Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million-dollar investment before they even have a business plan. It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined a long time ago from a funding perspective. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

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TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. ” Of course, it’s more complicated than just checking boxes on a question list. Background Questions Let’s start with some background questions about the business and product.

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Develop Development Technical Review SEO 520

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

As an angel investor, I see plenty of startups focusing on building an innovative product, but I’m looking for the few who are also leading with an exponential growth strategy, to put them in the category of the next Amazon or Google. Let your highly motivated customers be your best marketing advocates for new customers.

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Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize.

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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. Join a startup incubator. It always reduces risk to plan your business first.

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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?” I want to tell them to just start anywhere, but I realize that most have no idea where anywhere is. It takes more than passion and a course on business basics. Adaptive business advising and learning.

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socalTECH

APRIL 10, 2018

What is Startup Boost , and how is it looking to help early stage startups in Los Angeles? We recently sat down with Matt Stodder , Co-Director of Startup Boost/Los Angeles, and Blake Caldwell , Global Director of Startup Boost, to learn more about the program, what it offers up to startups.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2021

These days I see a surge of new startups as businesses seem to be recovering from the pandemic. If you are not starting one yourself, the next best thing is joining one as a partner, or as an early employee. Of course experience is the best teacher, but you need to get the job to get the experience. Actively work the network.

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Tips Startup Coach Networking 168

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

When you see startups like SpaceX and Pinterest grow from a low valuation to a billion dollars in just a few years, it’s easy to assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, you can get there as well. Of course, that means a mindset willing to give up much more equity, and taking on a whole new level of risk.

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Tech.Co

JUNE 29, 2021

You know what a startup is, right? Or at least you have an idea of what a startup is like to work in? That is, of course, until the small, ambitious startup is acquired by a larger, more traditional company in its sector, or the small startup goes public with angry shareholders and regulators asking difficult questions.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Mostly it’s because your marketing campaigns suck. ” Of course not. So how exactly do you break out then?

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Tech.Co

JULY 17, 2015

Silicon Beach Startup 101 Course. A comprehensive course on how to build a successful startup from A to Z. Course Costs: 5 Days – $599 (Early Bird till July 26). It all starts with vision and continues with dedication. 5 Successful Startups. 5 Successful Startups. Where: Santa Monica.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

I’m fully convinced that both inspiration and perspiration are always required in a startup. Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Starting a business may be fun, but it’s not easy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Even the strongest relationships are often tested and broken by the stresses of a new startup.

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TechCrunch LA

MAY 3, 2022

” She grew up in Houston and went on to attend Stanford and major in engineering. The company Winters was working for sponsored her MBA to Harvard Business School, and it was there that she came up with the idea for Upgrade. “I One of Britney Winters’ goals is to “live a less tangled life.” Remember Mary J.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined a long time ago from a funding perspective. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

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Resource Startup Organization Incubator 171

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2019

You will be pivoting your business in your lifetime, whether you are a new startup, or a mature company like Motorola or IBM. You can even give it a more elegant name, like “market-focused reinvention,” but it won’t be graceful if you don’t take the lead. Real change demands new goals based on new market realities. Sherry, Jr.,

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. I also look for a commensurate portion of the plan describing the specific innovative marketing deliverables, beyond the traditional marketing items.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 2, 2014

Many startups these days are started by young, technical or product founders who are in the idealistic phase of their lives and careers. And it’s why many early-stage companies blow up. Of course it sounds nicer to live in a utopian socialist society where everybody has the same amount and life is “fair.”

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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.

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Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Tech.Co

JUNE 22, 2021

Shopify is planning to strike a blow at Amazon by entering the affiliate marketing space. This, of course, is potentially game-changing news for Shopify users. But, it also represents another swipe at Amazon's near-monopoly control of the affiliate marketing space. Why Would Shopify Expand into Affiliate Marketing?

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!”

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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. Yet I believe that many more have benefited from this approach, especially in early startup stages. It also happens due to overreaction to some market surprise, a last-minute input, or a squeeze on cash.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Because I’ve asked more than 100 VCs similar questions I start to notice patterns in thinking.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

I’m sure that every one of us who has been out in the business world for a few years can look back with perfect hindsight and name a few college courses that we should have taken. But on the business side, here is my list of useful courses that we wish existed, but as far as I know, still aren’t generally available: Basic Office Politics.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Despite the rush in every academic institution to offer more courses on entrepreneurship, I still haven’t found it to be something you can learn in school. Of course, you can pick up the basic principles this way, but the problem is that the practical rules for success are changing so fast that no academic can keep up.

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Startup Case Study Course Entrepreneur 142

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards.

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socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

For today's interview, we spoke to Dave Eastman, the Director of the Viterbi Startup Garage, a startup incubator that is run by the University of Southern California, out of its location in Marina Del Rey. What is Viterbi Startup Garage? The Startup Garage is located physically in Marina Del Rey, in the twin tower on Admiralty.

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Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

What would you do if you opened a UPS envelope and there was nothing inside? A scrappy startup inadvertently answered this question when they accidentally mailed several hundred empty UPS envelopes. Years ago, when a UPS envelope arrived at your home, or office, it was like a long-distance phone call during the 1970’s.

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Marketing Sales Startup Journal 154

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

In the comments section a clever question popped up about whether I would have invested in myself before I became an investor. My first response mentally was, “Of course!” In fact, my salary never caught up with my pre startup salary across 2 companies and 8 years. I had invested in myself for years.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

Of course, no business wants to be the next Blockbuster , which kept charging straight ahead despite subtle clues that the Internet was changing everything. It may be time to start your own home delivery service, or subscription offering, or time to acquire a struggling competitor to scale your business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course there are people who are great at getting things done, but haven’t had an original idea in their life. They expect prompt formal follow-up to questions. Effective marketing.

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Activity Startup Ideas Technical Review 133

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

TikTok is struggling to make a dent in the world of US and European ecommerce , and has now enlisted the help of a number of startups to try and reverse that trend and bring the Live Shopping craze sweeping Asia to other markets. TikTok Teams Up With Ecommerce Startups. Please verify before subscribing.

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SoCal CTO

APRIL 25, 2017

Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder. I've removed the two words that described the market - otherwise this is verbatim. I'm working on a start up idea in the XXX market with my partner and we are currently looking for full stack developer to join us as a technical co-founder.

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Email Startup Develop Development 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Here is a sample of the reading list for the course that gives you a flavor for just how modern and practical this course is. Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

Since 2009 we’ve been in an unequivocal bull market. For what ever reason we’re wired to have amnesia during the run up and prescient memories of how we ‘knew it all along’ as soon as the slide begins. Once you understand both sides of the cycle you start to recognize signs of behavior during each phase.

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