Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2015

The solution is to do the right job up front on requirements, document and approve specifications, and have the toughest person you know do the project management. Here are five basic rules to live by: Document the requirements. In all documents, clearly define who must sign off on content and provide business-side feedback.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Product Software Review High Tech 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2020

Technologies are not solutions, but understanding a technology, in the context of a customer need, will result in more competitive and long-lasting solutions. The act of communicating and writing enhances learning. Building a new business is not rocket science. Learning is nothing more than looking outside your box.

Social Media 127

Social Media Startup Education Entrepreneur 127

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2013

The solution is to do the right job up front on requirements, document and approve specifications, and have the toughest person you know do the project management. Here are five basic rules to live by: Document the requirements. In all documents, clearly define who must sign off on content and provide business-side feedback.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 110

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 3, 2012

Seth Epstein, Founder and CEO SocialStay , former Founder and CEO of FUEL (acquired by Razorfish) and Emmy Award winner for his work on the X-Games, recently spoke at UC Santa Barbara as part of the Technology Management Program’s Distinguished Lecture Series. Seth is a design-oriented entrepreneur, with little desire to document details.

Ideas 266

Ideas Guide Startup Santa Barbara 266

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2020

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

Writing 125

Writing Entrepreneur Summary Email 125

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2017

Ultimately the Goldman Sachs report gets picked up by a journalist who writes a hyperbolic headline with emphatic conclusions because nobody wants to read that tomorrow will be just like today. Since I had built 2 document management companies I knew all the reasons why building a document management company would “never work.”

Venture Capital 182

Venture Capital Statistics Writing Report 182

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 2, 2014

As technology advances, many things are going digital and some are only offered as an online component. Emails, documents, and even tax forms are handled online, making it difficult for families to retrieve them, or even know they existed in the first place. Some have lost documents forever. Tell us a little about yourself.

Startup 79

Startup Design Los Angeles Technology 79

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt. It became a huge kerfuffle with many VC partners writing to thank me for the post, which exposed those that gave their industry a bad name. And covered we did.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Like it or not, you are now entering the dreaded realm of specifying and documenting “formal business processes.” Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 8, 2018

Steven Johnson, author of How We Got To Now , analyzes technological breakthroughs, looking for patterns that allow entrepreneurs to identify “How We’ll Get To Tomorrow.” We all have hunches, but if we do not diligently document them, we risk losing them. Seth is a design-oriented entrepreneur, with little desire to document details.

Ideas 69

Ideas Startup Technical Review Santa Barbara 69

InfoChachkie

APRIL 16, 2012

Large companies write business plans, why of course, that’s the organizing document for a startup. Yet we took this document, the business plan, because we knew nothing else and said, ‘Go write one of these.’. That was the implicit statement. Most startups…(are) dealing with a series multiple unknowns.

Startup 229

Startup Class Press Custom Development 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2011

The solution is to do the right job up front on requirements, document and approve specifications, and have the toughest person you know do the project management. Here are five basic rules to live by: Document the requirements. In all documents, clearly define who must sign off on content and provide business-side feedback.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 96

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2013

I’ve been writing a series on a simple methodology that we used at my first enterprise software company. If you’ve done a good job in the sales process you’ve already written out a needs document in which your wrote out what you believe the customer problems are with specific examples.

Sales 328

Sales Customer Custom Examples 328

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

One is obvious, without protection, such IP might prove to be of little worth, as other companies can mimic the technology without recourse. The very nature of formal IP approval process ensures that some level of vetting has been performed to assess whether the IP is infringing on another company’s technology. Know Thou Prior Art.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

The solution is to do the right job up front on requirements, document and approve specifications, and have the toughest person you know do the project management. Here are five basic rules to live by: Document the requirements. In all documents, clearly define who must sign off on content and provide business-side feedback.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 75

