Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

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.

Startup 171

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Don’t bash the competition.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. “There’s something going on in LA.” acquired Overture for $1.63

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Here are some of the key ones: Patent protection in place as a barrier to entry.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. New entrepreneurs tend to focus only on product direct costs, and underestimate marketing and sales costs, overhead costs, and support costs. Revenue model.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Don’t bash the competition.

Competition 120

Competition Patents Resource Invest 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. They tell these entrepreneurs to sell themselves, execute well, and grow organically.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2016

As a startup advisor and investor, I find that more and more entrepreneurs avoid using the term “profit” in pitching their new venture. Thus I was pleased and a bit surprised to see a new book, “ The Purpose Is Profit ,” by Ed “Skip” McLaughlin, an entrepreneur who has both succeeded and failed in starting multiple businesses.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Ideas Pricing Customer 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2022

Every entrepreneur and every business needs a strategy to keep them focused. It might be a patented technology, but it could also be the creativity of employees or logistic competencies of the company. This could be the utilization rate of a plant, the price premium of the brand, or the service offered or products sold.

Organization 118

Organization Course Patents Entrepreneur 118

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

Recognizing the tens of billions of dollars that the Southern Californian region leaves on the table, because it hasn’t taken its rightful place in the American technology industry, a new group called the Alliance for Southern California Innovation has just released a report to analyze how SoCal can work to assume its pole position.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. They tell these entrepreneurs to sell themselves, execute well, and grow organically.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2014

With the appearance of do-it-yourself services on the Internet, entrepreneur curriculums at every university, and a wealth of new books on the subject, the need for expensive consultants and business advisors has also been mitigated. The same is true for filing patents, registering trademarks, and filing copyrights. Martin Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2012

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Here is my own priority list of key risk drivers that every entrepreneur and every investor should evaluate and minimize in starting a business: Team experience and depth risk. Financial risk.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Examples Social Network Marketing 108

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

It is a truism that with more capital you will hire people more quickly and spend more liberally whether it’s on external contractors, PR firms, attending events, doing legal work (trademarks, patents) or whatever. I like the skip first base metaphor because for some entrepreneurs they really deserve to start on second base.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2018

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.

Guide 95

Guide Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2011

Based on my own experience and feedback from friends, every investor is approached by at least ten entrepreneurs with a “hot idea” for a new business, for every one who has a real “plan” for a new business. In fact, you can find websites full of ideas, like these “ Free Innovative Ideas ,” by serial entrepreneur Kim E.

Ideas 104

Ideas Entrepreneur Summary Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Don’t bash the competition.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Agree to Bundling Without a Minimum Price.

Outsource Development 170

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 170

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2012

If you are an entrepreneur starting a business for the first time, I recommend that you find a product concept that is already accepted and improve on it, rather than tackling that ultimate disruptive technology. Of course, the first one gets the patent. Evidence of success using this approach is all around us.

Patents 84

Patents Startup Statistics Course 84

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2016

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.

Startup 103

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology." " Investors want to buy into an entrepreneur with a startup that can provide evidence of an ability to double customer productivity, at half the cost, with patented technology.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

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. Some dreams sound great, but may not yet be viable or proven with today’s technology. Any startup with no patents, trade secrets, or other secret sauce is very high risk today.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

Elon Musk and Tesla made their battery patents available to anyone, to clear the path for market infrastructure growth and compatibility, which of course benefits Tesla. This could be fighting some government bureaucracy with your technology, or “supporting” unhappy customer efforts against an unpopular competitor.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2011

If you are an entrepreneur starting a business for the first time, I recommend that you find a product concept that is already accepted and improve on it, rather than tackling that ultimate disruptive technology. Of course, the first one gets the patent. Evidence of success using this approach is all around us.

Startup 91

Startup Patents Statistics Course 91

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2019

Most entrepreneurs are quick to assert to potential investors that their product or solution will kill the competition, but unfortunately your opinion alone is not enough to convince most experienced investors. Reducing margins to lower prices won’t help your case. Present a clear differentiation and a laser market focus.

Competition 86

Competition Patents Startup Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

A good answer might be “We have several patents on the base technology, which is so robust that we expect to roll out new products every year for the next ten years, always staying a step ahead of our competitors.” Our product is truly disruptive technology.” Investors will suspect you have a technology looking for a solution.

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Thanks to all of our sponsors, who make our coverage of Southern California's technology industry possible: Sponsors. Backing Southern California's next great technology companies. Helping entrepreneurs succeed. Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (www.binarypulse.com). Custom Insurance Programs for Technology Companies.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Agree to Bundling Without a Minimum Price.

Outsource Development 124

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2018

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Don’t bash the competition.

Competition 51

Competition Patents Resource Entrepreneur 51

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2019

Every entrepreneur and every business needs a strategy to keep them focused. It might be a patented technology, but it could also be the creativity of employees or logistic competencies of the company. This could be the utilization rate of a plant, the price premium of the brand, or the service offered or products sold.

Organization 88

Organization Course Patents Entrepreneur 88

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

A good answer might be “We have several patents on the base technology, which is so robust that we expect to roll out new products every year for the next ten years, always staying a step ahead of our competitors.” Our product is truly disruptive technology.” Investors will suspect you have a technology looking for a solution.

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

I’m still amazed at how many technical entrepreneurs don’t have a business pitch, and offer me their product pitch or product spec instead. Unfortunately, customers look for value in solving their problem, and new technologies alone scare them, so these solutions don’t get bought by customers, or funded. But it’s critical to have one.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Here are some of the key ones: Patent protection in place as a barrier to entry.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2013

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.

Startup 105

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2015

Every entrepreneur and every business needs a strategy to keep them focused. It might be a patented technology, but it could also be the creativity of employees or logistic competencies of the company. This could be the utilization rate of a plant, the price premium of the brand, or the service offered or products sold.

Customer 102

Customer Custom Organization Course 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2013

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Here is my own priority list of key risk drivers that every entrepreneur and every investor should evaluate and minimize in starting a business: Team experience and depth risk. Financial risk.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Social Network 104

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

where entrepreneurs share their stories. 63 Los Angeles Entrepreneurs To Be Proud Of By mario on May 2, 2012 in Features , grid. Free Corporations For First-Time Entrepreneurs. Right now they’re setting up 500 free corporations for first time entrepreneurs. Here are 62 63 Los Angeles entrepreneurs we can be proud of.

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78