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

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.” For minimum content, see my article “ Ten Tips to an Investment-Grade Business Plan.” It won’t work.

Tips 93

Tips Writing Content Summary 93

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2012

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. This means writing at the level of an average newspaper story (about eighth-grade level). The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment. It won’t work.

Tips 101

Tips Writing Content Summary 101

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2011

Just as Batman repeatedly avoids Poison Ivy’s kiss of death, so too must entrepreneurs avoid the Kiss of Death provisions which BDCs attempt to include in their agreements. The best way to ensure that your potential partner has sufficient incentive to guarantee the Pilot’s success is to require them to invest cash upfront.

Outsource Development 244

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Resource Press 244

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. Show personal investment. Marty Zwilling.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? Think about Luma Partners.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 15, 2010

Jason started the Open Angel Forum in response to his frustration that entrepreneurs were being charged by some angel organizations to present at their events. As a former entrepreneur, I’m a big supporter of Jason’s goals. In my next post I will write about one of the five companies. They deserve more credit.

Angel 254

Angel Startup Tech Coast Angels MyShape 254

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

He offers a number of worthwhile tips and tricks that I was not able to capture in the textual summary, so the 14-minute audio file is well worth your time. 5) When I interviewed people at my past startups, I rejected them if they asked me about our dental plan, as true entrepreneurs don’t care about such pedestrian benefits.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Here are some tips which will signal traction to investors, as well as your team: Document your business plan. Show personal investment. Traction means forward progress.

Tips 88

Tips Startup CTO Hire Press 88

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Limited Partners or LPs (the people who invest into VC funds) have taken notice as 2014 is by all accounts the busiest year for LPs since the Great Recession began. Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” Why is this?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, lawyers, venture capitalists, or Angels. Facebook is making big money today, but only after a $150 million investment. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa''s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit [link].

Startup 100

Startup Commerce Sites Blogging 100

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 22, 2011

By early 2010, I found my stylistic voice and identified my audience of emerging entrepreneurs and thus dropped my penname. In addition, my role as Partner at Rincon Venture Partners provided me with a business reason to invest additional time and effort into my humble blog. Startup Tips From Jeff Bezos. All Time Rank.

Newsletter 205

Newsletter Blogging Santa Barbara Content 205

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Shame about not getting it in legal writing that you owned the original IP.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. A dysfunctional team, or even one naysayer in a critical position can stall your investment.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Startup Writing Competition 94

socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2010

So, I ended up writing that first book, and Bruce helped me with the research, and that was one way we got to know each other before we were even dating. What was the tipping point that started the firm growing? million in revenues, all on a $20,000 investment. At the time, I got Lynda.com. It was going crazy.

Startup 242

Startup Web Design Writing Web 242

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. A dysfunctional team, or even one naysayer in a critical position can stall your investment.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Writing Competition Tips 90

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

We caught up with Amos to learn about his new book, and to gain some tips for startup entrepreneurs on how to figure out when you're actually ready to scale your sales team. I didn't really set out to write a book. Thanks for the time today, to start off, tell us a little bit about what you do? Donnelly in 2007.

Sales 113

Sales Startup Custom Development Framework 113

Steve Reich

SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

They shared sports tips, the latest app updates, and feedback from other users. This experience led me to ask some questions: Does every angel investment have to be a home run? For entrepreneurs? The investors that backed the company I mentioned would cheerfully write checks to fund the team’s next venture. For investors?

Pasadena Angels 45

Pasadena Angels Pasadena Angel Tips 45

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2010

Here are some tips I’ve gleaned from experience: Make your blog your website. An informal writing style is generally recommended. Finally, if you don’t have the time, energy, or skills to write a blog, it may be a good investment to hire a ghost writer. Tags: entrepreneur business blog startup website.

Blogging 48

Blogging Search Engine Optimization Startup Writing 48

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. Show personal investment.

Startup 104

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 104

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

. - Journalists don’t know enough about your company before the show, don’t have time for proper research, and you will be competing for their time afterward with 49+ other companies that want them to write about you. - If any journalists read this please feel free to add extra tips or disagree with anything I’ve said.

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. Show personal investment.

Startup 101

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2010

Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.” See my previous article “ Ten Tips for an Investment-Grade Business Plan ” for details on requirements here. Tags: entrepreneur investor business plan product plan. Marty Zwilling.

Product 48

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 48

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

Instead we ask our donors to provide an optional ‘tip’ to the company to help cover our operational costs and almost 90% of donors opt in. Some donors simply want to write a check to a national organization and move on. Greathouse : Do you have any tips for entrepreneurs who are fundraising for a social venture?

Platform 100

Platform Startup Tips Help 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

Yet a critical mistake I see many entrepreneurs make is that they hand over too much control to their third-parties. One tip – depending on seniority – you can sometimes hire independent reference check firms. I have investment money at stake so I’m a principal in the negotiation, too. Recruiters. You name it.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 25, 2014

Tons of great conversations about new startups, hardware, and the entrepreneurs building them. As we know, long gone are the days of experiencing SXSW Interactive with just 9,000 other tech entrepreneurs and business brights – with 30,000 registrants in 2013 and the final numbers for 2014 still in the works.

Entertainment 99

Entertainment Google Entrepreneur Course 99

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

As Marketing Guru Guy Gabriel of Idea Engineering points out in Max Brand , viral marketing has made many an entrepreneur terminally ill. Affiliates invest the up-front marketing expenses required to attract customers. For instance, a travel site might contain travel tips, along with ads for great deals on vacations.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2023

That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Here are some tips and rules of thumb to improve your odds and help you understand when a bank loan or line of credit is possible, and how to get it: Write a good business plan first. Show a significant personal investment.

Startup 117

Startup Equity Sites Funding 117

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. Here are some tips to keep in mind for the big day. In our current portfolio 3 or his 4 investments are in the Fin Svcs space. Congratulations.

Venture Capital 318

Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

He blogs to 10,000 web entrepreneurs at Software by Rob and co-hosts the podcast Startups for the Rest of Us. We had to write a CRM to keep track of them all. They are: Fred Wilson: Lead Investors, Dipshit Companies, and Funding Every Entrepreneur. was once a wannabe entrepreneur, and then I was a first-timer.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Here are some tips and rules of thumb to improve your odds and help you understand when a bank loan or line of credit is possible, and how to get it: Write a good business plan first. Show a significant personal investment.

Startup 172

Startup Equity Sites Tips 172

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

If you are charged for every nanosecond you spend with your lawyer, consider finding one who is willing to “invest” more aggressively in your success. It is surprising how often entrepreneurs forget this simple fact. When managing your legal affairs, never lose sight of the fact that your lawyer works for you. Go Nuclear.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2013

That’s why Angel investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Here are some tips and rules of thumb to improve your odds and help you understand when a bank loan or line of credit is possible, and how to get it: Write a good business plan first. Show a significant personal investment. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Sites 100

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. But I didn’t write it for you; I wrote it for myself. How to Take Down Facebook -- Hint: It Ain't Twitter. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write and 9 Tips To Get Started - OnStartups , September 27, 2010 "The best part of blogging is the people you will meet"- Hugh MacLeod repeating wisdom from Loic Lemeur to me at the Big Pink at 2 am in South Beach after the Future of Web Apps 2008. Why You Should Write. Kanye West.

Startup 191

Startup Product Technology Venture Capital 191

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2018

That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Here are some tips and rules of thumb to improve your odds and help you understand when a bank loan or line of credit is possible, and how to get it: Write a good business plan first. Show a significant personal investment.

Funding 84

Funding Startup Equity Sites 84