Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

The future of work is definitely changing, accelerated by the current pandemic. Spend more time mentoring and coaching your team. Real mentoring always improves engagement and productivity, because team members know the “why” of their work, and how it benefits them, as well as your customers.

Tips 159

Tips Satisfaction Coach Mentor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2021

These resources are definitely not limited to students, since every university seeks out and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already are active in the real world marketplace. Connections to a mentor. For example, I live near the Phoenix, Arizona area, home of Arizona State University.

Incubator 172

Incubator Mentor Class Resource 172

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2010

This is a problem for a strategy consultant because you are, by definition, a generalist that is thrown into new problems again and again. The wisest mentor I ever had was Ameet Shah , my partner on several projects. I struggled on my first few assignments.

Entrepreneur 372

Entrepreneur Startup Design Framework 372

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

We're definitely Los Angeles natives, but we got the opportunity to do TechStars. We have some great mentors now. Thanks to TechStars, we've got an awesome mentor who's co-habitating with us now, and we're learning something daily from him. Alex Benzer: We're definitely looking at taking money later this year.

Startup 242

Startup CTO Coach Blogging Social Media 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. If you can explain the problem to a mentor, or even write it down, you will more likely get to the root cause quickly, and avoid emotional and blame-infused responses. Explore solutions, outcomes, and options calmly.

Startup 135

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review 135

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

In my own business career, many years as a business advisor, and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I have validated the following strategies to practice and guide you. A better definition of a problem always leads to a better solution. If this doesn’t come naturally for you today, I assure you that it can be learned.

Satisfaction 152

Satisfaction Mentor Study Startup 152

Berkonomics

JUNE 22, 2012

I have a friend in the music business who worked hard to gain introductions to, and become mentored by, several known names in the business. One well known informal mentor called him the “Stevie Wonder of Hip Hop.” A mantra, tag line, motto, or logo with your unique brand definition is a good start. How do you define yourself?

Mentor 136

Mentor Statistics Press Entertainment 136

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing. What is not happening, is those marginal deals that would have gotten funded a number of years ago, when things were better, are not making it.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2011

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. It works, but in all cases, to be a successful mentor, there are some key things you have to do: Be available always. The mentor assumes a role of a facilitator.

Mentor 95

Mentor High Tech Coach Guide 95

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

You’re the coach, mentor, cheerleader. After all, building organizations is about making difficult decisions across all functions and by definition this means overruling individual silos at times. But your job isn’t to make every decision for him. As a leader it IS ok to overrule your head of product or other functions.

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

InfoChachkie

APRIL 21, 2014

It wasn''t until I turned 50 that I fully adopted basketball legend John Wooden''s definition of victory: "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.". This was a difficult and gradual transition. Consciousness Can Be A Bummer.

Activity 275

Activity Santa Barbara Startup Tips 275

socalTECH

JANUARY 27, 2010

We are able to do events like this launch party to give them more exposure, and there's also a mentoring components, and access to capital through DFJ Frontier and other venture capitalists and angels. You definitely see some distinct clusters 30 miles North and 30 miles South of us.

Ventura 200

Ventura Incubator Technology Startup 200

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 7, 2013

The bad news is that it is often difficult to determine which of these alternatives is ideal, since the definition of "ideal" changes as your venture matures. If you use the mentor-driven model that we pioneered at TechStars, you get entrepreneurs who are deeply connected with the broader entrepreneurial landscape.

Incubator 238

Incubator Startup News Entrepreneur 238

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2015

Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. If you can explain the problem to a mentor, or even write it down, you will more likely get to the root cause quickly, and avoid emotional and blame-infused responses. Explore solutions, outcomes, and options calmly.

Mentor 105

Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review Satisfaction 105

Berkonomics

MAY 23, 2019

I have a friend in the music business who worked hard to gain introductions to, and become mentored by, several known names in the business. One well known informal mentor called him the “Stevie Wonder of Hip Hop.” A mantra, tag line, motto, or logo with your unique brand definition is a good start. How do you define yourself?

Mentor 120

Mentor Statistics Press Blogging 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2019

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” According to my definition and Wikipedia , an entrepreneur is someone who builds a new business. The first myth you have to get past is that having the right idea will make you an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 135

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 135

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2014

Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. If you can explain the problem to a mentor, or even write it down, you will more likely get to the root cause quickly, and avoid emotional and blame-infused responses. Explore solutions, outcomes, and options calmly.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Mentor Technical Review Satisfaction 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2021

Many years ago, John Hamm published some definitive work on this subject in " Why Entrepreneurs Don't Scale " in the Harvard Business Review. Thus my best recommendation, if you want to scale and to survive, is to open up and work closely with an “outsider” that you trust, such as a respected board member, a coach, a mentor, or an investor.

