Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For reference, here is a quick summary of key elements which most investors include in their due diligence process: Key personnel review. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. Status of the solution. In addition, manufacturing and inventory levels will be reviewed.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. Link has a summary of his argument plus a great video). But it wasn’t to be.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2012

Send the plan without a summary. An Executive Summary is a one page elevator pitch of the whole plan (may be separate from the plan), which gives an investor a net perspective on the key business parameters. Too many plans don’t have a summary section, or the summary is all you get. You lose in either case.

Summary 97

Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Send the plan without a summary. An Executive Summary is a one page elevator pitch of the whole plan (may be separate from the plan), which gives an investor a net perspective on the key business parameters. Too many plans don’t have a summary section, or the summary is all you get. You lose in either case.

Summary 97

Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

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. Unlike [competition], we [differentiation].” Here are some additional recommendations to increase the impact: Describe your product or service.

Startup 113

Startup Patents Template Competition 113

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

Paige is a gifted communicator and my summary does not do him justice. He offers a number of worthwhile tips and tricks that I was not able to capture in the textual summary, so the 14-minute audio file is well worth your time. What follows is a summary which paraphrases Paige’s responses. Click here to listen to the Audio File.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

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. Or take a look at their team page to get a sense of why we were so inspired by their vision for the future. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Having a defensible competitive advantage or “barrier to entry” is another critical step to funding, and another common stumbling block during all phases of the funding process. Build a prototype product. Build an investor presentation and summary. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property.

Angel 104

Angel Screening Summary Startup 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. Here are a few thoughts to help you get started: What is your product or service? Briefly discuss who you are selling the product or service to. Think again.

Startup 93

Startup Competition Summary Patents 93

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

But the low cost also means that your competition will also be there in force. In the latest book by business guru Joe Wozny, “ The Digital Dollar: Sustainable Strategies for Online Success ,” I found a good summary of some great strategies, with some practical advice on how to implement them: Understand what’s in a name on the Internet.

Social Media 93

Social Media Content Startup Web 93

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 18, 2011

What follows is a summary which paraphrases Mark’s responses. 3) How has your role as the senior Tech Leader at the Rubicon Project and eHarmony influenced SteelHouse’s product roadmap and go-to-market strategy? A big part of our culture is to be competitive and to be at peace with your co-workers, with no politics.

eHarmony 204

eHarmony Media Oracle Commerce 204

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Having a defensible competitive advantage or “barrier to entry” is another critical step to funding, and another common stumbling block during all phases of the funding process. Build a prototype product. Build an investor presentation and summary. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property.

Invest 99

Invest Angel Technical Review Summary 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For reference, here is a quick summary of key elements which most investors include in their due diligence process: Key personnel review. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. Status of the solution. In addition, manufacturing and inventory levels will be reviewed.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Competition and sustainable advantage. Solution and benefits.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Having a defensible competitive advantage or “barrier to entry” is another critical step to funding, and another common stumbling block during all phases of the funding process. Build a prototype product. Build an investor presentation and summary. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property.

Angel 89

Angel Funding Technical Review Startup 89

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

That’s because a company’s value is a composite of all of the quantitative and qualitative factors that comprise a company: revenues, expenses, risks, growth prospects, quality of the management team, competitive advantages, strength of the intellectual property, and so forth. Detail isn’t important; tracking your progress is.

.Net 89

.Net Metrics Competition Template 89

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Competition and sustainable advantage. Solution and benefits.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

Summary notes, as always, provide below. The idea actually came to him from the Yellow Pages business. He took out an ad in the Yellow Pages (it was the early 80′s, pre Internet), which cost him $1,000 / month for a half-page ad. So the Yellow Page business was always “pay for placement.&#.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Summary Version. Maybe small amounts of money for what founders reading these pages dream of but life-changing for many. Before this South Korean wonder spread across the globe I had written about a trend in global audiences that exists when the costs of production are nearly zero and the costs of distribution are also nearly free.

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2010

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Marketing 56

Marketing SEM Blogging Design 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

For the rest of us, we need a business plan, as well as a product plan. Some of you may be convinced that your product specification communicates the product message even better than a business plan, so why be redundant? Professional investors and even customers invest in people, rather than just a product.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Competition and sustainable advantage. Solution and benefits.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

The promised to follow up with: calls, using your product, talking to customers or “noodle on things.&# Will they? Don’t be surprised if your logs don’t show that the partner has been using your product. They just had some time and found your product interesting). The Day After (the waiting game begins).

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

SoCal Delicious

JANUARY 9, 2014

Having a clear focus means it’s easier to communicate what your product is and who it’s for. By trying to appeal to everyone and adding features left, right and centre, you will actually dilute your message and could end up with a complex, bloated product. Here are two examples. Quote from John Wilshire, Artefact Cards 4.

Startup 78

Startup Design Customer Custom 78

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Most people will be engaged by a single-page double-sided glossy executive summary, and offer support or the right people to move forward. You really need at least a prototype product or customer to make the video come alive. Prepare a business plan 20-page document. Just talking and waving your arms doesn’t do it.

Ideas 126

Ideas Slides Sample Examples 126

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2020

The best businesses understand the difference and that communities are the single best advocates for others to buy your products. the customer on stage showing your product turns into an advocate or evangelist while the prospect is far more likely to be persuaded by a customer presentation than a salesperson’s pitch. And it would be?—?but

Software 234

Software Startup Tool Platform 234

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

A summary of what we discussed is below: Not 100% in order of the video, but close. Give everybody pages of the deck they’re to cover or parts of the demo for which they are to talk. Competition. Equally likely you show your inability to listen to your team and your over dominance of conversations. Details on the solution.

Venture Capital 340

Venture Capital Slides Doc Startup 340

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

If you don’t want to read that post, the summary is: Open source computing drove computing costs down 90%, which spurred innovation in technology. With new micro VC entrants into to early-stage investing plus increased competition from angels, incubators and the like – traditional VCs have taken notice.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

The 30-minute interview of Jonah Peretti is here but my summary in the notes below. A few years ago Jonah acquired Ze Frank’s video production company and the two of them have really built an enormous video production & distribution business. He thinks the very nature of video is changing. Video is the new HTML.”

Buzzfeed 210

Buzzfeed Media Content News 210