Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2023

Entrepreneurs who search for real pain points, and build solutions around them, have the best chance of changing the world. In my opinion, real pain points for most people do not include a new user interface for Facebook, a new programming platform for app development, or a new size smart phone. Truly “disruptive” technologies.

Ideas 118

Ideas Outsource Development Outsource Course 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2023

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur. It takes more than passion and a course on business basics. Learning doesn’t have to be all work.

Startup 108

Startup Education Tool Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2020

Entrepreneurs who search for real pain points, and build solutions around them, have the best chance of changing the world. In my opinion, real pain points for most people do not include a new user interface for Facebook, a new programming platform for app development, or a new size smart phone. Truly “disruptive” technologies.

Customer 167

Customer Custom Startup Outsource Development 167

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

Many entrepreneurs who start technology companies are product people, technologists or savvy business people who worked previously for a larger company. Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience. This is the easiest one for most entrepreneurs. But most good entrepreneurs do this naturally.

Sales 319

Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Of course, both are impressive, but still small compared to over $300 billion from VC investments annually.

Funding 144

Funding Startup .Net Invest 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2015

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur. It takes more than passion and a course on business basics. Learning doesn’t have to be all work.

Entrepreneur 112

Entrepreneur Startup Education Tool 112

Tech.Co

JUNE 17, 2015

There’s a team of Los Angeles entrepreneurs who would agree with me on that, and they launched their platform Kadenze to help people tap their creativity. Specifically, it was built with the express goal of bringing to life an online learning platform purpose-built for the arts and creative technologies. Perry Cook, Ph.D.,

Education 125

Education Course Platform Design 125

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2013

Even though I love technology, I always cringe when an entrepreneur starts his pitch by touting his new technology. He has forgotten that new technologies are perceived by most customers as causing more pain than the problems they hope to eliminate. Is your product tempered with actual market and customer feedback?

Marketing 101

Marketing Technology Startup Custom 101

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2013

Despite a growing technology industry here in Southern California, local investors and entrepreneurs tell us there''s still a shortage of local, venture capital. In particular, funding for companies developing deep technology--software and cloud, as opposed to content and media--seems to be lacking.

Invest 159

Invest Technology Startup Venture Capital 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2017

Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. Of course, even lifestyle entrepreneurs want to be happy, and want their business to be “successful.” More recently, the desire for extra income has become the key driver in new startups, according to a 2015 study. According to William R.

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 69

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. 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

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

and of course a relentless pursuit of helping founders succeed. The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested. And all the platform stuff. She had all of the skills and traits we sought?—?leadership,

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2018

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Funding 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2017

Even though I love technology, I always cringe when an entrepreneur starts an angel investor pitch to me by touting his new technology. They have forgotten that new technologies are perceived by most customers as causing more pain than the problems they eliminate. Focus on user pain points. Keep it simple and easy to use.

Technology 53

Technology Customer Custom Marketing 53

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Even though I love technology, I always cringe when an entrepreneur starts his pitch by touting his new technology. He has forgotten that new technologies are perceived by most customers as causing more pain than the problems they hope to eliminate. Is your product tempered with actual market and customer feedback?

Custom 95

Custom Customer Technology Marketing 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2016

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur. It takes more than passion and a course on business basics. Learning doesn’t have to be all work.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Startup Education Tool 58

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Successful entrepreneurs understand the difference between a good business relationship with more people and having more friends. In fact, the focus on social networking platforms, starting with Facebook, has destroyed the meaning of the word friend and even changed it from a noun to a verb.

Entrepreneur 66

Entrepreneur Social Network Technical Review Social Media 66

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2011

Even though I love technology, I always cringe when an entrepreneur starts his pitch by touting his new technology. He has forgotten that new technologies are perceived by most customers as causing more pain than the problems they hope to eliminate. Is your product tempered with actual market and customer feedback?

Technology 89

Technology Custom Customer Marketing 89

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

After all, Glossier’s founder and CEO Emily Weiss is very, very far from the first entrepreneur to profit off of our desire to look good. Watson, who holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has raised $4.5 And of course, those startups are by no means innocent when it comes to bad management. “If

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2014

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Funding Equity 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2021

As a new business advisor, I am no longer surprised that every new entrepreneur believes the hard part is creating the first product and the business. Set a course for the destination, but also establish intermediate checkpoints to assess progress along the way. They build trust, integrity, and respect from everyone. Marty Zwilling.

Tips 170

Tips Startup Mentor Press 170

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2023

As I work with aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals, I often hear about stress and disappointment from a great idea or innovation that failed for reasons that you don’t understand. Start with a real problem, rather than a technology or solution looking for a problem. Evaluate alternatives that are now available.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Ideas Study Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. We’re excited to continue to grow our investment professional staff and will continue to do so over the course of 2013 & 2014 with our new fund.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. to work on an entertainment-related technology project and have stayed ever since. We are creating a platform that enables users to play instant games and apps directly on the computer desktop. Tell me a bit about your background.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

Elon Musk and Tesla made their battery patents available to anyone, to clear the path for market infrastructure growth and compatibility, which of course benefits Tesla. This could be fighting some government bureaucracy with your technology, or “supporting” unhappy customer efforts against an unpopular competitor.

Marketing 170

Marketing Examples Startup Custom 170

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2017

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Of course, both are impressive and both already exceed VC investments annually.

Startup 76

Startup Angel Funding .Net 76

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2015

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Here again, the entrepreneur will be the one hurt most, by having fewer funding sources to access.

Startup 106

Startup Angel Entrepreneur .Net 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2019

Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. Of course, even lifestyle entrepreneurs want to be happy, and want their business to be “successful.” More recently, the desire for extra income has become the key driver in new startups, according to the popular press. According to William R.

Startup 77

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Course 77

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What new technology area, startup, service, or app did you find most interesting or useful this year, and why?

SoCal 140

SoCal Southern California Startup Venture Capital 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Here again, the entrepreneur will be the one hurt most, by having fewer funding sources to access.

Invest 111

Invest Angel Funding Startup 111

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Next she took to Instagram, a new social media platform that quickly became the most effective tool in a blogger’s toolkit. Naturally, the next step in Bernstein’s evolution from blogger to businesswoman was a technology startup. Danielle Bernstein is just 27 years old, but she’s been running her own business for 10 years.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2021

Of course, if you are new to the challenges of business, it’s especially hard to anticipate correctly and react wisely to complex business situations. If your passion is a new technology, make sure you understand how it fits into the existing social culture, the environment, and political realities.

Patents 138

Patents Mentor Customer Custom 138

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 27, 2010

Entrepreneurs who experience promising initial success also play a similar game. Although the offer was gratifying, it was clear to the Founders that this windfall would ultimately fall far short of the value that could be created by productizing the technology and generating substantial user adoption. The payout was also unique.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Acquisition Pricing 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2018

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur. It takes more than passion and a course on business basics. Learning doesn’t have to be all work.

Startup 51

Startup Education Tool Entrepreneur 51

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Food production and distribution, group collaboration, remote training or education, sensor technology (tracking people movement, temperatures, etc), certain biotech deals. Of course I believe the market has slowed down massively. Not anywhere nearly as hard as being an entrepreneur. It’s hard being a VC right now.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263