Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2022

We are living in a new generation of business, where customers drive the experience, and highly engaged employees are required to keep up with customer expectations. Their experience as executive coaches and entrepreneurs gives real credibility to their assessment of some new leadership approaches that are required in business today.

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Customer Custom Coach Satisfaction 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2020

As I was watching the investor show, Shark Tank , on TV the other night, I was struck by how quickly and how extensively the sharks focused on the background and character of the entrepreneurs, compared to time spent evaluating their products. These can be honed over time, and can’t be easily faked.

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Mentor Metrics Customer 168

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I believe that the sooner every entrepreneur and brand builder adapts to this emerging trend, the sooner they will find success.

Customer 173

Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 173

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 6, 2014

Creating a gerat company in a relative vacuum is an exercise in complete trust that the entrepreneur knows what’s best for the customer, perhaps even without interaction with such a customer. The first step : Involve potential customers early. You can use or discard the information you receive.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

For example, just think of the data generated and captured for every online customer purchase transaction on the Internet. Mr. Dawson is a world-leading futurist, entrepreneur, and public speaker, who offers five key principles, which I can amplify, for turning information into value: Purpose: thriving requires an understanding of why.

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Framework Artificial Inteligence Social Media Media 119

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2021

Today’s customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making a decision is a challenge. In my role as an advisor to startups, I often have to remind entrepreneurs to think more like sales people from day one, in finding a real problem to solve and designing the solution.

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Customer Custom Sales Social Media 136

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I actually like finding entrepreneurs who are more circumspect, less braggadocios and generally more planned about their actions. Where Stealth is Bad – I do meet entrepreneurs who clearly fall on the other side of spectrum and are totally closed. That’s fine if entrepreneurs are your target market.

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Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

You need to segment your audience and find a way to get your highest quality customers over to O&O (owned & operated) inventory where you can get higher CPMs, sell merchandise and capture more customer information. You can earn the right to ask for customer information and remarket to them. They have to.

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Hollywood Content Yahoo Java 374

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2022

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.” This is a key moment where your customer acquisition costs go way down, and your profits go way up.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. His top eight required skill set elements for sales don’t even mention product skills, and match my view of the right skill set for successful entrepreneurs, with only a few priority changes: Creating and sharing a vision. Negotiating and creating win-win deals.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2021

As an angel investor in early-stage startups, I’ve long noticed my peers apparent bias toward the strength and character of the founding entrepreneurs, often overriding a strong solution to a painful problem with a big opportunity. Sought out and listened to critical feedback from others.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2022

Here are some key insights that I and others have collected for mature company leaders, as well as serial entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, in this new age of rapid market change and harder-to-satisfy customers, you can’t assume that what worked yesterday will work tomorrow. If you like it, so will all your potential customers.

Entrepreneur 144

Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence Social Media Commerce 144

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Consistent with the statistics cited in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs , the large majority of John and Kyle''s classmates accepted positions at investment banks and consulting firms upon graduation. If you want to be kept informed just send me an email and let me know that you''re in, and that was it. And of those 35 people.

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Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

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. Pushing yourself on customers by touting features and price doesn’t work anymore. Use analytics to see why customers are buying, as well as what.

Customer 133

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

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.” This is a key moment where your customer acquisition costs go way down, and your profits go way up.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Startup Course 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2020

Although most people believe that being a successful entrepreneur is all about having the right idea, I’m convinced from my years of experience as a startup advisor and investor that’s it’s more about you as a person. So how do you develop that reputation such that everyone believes in you, and customers jump to try your solution first?

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Entrepreneur Examples Blogging Customer 129

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 16, 2011

I think this video should serve as an inspiration to any young aspiring female entrepreneur (and male!) You already know that&# ), in sales and more broadly as an entrepreneur. I provided information for my customers to make their lives easier.&# Really understanding the business of your customer matters. .&#

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Formalize the use of tools and information technology. Solution development and delivery.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2022

With the ITRC 2021 End-of-Year Data Breach Report revealing a 68 percent increase in stolen sensitive personal information, there is a growing population out there worried about all the people intent on hurting them. A few years earlier, Marriott account information was hacked, and some feel it hasn’t fully recovered since.

