Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Too many entrepreneurs think that expert external advisors are suspect, or will slow them down.

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Startup Entrepreneur Examples Custom 131

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. Fund raising (as is much of life) is a sale – pure and simple. As with any sales campaign you need to: Qualify your buyers early so you focus your scarce resources on people likely to buy your product. .

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Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Development schedule and checkpoints.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

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. Solution development and delivery. Hobbies are developed ad-hoc, driven by personal needs.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

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. Your leadership skills do not develop without effort. Even the best college degree is not a substitute.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

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. Social media facilitates marketing and sales. A programmer can build a new smartphone app for a few thousand dollars.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

A while back I wrote a bunch of posts on Sales & Marketing and have been meaning to get back to that theme for a while. Even if you don’t have “direct&# sales I would tell you that “everything is a sale&# including fund raising, hiring, getting press and doing business development.

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Sales Startup Technical Review Custom 346

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

(In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Entrepreneurs make fast decisions and move forward knowing that at best 70% of their decisions are going to be right. This paralyzes most people.

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Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Start by developing an “elevator pitch” that you can deliver in 30 seconds to hook a potential investor. Relevant questions include the type of business entity (LLC or C-Corp), licensing or manufacturing, sales and marketing, and staffing.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 15, 2014

Multiple surveys confirm that honesty is one of the most common traits of serial entrepreneurs. In his book, The Entrepreneur’s Manual , Richard White cites a survey of venture capitalists which ranks honesty as the single most important characteristic for serial success. Honesty Matters - Honest. Image : Wikipedia. Share and Enjoy.

Entrepreneur 189

Entrepreneur Sales Writing Custom 189

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 18, 2012

As part of UC Santa Barbara’s Distinguished Lecture Series, serial entrepreneur and noted venture capitalist Mark Suster recently shared his advice with a large crowd of emerging entrepreneurs. In the last six weeks, I have been pitched by five entrepreneurs under 20. Number one is sales. Life is sales.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Startup Conference Santa Barbara 272

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

One of the big differences between an entrepreneur and an employee of a big business is that employees tend to have a very narrow focus on their job, while entrepreneurs have to keep the broader focus on business. entrepreneurs consistently claim to be happier , and have a higher net worth than employees. In fact, U.S.

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Entrepreneur Satisfaction Custom Customer 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

It really is possible for an introvert to succeed as an entrepreneur, even though you can’t expect to start and build a business alone. As an introvert myself, I remember worrying that I could never be comfortable giving a sales pitch, or networking to find clients. Develop and practice your business vision and story.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

Earlier this month, the annual Montgomery Summit conference was held in Santa Monica, including a special portion of the conference dedicated to the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur. I also think there's an interesting opportunity in Los Angeles, as the tech scene continues to develop and mature. I think it's a fantastic program.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2019

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Craft a no-follow-up sales letter, after you have positioned yourself as the right expert, with powerful testimonials. Be passionate about what you do, but develop a really strong plan, and a strong plan B too.

Marketing 97

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 97

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

Many people are too cautious in sales processes and as a result when they present their solutions they end up sounding milquetoast and undifferentiated from anybody else in the market. I recently wrote about the three rules of sales. In sales we often call these USPs (I wrote about them here: Unique Selling Propositions ).

Sales 150

Sales SaaS Startup Venture Capital 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. Of course, not every entrepreneur wants to tackle this challenge. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

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Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Business risks are not just development risks. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions. Value creation.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Forecast sales-volume expectations. This should always be a “bottoms-up” commitment from your sales team, not your own optimistic guess.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2013

I was never into spicy foods growing up but after living in the UK for nearly a decade and having so much great Indian food around me all of the time I developed more of a taste for it. How much could the new generation of entrepreneurs learn from that? My own fascination with hot sauces began a few years ago.

Entrepreneur 415

Entrepreneur Startup Pricing Product 415

socalTECH

JUNE 24, 2010

I often get asked for advice on Business Development. Ive spent most of my career in sales (or some sales like function), and here are my thoughts on how to be better with your BD. Read the rest of Jason's 10 Tips for Better Business Development. READ MORE>>.

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Develop Development Santa Monica Tips 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capitalists) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Exchanging your services for services is possible with legal counsel, accountants, engineers, and even sales people. Marty Zwilling.

Develop 70

Develop Development Product Startup 70

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Many entrepreneurs struggle with their setbacks.

Entrepreneur 288

Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

socalTECH

JULY 7, 2010

One complaint we sometimes hear from venture capitalists visiting Southern California for the first time, is the difficulty of finding experienced entrepreneurs and executives. socalTECH.com has mined its proprietary database of high tech companies and entrepreneurs and identified just a few of the repeat entrepreneurs to watch in the region.

Southern California 228

Southern California Entrepreneur SoCal Mahalo 228

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2010

I wrote several of the characteristics when I did the Top 10 (11) Attributes of an Entrepreneur. Your sales team is pounding the table because engineering won’t ship new features fast enough. Marketing wants the sales teams to use the materials they’ve produced. Zynga and others.

Entrepreneur 330

Entrepreneur Yahoo Startup Technical Review 330

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2015

Thus smart business professionals are rapidly becoming the new entrepreneurs. Of course, entrepreneurs delivering services have existed for some time, including business consultant, independent contractor, and freelancer titles. Software Development Professional. Sales Professional. Administrative Professional.

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Startup Mentor Social Media 99

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. Thinking out loud – I’m sure that’s important for entrepreneurs as well. If you haven’t spent time over there you should. We were SMOKING cash.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Startup Outsource Development Custom 306

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Forecast sales-volume expectations. This should always be a “bottoms-up” commitment from your sales team, not your own optimistic guess.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Pricing Sales 102

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. Others do far too little, assuming the viral effect and word-of-mouth will soon kick in, and sales will suddenly grow exponentially. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

I originally conceived it as the Top 11 things that I believe “all entrepreneurs need to succeed.&# If it stuck to this theme then I would stand by my top 11. I’ll publish the final post in this series this week and then move on to my next series – sales & marketing. It will be controversial – I know.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS San Diego 267

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Thus smart business professionals are rapidly becoming the new entrepreneurs. Of course, entrepreneurs delivering services have existed for some time, including business consultant, independent contractor, and freelancer titles. Software Development Professional. Sales Professional. Administrative Professional.

Startup 106

Startup Social Media Course Entrepreneur 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The problem is that professional investors (Angels and Venture Capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Exchanging your services for services is possible with legal counsel, accountants, engineers, and even sales people. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 18, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. Resilience is one of the tell tale signs of an entrepreneur. I had developed a great relationship with the CEO whom I still admire (he left many years ago).

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Startup GRP Partners Venture Capital 298

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Business risks are not just development risks. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions. Value creation.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Yet as a business advisor I am convinced that making the jump from a startup to a the next unicorn takes a different mindset, and actions most entrepreneurs are reluctant to face. In my experience, less than half of founding entrepreneurs even aspire to stay and scale their company. Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

InfoChachkie

JULY 16, 2012

As noted in YouTubers Come Of Age – Google Scores A Solid Return On Its Video Development Fund , many YouTube personalities are sensitive to the nature of the ads associated with their content. We develop products that contextually engage the user at the moment at which they are most actively engaged with a given concept.

Custom 226

Custom Customer Entrepreneur Advertising 226

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2022

As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. True entrepreneurs love the tactical and problem solving challenges.

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Startup Training Entrepreneur Organization 137