Entrepreneur 169

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Mentor 169

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

In my role as a mentor to business professionals and entrepreneurs over the years, I have found that it’s important to take a hard look at the relationships around you on a regular basis. But, like most other skills, you can learn from these priorities: Everyone benefits from active mentoring.

Tips 95

Tips Mentor Coach Activity 95

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

By way of a definition, a business or startup incubator is a company, university, or other organization which provides resources to nurture young companies, usually for a share of the equity, hoping to capitalize on their success, or at least strengthen the local economy. Expert mentoring and training. The reality is far different.

Incubator 146

Incubator Technical Review Entrepreneur Mentor 146

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” According to my definition and Wikipedia , an entrepreneur is someone who builds a new business. The first myth you have to get past is that having the right idea will make you an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 124

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2012

We were also about to build a really solid mentor network in a short period of time, pulling in about 250 CEO's and CTOs, from all backgrounds and locations. Definitely Software as a Service (SAAS). This year, we were lucky enough to find 40 great startups to invest in, growing StartEngine immensely. It was a big year for us.

Southern California 168

Southern California High Tech SaaS Social Media 168

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

As a member of NextSpace I have witnessed Amplify in operation and it is a shop that definitely believes in good rewards stemming from hard work. Amplify Mentor Panel in full swing. Amplify’s close mentoring is by design. And they do all this in the span of four intense months. Setting up for Eric Garcetti.

Web Design 103

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 103

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2021

In more recent years as a mentor and angel investor, I’ve been even more determined to pass this guidance to those now entering the workforce. Meeting your goals is the only definition of success. Winning in the long run is the definition of success, and is not always the same as winning right now.

Mentor 136

Mentor Conference Customer Custom 136

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Board seats can’t be negotiated, and even informal mentoring in decision and governance processes is unlikely. By definition, investors from the crowd have less experience and differing motivations from professional investors. Investors cannot verify accountability or governance. Risk is increased.

Equity 164

Equity Statistics Platform Entrepreneur 164

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2021

In addition to saying yes too often, professionals under pressure often say no poorly, by attacking the requestor or by avoiding any definitive response. A key part of her message that resonated with me, as a mentor to entrepreneurs, is her guidance on how to deal with the constant demands and requests that every business founder faces.

Startup 172

Startup Tool Coach Satisfaction 172

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2023

With the advent of social media, and instant communication via the Internet, that definition has been expanded to include all aspects of the customer experience , from finding you and what they need, to the ease of completing the transaction, as well as all follow-on support. Inflexible processes.

Competition 109

Competition Services Customer Custom 109

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

Mentoring and technical assistance from volunteer or paid experts. This association is definitely one of the world’s leading organization for advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Direct seed funding, for a share of the equity, and introductions to investors.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

This is when founders need you the most – either are coach, mentor, interviewer, work off-loader or honest-mirror-reflection of reality. By definition this means others will doubt you. Each major change is an inflection point and a chance to get things really right or horribly wrong. Be a non-conformist. Have conviction.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

These resources are definitely not limited to students, since every university seeks out and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already are active in the real world marketplace. Connections to a mentor. For example, I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area, home of Arizona State University.

Startup 95

Startup Incubator Resource Mentor 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2010

These resources are definitely are not limited to students, since every university wants and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already have credibility in the marketplace. A little known, but valuable resource, every startup should investigate is a formal or informal connection to your local university.

Help 94

Help Startup Mentor Incubator 94

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

Even though I’m a big proponent of becoming an entrepreneur, it is definitely not for everyone. It’s definitely fun to create something from nothing, and to have more control over your own destiny, but only if it works. I find that building a business is more about the right people skills than solution development.

Sample 126

Sample Entrepreneur Ideas Startup 126

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2019

Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. If you can explain the problem to a mentor, or even write it down, you will more likely get to the root cause quickly, and avoid emotional and blame-infused responses. Explore solutions, outcomes, and options calmly.

Mentor 85

Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review Summary 85

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2012

These resources are definitely not limited to students, since every university seeks out and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already are active in the real world marketplace. Connections to a mentor. For example, I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area, home of Arizona State University.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Incubator Mentor Research 92

Tech.Co

JANUARY 29, 2018

The quote “knowledge is power,” often attributed to Francis Bacon from his writings Meditationes Sacrae in 1597, definitely resonates with founders, Most because gaining knowledge about your market, landscape, and competitors, is a key way to gain strength and momentum. Add Mentors to Your Roster. Get Your Playbook Together.

Startup 87

Startup Mentor Artificial Inteligence Research 87

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2021

In my role as mentor to business professionals, I often get the question about your potential of going out on your own as an entrepreneur, versus your current role of working for a boss at an established company. Others look to you for the path to success.

Entrepreneur 158

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Ideas Social Media 158

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2017

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” According to my definition and Wikipedia , an entrepreneur is someone who builds a new business. The first myth you have to get past is that having the right idea will make you an entrepreneur.

Mentor 90

Mentor Entrepreneur Ideas Writing 90