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Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 22, 2022
Potential startup founders are always looking for ideas to implement, when they should be looking for problems to solve. Customers pay for solutions, but there is no market for ideas. Start solving a problem today that you can use as the basis for the “idea” for your next startup.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 18, 2022
A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen, with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” In my opinion, ideas are a commodity, and are really not worth much, outside the context of a visionary leader who can execute.
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Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 4, 2021
Every entrepreneur wishes that he could predict whether his idea could be the “next big thing,” before he spent his life savings and years of energy on it. He and I agree that product ideas must be assessed against the following five key qualities: Depth.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 15, 2022
Most people think innovation is all about ideas, when in fact it is more about delivery, people, and process. While it is true that you can’t get started without an idea, the importance of the Big Hunt is vastly overrated. Ideas are only beginnings.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 16, 2022
Yet I still too often hear the question, “Can you give me a really sure-fire idea for starting my own business?” My standard answer is that ideas are a dime a dozen, and success is all about smart execution, not ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 5, 2020
As an advisor to entrepreneurs, one of the most common requests I get is for an evaluation of a next startup idea. The right person can make any idea a business success, and the wrong one will always struggle. Maybe you need to start with a smaller idea.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 25, 2021
As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. In reality, I like most ideas, but I have to tell them that the real challenge is taking the inspiration from a dream to a business reality.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). They have probably heard the idea a dozen times already, and are waiting to back the right team on the implementation.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 8, 2020
Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. They become walking public relations machines for themselves, as well as their idea. early marketing idea marketing solution
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 13, 2020
Many aspiring entrepreneurs I mentor can talk at length about their innovative ideas and passions, and ask lots of good questions, but never make much progress in building a real business. In my experience, building a business is much more about getting things done than having great ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 26, 2021
Every business I know needs to be on a constant lookout for new ideas, both in what they offer to customers, and in their internal operations, to stay competitive. Fortunately, there are ways to nurture the creation and capture of new ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 18, 2021
In fact, some very innovative individuals, known as ‘idea people’ or inventors, often end up creating the most dysfunctional teams. Innovation is not all about coming up with new ideas. Generate ideas. No idea is born perfect.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 16, 2019
A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen, with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” In my opinion, ideas are a commodity, and are really not worth much, outside the context of a visionary leader who can execute. Over the past couple of decades, experts have perfected the art of brainstorming and other idea-generation techniques. Executives and investors are now increasingly exposed to a wealth of ideas.
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.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 27, 2021
Perhaps hard questions need to come before ideas, rather than after. Why have other smart people failed on a similar idea? Innovation flourishes when diverse ideas and thoughts are aired.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 15, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016 -- IDEAS Los Angeles. IDEAS a spark of soul, a measure of brilliance, an act of creation. Ideas are the inspiration, and the ignition, of human endeavor. IDEAS LA aims to capture the essence of our collective ingenuity in a fun and interactive setting. 2 Days 2 Tracks focused on the future of Digital Technology and Content Creation: Media and Entertainment and Health and Lifestyle.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 15, 2016
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 -- IDEAS Los Angeles. IDEAS a spark of soul, a measure of brilliance, an act of creation. Ideas are the inspiration, and the ignition, of human endeavor. IDEAS LA aims to capture the essence of our collective ingenuity in a fun and interactive setting. 2 Days 2 Tracks focused on the future of Digital Technology and Content Creation: Media and Entertainment and Health and Lifestyle.
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?
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? After all, most great breakthroughs, like a computer in every home, seemed like a crazy idea before Steve Jobs and Bill Gates made it happen. Separate nice-to-have ideas from ones solving painful problems.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 8, 2015
A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen, with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” In my opinion, ideas are a commodity, and are really not worth much, outside the context of a visionary leader who can execute. Over the past couple of decades, experts have perfected the art of brainstorming and other idea-generation techniques. Executives and investors are now increasingly exposed to a wealth of ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
A common request I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs is for an assessment of their latest idea. I don’t even try to assess things at the idea level, since I can’t read minds. Yet I believe that business success is more a function of the person than the idea or the plan, so the best idea is one that is a best fit for you, and only you can assess that. The idea or technology was easy for you to learn. If all you see ahead is stress and pain, look for another idea.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 30, 2017
Entrepreneurs are people who dream up new ideas, and then commercialize them into new businesses. Most people believe that the hard part is coming up with the idea, and the easy part is turning it into a business. business entrepreneur idea transformationYet, in my experience as a mentor to entrepreneurs, the majority of failures I see are related to starting and growing the business, not developing the solution.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 20, 2013
Successful startups are all about turning ideas into action quickly and efficiently. These actions must be the hard part, since entrepreneurs always seem to come to me with ideas, and ask me for help on the actions. That has always seemed strange to me, since the magic is supposed to be in the ideas, and the actions are the same for every business. Your great ideas deserve more than mediocre actions. Start now to turn your innovative ideas into action.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 12, 2016
Investors invest in people, not ideas. The simplest way to express appreciation is to simply say, “Thank you” for an idea, some good feedback, time spent together, or an order. Brian Tracy entrepreneur ideas leaders people importantCustomers buy from people, not companies. Employees rally for a great leader. As an entrepreneur, you need relationships to succeed. That means relationships with team members, investors, customers, and vendors.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 29, 2015
As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. In reality, I like most ideas, but I have to tell them that the real challenge is taking the inspiration from a dream to a business. So a better question than asking about the quality of an idea, is asking about the quality of your plan to cash in on the idea. Now you see why no one should judge business success potential by the idea alone.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
