who will take home the title of Startup of the Year competition at our annual Celebrate Conference in October. Co: What was the road like leading up to your initial pitch for the competition?

Competition 123

Competition Mobile Startup Technical Review 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2022

You have to be extra tough mentally to start a new business venture. He spent many years with the SEALs, but has since started and built six multimillion-dollar business ventures. To be an entrepreneur or a Navy SEAL, you must first have vision, focus, and the courage to step up to lead. Smash the box and think outside the box.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Training 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? There was no money train.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Every startup and every new business needs a unique selling proposition (USP) to get people’s attention these days, and make it stand out in the information overload we all see. I’m looking for the “hook” right up front, or I lose interest quickly, just like every customer and investor these days.

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. — Balaji S. Srinivasan (@balajis) March 8, 2019.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2012

The effort is part of a larger national effort by the Department of Energy (DOE) to spur businesses in clean technologies from university labs. The group said that the winners with Stanford Nitrogen Group , Greenbiotics , and Xite Solar will split the $200,000 in prize money, and also will gain access to the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator.

Technology 184

Technology CalTech Tech Coast Angels Startup 184

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Mark Zuckerberg seems to be me to be one of the most talented young technology professionals of his generation and seems to have an amazing vision for technology and product. Nobody can be super human all all fronts.

Competition 296

Competition Entrepreneur Startup GRP Partners 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Ironically, as a startup investor and mentor, I have seen too many failures caused by just the opposite – too much money spent too soon, taking time to get product perfection, and assuming customers will wait. How many times have you actually made up work to keep an idle person busy? Create new kinds of solutions. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Social-media advertising. Cold calling.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Marketing Startup 146

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

The group is hosting an all night hackathon starting Friday, October 19th which will put up to fifty programmers against each other to create new web, mobile, or desktop apps on the theme of film and technology. The group is offering up a $2500 first prize, $1500 second prize, and $500 third prize for entries in the hackathon.

Technology 185

Technology Southern California Startup Content 185

socalTECH

APRIL 27, 2012

Six companies started by students at the University of Southern California's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC Marshall have been awarded a total of $50,000 in seed funding, after competing in the center's New Venture Seed Competition held this week. providing online tutoring. providing online tutoring.

Seed Funding 244

Seed Funding USC Competition Funding 244

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2022

How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” The concept of disruptive technology was first introduced by Clayton M. Unfortunately this “quickly” may be too slowly to save initial startups in the space. We don't quite get it. Repudiation.

Startup 89

Startup Technical Review Technology Social Media 89

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

The new paradigm, driven by disruptive technologies, cloud-served supercomputing, and the new generation of young adults with global empathy, is partnering and giving something now for a competitive advantage in the future. A partnership was announced with the City of New York, to connect and grow NYC's startup ecosystem.

Startup 124

Startup IBM IBM Examples 124