Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 24, 2020

Relativity Space has a new customer for its 3D-printed rockets: Established satellite maker and operator Iridium, which has picked the company for launches in 2023. To accomplish those, and other launches like them, the company is also setting up a new launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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Sites Long Beach Customer Custom 181

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

If you are seriously looking to start the next billion-dollar startup, you need to get beyond the realm of enhancing a current solution. Investors are looking for breakthrough solutions to fund. Remember that your goal is to build a successful business, and customers are in control of making that happen.

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Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Every startup needs to think hard daily about what problem or challenge is holding back progress, what really matters today, and what entirely new possibilities exist.

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Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

Trying to do everything is a sure way to maximize stress, lower job satisfaction, and minimize productivity. I will outline here his six required activities of every successful business to get you started down the right path for you: Wonder: identify the value and need for change. I recommend that you start online to find data sources.

Activity 108

Activity Satisfaction Metrics Startup 108

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Focus on talent and people growth. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 129

Technical Review Funding Organization Coach 129

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. Start with a service you know and love. The customer experience is more than the service.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

Startup 124

Startup Satisfaction Venture Capital Entrepreneur 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2020

Most of you will start your business with plenty of passion and purpose, but all too often I see both disappearing after months of facing unanticipated setbacks and challenges. These days, even customers look for businesses who create a social or environmental impact, and flock to support them.

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Startup Coach Satisfaction Training 127

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. Start with a service you know and love. The customer experience is more than the service.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2023

The Internet is the problem, by facilitating constant change, and it’s the solution, by providing an absolutely current view of customers, trends, and best practices. With this principle, real entrepreneurs start with a conviction that new learning will reveal flaws in existing models, leading to new opportunities.

Social Media 120

Social Media Startup Entrepreneur Education 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2020

Of course, most of you expect that raising money will be difficult, as well as staving off competitors, and handling that occasional toxic customer. There are just not enough hours in a day, and knowledge available, to keep up with it all. Every startup is like a family, needing constant commitment to specific roles and priorities.

Entrepreneur 122

Entrepreneur Startup Course Examples 122

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy news pertaining to startups and venture capital. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I profiled an e-commerce startup Part & Parcel. Startup Spotlight: Landline. IPO Update.

Services 207

Services Startup Venture Capital Redpoint 207

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2014

I’ve always wondered who started the urban myth that the best way to start a company is to come up with a great idea, and then find some professional investors to give you a pot of money to build a company. Eighty percent of new entrepreneurs use this approach, with only six percent using investor funding.

Startup 110

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction Legalzoom 110

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

This is part of my ongoing posts on Startup Advice. The world has changed much since I started my first company in 1999. As organizations we have become more open and I believe this is great for businesses and their customers. Tim started to change our processes. Back then it seemed foreign.

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Organization Customer Custom Tips 280

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Every startup needs to think hard daily about what problem or challenge is holding back progress, what really matters today, and what entirely new possibilities exist.

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Whether you are a business professional in a big company, or an entrepreneur with a startup, innovation is a key strategy. You will see that I believe innovation is only one of many factors that ultimately determine your position with customers and your own legacy: Ideas are everywhere – success is all about execution.

Artificial Inteligence 114

Artificial Inteligence Ideas Satisfaction Customer 114

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

As a startup advisor, when I suggest cooperating with competitors, most entrepreneurs initially think I'm crazy or suggesting something illegal. And growth is the lifeblood of every startup. And growth is the lifeblood of every startup. There's an opportunity for follow-on sales to existing customers.

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Startup Customer Custom IBM 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2013

I’ve always wondered who started the urban myth that the best way to start a company is to come up with a great idea, and then find some professional investors to give you a pot of money to build a company. Eighty percent of new entrepreneurs used this approach, with only six percent using investor funding.

Startup 105

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Legalzoom 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2017

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. The canvas is a visual chart with elements describing your value proposition, structure, finances, and customers, to help companies identify and align business activities.

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Funding Startup Activity Customer 57

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 16, 2019

When Arianna Huffington stepped down from her role at the Huffington Post to start Thrive Global, she said the goal of her new business was to help a generation “avoid the burnout that all too often comes with success today.” “We can use technology to hook people to unhook them from unhealthy behaviors.”

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Artificial Inteligence Seed Funding Startup Screening 226

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Yet I still see most of the focus in the startup community on creating the best technology and process, rather than practicing the most effective habits. Being proactive in a new business means starting with a vision of how to do things better, rather than following someone else’s success model. We have enough social network startups.

Startup 148

Startup Entrepreneur Social Media Social Network 148

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2019

Ian Chen is the co-founder and CEO of Discotech , a startup that offers up bottle service booking, discounted tickets and more to clubs and nightspots. While I was doing that, I figured out it was really inefficient for a customer like myself, trying to spend money, to actually go out. How are you funded?

Startup 113

Startup Equity Customer Custom 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

You may feel good when that first burst of customers arrives, but don’t assume that “ word of mouth ” and those early adopters will grow your business to match your dreams of success. In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. They won’t find you.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2016

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

Funding 57

Funding Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 57

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

The result is fewer and fewer new ideas are volunteered by prospective leaders and key team members, and the business suffers from poor customer satisfaction or loss of market share. Input from outside experts and real customers is always a credibility booster. We don’t have the funding for any changes right now.

Ideas 116

Ideas Netflix Resource Customer 116

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2021

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. You don’t have enough control over your time, investors, the market, or your startup. But nobody said it would be easy. It’s very frustrating.

Entrepreneur 174

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Social Media 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Of course, starting and running your own business comes with financial and personal risks, so I always recommend that you do your homework first, and follow some tried and proven strategies to improve your odds of success. By far, the majority of new businesses I know are self-funding (bootstrapped) from your own savings and prior assets.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2020

The Internet is the problem, by facilitating constant change, and it’s the solution, by providing an absolutely current view of customers, trends, and best practices. With this principle, real entrepreneurs start with a conviction that new learning will reveal flaws in existing models, leading to new opportunities.

Social Media 127

Social Media Startup Education Entrepreneur 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2022

Too many customers have long felt distanced from many successful brands, seeing them as closed and mysterious environments, focused only on profits and killing competitors. In the idea stage, get customers involved with an engaging contest. Ramp up transparency by making people the boss of what they do. Shared goodwill (trust).

Organization 126

Organization Social Media Examples Customer 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business. Startup and development stage. Funding and rollout stage. Growth and scaling stage.

Ideas 127

Ideas Entrepreneur Satisfaction Summary 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

They ask me for a perspective on the pros and cons of that dream, the potential for increased satisfaction , and the probability of their long-term growth and success. He offers a handbook of lessons for what to expect in business, from initial ideas to funding, growth, and possible exits. Find an idea that matches your set of values.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Ideas Satisfaction Customer 124

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

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. Start with a service you know and love. The customer experience is more than the service.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2021

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs probably have long searched for that special idea that will catapult you and your startup to success. For example, most people thought Twitter was a total snoozer, when Jack Dorsey was looking for funding, especially with MySpace already owning that territory.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Satisfaction 171

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2020

Set up training courses that highlight agility, and adopt agile working practices. The passion and commitment that characterizes startups inevitably fades, particularly if things aren’t always going well. Difficulty in securing and protecting funding. Transformation fatigue from continual challenges.

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Metrics Training Satisfaction IBM 122