In business, and in your personal life, the ability to anticipate and overcome criticism is one of the biggest differentiators between leaders, who make things happen, and followers, who may have great ideas but never seem to get things to go their way. In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often find founders who have such conviction and passion for their new idea, that they can’t believe anyone could challenge it. The idea will only make things worse.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 22, 2018
Too many entrepreneurs I know still believe that that their great idea will carry the startup, and they may even minimize their own value, especially if they have introvert tendencies. Yet most investors agree that the “idea” is worth nothing alone, and it’s the entrepreneur execution that counts. That means that selling yourself is more important than selling your idea. Your startup idea only scratches the surface of what is required to build a successful business.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 24, 2015
Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). These professionals value their integrity, like your therapist or financial advisor, and will not share your business details nor steal your idea. Professional investors often challenge early non-disclosure requests for an idea or concept, since it’s an implementation that makes a business, rather than an idea.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 21, 2012
A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen, with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” In my humble opinion, ideas are a commodity, and are really not worth much, outside the context of a visionary leader and a plan. Over the past couple of decades, experts have perfected the art of brainstorming and other idea-generation techniques. Executives and investors are now increasingly exposed to a wealth of ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 22, 2014
Most people think innovation is all about ideas, when in fact it is more about delivery, people, and process. They take you step-by-step through the innovation execution process, in the context the ten most common myths about innovation, which I think makes their approach particularly instructive: Innovation is all about ideas. While it is true that you can’t get started without an idea, the importance of the Big Hunt is vastly overrated. Ideas are only beginnings.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 19, 2017
As an angel investor, I sometimes worry that all the viable unique ideas must already be taken. We all want to get out there ahead of the crowd, and invest in that truly innovative idea that seems so obvious in its appeal that you wonder why nobody ever thought of it before. I still get about one business “idea” per week for a new networking site, which will combine the “best of all the sites” into a new one. For other ideas, the wave has simply passed.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 3, 2014
Those are hard, since someone has to invent something innovative, but I do have some views on other ideas whose time has come and gone. I still get about one business “idea” per week for a new networking site, which will combine the “best of all the sites” into a new one. I hope you have a better idea than Women Behind Bars , or Herpes-Date.com. For other ideas, the wave has simply passed. What’s your idea? business entrepreneur investors old ideas startups
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 26, 2012
Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking. Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. Due to learned habits and routines, new ideas default to be similar to old ones. You cannot will a new idea.
Eric Greenspan
MAY 9, 2013
There’s great ideas everywhere. My idea is to never plant anything you can’t eat. The time is ripe for the next generation keyboard idea. Keyboard idea 1. Keyboard idea 2. The post 3 Great Ideas You May Steal appeared first on Eric Greenspan. Here’s a couple of mine: 1. Edible Landscaping. Why do we spend countless dollars beautifying our yards and yet we can’t grow our own organic food?
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
Bill Gross , the founder of Pasadena''s Idealab , is stepping out of the lab, and into the market--saying Monday that it has co-founded a new startup called IdeaMarket , which will let investors submit funded, high level startup ideas, let the public provide feedback, and allow technically oriented talent make a bid to help bring those ideas to life. All of those ideas have a pre-commited amount of capital from investors willing to back those ideas.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 4, 2015
These are young, urban dwellers who don’t have the time, means or inclination to schlep stuff to an awful location on the outskirts of their city and pile their goods into a 6×6 box where 60 days later they’ll have no idea what they put in there and no easy means of getting it returned. The post Here is Why Non-Obvious Startup Ideas Can Yield the Largest Results appeared first on Bothsides of the Table. Amazon. It is a household name.
socalTECH
MAY 15, 2014
Irvine-based Oculus VR , the virtual reality technology developer which was just picked up by Facebook for $2 billion--has a lot of developers with great virtual reality game and simulation ideas and software in the works. However, the latest idea to make the rounds is an original one: to use the hardware to create what would essentially be "The Matrix", for chickens.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 23, 2019
They can talk with passion about their innovative new idea, and ask lots of questions, but never seem to really get started. The challenge we all have as business founders is to move from the idea stage to a real business. I found these bite-sized chunks to be far more achievable and satisfying than making that one big step from your dream to a success business: Get the idea out of your head and onto paper.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 18, 2014
Early-stage ideas fall in the same category. I have the greatest respect for inventors and idea people who think outside the box to envision and create solutions never before seen. If you have been working alone, perfecting your idea, with no new business track record, your best strategy is to license the technology to a company or team with real business experience. Test your idea with experts, scientific journals and trade publications.
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? After all, most great breakthroughs, like a computer in every home, seemed like a crazy idea before Steve Jobs and Bill Gates made it happen. Separate nice-to-have ideas from ones solving painful problems.
SoCal Tech Calendar
OCTOBER 5, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011 -- Funding the Big Idea! The event features our premier Speed Dating* program where you can personally meet one on one and present your idea to Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, and Private and Public Equity Investors. TriTechs 3rd annual funding conference where businesses and entrepreneurs interact with investors and also get a chance to look into the mind of investors in order to find out what it takes to become investor ready.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 3, 2017
Ideas are a dime a dozen, but the inspiration to drive a great business is a lot harder to find. As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I often get asked for next sure-fire idea. I have to tell them that anyone can find ideas, but only you as a person can find the passion to transform one into a successful business. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and other famous entrepreneurs are examples of dedicated people who looked for inspiration, rather than ideas for their next business.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
A common request I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs is for an assessment of their latest idea. I don’t even try to assess things at the idea level, since I can’t read minds. Yet I believe that business success is more a function of the person than the idea or the plan, so the best idea is one that is a best fit for you, and only you can assess that. The idea or technology was easy for you to learn. If all you see ahead is stress and pain, look for another idea.
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