Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2023

There is no skill more vital to an entrepreneur than effective networking. For introverts like me, it’s not easy to step out of your comfort zone and meet new people, but if you approach the challenge correctly, I have found that it can actually be fun as well as productive. Exchange connection info and follow up within two days.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2012

The real solution is better productivity and less procrastination, to put you back in control of your business. Jan Yager, a recognized expert on the subject of time management, just released a new edition of her most popular book, “ Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover.” Rest makes you more productive.

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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. Each of these can go astray as follows: Your product or service hits unexpected snags.

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Berkonomics

APRIL 8, 2021

How do you make your product go viral? What are the elements needed to focus upon in making the attempt to take a product viral? It was as much in reaction to my getting blank stares from entrepreneurs when I asked the above question as it was for me to better understand the problem itself. Third: cost.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2020

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. Only rare great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have proven to be both. Detailed product specifications and prototypes.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Startup IBM 122

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2022

Entrepreneurs and business executives seem to be even more focused on their technology than the rest of us, and less inclined to listen to the voice of the customer, even if they remember to ask. Email surveys and voice response units are not effective listening. Being connected to the Internet many hours a day is not enough.

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Berkonomics

MAY 9, 2024

If your vision is for a product or service that fills a need in a mature industry, you may be flying against the prevailing winds as a market shrinks over time, taking your business with it. Email readers, continue here…] Have you created high barriers to entry? Can you translate an idea into a compelling product?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2016

If you define your self-worth as an entrepreneur by how busy you are, it’s time to find another lifestyle. For survival, entrepreneurs need to be all about accomplishing results that matter for themselves, their team, and their customers. That’s productivity. That is a huge hit on productivity. Why is this so hard?

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Product Entrepreneur Framework Social Media 60

Berkonomics

JUNE 22, 2023

If your vision is for a product or service that fills a need in a mature industry, you may be flying against the prevailing winds as a market shrinks over time, taking your business with it. Email readers, continue here…] Have you created high barriers to entry? Can you translate an idea into a compelling product?

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Patents Pricing Ideas Marketing 286

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2010

On why you should be an entrepreneur, “A lot of people do what they have to do. He stood up, grabbed the mic and gave a heartfelt overview of his experiences in experimenting with new technologies to build relationships with his audience, get feedback on his product quality and to market his music all the way to the top of iTunes.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

I recently wrote a post about avoiding the “ Deferred Life Plan &# and some related thoughts about personal productivity that came from Tim Ferriss’s book, The Four Hour Workweek. I would love to say that I’m the productivity guru. Like you, I struggle to return everybody’s emails because I get too many.

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Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 16, 2020

The initial M13 Launchpad program will leverage PepsiCo executives and advisors to take entrepreneurs-in-residence on a 12-week long program in ideating and launching a health and wellness-focused startup.

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Los Angeles Email Entrepreneur Platform 245

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

I recently got an email from a friend who had been approached by a well known VC. He sent me an email asking whether the approach was real and whether he should take it seriously. Here is the email he received (reprinted without names with his permission). “Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 19, 2010

Yesterday I wrote a post about the " Urgency Addiction ” and how many people start important tasks late and then motivate with a huge wave of productivity and inspiration driven by deadlines and commitments to others. “A study by Microsoft showed just how lethal interruptions are to productivity.

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Berkonomics

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Sometimes we get stuck in the muck with our marketing, product, management focus, and in keeping up with trends. It is natural for executives and entrepreneurs with lots on their plate and little extra time – to just keep up the same activities that have made the company a success. for the employees too.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 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 wanted to also post the series here to have it as a resource on my blog for future entrepreneurs who stop by. If you haven’t spent time over there you should.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

Every entrepreneur and most professionals wish there were more hours in a day to get their work done. Yet there is more and more evidence that jumping tasks on every alert for a new email, text, or phone call actually decreases overall productivity. You will improve everyone’s productivity, and make yourself happier as well.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2023

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. Only rare great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have proven to be both. Detailed product specifications and prototypes.

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Startup Ideas IBM IBM 155

Tech.Co

JULY 31, 2017

Being intentionally productive is something we all strive for, but often fail to achieve. After being disrupted with an email notification, an average person will need 23 minutes and 15 seconds to regain their focus again. Routine work is the worst enemy of productivity. Happy teams are productive teams.

