Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2019

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or the back of a napkin. Polish the overall look and feel.

Tips 96

Tips Entrepreneur Writing Content 96

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. No real investor or venture capital firm asks for money from the company they are intending to invest in. Loan offer in lieu of investment. Phantom fund investors.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Tips Funding Startup 148

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. Searching LinkedIn, for example, is a must for contemporary entrepreneurs. Identify customer executives who need your solution.

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Funding Tips Startup Statistics 173

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Based on my experience as a business advisor, I recommend that every business owner and entrepreneur focus on the following tips to provide a better work culture: Invest in integrating new technology, not just forcing it.

Tips 159

Tips Satisfaction Coach Mentor 159

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 23, 2012

Wednesday, August 29, 2012 -- Crowd Funding Tips and Tricks. This class is for any entrepreneur, or future entrepreneur, who is interested in using crowdfunding as a real alternative for early stage funding. Coloft Academy. In this class you? In this class you?ll Instructor: Chance Barnett. See [link] (more)

Tips 113

Tips Funding Class Entrepreneur 113

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

Phoenix communities are celebrating because JPMorgan Chase has made several local charitable investments to support underserved entrepreneurs and small businesses with the goal of creating jobs and spark a growing economy. Techstars Startup Week is celebration of entrepreneurs in cities around the globe.

Entrepreneur 70

Entrepreneur Invest News Tips 70

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Every entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. Sponsor experiments and measure like new investments. Invest more energy in the “horse you can control.” Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership.

Tips 160

Tips Framework Ideas Competition 160

InfoChachkie

MARCH 1, 2012

Article first published as Five Business Tips From The Beatles on Technorati. Despite the book’s shortcomings, it contains a number of insightful lessons for budding entrepreneurs. Of the 100 business “lessons” articulated in the book, I highlight a few below that I feel are the most relevant and impactful for entrepreneurs.

Tips 259

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Product 259

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2011

In the past I’ve given some tips for handling meetings effectively, covering topics like: - How not to let your meeting go down a rat hole ; - Dealing with the elephant in the room ; - Dealing with skeletons in your closet ; - How to make meetings discussions, not “pitches&#. -

Tips 392

Tips Screening Slides Venture Capital 392

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2020

Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. This early in the game, any coverage and peer review is better than just being another unknown entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs who wait to be found are destined to spend a lot of time alone. Capitalize on yourself early.

Ideas 124

Ideas Marketing Tips Social Media 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capitalists) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. These resources often include a cash investment, as well as office space, and consulting. Barter your services for their services.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

For some reason, too many aspiring entrepreneurs I know seem to focus on “actions” rather than “results.” These are not the entrepreneurs that I want to support, since I’m well aware that running a startup is far more complex, albeit more satisfying, than most conventional roles in established enterprises.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Thus, in my consulting with entrepreneurs, I always encourage them to get more comfortable asking for help. She suspects, like me, that no self-respecting entrepreneur wants to seem weak, needy, or incompetent, and none of us like to feel indebted to someone we see as a peer or a competitor.

Help 123

Help Entrepreneur Course IBM 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2020

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. The first thing to remember is that banks only do loans – they don’t do equity investments like angels and venture capitalists (and vice versa).

Technical Advisors 162

Technical Advisors Tips Startup Equity 162

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2018

As an advisor to young entrepreneurs, I find that many are a bit naïve about how the investment process really works. In my first working session with this entrepreneur, I suggested ways to break this request into stages or tranches, based on showing traction, with the first amount in a more affordable range of $50 thousand or less.

Tips 86

Tips Funding Startup Entrepreneur 86

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

As a partially-retired baby-boomer in business, I’ve spent much of the last few years mentoring aspiring millennial entrepreneurs, and I’m always looking for more insights into how to help them. Think of these strategies as an investment in your own future, as well as theirs.

Tips 127

Tips Mentor Coach Guide 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

Entrepreneurs that are not listening, not engaging, and not changing are destined to be left behind even in the best of times. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground. They don’t realize that business as usual is gone forever.

Tips 126

Tips Technical Review Organization Social Media 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2013

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas. These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Tips Startup Technical Review 111

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

As discussed in Hiring Entrepreneurs, the impact of each new hire during your startup’s early days is tremendous. As noted in Optimistically Pessimistic , successful entrepreneurs are indifferent as to the specific tactics they must employ to accomplish their fervently held strategic objectives.

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Tips Startup Framework Custom 279

Tech Coast Venture Network

MARCH 9, 2011

Investors and entrepreneurs who won at the fundraising game during and after the Great Recession offer advice on landing equity money. After years of cloudy skies in Startupland, the sun is peeking out, and investors are tipping their toes back into the wading pool. Meet angels via the entrepreneurs they’ve funded.

