Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

In this context, I definitely agree with the need for new ideas and principles, as was expressed in a new book, “ Wild Thinking: 25 Unconventional Ideas to Grow Your Brand and Your Business ,” by branding though leaders Nick Liddell and Richard Buchanan. A great business purpose is better than a great product.

Ideas 77

Ideas Customer Custom Competition 77

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 haven’t found the next one yet, even on Shark Tank.

Ideas 87

Ideas Sites Social Network Startup 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2021

That’s productivity. That is a huge hit on productivity. For insight, I recommend the details provided in the classic book “ The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity, ” by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne. Practice productivity planning with your key team members. Why is this so hard?

Framework 153

Framework Product Entrepreneur Social Media 153

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2015

Try to imagine if you *didn’t* already know Amazon and the company walking into VC meetings telling people they were going to disrupt the selling of all goods starting with books but then extending into electronics, apparel, toys and so forth. MakeSpace set out to reinvent the whole category. Innovation.

Ideas 150

Ideas Startup Technical Review Pricing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2015

That’s productivity. That is a huge hit on productivity. For insight, I recommend the details provided in a new book “ The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity, ” by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne. Practice productivity planning with your key team members. That’s extraordinary productivity.

Product 111

Product Entrepreneur Framework Social Media 111

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

Facebook popularized the short-form “status update&# and this initially is called the “feed&# but over time starts to become known as the “ stream.&# Twitter then popularizes the idea of having only a stream (e.g. I then remember when Amazon started selling books on the web. That was a kerfuffle too.

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

For example, if your idea is so new and different that it implies real social or technological change is necessary before widespread acceptance, investors will define your market as nascent or unproven, and be very reluctant to fund you, no matter how convincing your projections may be. Market is recognized as real and growing by investors.

Marketing 174

Marketing Startup Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 174

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again.

Product 95

Product Case Study Customer Custom 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2023

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again.

Case Study 89

Case Study Customer Custom Study 89

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). ” So Ethan went to work as a product manager at Google Video. So I asked Ethan to build his product first and then we would fund.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Customer Custom 174

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Turn on your phone and look at the productivity folder. Kind of like a disarrayed choose your own adventure book about your life. You’ll be more productive within three weeks time. You get the idea. We discuss productivity, emails, communication, and the dynamics of the team. We’ve been there.

Product 99

Product Ideas Email Organization 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2016

That’s productivity. That is a huge hit on productivity. For insight, I recommend the details provided in a recent book “ The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity, ” by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill, and Leena Rinne. Practice productivity planning with your key team members. Why is this so hard?

Product 60

Product Entrepreneur Framework Social Media 60

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

Why is it that his idea which seemed so fundable only months ago fails to attract investors today? Lewis, author of the timeless book “ Why Flip A Coin? The idea here is following a process can actually force you to think. This is a problem with many product-based companies. The team is the same.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 92

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. When the early teams: angels, lowercase capital & first round capital funded Uber they had no idea it would be one of the most revolutionary ideas of our time. Far from it. It was an early and smart bet.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

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. Yet very few achieve that great aspiration of really driving economic, social, and environmental changes on a global scale.

Examples 131

Examples Entrepreneur Technology Resource 131

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Both of these approaches are a waste of your time and theirs.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 5, 2015

As a Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship at UC Santa Barbara , students ask me dozens of times each quarter, “What do you think of my idea?” My response is typically, “What I think of your idea is irrelevant. The reality is that what I think about anyone’s nascent idea is totally meaningless. Wise And Feld To The Rescue.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Santa Barbara 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

For example, I’m an introverted product guy who doesn’t care so much about building the personnel relationships needed to keep a motivated team. Many smart people I know fall into the category of “idea” people. You may never be at a loss for new ideas, and ways to broaden the appeal of your business.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2014

So I did my own informal survey of business books, to gather the key reasons why most people never start the journey. If you recognize yourself in any of these categories, you may be more of a “wanna be” than a real entrepreneur: You are a dreamer, not a do-er. Specific expertise is self-learned from experience, not books.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Organization 102

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Successful entrepreneurs are usually hard-driving, and highly focused on some specific goals, like being the dominant player in a given domain, or the low-priced provider of their product. Many people are very hesitant to set specific goals, due to lack of self-confidence or whatever.