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Snapchat Product Email Social Media 65

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

I call it the entrepreneur thesis. I’m not talk about the age old debate amongst investors whether you back entrepreneurs, markets or products (or as people like to hedge – product / market fit). It’s entrepreneurs I back. It’s what I call the “entrepreneur thesis.” So what is the “entrepreneur thesis?”

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Berkonomics

MARCH 16, 2023

As an early-stage investor, the first test for me is whether “my” entrepreneur is flexible in both the plan and execution of their vision (since from experience almost everything about a business plan changes over time), and whether that person, no matter what age or experience, is coachable. Why should we ask this question?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2021

If you define your self-worth as an entrepreneur by how busy you are, it’s time to find another lifestyle. For survival, entrepreneurs need to be all about accomplishing results that matter for themselves, their team, and their customers. That’s productivity. That is a huge hit on productivity. Why is this so hard?

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Framework Product Entrepreneur Social Media 153

Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2023

Email readers, continue here…] That reality is a tough one for the professional investor, almost as tough as for those entrepreneurs who lose their businesses. None of this is to say that an inexperienced entrepreneur cannot lead a great new business. And it’s a tough test at that. Of course, you could be the exception.

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Statistics Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 156

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

You can watch/listen to how John and Kyle turned their email newsletter into an international bestseller in the following 9-minute excerpt from John''s recent talk at UC Santa Barbara. Upon graduation from Wharton, John and Kyle launched a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product: a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf driver.

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Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2016

I had blogged when I was an entrepreneur. Here’s the thing: If you never try new product and new networks you’ll never learn anything. And honestly I love technology products and if you don’t try the newest stuff you’ll wake up an old person emailing from your Hotmail account with links to MapQuest over your dial-up AOL plan.

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Snapchat Product Startup AMA 150

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

I guarantee that there comes a time when growing businesses outgrow the original span of control of the entrepreneur. It is a critical period and is a test of the entrepreneur’s desire and ability to delegate. Email readers, continue here…] My story of “that rock” in one paragraph. Comfort, or risk-it-all?

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.Net Los Angeles Content Entrepreneur 156

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

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Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 384

Berkonomics

JULY 7, 2022

First, visionary leadership: By far the most enjoyable for most of us is visionary leadership – the time we spend thinking ahead, creating new ideas for products or services, focusing on the big picture and how we can change the world with our creation. Email readers, continue here…]. Second: strategic thinking and planning.

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Metrics Ideas Conference Email 293

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Certainly, bootstrapping is a preferred method of funding growth if it does not hold back the speed of growth or hobble the quality of product or service to the extent that better-funded competitors can overtake the business. There is a lot to say about retaining control.

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Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

These sites (so far) have managed to balance facilitating product discovery and purchase capabilities with users'' desires to entertain and educate themselves without feeling like they are in a marketplace. A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2023

Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. There is real value in doing the key things yourself, before your startup is even started: Demonstrate thought leadership before selling a product. Entrepreneurs who wait to be found are destined to spend a lot of time alone.

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Ideas Startup Social Media Blogging 126

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

I thought I’d try to look at it from a different lens, that of the entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you should assume that. When I was fund raising for my second company we had agreed a company-wide deal with Salesforce.com to use our product. Two emailed Marc Benioff directly. So what is an entrepreneur to do?

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Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2014

Many entrepreneurs fantasize about days longer than 24 hours, convinced that their new venture could change the world, if they just had more time. However, this topic is particularly critical to entrepreneurs, who struggle with challenges and crises every day that they didn’t anticipate.

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

In 1994, (I know a long time ago), I invested over a million dollars (two million six hundred thousand in today’s dollars) into a company whose entrepreneurs had a vision that I bought into for many reasons, not the least of which was that I had industry experience and understood the need. Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs immediately respond.

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Competition Research Summary Pricing 156

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.

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Berkonomics

APRIL 1, 2021

We are not always smart about the market or the product. Well, the good news is that great teams are not bound by their original product or marketing plan. Green Dot Corporation was formed by an entrepreneur in the year 2001 to create a product to permit those without credit cards to purchase items on the Internet.

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Resource Research Class News 156

Eric Greenspan

MAY 14, 2013

As a newfound Dad Blogger and experienced marketer, I’ve begun offering a great new service that has been greeted by the Mommy Blogger community with great interest and the manufacturers of great products have responded equally well. My ability to recognize truly excellent products will guide me down this path.

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Technical Review Product Services High Tech 135