Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

On a regular basis, I am approached by entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. With bootstrapping, no business plan is expected by anyone.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

In the aftermath of the recent pandemic, which caused many businesses to close, a new raft of business workers and entrepreneurs are deciding to pursue their own dreams of being a new business owner, and controlling your own destiny. Define key metrics to measure progress and success.

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InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Greathouse: Your collective experiences have clearly made bootstrapping a viable option for you, more so than might be the case for a typical, younger entrepreneur who needs more direction, doesn’t have cash discipline, etc. Semick: We’re a very metrics driven company, and we have been from the beginning.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2022

One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. In my experience, trust is the most powerful tool that an entrepreneur can wield, both inside and outside of his own realm of control. Under commit and over deliver.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2013

One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. In my experience, trust is the most powerful tool that an entrepreneur can wield, both inside and outside of his own realm of control. Under commit and over deliver.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. Create a written plan, with target milestones and metrics. The bridge from thinking and talking, to doing, is a long and difficult one for many to get over. A full plan may be no more than 20 pages.

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SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product." If you do build the MVP and show it to them, they will ask you about your metrics. They really want metrics, not a product.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2011

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Communication and writing skills are required. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different. But, contrary to what most people preach, it isn’t entirely free.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I answered in the same way I always do so I thought I’d just write it publicly. “I As a starting point I have to believe the founder has the attributes of an entrepreneur that matter most to me : Tenacity, resiliency, inspiration, perspiration, attention-to-detail, competitiveness, decisiveness, risk tolerance and integrity.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2011

Alain Theriault, better known as StartupCoach , tells entrepreneurs that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start by writing a cook book (business plan), you work in the kitchen for a while, you learn some tools of the trade, you experiment with a few recipes, you test on willing clients. then you can start writing a recipe.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

3:35 The real entrepreneurs come out during a down economy. 19:30 A teachable moment for entrepreneurs: HAVE A HYPOTHESIS! 41:00 Transitioning from software to writing. 44:45 Telling an entrepreneur to focus is like telling a fat person to lose weight. 48:30 Vanity metrics. 52:00 Actionable metrics.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2019

Even if it’s only a few PowerPoint slides or typed paragraphs, writing something down is the first step toward making it real. Always write in the future tense, what you will do, and name yourself as the key person responsible. Set target date milestones and metrics to gauge progress.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

In a funding round with 1 or 2 VCs and 15-20 angels or 4-6 seed funds if you gave every investor you financial information and performance metrics your proprietary information would increase in its probability of leaking out. We are doing what we do – writing larger checks and playing an active role at the company. You betcha.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2019

One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. In my experience, trust is the most powerful tool that an entrepreneur can wield, both inside and outside of his own realm of control. Under commit and over deliver.

Startup 91

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Writing 91

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2015

Yet, as an advisor to startups, I see some common disasters, and recommend some anticipation and recovery moves that can save every entrepreneur some painful time and money. While every entrepreneur needs to remain upbeat and optimistic on all of these, it is also smart to anticipate the worst case scenarios that are possible with each.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. Writing down key parameters will force you solidify the specifics, and mentally commit to them. Some dreams sound great, but may not yet be viable or proven with today’s technology.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2015

One obvious alternative is to become an entrepreneur. As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m often asked what it takes to switch and get real satisfaction from this lifestyle. In fact, Mehta focuses on a special class of entrepreneurs that he calls disruptors. Then write them down. Be prepared to experiment.

Satisfaction 57

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Writing Startup 57

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. In my experience, trust is the most powerful tool that an entrepreneur can wield, both inside and outside of his own realm of control. Under commit and over deliver.

Startup 109

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

If you’ve got the skills to be a strong entrepreneur then it shouldn’t be too difficult to find people who know a partner at a VC firm and if you can build relationship with them you can get introduced. Most entrepreneurs (and VCs raising from LPs) think this means progress. Entrepreneur : “Sure. Some people find this elitist?—?I

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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. Communication and writing skills are required. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different. But, contrary to what most people preach, it isn’t entirely free.

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Social Media Media Tips Platform 66

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

I feel too many people are discouraging, and as a result, too many entrepreneurs are discouraged and give up. You are writing about the essentials of business. Any thoughts on my recent post Startup Metrics ? The Startup Metrics post is a good example of what I call “holocognics.” That's great.

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socalTECH

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

The other thing that struck me, is because it is only men, they tend to write with lots of testosterone. Their writing style, even for a mainstream publication, is they write with lots of testosterone. They write about the transmission, the brakes, and the suspension, and that creeps into all of their evaluations of cars.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2017

One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. In my experience, trust is the most powerful tool that an entrepreneur can wield, both inside and outside of his own realm of control. Under commit and over deliver.

Startup 58

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Writing 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs naively believe that candidates with lofty titles from a larger company can easily do the same job for their startups. Everyone must know how to listen, talk and write. Set your own metrics and rewards to map to results. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

It’s a hard topic to write about because it’s almost an accepted norm that total transparency is good. They told you, “Yeah, man, I’ll gladly write the first $250,000. I believe in company metrics that are publicized and can be used as company motivation and creating a unified sense of purpose.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2012

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Communication and writing skills are required. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different. But, contrary to what most people preach, it isn’t entirely free.

Social Media 95

Social Media Media Startup Platform 95

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

This has led VC & entrepreneur bloggers alike to similar conclusions: start raising capital early and be careful about having too high of a burn rate because that lessens the amount of runway you have until you need more cash. I’m surprised how few entrepreneurs have this open conversation with their investors.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2017

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Use strong communication and writing skills. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different. But, contrary to what most people preach, it isn’t entirely free.

Social Media 58

Social Media Media Platform Tool 58

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2012

Alain Theriault, better known as StartupCoach , tells entrepreneurs that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start by writing a cook book (business plan), you work in the kitchen for a while, you learn some tools of the trade, you experiment with a few recipes, you test on willing clients. then you can start writing a recipe.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. I acknowledged this in the article. I’m just making the commentary.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

I’m continually amazed at the number of entrepreneurs who go for months into a new business without really keeping a formal record of money spent or assets acquired. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. entrepreneur funding hobby investors startup' Marty Zwilling.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

Entrepreneurs could learn about loneliness of success: nobody talks about. Every $10 million financing only puts more pressure on the founders to figure out how to hit the metrics to get to the next milestone and every company that raises $25 million puts a ton of pressure on their 10 competitors who haven’t. Entrepreneurshit.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

These days that’s not the case and it’s a great outcome for entrepreneurs and for innovation. A new group of investors have clustered around writing earlier-stage, smaller checks. A: Only because it’s a nicer branding for entrepreneurs. I totally agree and have been arguing this to entrepreneurs for years.

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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. I’m continually amazed at the number of entrepreneurs who go for months into a new business without really keeping a formal record of money spent or assets acquired.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 12, 2017

Admittedly, that last part is an exaggeration but they were bad enough that I am writing this essay in the hopes that you will read it and not make these mistakes. So when we come across an entrepreneur who cannot resist using 20 words when 10 would suffice, it’s painful, really painful. We want hard data and metrics – we want proof.

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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. I’m continually amazed at the number of entrepreneurs who go for months into a new business without really keeping a formal record of money spent or assets acquired.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

The minute you try to monetize now they have metrics with which to beat you up and say you’re business has limitations.” Should I write off my $2.5 ” Case in point: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, SnapChat. This is certainly one Path you can take if you have the right background. As an investor that’s a no brainer.

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