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. The size of the document should be based on your style, but 10-20 pages or slides are usually more than adequate to outline even a complex business.

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Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2020

As a startup mentor and advisor, I often contemplate what makes the difference between winners and losers. We all have fears of the unknown, but the best of you will document the challenges ahead of you, and tackle them one by one with a plan, getting the help and learning from each success and failure.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

Document and communicate a solid business plan. Assess who you can get for value and mentoring. For example , when Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia , a successful outdoor products company, his real goal was building safe products to help the environment. These may evolve from an advisory arrangement to a board of directors.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2023

Many aspiring entrepreneurs I mentor can talk at length about their innovative ideas and passions, and ask lots of good questions, but never make much progress in building a real business. This three percent with written goals will earn as much as ten times more than the ninety-seven percent without documented goals.

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Writing Ideas Startup Entrepreneur 92

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Thus I always recommend that you document and clarify, first to yourself, the results you see in your vision of a new venture. Even the best entrepreneurs find more experienced and skillful mentors to help them improve, and explore new tools to conquer problems. Action starts with absolute clarity on the goals you want to achieve.

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Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Coach 140

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2021

Try a good business mentor to get you on the right track. Closure in business should include formalizing the result in a written document, with clearly outlined terms and activities, and follow-on milestones as required. Each of the three types requires different strategies and tactics. Not all conflicts are bad.

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Activity Research Mentor Entrepreneur 129

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

In my experience as an advisor and mentor, I have assimilated the following most frequent negative reactions from others to your ideas, with my own suggestions and feedback from other experts on how to counter them, build your credibility, and be more productive: The implementation does not fit the way we do things.

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Ideas Netflix Resource Customer 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

Based on my experience as an investor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, one of the quickest ways to kill your credibility and your startup is to offer a poorly written business plan, or none at all. Don’t try to impress constituents with technical terms, jargon, and acronyms.

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Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business.

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Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2021

I often think of the scope of this example in my role as mentor to a struggling entrepreneur who is quick to blame his problems on employee mistakes, or even changing customer expectations. Don’t forget to document lessons learned, so that others who may follow in your footsteps will benefit.

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Training Examples Startup Social Media 173

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. In simple terms, it is a 20-page document which describes all the what, when, where, and how of your new business. Financial model.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Tips Funding Startup 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2023

Obviously, the business of business has been around a long time, with many “best practices” well-defined and well documented, so creativity that ignores these is usually not a good thing.

Marketing 119

Marketing Metrics Statistics Demand 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2021

As an entrepreneur mentor, my mission is to foster the attributes in you as a startup founder that I believe will lead to success. They now expect a solid documented plan, with specific goals and targets based on data. Sometimes good things are easy to see in others, but hard to see in yourself.

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Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Mentor 136

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2017

Develop the right mentoring relationships. It’s easy to assume that your best friend is also your best mentor. But a real mentor will tell you what you need to hear, rather than what you want to hear. Use active listening to learn the most. Two heads are almost always better than one.

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Technical Review Startup Mentor Study 60

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2020

In my own role as advisor and mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, I was struck by how relevant and critical these same initiatives are to even the earliest stage businesses. Your standards for product quality, sales growth, and customer satisfaction must be documented and reviewed prior to results and performance reviews.

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Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction Resource 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2019

I loved it when my boss gave me the additional responsibility of mentoring others in solving tough problems. Each of us can remember a time when we prepared a report that no one read, or filed physical documents never used, and no one seemed to care. Many companies also promote local mentoring and coaching opportunities.

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Tips Satisfaction Training Mentor 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2020

Obviously, the business of business has been around a long time, with many “best practices” well-defined and well documented, so creativity that ignores these is usually not a good thing.

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Metrics Demand Sales Statistics 157

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Many aspiring entrepreneurs I mentor can talk at length about their innovative ideas and passions, and ask lots of good questions, but never make much progress in building a real business. This three percent with written goals will earn as much as ten times more than the ninety-seven percent without documented goals.

Ideas 121

Ideas Writing Startup Entrepreneur 121

InfoChachkie

MARCH 5, 2012

If you use the mentor-driven model that we pioneered at TechStars, you get entrepreneurs who are deeply connected with the broader entrepreneurial landscape. Many experienced entrepreneurs choose to go through an accelerator because of the network effect and the dynamics of the mentor help that they get.

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Startup Incubator Doc Mentor 270

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business.

