Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

Every one of you business leaders I know struggles with the competing demands of finding and keeping employees motivated and satisfied, versus building and enforcing a set of repeatable processes that work. Un-motivated people are also a huge drain on all resources. Dysfunctional teams will cause even the best processes to fail.

Satisfaction 154

Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2020

In my experience as a business mentor, one of the biggest challenges I see is a failure to focus. Both have obviously been able to expand their focus and impact, based on learning from early challenges, availability of additional resources, and early success applied more broadly. Documented business objectives and a timeline.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Startup Patents Resource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2021

But privately, as a mentor to many entrepreneurs, I see mindsets and attributes that may be equally critical to success, but are not readily admitted, for fear of being too wacky. They also are not hesitant to fire customers with unreasonable demands, or don’t fit their strategy. Ignore passion as a key opportunity driver.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Demand Customer 171

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2023

As a business consultant and mentor to many young entrepreneurs, I often get questions about leadership challenges , and what you can do to solidify your leadership position and impact. It seems that today’s worker generation is more demanding, and less willing to accept guidance and direction from anyone with a leadership title.

Demand 112

Demand Guide Startup Mentor 112

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. Gather your resources before scaling the business. Mergers and acquisitions also require new skills.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

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. Don’t demand or expect immediate gratification. Viewed by others as a successful problem solver.

Startup 171

Startup Entrepreneur Activity Ideas 171

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. In addition, you can reduce to soft costs of mentoring, relationship building, and socializing.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

Inside the organization, it also pays to offer some of your time for coaching and mentoring to less experienced team members, as an entrée to a supportive relationship. Successful people are able to find enough personal time off to balance personal needs against the constant barrage of work demands. Loners need not apply.

Startup 121

Startup Satisfaction Technical Review Ideas 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2022

I believe these same mindsets are equally applicable to the entrepreneurs I mentor, and all of you small business leaders, so I offer you my summary of the authors’ conclusions, paraphrased here, with my own insights: Be bold in vision, strategy, and resource allocation. Keep the teams strong.

Template 109

Template Demand Social Media Summary 109

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. Don’t demand or expect immediate gratification. Viewed by others as a successful problem solver.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 70

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

Recognize limited resources. Too many business people let the daily challenges cause them to revert to emotional and autocratic demands, failure to communicate, and inability to coach and mentor team members. Demonstrate how one key objective addresses your long-term, as well as short-term goals.

Startup 143

Startup Competition Coach Satisfaction 143

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

Don’t be hesitant to use coaches, mentors, and other resources to test and improve your image by others, and your perceptions of business realities and biases. The business world today is very competitive, and customers are more and more demanding. Build and maintain your emotional intelligence.

Startup 122

Startup Satisfaction Summary Coach 122

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2021

That takes focus, resolve, resources, and problem solving to make it happen. You can learn to be an entrepreneur by working in a startup, talking to peers, and mentoring. Starting a new business does put you in control, but you will face a harrowing new set of demands from partners, investors, suppliers, and customers.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Satisfaction 171

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. High-performing startups today are the ones that use every resource at their disposal. In my view, nothing could be further from the truth.

Startup 145

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2019

Based on my own experience in large and small businesses, as well as mentoring entrepreneurs, here is my list of behaviors which will keep you ahead of the pack: Focus on managing relationships more than tasks. The best leader personality for larger organizations is one of providing help and resources, rather than extracting performance.

Tips 97

Tips Mentor Coach Metrics 97

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

There are pretty significant resources there that standalone incubators don't have. We don't have the resources to do typical diligence and assessment, so we just piggyback on other deals. We really focus on the mentorship, programming, and content, and the ability to access USC, and specifically its School of Engineering.

Marina Del Rey 150

Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones. Usually these will not give you money, but will provide inexpensive expert mentoring and office services. As startups pass through each stage, they need to use support resources wisely to minimize costs, wasted time, and maintain credibility to support movement to the next stage.

