Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking. Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. Think the unthinkable.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. All the evidence says that over 99% fail to make that leap.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

In 1994, (I know a long time ago), I invested over a million dollars (two million six hundred thousand in today’s dollars) into a company whose entrepreneurs had a vision that I bought into for many reasons, not the least of which was that I had industry experience and understood the need. Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs immediately respond.

Competition 156

Competition Research Summary Pricing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Martin Zwilling.

Competition 133

Competition Patents Resource Invest 133

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain.

Startup 124

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2022

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand. Speak the customer’s language. with demands for new products and services.

Patents 106

Patents Offshore Startup Demand 106

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Target market. Production.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

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. Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. You have figured out how to undercut your competitor’s price, and still hold your margin.

Startup 160

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 160

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Here are some of the key ones: Patent protection in place as a barrier to entry.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So, it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business. Second: Market risk. . Third: Management risk. .

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

InfoChachkie

MARCH 21, 2019

Opportunity knocked when one of her customers was spotted at a high-end boutique, wearing one of Ida’s outfits. The store’s owner, Enid Bissett, asked the customer where she had purchased the dress. The two women established a custom dress shop called Enid Frocks. This public exposure drove wealthy customers to Enid Frocks.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Design Customer Custom 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Most of the technologists I know inherently believe that the terms inventor and entrepreneur mean the same thing, so they are frustrated and surprised when they build their products and no business evolves. The term entrepreneur has always been defined as a person who builds a new business, which may or may not involve inventing a product.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Pricing Customer Custom 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Martin Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Entrepreneurs who have been really transformative, like Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, seemed to know how to deal with all the right elements. Look for customer-focused value creation.

Startup 171

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand. Speak the customer’s language. business entrepreneur glocalization localization startup'

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Offshore 97

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Martin Zwilling.

Competition 120

Competition Patents Resource Invest 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2016

As a startup advisor and investor, I find that more and more entrepreneurs avoid using the term “profit” in pitching their new venture. Of course, I understand and don’t condone bad actors who get greedy, and exploit ways to unjustly squeeze customers and employees. Solve a painful problem for customers who have money to spend.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Ideas Pricing Customer 58

Berkonomics

JULY 6, 2017

In 1994, (I know a long time ago), I invested over a million dollars into a company whose entrepreneurs had a vision that I bought into for many reasons, not the least of which was that I had industry experience and understood the need. Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs immediately respond. Back to 1996.

Competition 266

Competition Research Summary Pricing 266

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2015

Every entrepreneur and every business needs a strategy to keep them focused. It might be a patented technology, but it could also be the creativity of employees or logistic competencies of the company. This could be the utilization rate of a plant, the price premium of the brand, or the service offered or products sold.

Customer 102

Customer Custom Organization Course 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking. Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. Think the unthinkable.

Ideas 109

Ideas Entrepreneur Patents Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

What I want to hear is an innovative marketing and growth strategy that will set you apart in the minds of investors, as well as customers. Today’s customer is especially attracted to companies like TOMS , who donates a pair of shoes for every pair they sell, or Patagonia, with its support for grassroots environmental groups.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2018

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. In other words, inventions are necessary but not sufficient to create real value for investors and customers.

Technical Review 86

Technical Review Patents Ideas Journal 86

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2022

Every entrepreneur and every business needs a strategy to keep them focused. It might be a patented technology, but it could also be the creativity of employees or logistic competencies of the company. This could be the utilization rate of a plant, the price premium of the brand, or the service offered or products sold.

Organization 118

Organization Course Patents Entrepreneur 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2014

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. The same is true for filing patents, registering trademarks, and filing copyrights. budget business e-commerce entrepreneur startup' Martin Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

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. This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. Make you wealthy someday.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2019

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand. Speak the customer’s language. with demands for new products and services.

Marketing 94

Marketing Patents Offshore Startup 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2012

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. Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. You have figured out how to undercut your competitor’s price, and still hold your margin.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Ideas 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2011

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand. Speak the customer’s language. with demands for new products and services.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Patents Offshore Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. For a business, you must define the absolute minimum features you need to satisfy the customer problem, and test it in the market. Get a real customer and real revenue.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2019

Most entrepreneurs are quick to assert to potential investors that their product or solution will kill the competition, but unfortunately your opinion alone is not enough to convince most experienced investors. Promote any inside relationships or customer base. Reducing margins to lower prices won’t help your case.

Competition 86

Competition Patents Startup Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2014

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. In other words, inventions are necessary but not sufficient to create real value for investors and customers.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur 106

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. In my experience, the key steps I look for always include the following: Testing the idea against customers who have money to spend. Prepare your marketing story for customers and investors.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

In the creation of a new enterprise, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business. Second: Market risk. And fifth: Competitive risk.

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200