Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2014

Today’s customers are much more in control of their buying decision, as they have more choices and more information than ever before. Bloom’s recent book, “ The New Experts: Win Today''s Newly Empowered Customers.” These decisive moments, and how to respond, are outlined in Robert H. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Customer 98

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Startup 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2020

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, I find that I often have to remind them that the world of customers has changed since they started their last business. Of course, part of the change is that Gen Z (born after 1996) now outnumbers the Millennials (born after 1981). Use analytics to see why customers are buying, as well as what.

Customer 133

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

I still get business plans, looking for an investor, that say all too clearly that the primary “use of funds” will be to do research and development (R&D) on some promising new technology, like superconductivity or cancer cures. This stage is the transition to pilot-scale research on the technology. Technology development.

Research 97

Research Develop Development Funding 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2015

Today’s customers are much more in control of their buying decision, as they have more choices and more information than ever before. Bloom’s classic book, “ The New Experts: Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers.” These decisive moments, and how to respond, are outlined in Robert H. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Customer 101

Customer Custom Startup Course 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2022

Most of the entrepreneurs I have met are smart, but many are not always wise. That means they may show great insights into a new technology that has marginal business value, their passion may motivate team members more than customers, or they may allow themselves to be pulled over the ethical line in their success drive.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Course 117

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2014

Of course, one sale isn’t really enough, so you need to get the first customer to recommend you to a second, and make sure the rate of sales ramps up quickly enough to keep the business alive and growing. I still see too many entrepreneurs who build a product and spend lots of money because THEY are in love with the idea or technology.

Sales 99

Sales Customer Custom Entrepreneur 99

InfoChachkie

MARCH 2, 2015

Despite the fact that I teach entrepreneurship at UC Santa Barbara , I do not believe that entrepreneurs are created in classrooms. Instead of trying to teach students to be an entrepreneur, I expose my entrepreneurial students to tools that will help them solve real-world problems. My courses are rigorous and demanding.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Class Course Case Study 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2023

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Strategic partnerships in this context can take the form of joint ventures, intellectual property licensing, outsourcing agreements, or even cooperative research. Up-sell related products or cross endorsement. Benchmark your practices against a true peer.

Startup 105

Startup Outsource Competition Entrepreneur 105

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Today’s customers are much more in control of their buying decision, as they have more choices and more information than ever before. Bloom’s classic book, “ The New Experts: Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers.” These decisive moments, and how to respond, are outlined in Robert H. Build a relationship and trust quickly.

Customer 52

Customer Custom Startup Course 52

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Commit to a major customer. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2016

Litan, former VP of research at the Kauffman Foundation, that these are exceptions to the rule, rather than a model to emulate. Some people even believe that entrepreneurs must be born with the right genes, and no element of education is relevant. Practical business courses are better than an advanced degree or MBA.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 98

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. I often hear entrepreneurs who seem to rely wholly on their own passion, and the view of a few friends.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Technical Review Software Review 57

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2012

I still get business plans, looking for an investor, that say all too clearly that the primary “use of funds” will be to do research and development (R&D) on some promising new technology, like superconductivity or cancer cures. This stage is the transition to pilot-scale research on the technology. Technology development.

Research 89

Research Funding Venture Capital Angel 89

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Commit to a major customer. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2017

Until the recession a few years ago, market research indicated that as many as 90 percent of the roughly 20 million American small business owners were motivated more by lifestyle than growth and money. Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. It seems that more people are focused on money today.

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 69

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Of course, that has be a repeatable event, with enough revenue to sustain the business. Customer support is more than handling exceptions. Marty Zwilling.

Sales 165

Sales Customer Custom Social Media 165

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2017

I know entrepreneurs who have suffered from premature execution often associated with the ready-fire-aim quick-to-market approach. Some entrepreneurs don’t believe in the “minimum viable product (MVP)” approach, and they keep thinking they need to get the vision absolutely perfect before launching it. ready-aim-aim-aim-aim-aim.).