Ideas 127

Ideas Entrepreneur Satisfaction Summary 127

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

A new startup Meritful, out of Michigan Univeristy and accelerated and funded through Ann Arbor SPARK has launched into public beta to unite both students and mentors or even teachers. Meritful is a professional network for students and mentors. If you are a teacher or mentor, Meritful helps you run projects and engage with students.

Help 68

Help Social Media Mentor Study 68

Berkonomics

MAY 29, 2014

Richa is a successful entrepreneur and technologist giving back to the entrepreneurial community in many ways, including his weekly Internet TV program on entrepreneurism, and participation in several mentoring programs. . But it’s a valuable document for you. Business planning is a crucial part of a successful business.

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Startup Guide Help Mentor 166

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2019

A business with a coaching culture needs to start with well-defined and documented roadmap, and leaders who are able to communicate these goals clearly and often. People often ask me about the difference between coaching and mentoring. Every successful entrepreneur needs to spend more time developing people, as the business grows.

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Coach Course Mentor Examples 91

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

Yet if that leaves you with no documented business plan or unclear strategy, most investors and even customers will walk away. I’m a total believer in servant leadership and mentoring others, but nobody wins when you are in charge as an entrepreneur, and the business fails because you didn’t do your job.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

InfoChachkie

MAY 12, 2016

If you are a recent college graduate, mentor college students. Thus, it pays to document your daily thoughts so you can later recall and combine them with subsequent hunches. Like athletes, entrepreneurs benefit greatly from a coach, in the form of a caring mentor. If you are in college, advise a High School entrepreneur club.

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Company Companies Startup Mentor 80

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

For example, I still find businesses asking you to print, sign, and return documents by mail in lieu of digital signatures or email. The best companies have found that it’s important to constantly prepare team members for moving to the next level, through mentoring and training, rather than trying to keep them in their current role.

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Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2019

Try a good business mentor to get you on the right track. Closure in business should include formalizing the result in a written document, with clearly outlined terms and activities, and follow-on milestones as required. Each of the three types requires different strategies and tactics. Not all conflicts are bad.

Activity 88

Activity Research Mentor Entrepreneur 88

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

Image via Pixabay As a mentor to many small business owners, I always caution them that you can never relax completely, just because your initial solution or product set appears to be getting traction, and the market buzz is positive. Document processes and metrics for economies of scale.

Metrics 86

Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. In simple terms, it is a 20-page document which describes all the what, when, where, and how of your new business. Financial model.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2010

If I AM an investor, mentor, friend or advisor I accept the email being longer. DON’T send me a frigging link to your document on DropBox or a request that the recipient visit your website to watch a video. Ask me something very narrow that I can answer without typing a whole blog post length response.

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Help Email Mentor Blogging 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2016

As startups grow from development organizations to a sustainable and repeatable business, processes must be documented, employees hired and trained and customer-support organizations built. Be a trustworthy advisor and mentor to others. The best entrepreneurs take the initiative on these rather than wait for a CFO to drive them.

Entrepreneur 59

Entrepreneur Activity Training Outsource Development 59

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Chander Dhall , a microsoft MP, anuthor, trainer, mentor, professional software architect/lead developer, INTETA speaker, open source contributor, community leader and organizer with years of experience in enterprise Software Development.

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JavaScript Long Beach Java Web Design 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2013

The mentoring offer always sounds good up front. Also, make sure your lawyer writes the initial investment document or term sheet - not the investor. This document should be standard for all your investors and not negotiated on a one-on-one basis. Only your Board can save you here. Tutorial angels.

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Angel Writing Startup Invest 105

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2018

Thus I always recommend that you document and clarify, first to yourself, the results you see in your vision of a new venture. Even the best entrepreneurs find more experienced and skillful mentors to help them improve, and explore new tools to conquer problems. Action starts with absolute clarity on the goals you want to achieve.

Startup 84

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Coach 84

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2018

You need a plan on how to train yourself, or be mentored, for each step along the way. It’s always positive to document your expertise and accomplishments, in the context of needs that you see in your current company and position. Proactively prepare for your desired future roles.

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Examples Social Media Competition Guide 85

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.

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Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2019

Offer one-minute mentoring up front, and stick to it. A better approach is offer the loan of a guide book or documentation that you would have to review first anyway, or point out an expert in the department or outside who might be able to answer the question directly. Have you ever noticed how many “Do you have a minute?”

Help 94

Help Software Review Startup Examples 94