Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Harry was gracious enough to invite me back so this past week we recorded an episode discussing the current market environment. Nobody will be immune because in a bull market executives are paid to “innovate” so they sign software contracts and run projects. If you’re a clear “market winner” like Stripe, Robinhood or Airbnb.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup. Funding and rollout stage.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. Every good entrepreneur needs to invest skin in the game, to show credibility and leadership to others.

Startup 109

Startup Funding Equity Invest 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

If you need funding for these early stage activities, I have some suggestions on better strategies to follow. Funding sources for this stage extend from grants to large private fund incubators, such as the IBM Watson initiative a while back. Thus the best entrepreneur strategy for funding is to build solutions, not technology.

Resource 102

Resource Ideas Funding Research 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. For example, if you have watched the Shark Tank TV series, you probably noticed that the Sharks always ask the entrepreneurs for their intended “use of funds.” Funding for founder salaries at this stage is a red flag.

Tips 91

Tips Funding Startup Invest 91

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Until the recession a decade ago, market research indicated that as many as 90 percent of the roughly 20 million American small business owners were motivated more by lifestyle than growth and money. Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. Startup funding comes from personal savings and family.

Entrepreneur 148

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. On the other hand, if the market is super-hot, many will be willing to jump in to make your case.

Marketing 174

Marketing Startup Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2023

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Entrepreneurs who have been really transformative, like Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, seemed to know how to deal with all the right elements. Seek innovation that begets invention. Innovate or die.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 101

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. Wait, didn’t you just raise a fund? We raised $280 million.

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2021

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined.

Entrepreneur 174

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Social Media 174

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. As a former angel investor, I look for this level of alignment and understanding in every funding presentation I hear. No startup or entrepreneur is an island.

Funding 133

Funding Activity Custom Customer 133

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2020

As I was watching the investor show, Shark Tank , on TV the other night, I was struck by how quickly and how extensively the sharks focused on the background and character of the entrepreneurs, compared to time spent evaluating their products. Demonstrate social intelligence and concern. Always proclaim and deliver a positive attitude.

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Mentor Metrics Customer 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2021, from 280 to 360 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Email marketing. Direct mail marketing.

Marketing 114

Marketing Invest Social Media SEM 114

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Funding 107

Funding Startup Satisfaction Venture Capital 107

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. Too many entrepreneurs think that expert external advisors are suspect, or will slow them down.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 131

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2022

Most people agree that entrepreneurs have to think differently and take risks to have much chance of building a successful business. In the classic book “ The Entrepreneur Mind ,” from serial entrepreneur Kevin D. Johnson, he outlines 100 essential beliefs, insights, and habits of serious entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Startup Custom Customer 117

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

Fund raising. But it’s critical for your business, for you as a leader and people who excel at fund raising have an extreme advantage over those who do not. The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2021

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs probably have long searched for that special idea that will catapult you and your startup to success. For example, most people thought Twitter was a total snoozer, when Jack Dorsey was looking for funding, especially with MySpace already owning that territory. True entrepreneurs are born, not made.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Satisfaction 171

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. People who believe the former believe that you should see the market demand before too many people know you’re “in market.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. What happened? People were building.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup LAMP Marketing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2021

In the eyes of investors like me, to be an entrepreneur, it’s not enough to create an innovative solution – you need to convince me that you can build a profitable business. Creating and growing a business requires creativity beyond the product, in the areas of finance, marketing, and operations.

Funding 152

Funding Startup Ideas Resource 152

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2020

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. Conduct your own customized market research. Modern libraries are still worth a visit.

Marketing 157

Marketing Statistics Research Report 157

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. As an investor, I sometimes see CEOs who negotiate to send their VP of Marketing to talk.

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Guide Custom 113

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

So, to help other female entrepreneurs, they founded TuesdayNights (www.tuesdaynights.org), a group in LA which helps female entrepreneurs connect with capital and each other to improve their access to capital. What is the most difficult challenge that women entrepreneurs face? They have to be able to lean in on raising money.

Help 224

Help Entrepreneur Capital Startup 224

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. If the customer need is obvious and large, the calculated risk is in the quality of your solution, your team, and marketing.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Custom 129

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

If you are a passionate technologist , it’s easy to forget that marketing is required to sell even the most compelling solution, to cut through the information overload everyone sees today on the internet. If marketing is not your thing, then you need to find a partner or outside expert to help you.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

But LA-based performance marketing agency MuteSix didn’t wait that long to build its business around scaling DTC brands. If you have growth marketing agencies or freelancers to recommend, please fill out our survey !). Why do you think that performance marketing is the right fit for DTC?

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2021

Later, in my second career as an entrepreneur with startups, I realized that limited resources and fresh insights actually created the mindset that relied on market change and innovation to survive. We didn’t notice as technology advances had opened a whole new market. Don’t wait for innovation ideas from top management.

Marketing 117

Marketing IBM IBM Resource 117

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2012

You have enough in savings to get started, but how and where do you go to find additional funding sources? When searching for funding, one of your primary tasks should be to start where it is easier, and proceed from there. Fees may seem high at first, but, on a total cost basis, these funding sources can appear more reasonable.

Funding 192

Funding Entrepreneur Startup Invest 192

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

With the enormous changes to our economies and financial markets?—?how how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued?

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2019

Pasadena-based MobLab , a new startup which develops personalized learning software for the education market, has scored a round of funding, the company said today. The funding came from the Andrew Nikou Foundation (ANF), which is the foundation of entrepreneur Andrew Nikou.

Funding 100

Funding Education Pasadena Equity 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Every business professional I know, or have met in my consulting role, has given serious thought to the alternative of switching to the entrepreneur lifestyle , pursuing a long-standing dream, and controlling their own destiny. To survive, you need to find a product-market fit. Product-market fit (PMF) is all about value creation.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Ideas Satisfaction Customer 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2020

In retrospect, however, Bill Gates did a lot of things right as a startup that I still look for today in aspiring entrepreneurs and their companies: Build a strong team. Bill Gates ran the technical show, but Steve Ballmer never let him forget the marketing and business side of the equation. Market vision, focus, and opportunity.

IBM 169

IBM IBM Entrepreneur CIO 169

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2020

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, one of the most common requests I get is for an evaluation of a next startup idea. The most successful entrepreneurs focus on solving a problem that they personally have experienced, and are convinced they fully understand. If you are not motivated, you won’t succeed. He succeeded well in both.

Ideas 151

Ideas Entrepreneur Resource Knowledge Base 151