Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2020

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? Separate nice-to-have ideas from ones solving painful problems.

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TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 23, 2019

And it’s why he has launched a new company called Path , which pitches access to specialized substance addiction treatment professionals as an employee health benefit, to do something about it. People looking for treatment simply don’t know where to go to get the most effective and affordable help.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2021

The entrepreneurs I see are always talking about “disruptive innovation” ideas, but the plans I read are more often linear extensions of a current hot offering, like one more social network with the best of Facebook and Twitter, one more dating site dimension, or another “must-have” accessory for smartphones. Marty Zwilling.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. I don’t think this is the job.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

One thing I have learned the hard way in business is that implementing new ideas is usually much more difficult than conceiving the idea in the first place. That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. For example, I have a friend with a Ph.D.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. I’ve talked in the past about how I manage my own creative process. I zone out and think about how things could be different. I can feel the ideas needing to come out and I know if I get distracted I will lose them.

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Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

When Ethan was considering leaving Google we talked about it. He had an idea for a startup that would help consumers better book service jobs and would take on Service Magic, which he believed had a business model that could be disrupted. What do we like about OpenTable? The company was called Red Beacon.

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InfoChachkie

JANUARY 3, 2012

In this 8-minute video excerpt from his recent talk, Seth describes the practical, hands-on methodology that he uses on a day-to-day basis to identify and vet his entrepreneurial ideas. As I note in Spilling The Beans , the basic ideas upon which startups are founded are worth nothing. " Ten Step Idea Evaluation Worksheet.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

If you haven’t read Adam Lashinsky’s awesome new book about Apple , you should. It takes on many of the lessons MBA programs and Corporate America have been teaching about business for the past 50+ years and questions whether lessons from Apple might be more applicable in thinking about the future. Specifically, 1.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

In my efforts of assist aspiring business owners like you, I find that too many see it as a short sprint to get over that one hurdle, like finding that innovative idea, or attracting an investor. What they found was that what really mattered was less about who was on the team, and more about how the team worked together.

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socalTECH

JUNE 15, 2020

Recently, A new, nonprofit organization, Gift A Plate (www.giftaplate,org), launched effrts in Los Angeles, to allow people to donate to help both restaurants and families in need. The organization said it is looking to help aid restaurants and families who have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 in LA.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

We did know about Snapchat as early as anybody. It was a “disappearing text app” where the founders told me that they named the company because the idea came from how Tiger Woods got caught cheating on his wife because all of his mistresses had evidence that he cheated because they saved text messages from him. I should have.

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Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2014

Kraft, who co-founded Thrively with fellow startup veteran Girish Venkat, sat down to talk to us about Thrively, as it emerges out of beta. Tell me about your new company? Tell me about your new company? Jon Kraft: Our mission is to help kids discover and pursue their passions in life.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2014

.” I have been weighing in slowly on the topic over the past few weeks on Twitter but have avoided writing a blog post about it until now. I have thought a lot about anonymity over the years and actually have enjoyed debating the topic with those passionate about anonymity’s benefits because of course that’s how I learn.

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Technical Review Blogging Examples Startup 329

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2011

To understand how one local company is making that transition, we talked with Los Angeles-based All About Addiction (www.allaboutaddiction.com), a company that grew out of Adi Jaffe's work at UCLA as a trained psychologist. First, what is All About Addiction about? The idea is really to make the process as simple as possible.

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UCLA Research Tech Coast Angels Offshore 204

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

It’s that time of year where we think about new beginnings. Please help me congratulate him by Re/Tweeting this post (and following him if you don’t already). Helping be the VC “presence” at key events. And believe me they were vocal about it. Happy official New Year’s, all. Industry reviews.

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Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2019

DNA image via Wikipedia As a business advisor and technologist, I often think about the large array of opportunities for entrepreneurs as technology seems to be evolving faster and faster. Yet I still too often hear the question, “Can you give me a really sure-fire idea for starting my own business?”

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socalTECH

AUGUST 1, 2014

However, Redondo Beach-based StaffRanker (www.staffranker.com) has rolled out a system to help those companies better manage what is a notoriously difficult segment of the labor market, which has a lot of turnover and which just doesn''t match existing, corporate performance management systems. Talk about your funding?

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Help Hermosa Beach Technical Review Redondo Beach 223

SoCal Tech Calendar

JULY 25, 2018

Thursday, July 26, 2018 -- Should You Use a Finder to Help You Raise Capital? And whenever anyone expresses any interest in talking to you, you stumble your way through a very awkward discussion of terms for which you haven't the slightest idea about. Tech Coast Venture Network.