Writing 121

Writing Organization Satisfaction Entrepreneur 121

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

However, the Woodland Hills-based firm isn't satisfied with stopping there--it now wants to own the entire transaction--from finding a local service provider, to booking an appointment with that provider, to presenting estimates, invoices, and collecting payments, and has launched a whole set of products in that area yesterday.

ReachLocal 217

ReachLocal Technical Review Woodland Hills Services 217

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Why is it that his idea which seemed so fundable only months ago fails to attract investors today? Lewis, author of the classic book “ Why Flip A Coin? The idea here is following a process can actually force you to think. This is a problem with many product-based companies. The team is the same.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Both of these approaches are a waste of your time and theirs.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

” The local kennels were full as many people had pre-booked for vacations. She sprung into action and called the house I wanted to book directly (they obviously don’t provide phone numbers for you to call directly although a Twilio integration couldn’t hurt!). ” Booked it. “Oh s**t.”

Venture Capital 344

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review San Diego 344

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2013

So I did my own informal survey of business books, to gather the key reasons why most people never start the journey. If you recognize yourself in any of these categories, you may be more of a “wanna be” than a real entrepreneur: You are a dreamer, not a do-er. Specific expertise is self-learned from experience, not books.

Entrepreneur 114

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Organization 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2022

One source I like is the classic book “ Who’s That Sitting At My Desk? ” She outlines the potential benefits of “workships” (work relationships) evolving into friendships and romances as follows: Improve communication and productivity. A fourth category is more intimately romantic relationships. by Jan Yager, who has a Ph.D.

Startup 119

Startup Course Competition Social Media 119

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

Why is it that his idea which seemed so fundable only months ago fails to attract investors today? Lewis, author of the old classic book “ Why Flip A Coin? The idea here is following a process can actually force you to think. This is a problem with many product-based companies. The team is the same.

Tips 55

Tips Ideas Entrepreneur Research 55

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2019

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. Yet very few achieve that great aspiration of really driving economic, social, and environmental changes on a global scale.

Resource 97

Resource Entrepreneur Social Network SpaceX 97

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

My firm, GRP Partners, invested in the company that innovated this entire category – Overture (formerly known as GoTo.com). But of course Google eventually became the massive winner in this category. I believe that many social networks confused this idea. But higher value product sales often require a phone call.

Advertising 284

Advertising Invest RSS CPC 284

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2019

Every aspiring entrepreneur I know is convinced that his or her idea could be the next big startup, blossoming into a billion dollar unicorn. Most trend watchers agree that it is time for a revolutionary new category of medicine treatment devices and customized healthcare solutions.

Startup 91

Startup Customer Custom Examples 91

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

We talked with Billy last week about the firm, and what it's trying to do: What's the whole idea behind Kijubi? The idea there, is you sift through brochures, and call them to see if they are still there, and then make a reservation. The idea was to have tent poles up in the most important leisure markets.

Activity 164

Activity Startup Sites Web 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2011

So I did my own informal survey of business books, to gather the key reasons why most people never start the journey. If you recognize yourself in any of these categories, you may be more of a “wanna be” than a real entrepreneur: You are a dreamer, not a do-er. Specific expertise is self-learned from experience, not books.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Organization 97

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2018

Successful entrepreneurs are usually hard-driving, and highly focused on some specific goals, like being the dominant player in a given domain, or the low-priced provider of their product. Many people are very hesitant to set specific goals, due to lack of self-confidence or whatever.

Writing 97

Writing Organization Satisfaction Entrepreneur 97

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2013

In a book a while back by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie from the Columbia Business School, “ Designing for Growth ,” the authors encourage managers to think more like designers. Myth: If the idea is good, then the money will follow. The truth about ideas is that we don’t know if they are good; only customers know that.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Design Ideas Competition 103

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

The talented founder & CEO (Sean Rad) went on to create Tinder after Adly, proof that sometimes it takes the intersection of great founder + great idea + timing to produce a multi-billion outcome. Our goal is to produce a $10 billion+ winner and remain the market leader in this SaaS category of AI in Sales & Marketing.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

If you haven’t read Adam Lashinsky’s awesome new book about Apple , you should. The idea that the course asks students to write public blog posts is a testament to its more modern teaching style. My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319