Marketing 54

Marketing Research Technical Review Entrepreneur 54

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. But if there is nothing wrong with you then please don’t let early rejections alter your course. The investor is a customer and they have money to spend but only for a limited number of companies. Let me give you an example.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Commit to a major customer. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2010

I still get business plans, looking for an investor, that say all too clearly that the first goal of the new business is to do research and development (R&D) on some promising new technology, like superconductivity or cancer research. This stage is the transition to pilot-scale research on the technology. Commercialization.

Research 82

Research Activity Funding Technology 82

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2012

Of course, one sale isn’t really enough, so you need to get the first customer to recommend you to a second, and make sure rate of sales ramps up quickly enough to keep the business alive and growing. I still see too many entrepreneurs who build a product and spend lots of money because THEY are in love with the idea or technology.

Sales 96

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Commit to a major customer. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2022

I know entrepreneurs who have suffered from premature execution often associated with the ready-fire-aim quick-to-market approach. Some entrepreneurs don’t believe in the “minimum viable product (MVP)” approach, and they keep thinking they need to get the vision absolutely perfect before launching it. ready-aim-aim-aim-aim-aim.).

Marketing 120

Marketing Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 120

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 4, 2014

My research led me to Wildland Adventures, one of the pioneering companies in the ecotravel space. If you could share one startup lesson with a young entrepreneur, what would it be? So I ask prospective new entrepreneurs, ''What is it specifically that you can bring to the industry?''

Entrepreneur 187

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Resource 187

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

I was recently with an entrepreneur and talking with him about his fund raising process. And my specific response that I recommended was to say, “I can send you our standard data pack but honestly I have too many other firms asking for customized data and we simply can’t send each person custom reports.

Funding 217

Funding Newsletter Venture Capital Email 217

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

Of course, one sale isn’t really enough, so you need to get the first customer to recommend you to a second, and make sure rate of sales ramps up quickly enough to keep the business alive and growing. I still see too many entrepreneurs who build a product and spend lots of money because THEY are in love with the idea or technology.

Sales 97

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 97

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

How does an entrepreneur best deal with that environment? He is a branding and research strategist who outlines how social contracts cause culture shifts, illustrates how they are created by emotion, and clarifies ways that they can make or break a new product, as well as a career. I saw some real insights in a book by Jeremy D.

Customer 84

Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 84

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2020

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Strategic partnerships in this context can take the form of joint ventures, intellectual property licensing, outsourcing agreements, or even cooperative research. Up-sell related products or cross endorsement. Benchmark your practices against a true peer.

Startup 126

Startup Outsource Competition Acquisition 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2013

Most of the entrepreneurs I have met are smart, but many are not always wise. That means they may show great insights into a new technology that has marginal business value, their passion may motivate team members more than customers, or they may allow themselves to be pulled over the ethical line in their success drive.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Course 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2019

Every entrepreneur I know is dismayed by the number of friends who approach them with a line such as “I have an even better idea that will change the world, and one of these days I’m going to get around to starting my own business.” Focus” is the key to success as an entrepreneur. Irrational fear of failure or embarrassment.

Startup 126

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Knowledge Base 126

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Commit to a major customer. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” Especially if you are in the early stage of growing a business, these five risks can and often do derail entrepreneurs before realizing the riches of a great exit. So, let’s examine them and mitigate them. Make you wealthy someday.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2022

If every entrepreneur could predict the future, starting the right new business would be easy. Gronbach is well-known for his generational research and keen forecasting of societal trends. Every entrepreneur needs to understand that people and populations drive business opportunities, as well as society.

Demand 103

Demand Startup Course Summary 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2019

Most of the entrepreneurs I have met are smart, but many are not always wise. That means they may show great insights into a new technology that has marginal business value, their passion may motivate team members more than customers, or they may allow themselves to be pulled over the ethical line in their success drive.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Course 96

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

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. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. How can you improve your odds?

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Statistics 109