Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2023

As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Investors and strategic partners look for entrepreneurs who can execute.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 70

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2020

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Organization Customer Custom 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2020

As an angel investor in startups, I’m a believer that smart investors invest more in you as the entrepreneur than the next billion dollar solution you are pitching. Even if you are still in school, and never started a company before, strong entrepreneur candidates can point to projects they initiated, led, that produced significant results.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Examples Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it.

Competition 99

Competition Services Startup Training 99

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2020

As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Investors and strategic partners look for entrepreneurs who can execute.

Startup 171

Startup Entrepreneur Activity Ideas 171

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point. Nail the solution.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2022

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. Choosing the action quickly which has the best expected outcome or positive contribution. It's difficult to create a high-demand product by guessing. The team is the same. The company's market is the same.

Ideas 155

Ideas Entrepreneur Research Demand 155

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

Most of the entrepreneurs and business owners I work with recognize that they must occupy and practice a primary leadership position , but many will admit that they are not thriving in this role. They are not having the impact they expected, and they are not feeling the personal satisfaction they need for next level motivation.

Entrepreneur 90

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Coach Mentor 90

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2018

As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Investors and strategic partners look for entrepreneurs who can execute.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. Choosing the action quickly which has the best expected outcome or positive contribution. It's difficult to create a high-demand product by guessing. The team is the same. The company's market is the same.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” It’s time to scale up and I need money to keep up with demand.”

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Entrepreneurs in this category are real risk takers, such as Elon Musk.

Entrepreneur 118

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network SpaceX 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 153

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2023

Every entrepreneur and business executive I know wants to emulate that boss, but most can’t even describe the attributes required. In my opinion, great examples in today’s entrepreneur world include Elon Musk (Tesla), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and Richard Branson (Virgin Group). Measure by relationships as well as competitiveness.

Oracle 94

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 94

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

It’s time for more entrepreneurs to reset their focus, and shift their thinking to completely different ways of doing things. Serious changes and great successes don’t come from linear thinking. Here are some of the key principles that he espouses, and I support: Force and expect change. Don’t settle, demand the best.

Entrepreneur 133

Entrepreneur Organization Social Media Social Network 133

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Investors and strategic partners look for entrepreneurs who can execute.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 110

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. Choosing the action quickly which has the best expected outcome or positive contribution. It''s difficult to create a high-demand product by guessing. The team is the same. The company''s market is the same.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). The final product works great, and all the early users love it.” It’s time to scale up and I need money to keep up with demand.”

Startup 148

Startup Ideas Equity Invest 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point. Nail the solution.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Customer 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are looking to the Internet as an opportunity to get rich quick, instead of a place where you can start a business you love, for very little capital and minimal technical expertise. Provide website forums to help customers solve their own problems. Even with all this, don’t expect it to be easy.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Case Study Software Review Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

As an Angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Investors and strategic partners look for entrepreneurs who can execute.

Entrepreneur 63

Entrepreneur Product Startup Activity 63

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. People may jump into the lifestyle to be their own boss, achieve great wealth, start a new trend, or all the above.

Startup 130

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

If you can’t provide a memorable customer experience, your startup won’t survive very long these days. According to many observers , we can thank or blame technology for these higher expectations, providing information at the speed of light, leading everyone to expect more. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Technology, architecture, and feature descriptions.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2016

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Entrepreneurs in this category are real risk takers, such as Elon Musk.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Social Network SpaceX Ideas 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. A passionate entrepreneur I met a while back had found that a certain algae could be grown cheaply, and could end world hunger.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Entrepreneurs in this category are real risk takers, such as Elon Musk.

Entrepreneur 143

Entrepreneur Social Network SpaceX Ideas 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2023

All the business leaders I know have noticed that the problems we all face today are becoming more complex, multifaceted, and our customers are more demanding. These authors speak from a wealth of experience as investors, entrepreneurs, and environmentalists. Don’t demand risk elimination by perfectionism.

Demand 84

Demand Course .Net Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2020

Every entrepreneur and business executive I know wants to emulate that boss, but most can’t even describe the attributes required. In my opinion, great examples in today’s entrepreneur world include Elon Musk (Tesla), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and Richard Branson (Virgin Group). Measure by relationships as well as competitiveness.

Oracle 124

Oracle Organization Examples Coach 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2014

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Organization Customer Custom 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience continues to decline. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2015

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active Angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Startup Marketing Customer 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Steve Blank via Flickr by jdlasica I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point.

Startup 98

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 98