Funding 94

Funding Startup Organization Incubator 94

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Unlike most university programs that are over architected and underfunded, the TMP evolved organically, based on the demands of its students and input from the local community. iCracked - Founded in 2010 by UCSB and Cal Poly-SLO graduates, iCracked is now the largest on-demand network for smartphone repair and trade-in.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

There are lots of resources available for the challenge of that activity, including the Internet and mentors like me. I suggest you use social media, blogging, crowdfunding, or documented research to quantify a real demand from people who can afford it, and don’t have a better alternative already out there.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

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. Don’t demand or expect immediate gratification. Viewed by others as a successful problem solver.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones. Usually these will not give you money, but will provide inexpensive expert mentoring and office services. As startups pass through each stage, they need to use support resources wisely to minimize costs, wasted time, and maintain credibility to support movement to the next stage.

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Ideas 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2017

Leaders need to reward experiments, rather than demand fixed processes. Establish mentoring and coaching relationships. Mentoring is a less formal arrangement for long-term career guidance, while coaching is a more formal association focused on improvements in behavior and performance in the current job.

Coach 57

Coach Mentor Organization Entrepreneur 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2016

The simple answer is always yes, but like any other resource, finding the right one depends on your implementation stage, your own expertise, and what’s available in your geographic area. Direction, mentoring and resources required. Your challenge is to make the right tradeoffs, with limited resources and time.

Incubator 58

Incubator Startup Seed Funding Equity 58

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. They cite sources like Profitable Venture Magazine, “ Why Business Plans are a Waste of Time ” and this Forbes article. You need money, and plan to do crowdfunding.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2014

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 107

Ideas Mentor Entrepreneur Resource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Make ‘em want it bad (pitch it).

Ideas 56

Ideas Mentor Resource Product 56

Tech.Co

APRIL 2, 2018

Whether it’s a partner, spouse, family, friend, mentor or mom, having a support system is key to any entrepreneur’s success. Once women have access to STEM education, they need resources to support them and open the door to high-demand careers. Nina started Pinnacle Group on the floor of her apartment. It isn’t always easy.

Education 70

Education Startup Mentor Entrepreneur 70

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2010

We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. With Vistage, you'll benefit from: Advisory Board Peer Group Meetings; Private 1-to-1 Mentoring Sessions; Expert Speaker Workshops; Content and Connectivity Online. Venture capital for innovators. Rustic Canyon Partners (www.rusticcanyon.com). Funding great entrepreneurs.

SoCalTech 127

SoCalTech Advertising Rustic Canyon Glendale 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Use blogging, outside publication, and speaking or mentoring opportunities to establish credibility and stand out above peers. You can’t please everyone all the time, so don’t kill yourself trying to satisfy a bad boss or an overly demanding customer. Market yourself both inside and outside your current job.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

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. Don’t demand or expect immediate gratification. Viewed by others as a successful problem solver.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Startup Activity Ideas 110

socalTECH

APRIL 10, 2012

I spent lots of time making really important things happen with little resources, which is exactly the skill set to build a business. Those mentors and others have given us really tangible advice. We don't peak and valley with demand. government. I'm excited to apply those skills in a new way. Wade Eyerly: They are incredible.

Startup 240

Startup Mentor Technical Review Santa Barbara 240

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. Don’t demand or expect immediate gratification. Viewed by others as a successful problem solver.

Entrepreneur 63

Entrepreneur Product Startup Activity 63

Xconomy

AUGUST 29, 2016

As a human resources executive who has worked exclusively in the life sciences for more than 16 years, I empathize with companies that struggle to bring females into the C-suite. I have observed the disparity to be far more pronounced in the life sciences than in fields such as finance, human resources, and marketing.

Resource 69

Resource Organization Report Demand 69

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2015

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. High-performing startups today are the ones that use every resource at their disposal. In my view, nothing could be further from the truth.

Startup 103

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2016

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. High-performing startups today are the ones that use every resource at their disposal. In my view, nothing could be further from the truth.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Startup Mentor Writing 58