Customer 137

Customer Custom Technical Review Symantec 137

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Product managers have challenges with getting the right information at the right level to the right people. Greathouse: Your collective experiences have clearly made bootstrapping a viable option for you, more so than might be the case for a typical, younger entrepreneur who needs more direction, doesn’t have cash discipline, etc.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

Anyone who works with entrepreneurs will tell you that all are different. Others are really marketers out to make money fast, and believe that they can entice customers to any offering. The Opportunist is the speculative part of the entrepreneur in all of us. Of course, discovering your entrepreneur type is only the beginning.

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TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 17, 2020

While the business didn’t work out, it put the budding young entrepreneur (and college dropout) on a path that would lead him to launch the Los Angeles-based startup Bambee , a company that lets small businesses give their employees access to the same kinds of human resources services that large companies have.

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Services Resource Santa Monica Los Angeles 281

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2020

Every business wants and needs top performers, but most entrepreneurs and executives assume that if they hire and train the smartest and most experienced people, they will get exceptional performance. Informal feedback should be provided weekly or daily, with more formal sessions scheduled at least semi-annually.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction Resource 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2020

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. Most commonly, your message is informational or meant to persuade, so every element should be consistent with that intent. Tight wording clarifies the message.

Writing 125

Writing Entrepreneur Summary Email 125

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was everything I was looking for in an entrepreneur to back. Talking about how to inspire moms to get their children engaged with iPads and physical activity sets customized for their kids and based in part on their digital lives. Soleil is paranoid about leaking design & product information because she’s been burned.

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Startup Design Downey Activity 398

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Microsoft’s venture fund M12, also a new investor, participated in the round alongside Acrew Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Munich Re Ventures, and Israeli entrepreneur Shlomo Kramer, who co-founded security firms Check Point and Imperva.

Startup 288

Startup Demand Los Angeles Customer 288

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

And here’s an important point that I think modern entrepreneurs often forget: Investors are “co-owners” of your business. The functions of an early-stage board are pretty obvious and well understood: Providing introductions to customers, biz dev partners, recruits, the press, other investors, etc. Mentorship.

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Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Will I have information that other journalists don’t have (otherwise known as a “scoop”)? The idea is that you put out information with data and a point-of-view and that becomes the story rather than you. That chart has information on it. Do I have data or facts to present so the story has legs? I am a VC.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

And I had been telling my partners for a couple of years that I thought Ethan was one of the more talented entrepreneurs I had come across in San Francisco. We generally have a policy to only fund entrepreneurs once the first version of a product has shipped or it near to shipping. We like to be able to see the concept.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2013

On my first real day back the first thought I have is that most entrepreneurs don’t manage their VC relationships as well as they could. My observation is that many entrepreneurs have a strong relationship with the partner at the VC who invested in his or her company. It’s best to think of your VC partnership as a customer.

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Venture Capital Summary Organization Entrepreneur 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. As you think and explore and imagine the possibilities for new products, remember that it should have a broad opportunity, appeal to people who have money to buy, and needs to have pizzazz to get people’s attention in this age of information overload.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

As a result founders often meet the wrong investors, waste time on those who ask for more information. Keeping it to 8–10 helps you manage the public information flow that will be broader if you see 20 firms and also help you prioritize resources. Remember, I was an entrepreneur for 10 years before a VC).

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Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Creating a new product in a relative vacuum is an exercise in complete trust that you know what’s best for the customer, perhaps even without interaction with such a customer. The first step : Involve potential customers early. You can use or discard the information you receive. Involve your customers early.

Product 156

Product Customer Custom Ideas 156

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. The problem is that this is publicly available information that can and will be scanned by journalists and reported. That used to be the standard.

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Startup Funding News Press 355

Tech.Co

MAY 16, 2024

However, despite growing optimism, the path to success for Black entrepreneurs is still paved with systematic barriers in 2024. Power Forward Small Business Grant Black Founder Startup Grant Powershift Entrepreneurs Grant NAACP and Lelsie’s Certification Boost Grant U.S. Deadline: Rolling Learn more and apply today 2.

Design 224

Design Commerce Entrepreneur News 224

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

Entrepreneurs tend to remain in the business niche they know best. Some of these entrepreneurs starting a new company are alumni from companies that would be a competitor to the enterprise being created or joined. You cannot complain that the document or information in question is more than five years or two employers old.

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Design Writing News Email 156