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socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2014

To shortcut what has been an antiquated way of connecting consumers with attorneys, Los Angeles startup LawKick (www.lawkick.com) has created an online, easy way to match up clients with lawyers, through a set of simple questions and answers about different kinds of legal problems. What''s LawKick about? Thanks, and good luck!

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2019

Image via Pixabay In my role as a new business advisor and occasional investor, I hear lots of people talking about their dreams of “someday” starting and running a new venture. They can talk with passion about their innovative new idea, and ask lots of questions, but never seem to really get started.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

I saw him on stage at the event talking about how he used social media to engage audiences. It always started the same way – a founder would ask for an intro because they figured he could help with promotion. This past year he even decided to attend burning man (photo below) to get a sense of what that was all about.

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Conference Slides Social Media Summary 150

Berkonomics

APRIL 6, 2023

Or the important one: “Is this idea on mission?” Some ideas sound unbelievably creative – and may be that. But sometimes there is a barrier, an impossibly high cost not considered, a social backlash never thought of, or competition already covering the idea that is unknown to the originator. Is this idea sustainable?”

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

I’m not saying that lawyers were my screening process – simply that they knew about deals early on and they had voted with their time and pocketbooks so I knew I had a degree of filtering. no, I''m not talking about SVB, Comerica, Square1 and the like. I like to hear their passion for the idea. Big difference.].

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Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

socalTECH

AUGUST 29, 2013

Can tapping the power of the crowd not only help you find customers and help fund your project, but also help you shape your startup idea and find funding? It is one of the older incubators in Los Angeles, even though not a lot of people know about it. What is JumpStartFund? How do entrepreneurs get involved?

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Ideas Patents Funding Startup 178

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

And yet, such relationships properly used and never overused, can quickly and precisely help you cut through delays in government agencies, speed the process of product planning and ultimate release, aid in positioning in the market and help you avoid a myriad of mistakes that could prove costly in time and money.

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

Can music help you concentrate (on school, work, or other tasks) better? That's the idea behind Focus@Will (www.focusatwill.com), a new Los Angeles music startup headed by Will Henshall. We caught up with Will to learn more about the company and how it hopes its service and music can help people improve their concentration.

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Help Startup Sites Research 219

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2013

In real life, you can just about bargain a price for anything you want to buy--a car, a house, even that new stereo from your local electronics store. You put your price into our gauge, which has the colors red, yellow, and green to help guide consumers in making the most appropriate offers. But, online, that''s not the case.

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Pricing Product Help Sales 273

Tech.Co

MAY 16, 2024

In spite of these roadblocks, there are a growing number of Black-owned business grants available, designed to help close the gap and make the business landscape more diverse. Here are seven funding opportunities you should know more about if you’re serious about financially safeguarding and scaling your venture.

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Design Commerce Entrepreneur News 225

socalTECH

MAY 1, 2019

We caught up with Brian to hear more about the startup. There isn't a solution available for those, at least, not an affordable, modern solution where you need a little bit more help. It's not about establishing a relationship with a lawyer. One, it's about putting a new perspective on things.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Every year we try to write up and publish our thoughts publicly both to help other investors & entrepreneurs and also to test our thoughts in the public market of ideas. If people think we’re full of s**t we certainly hear so right away if we say something stupid! Without Kevin the work simply wouldn’t get done.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? Separate nice-to-have ideas from ones solving painful problems.

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Ideas Technical Review Patents Startup 83

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2020

If you're a big influencer, you might get paid by a brand, but every day, people are providing word-of-mouth advertising, posting about their favorite things. Every day, there are people out there with tremendous knowledge about things. We want to help you monetize your knowledge, your skills, and your social media.

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Help Commerce Platform Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Some entrepreneurs seem to never stop talking about themselves, and all their accomplishments. The best ones talk more about how they have assembled a well-rounded team, and will continue to fill in the gaps. Talks about the implementation plan, not the idea. Customer needs and benefits first, then product features.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? Separate nice-to-have ideas from ones solving painful problems.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Technical Review Patents 106

socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2018

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based Catalog (www.catalog.cc), a startup developing artificial intelligence software to help independent visual artists scale their content production efforts, announced it raised $1.5M What were some of the things you thought about before deciding to set up your headquarters in LA?

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Help IP Content Google 133

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Los Angeles-based Enrou (www.enrou.co) thinks it has a way--by connecting people with products that also help support international development and causes, via its own online marketplace. I had worked along with some of these organization son the ground, who were employing people, providing microfinancing, education, and help.

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Commerce Help UCLA Organization 140