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. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

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

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Most of the technologists I know inherently believe that the terms inventor and entrepreneur mean the same thing, so they are frustrated and surprised when they build their products and no business evolves. The term entrepreneur has always been defined as a person who builds a new business, which may or may not involve inventing a product.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Pricing Custom Customer 106

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly. If I could persuade you that they’re already in these documents would you consider abandoning this structure?

Startup 354

Startup Pricing Equity Venture Capital 354

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves. Personnel situation is stable.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2017

In my role as an advisor to startups, I often have to remind entrepreneurs to think more like sales people from day one, in finding a real problem to solve and designing the solution. The lowest price is not always the real customer motivator. That’s a recipe for business success that I recommend to every entrepreneur and professional.

Sales 82

Sales Entrepreneur Custom Customer 82

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2010

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Portfolio pricing. Tiered or volume pricing. Feature pricing.

Pricing 98

Pricing Product Startup Competition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2023

No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Smart entrepreneurs never outsource their core competency, and never rely on intellectual property they don’t own. Attract and relish investor funding.

Tips 135

Tips Invest Startup Outsource 135

Berkonomics

JUNE 14, 2018

If you have been in management or an entrepreneur long enough, you will have experienced the gray area of decision-making where ethics, the law, your needs and expediency all collide. friend who teaches a graduate course in entrepreneurism at a local university. we_are_wat we_are_watching_you. Gray area decisions. Knowing the facts.

Course 226

Course Entrepreneur Custom Customer 226

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

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. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2022

The pivot can be as simple as changing the pricing model, or as complex as moving from a product business to a services business. Resurgence begins when entrepreneurs and top executives stop trusting only themselves, and build a coalition with customers to see what is and isn’t working. Reinvent the vision for change.

Course 127

Course IBM IBM Social Media 127

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

500 Hats , January 10, 2010 Developing new startup ideas - Chris Dixon , March 14, 2010 Batch Processing Millions and Millions of Images - Code as Craft , July 9, 2010 jQuery Plugin: Give Your Characters a NobleCount - The Product Guy , March 23, 2010 How do the sample Series Seed financing documents differ from typical Series A financing documents?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you can’t quantify or document your service for repeatability and new employee training, you will kill yourself trying to grow the business.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2021

In my role as an advisor to startups, I often have to remind entrepreneurs to think more like sales people from day one, in finding a real problem to solve and designing the solution. The lowest price is not always the real customer motivator. That’s a recipe for business success that I recommend to every entrepreneur and professional.

Custom 136

Custom Customer Sales Social Media 136

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you can’t quantify or document your service for repeatability and new employee training, you will kill yourself trying to grow the business.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

socalTECH

AUGUST 8, 2012

The company said the launch is a "major move" for the firm into paid-video courses, and is an evolution of the company's focus on small businesses documents. Pricing on the new courses was not announced by the company. READ MORE>>.

Course 178

Course Santa Monica Sites Pricing 178

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

A reminder that it is important for all entrepreneurs is to remember to be careful about “deal drift.” We were trying to optimize around a few criteria: price, size of round, number of syndicate partners and, of course, terms. I offered a second time to fund and even increased price a little bit. Yes, this was stupid.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Finally you create and document your recipe (business plan). Have you set the right price for your entrée, and correctly included all costs? Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. But don’t practice too long.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. It’s definitely positive to have a product plan.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Based on my experience advising new entrepreneurs as well as more mature businesses, I recommend the following strategies for building business momentum, while still optimizing the limited resources of every small business: Find more customers that like what you do best. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2021

Thus I recommend to every business owner and entrepreneur that you focus constantly on building and maintaining personal trust through the following strategies: Use storytelling to highlight previous trustworthiness. For multiple party contracts, always document. Avoid over-commitment and under-delivery.

Company 165

Company Companies Metrics Entrepreneur 165

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Smart entrepreneurs never outsource their core competency, and never rely on intellectual property they don’t own. Attract and relish investor funding.

Startup 154

Startup Outsource Ideas Research 154

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. milestones entrepreneur startup funding business'

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2010

A good entrepreneur is not necessarily a good salesman. In my view, every entrepreneur has to be a great salesman to succeed (among the many other required skills), so you should take a hard look at these points: Sell value versus price. Show them you are the highest value alternative, not the lowest price.

Competition 92

Competition Entrepreneur Startup Custom 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

In the old days, every entrepreneur planned on taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are now starting to look at this option again, as well as the challenges of running a public company. The M&A alternative looks simple by comparison. Constant pressure to increase earnings.

Startup 98

Startup Report IBM IBM 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

Finally you create and document your recipe (business plan). Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. But don’t practice too long.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

InfoChachkie

MARCH 9, 2016

Entrepreneurs see the world like a cash booth from a 1950’s game show. Once you begin seeing the world with the eyes of an entrepreneur, you realize that money-making opportunities are all around you. the smartass entrepreneur replied, “It’s called business. A version of this article previously appeared Forbes.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Santa Barbara Entrepreneur 100

InfoChachkie

MARCH 7, 2016

Entrepreneurs see the world like a cash booth from a 1950’s game show. Once you begin seeing the world with the eyes of an entrepreneur, you realize that money-making opportunities are all around you. the smartass entrepreneur replied, “It’s called business. A version of this article previously appeared Forbes.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Santa Barbara Entrepreneur 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2014

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). In this more traditional product pricing model, the price is set at two to five times the product cost.

Startup 114

Startup Pricing Custom Customer 114

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 23, 2013

There are a lot of valuation companies out there, so I know many entrepreneurs are tempted to just shop around until they find the lowest price, but this is a mistake. The right valuation company will understand your business and guarantee that you get a price that’s appropriate. A valuation is more than just a commodity.

Company 102

Company Companies Startup Acquisition 102

Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2012

There are many ways to project the value of a company for purposes of pricing an investment, but all rely upon the revenue and profit projections of the entrepreneur as a starting point. For those of us who’ve invested in early stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem.

Invest 321

Invest Startup Email Competition 321

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

I call this “arming & aiming&# your sales teams where you need to standardize both the assignment of territories, industries & accounts (aiming) as well as the process of selling, the collateral, the legal agreements & pricing. We moved toward more standardized pricing (e.g. less negotiating & haggling).

Sales 296

Sales Pricing Startup Custom 296

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2015

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but 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. Typically some production and delivery is outsourced, requiring formal contracts and documentation.

Outsource Development 99

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 99

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The operations superstar.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Their primary intended reader is a “first-time entrepreneur”, but clearly other stakeholders within the startup universe can also benefit from the book’s hands-on advice. They are both former entrepreneurs and current Partners at Foundry Group , a highly successful, early stage venture firm. The Magicians Tells Their Secrets.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2017

I was mentoring some graduate students at a local university recently, and I sensed again that profit seems to be a dirty word these days to many aspiring entrepreneurs. The alternatives range from giving the product away for free (revenue from ads), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing).

Pricing 66

Pricing Custom Customer Advertising 66

Berkonomics

MAY 31, 2011

If you have been in management or an entrepreneur long enough, you will have experienced the gray area of decision-making where ethics, the law, your needs and expediency all collide. friend who teaches a graduate course in entrepreneurism at a local university. I have a Ph.D. And the responses from students are predictable.

Course 240

Course Entrepreneur Custom Customer 240