Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. What about if elderly people never had to ask a relative or healthcare worker to change the batteries on their hearing aids? Meredith came to see me along with the CTO Marc Berte.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

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. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers.

Startup 124

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 124

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. The same is true for filing patents, registering trademarks, and filing copyrights. A programmer can build a new smartphone app for a few thousand dollars.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

So a better question than asking about the quality of an idea, is asking about the quality of your plan to implement the idea. 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.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

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. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

For example, I usually hear about an aggressive marketing budget, with a plan to penetrate a few big retail chains, and some videos to catch your attention on YouTube. Give customers incentives, rewards, and challenges as a way to have some fun, and they will talk about you and promote you.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Custom 170

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2015

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand.

Patents 106

Patents Startup Offshore Demand 106

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2019

In fact, in this new world of pervasive interactivity, it’s time to rethink even how to develop a strategy. These help to increase the intrinsic level of understanding, stimulate creativity, and develop ideas. Willingness in analysis, vision, and numbers to think about the future. What drives the economic engine?

Organization 88

Organization Course Patents Entrepreneur 88

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry. Apple pulled ahead of other mobile phones in its early days largely because it cultivated an ecosystem of software developers who created iPhone apps to meet every consumer niche and need. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem. Find funders who seek long-term returns.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Custom 142

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Drug company stocks got a boost with the defeat of Hillary Clinton, a vocal critic of drug prices. Will he take a softer stance on drug prices? But her near doubling of Trump (62 to 33 percent) didn’t translate into support for drug price controls. CRISPR DEVELOPMENTS. Patent and Trademark Office.

Patents 87

Patents Study Pricing Research 87

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I love good causes and social entrepreneurs, but a recent pitch to me about eliminating world hunger with a new product (harvesting algae at low cost) seemed to forget that really hungry people don’t have any money. Any startup with no patents, trade secrets, or other secret sauce is very high risk today.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2017

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand.

Marketing 54

Marketing Patents Offshore Startup 54

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Offshore 97

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

There’s a lot of mystique about what happens at board meetings and a lot of imagined board-room drama. And of course we help with business development introductions and with fund raising events. Often we are asked to get involved in executive-level recruiting. Board work does involve a lot of conflict at moments throughout the company.

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand.

Marketing 104

Marketing Startup Patents Offshore 104

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

We caught up with Kanaan to learn more about uCast Global. Thats what uCast is all about. He saw that the industry was being disrupted globally, and actually started with the idea of building a new company that could be scalable, and flexible, and offer delivery of that content at competitive pricing. Kanaan Jemili.

Content 113

Content Startup Mobile Platform 113

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2009

Irvine-based RFaxis (www.rfaxis.com) is tackling the RF front end market, and we spoke with Mike Neshat, President and CEO of the company, to learn more about where the firm fits, why Mike decided to start a chip firm, and how far along it is now with its product. For starters, let's talk about your technology. Ghz wireless market.

Patents 100

Patents Sample Technical Review Pricing 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2017

In fact, in this new world of pervasive interactivity, it’s time to rethink even how to develop a strategy. These help to increase the intrinsic level of understanding, stimulate creativity, and develop ideas. Willingness in analysis, vision, and numbers to think about the future. What drives the economic engine?

Organization 69

Organization Course Patents Entrepreneur 69

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2015

In fact, in this new world of pervasive interactivity, it’s time to rethink even how to develop a strategy. These help to increase the intrinsic level of understanding, stimulate creativity, and develop ideas. Willingness in analysis, vision, and numbers to think about the future. What drives the economic engine?

Custom 102

Custom Customer Organization Course 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2011

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Patents Offshore Startup 103

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He said it was better than the Yellow Pages because he would provide pricing transparency. So when he saw the browser it instantly dawned on him that this would be the greatest customer development tool ever. But also when you’re developing so is your competitor. If it worked in the Yellow Pages, why not on the Internet?

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2013

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. It can also be very inspiring, as you watch your dream morph into reality, or as you feel each little element of success: Watch your team develop new skills.

Startup 100

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2012

The honest answer is that ideas and new technologies are worth nothing, outside the context of a specific entrepreneur and a specific business plan that meets a market need for a fair price. Then you have to worry about politics, government regulations, and infrastructure. Don’t count on development being a “one-time” expense.

Patents 95

Patents Journal Ideas Competition 95

Xconomy

AUGUST 19, 2016

When the Olympics roll around, many watchers get into a sport they previously hadn’t thought much about. Talk about sacrifice. Patent Office in its successful push to get pioneering patents for the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. This time for me, it’s volleyball. Be our guest and try it.).

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Patents .Net Study 40

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. It can also be very inspiring, as you watch your dream morph into reality, or as you feel each little element of success: Watch your team develop new skills.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Ideas 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

In fact, in this new world of pervasive interactivity, it’s time to rethink even how to develop a strategy. These help to increase the intrinsic level of understanding, stimulate creativity, and develop ideas. Willingness in analysis, vision, and numbers to think about the future. What drives the economic engine?

Organization 98

Organization Course Entrepreneur Patents 98

socalTECH

MARCH 15, 2013

We sat down with Forsblom to learn more about what he learned from his experience in Finland, and what he's hoping to do here. Nils Forsblom: TenFarms is a mobile app developer. We have a couple of different ideas in the pipeline, and have filed patents in our unique way of showing advertising on a very small screen.

Mobile 233

Mobile Southern California Startup Outsource Development 233

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. Investors want to hear about customers with money who have a painful problem that you can solve now.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2011

The honest answer is that ideas and new technologies are worth nothing, outside the context of a specific business plan that meets a market need for a fair price. Then you have to worry about politics, government regulations, and infrastructure. Patents may slow down competition, but they are not a real barrier to entry.

Technology 95

Technology Patents Journal Ideas 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2010

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand.

Startup 89

Startup Patents Offshore Demand 89

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Sometimes great new businesses, such as Starbucks, are built on the oldest of base products, but with better customer service, distribution, marketing or a new pricing model, by a smart, determined entrepreneur such as Howard Schultz. Brings realism to solution-development projections. Thinks customer-centric vs. technology-centric.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Pricing Custom Customer 106

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2014

We caught up with one of the local teams competing in that competition, VOXearch (www.voxearch.com), to learn more about the prize as well as their specific approach to the competition. Talk about your team, how did you get interested in this project? Talk about your team, what''s your expertise in this area?

Startup 262

Startup Competition Software Review UCLA 262

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

So a better question than asking about the quality of an idea, is asking about the quality of your plan to cash in on the idea. 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.

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2013

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Here I’m talking about both the experience and track record of the founders in starting a business, as well as their experience and knowledge of the business domain. Competitive risk.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Social Network 104

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. A programmer can build a new smartphone app for a few thousand dollars.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2014

So a better question than asking about the quality of an idea, is asking about the quality of your plan to cash in on the idea. 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.

Ideas 107

Ideas Mentor Entrepreneur Resource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

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. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Ideas 105