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

If you can’t quantify or document your service for repeatability and new employee training, you will kill yourself trying to grow the business. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Since this document is outward facing, it is important to keep the terminology and tone consistent with that of your customer set, investors, and business partners. For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost. The details can be added later. Skip the acronyms and jargon.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Like it or not, you are now entering the dreaded realm of specifying and documenting “formal business processes.” Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Training Outsource Metrics 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Leverage information technology. Funding process.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

If you can’t quantify or document your service for repeatability and new employee training, you will kill yourself trying to grow the business. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2015

Technologies are not solutions, but understanding a technology, in the context of a customer need, will result in more competitive and long-lasting solutions. The act of communicating and writing enhances learning. Building a new business is not rocket science. Learning is nothing more than looking outside the box.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Education 102

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

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. Some dreams sound great, but may not yet be viable or proven with today’s technology.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. Because it addresses an internal audience, it can use technical jargon and assume the reader understands the technology. The product plan tells your developers what to build, and the marketing team what to market.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Leverage information technology. Funding process.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 16, 2015

Augmented reality is a technology that has been explored at length in a number of books and films over the years. If someone writes a note to you in the margin of your book or draws an arrow for you on a map, they are annotating a document for you. Could you write instructions for them to build a piece of furniture?

Design 40

Design Writing Entertainment Technology 40

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

If you can’t quantify or document your service for repeatability and new employee training, you will kill yourself trying to grow the business. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

socalTECH

AUGUST 20, 2018

What's the best way to build a strong portfolio of technology companies, which tap into the broadest markets and avoids the "bubble" group-think of many venture firms? In addition to that, black and brown people have been pretty well documented as earlier adopters of technology and consumer products.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Invest Capital Startup 100

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. Because it addresses an internal audience, it can use technical jargon and assume the reader understands the technology. The product plan tells your developers what to build, and the marketing team what to market.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

Writing 109

Writing Entrepreneur Summary Email 109

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 17, 2019

Mark Harris is back with new details on Uber’s autonomous vehicle technology program. The upshot: Uber was spending $20 million a month to develop self-driving technologies. Then there’s Volkswagen AG, which is in continued talks with Ford to partner on self-driving car technologies. billion investment in 2018.

San Fernando 217

San Fernando Los Angeles Commerce News 217

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2010

The solution is to do the right job up front on requirements, document and approve specifications, and have the toughest person you know do the project management. Here are some basic rules to live by: Document the requirements. In all documents, clearly define who must sign off on content and provide business-side feedback.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Software Review High Tech Writing 51

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2023

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

Tips 123

Tips Writing Startup Summary 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2016

Technologies are not solutions, but understanding a technology, in the context of a customer need, will result in more competitive and long-lasting solutions. The act of communicating and writing enhances learning. Building a new business is not rocket science. Learning is nothing more than looking outside the box.

Entrepreneur 61

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Education 61

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 14, 2016

Targeting students, journalists, content markets and the technology-literate, Optimal Access makes it easy for users to organize their web destinations according to their needs and also offers curation features for saving, organizing and sharing curated content online. Optimal Access. Find it here: Wunderlist. Lazarus is a lifesaver: fact.

Web 40

Web Organization Content Writing 40

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

to “where can I get help writing one?” While it may be tempting, with everything that you have to do, to try to find someone else to write your executive summary, you really need to do this yourself. They won’t do that if they are faced with a poorly written, lengthy, and vague document. They range from “what should I include?”

Summary 40

Summary Outsource Development Writing Outsource 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2016

Even in this age of videos and text messages, the quickest way to kill your startup dream with investors, business partners, or even customers, is embarrassingly poor writing. You have to be able to communicate effectively in all the common forms, including business writing, as well as talking, presenting, and producing videos.

Writing 62

Writing Summary Email Ideas 62

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. 5) Allow Partners To Write Your Agreements. Thus, I will let my Big Dumb Company (BDC) partner write our agreement. 2) Secure Your Intellectual Property Too Early. Fallacy: Yes.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242