Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2021

In my role as mentor to business professionals, I often get the question about your potential of going out on your own as an entrepreneur, versus your current role of working for a boss at an established company. You need to sell yourself, as well as your product. Entrepreneurs must react and recover quickly.

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Entrepreneur Satisfaction Ideas Social Media 158

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2021

Knowing all too well how hard it is to start a single new business, I’ve always wondered how several well-known entrepreneurs, including Richard Branson and Elon Musk , have managed to successfully lead dozens of startups to success, and thrive on the process. Serial entrepreneurs embrace the risk, gather the relevant facts, and move forward.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

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Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Can you create a product in a vacuum? Creating a new product in a relative vacuum is an exercise in complete trust that you know what’s best for the customer, perhaps even without interaction with such a customer. Seeking, then analyzing responses allows you to make changes to the plan and product in response.

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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. The cost of social media done well is low.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2022

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2019

The founders of Santa Monica-based TaskUs , CEO Bryce Maddock and President Jaspar Weir, have received a national award as part of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program, the only Southern California entrepreneurs to gain recognition in the yearly program.

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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. True entrepreneurs are born, not made. It’s true that some people are natural risk-takers, but these often do not make the best entrepreneurs. Every inventor is an entrepreneur by default.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Satisfaction 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more. You need both to survive.

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Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

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 need to build a new million-dollar factory for each new product is gone.

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Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2022

By most definitions of the term, an entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business, incorporating innovative changes to existing products, services, business models, and creating new markets. One way of identifying the right characteristics and approaches is to take a hard look at entrepreneurs who have done it.

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Examples Entrepreneur Technology Resource 131

Eric Greenspan

MAY 14, 2013

As a newfound Dad Blogger and experienced marketer, I’ve begun offering a great new service that has been greeted by the Mommy Blogger community with great interest and the manufacturers of great products have responded equally well. My ability to recognize truly excellent products will guide me down this path.

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Technical Review Product Services High Tech 135

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2022

Here are some key insights that I and others have collected for mature company leaders, as well as serial entrepreneurs. Innovative product and process solutions are only temporary, as they quickly become a commodity in the minds of customers and competitors. I advise working the next one as thoroughly as the first one.

Entrepreneur 144

Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence Social Media Commerce 144

SoCal Tech Calendar

JULY 30, 2020

Monday, August 3, 2020 -- Fixing the Top Fundraising Mistakes Startup Entrepreneurs Make. Join JJ Richa in a fireside chat with Scott Fox, CEO of the OC Startup Council, for a discussion of the top mistakes that early stage entrepreneurs make when pitching their startups for funding. See [link] (more)

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Entrepreneur Slides Startup Venture Capital 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

NOVEMBER 10, 2019

Saturday, November 16, 2019 -- Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum - Transportation. The ways that people and products move around cities worldwide are rapidly changing. Emerging Opportunities in Urban Mobility and the Business Models It Will Enable.

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CalTech Entrepreneur Demand Mobile 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

You don’t need to invent an innovative product to be a real entrepreneur. Self-employed services specialists are just as important, and are a growing part of this new “ age of the entrepreneur ” that I discussed last week. They are not the generalists required for new product startups.

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Entrepreneur Services Product Search Engine Optimization 89

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2019

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common question I get is, “I want to be an entrepreneur -- how do I start?” Many people with great ideas never make it as entrepreneurs, and true entrepreneurs can make a business out of anything. Few entrepreneurs can assimilate and hone a complete plan in their head.

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Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Writing 135

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. Great entrepreneurs are able to think on their feet, and are always prepared.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2020

The most memorable businesses, like Starbucks and Apple, no longer sell products, they sell ‘experiences’ with a product at the center. The challenge is to transform and hardwire your entire team to think in these terms, rather than the default focus on distinct towers of product quality, closing the sale, or fixing a complaint.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2020

Entrepreneurs who experience success with their first startup are often amazed to realize that the risks and fears of doing it right the second time go up, rather than down. Encores are tough, especially in the high-risk world of startups, yet every entrepreneur I know can’t wait to start over and do it again. Eat your own dog food.

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Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Ideas 129

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2022

Entrepreneurs and business executives seem to be even more focused on their technology than the rest of us, and less inclined to listen to the voice of the customer, even if they remember to ask. Others admit to surfing the web even during religious services. Being connected to the Internet many hours a day is not enough.

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Customer Custom Product Social Network 104

Berkonomics

JUNE 22, 2023

If your vision is for a product or service that fills a need in a mature industry, you may be flying against the prevailing winds as a market shrinks over time, taking your business with it. Can you translate an idea into a compelling product? Where in industry life cycle? Can you dominate that market?

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SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. Like many product managers, my background is fairly eclectic. My first job out of school was at one of the early bioinformatics companies in Silicon Valley, working as the head of technical services. Tell me a bit about your background.

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Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Product 159

Product Technical Review Pricing Software Review 159

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. Each of these can go astray as follows: Your product or service hits unexpected snags.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. It’s really a multi-step process, with the first step getting you from an idea to a viable product, and the remaining steps creating a sustainable business. Attend trade shows and network to find the right players and pitch your product.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2019

Every entrepreneur believes that their product or service is memorable, and that every customer will quickly see the advantage over competitors. Yet true product differentiation in the eye of the customer is rarely achieved. Isn’t that why you signed on to the entrepreneur lifestyle in the first place?

Product 124

Product Customer Custom Examples 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Technologists building cool new platforms, just because they can, won’t find investor interest.

Entrepreneur 131

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Xconomy

NOVEMBER 26, 2018

What makes someone an entrepreneur? Most simply defined , an entrepreneur is a person who identifies a need and starts a business to fill that void. But others will argue that a “true” entrepreneur must come up with an innovative new product or service and then operates their business to sell and profit from that innovation.

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Entrepreneur Startup Demand Examples 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2020

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. Only rare great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have proven to be both. Detailed product specifications and prototypes.

Ideas 122

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup IBM 122

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

You don’t need to invent an innovative product to be a real entrepreneur. Self-employed services specialists are just as important, and most often operate remotely (from anywhere in the world) in this age of the Internet. Many of these new entrepreneurs were regular employees a few years ago, focused on a skill specialty.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Services Search Engine Optimization Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2020

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. Product pre-order model. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

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Entrepreneur Outsource Development Satisfaction Equity 129

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2020

For all entrepreneurs, starting a business is the route to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” no matter how risky. According to a classic article and poll by Startups.co.uk , having the independence to make your own decisions is considered the key benefit of being an entrepreneur. If you are here in the U.S.,

Entrepreneur 122

Entrepreneur Startup Satisfaction Competition 122

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

There’s a line of thinking in Silicon Valley that you should build product businesses rather than services businesses. It’s nearly impossible to get a services company financed by VCs. And stop effing around trying to create a product company.&#. Why Shouldn’t Most Services Businesses Raise VC?

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2016

Thus smart business professionals are rapidly becoming the new entrepreneurs. Of course, entrepreneurs delivering services have existed for some time, including business consultant, independent contractor, and freelancer titles. For existing trained professionals, it’s an opportunity to become an entrepreneur.

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Entrepreneur Services Startup Social Media 56

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2019

Maybe starting a new business isn’t your passion, but in these days of rapid change, where everyone is dealing with uncertainty, I believe that thinking and acting like entrepreneurs will help you get ahead in any profession. So how do good entrepreneurs do it, and what do they do that everyone can learn from?

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Entrepreneur Mentor Competition Study 116