Tips 100

Tips Capital Tech Coast Angels Screening 100

InfoChachkie

MAY 6, 2013

This is due to a fundamental disconnect between the increased activity of high-volume seed investors (that fill out lots of Seed rounds) and the relatively small number of Series A investors, who only make 1 or 2 investments, per partner, per year.". There is a similar Darwinian aspect to venture capital investing.

Entrepreneur 246

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Capital 246

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

I find that the most successful entrepreneurs have mastered the art and skill of building and managing relationships. In my role as a mentor to business professionals and entrepreneurs over the years, I have found that it’s important to take a hard look at the relationships around you on a regular basis.

Tips 95

Tips Mentor Coach Activity 95

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 8, 2013

is one of the most common questions I hear from early-stage entrepreneurs. To new entrepreneurs, this can seem like one of those vicious cycles: “I don’t have any connections to VCs so therefore I can’t make any connections.”. Once you have your list, talk to other entrepreneurs to get their impressions and feedback.

Venture Capital 86

Venture Capital Tips Incubator Startup 86

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. But Tracy did what entrepreneurs do. Tracy studied SEOMoz and several other online sources of SEO tips. Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs. More on that later. That may soon change. She never gave up.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea. These are more likely scalable and investable. entrepreneur startup investor scalability business' Marty Zwilling.

Tips 111

Tips Startup Outsource Ideas 111

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Greathouse: Given your deep background in digital marketing, what tips do you have for marketers who haven''t leveraged social commerce sites. The post Social Search – What Entrepreneur Needs To Know appeared first on John Greathouse.' I''ll never tweet about that killer burrito I am about to devour - just startup stuff.

Entrepreneur 210

Entrepreneur Commerce Sites Social Network 210

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 15, 2011

He invested $800 of his button profits to purchase a classified ad in Boys’ Life magazine. It is better for an entrepreneur to taste the bitter dissatisfaction of a failed venture as child, than to do so for the first time as an adult. Based on his button making success, Tony assumed he was, “the invincible king of mail order.”

Tips 214

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Outsource Development 214

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2012

The average entrepreneur is not the one who dumped a promising career, sketched his idea on the back of a napkin, and accepted millions from an investor to make billions of his own. Born to be an entrepreneur may not be enough today. Dropping out of school is not recommended. First-timers usually fund their own venture.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Tips Education Ideas 111

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. Many entrepreneurs scare away potential investors by claiming that their technology represents “truly disruptive technology.” Investors invest in people - not just ideas. Executive team.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

After you have heard a few startup success stories, like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, you may be tempted to invest some money yourself, maybe by pooling your funds with other investors who claim to have a great track record. My advice is to leave the investing in startups to the professionals (or friends and fools). By commission?

Invest 96

Invest Startup Offshore Satisfaction 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2016

It’s easy for an entrepreneur or a CEO to feel like a leader when things are going well, but the challenge is to keep that confidence and drive in the face of economic downturns, business turnarounds, and stressful personnel situations. Successful CEOs and entrepreneurs instead listen, learn, empathize and include everyone in the challenge.

Tips 57

Tips Organization Ideas Entrepreneur 57

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Don began by explaining that his impoverished childhood drove him to a life as an entrepreneur. ". I had never thought about being an entrepreneur. I promise you, if you watch the TechCrunch 40 demos… if you go to sites like Mixergy and you start to hear the stories of entrepreneurs (you will avoid common startup mistakes). .

Startup 250

Startup Entrepreneur Design Santa Barbara 250

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 13, 2020

Every radical turn in technology history has its great entrepreneur, and for space that person is SpaceX founder Elon Musk. In 2018 alone, venture investments in space topped $2 billion for the first time, and 187 investors wrote checks to 90 startups, according to Bryce Space and Technology.

SpaceX 150

SpaceX Los Angeles Tips Pricing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2010

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. For minimum content, see my article “ Ten Tips to an Investment-Grade Business Plan.” The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment. It won’t work.

Tips 93

Tips Writing Content Summary 93

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2017

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly always require an investment, sometimes large, in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time. Marty Zwilling.

Social Media 66

Social Media Media Tips Platform 66

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2010

Last year I interviewed a serial entrepreneur, Rich Christiansen , who has done almost 30 businesses wholly by bootstrapping. I like his approach, and have extracted some tips from his book and other sources on how to do it: Use a virtual office. Isn’t this contrary to why you signed up to be an entrepreneur in the first place?

Tips 96

Tips Startup Summary Entrepreneur 96

socalTECH

AUGUST 8, 2011

In a new section on Docstoc's web site, the firm has been sharing dozens of video segments featureing business tips and advice from entrepreneurs from Southern California's technology community.

Content 217

Content Causecast Santa Monica Southern California 217