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. Investors look for a sustainable competitive advantage, like a patent. Decide whether the product is local or international. Revenue model. How do you make money?

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

This raises a big red flag with potential investors, who conclude that no competitors means no market, or you haven’t looked, and the new startup is likely not investable. 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

Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

I am chairman of a company that, as I write this, is twelve years old and has not yet taken a dollar of outside investment. The company has been funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

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. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments. Practice being a good communicator.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

The practical uses for uBeam technology is limitless. If electricity could be transferred like WiFi but as safe as a soundwave we use on pregnant women’s bellies and at a price-point that was attractive this is a multi-billion market. Did anybody hold patents that would prevent us from using this technology?

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2017

Email readers, continue here…] In the technology sector where I most often play, extended unplanned software development cycles account for the majority of these corporate failures. And professional investors often penalize the company with lower-priced down rounds or expensive loans as a result.

Venture Capital 243

Venture Capital Product Resource Marketing 243

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

The same is true for filing patents, registering trademarks, and filing copyrights. Use the cloud and subscriptions for computing technology. Minimize investment in prototypes and tooling. Setting up the business as an LLC or C-corporation can now be done online with low registration fees and minimal risk.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

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. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments. Practice being a good communicator.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

There is no perfect answer to the competitive advantage question, but investors are looking for how your offering will keep ahead of competition, not just at this moment, but throughout the life of their three to five-year investment. Leading with this answer will likely terminate any further investment opportunity with this investor.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

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. You will build out features or expend to platforms — often before you have enough market feedback to warrant it.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Investors learned this a long time ago, so most will tell you that they invest in people, not ideas.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

There is no perfect answer to the competitive advantage question, but investors are looking for how your offering will keep ahead of competition, not just at this moment, but throughout the life of their three to five-year investment. Leading with this answer will likely terminate any further investment opportunity with this investor.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

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. As a result, smart investors will tell you they invest in the jockey, not the horse (people, not ideas). Even a non-profit needs income to operate.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

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

JANUARY 27, 2018

There is no perfect answer to the competitive advantage question, but investors are looking for how your offering will keep ahead of competition, not just at this moment, but throughout the life of their three to five-year investment. Leading with this answer will likely terminate any further investment opportunity with this investor.

Competition 51

Competition Patents Resource Entrepreneur 51

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

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. Our product is truly disruptive technology.” Investors will suspect you have a technology looking for a solution.

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Drug company stocks got a boost with the defeat of Hillary Clinton, a vocal critic of drug prices. Will he take a softer stance on drug prices? But her near doubling of Trump (62 to 33 percent) didn’t translate into support for drug price controls. Patent and Trademark Office. Now, the U.S. CRISPR DEVELOPMENTS.

Patents 87

Patents Study Pricing Research 87

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

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. Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Technology.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

As a technology buff, I’m all too sensitive to the common investor complaint that technical people often end up selling yet another “solution looking for a problem,” because they are so impressed with their technology. This implies high odds of a scalable business, simply needing an investment to lead to success.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2009

Semiconductor startups seem to be quite rare in today's environment, with few companies being funded or launched, due both to the difficulty of bringing products to market, lack of investment capital, as well as lots of established, large companies in the industry. For starters, let's talk about your technology. Ghz wireless market.

Patents 100

Patents Sample Technical Review Pricing 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. 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

AUGUST 8, 2016

By profit, I simply mean offering a product or service to customers for a price that exceeds the total costs associated with the solution, thus providing some basis for recovering sunk costs and generating a return for stakeholders. The best differentiation is a patent or other intellectual property that also provides a barrier to entry.

Entrepreneur 58

Entrepreneur Ideas Pricing Customer 58

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” I hear it when I visit LPs (the people who invest in VCs) all across the country, “Yeah, I haven’t been out there for a few years but I keep hearing that something is going on there.” billion in venture capital to LA’s technology startups and 2014 will shatter that figure. acquired Overture for $1.63

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2010

In the technology sector where I most often play, extended unplanned software development cycles account for the majority of these corporate failures. And we were able to secure that investment along with a partner from that firm joining our board. Email readers continue here.]

Venture Capital 212

Venture Capital Product Resource Marketing 212

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

This raises a big red flag with potential investors, who conclude that no competitors means no market, or you haven’t looked, and the new startup is likely not investable. 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

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

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. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2013

Even in an open space, you need intellectual property, like patents, to keep potential competitors from overrunning you. The selection of an inappropriate pricing, marketing, or distribution strategy is a large potential risk. Technology risk. Financial risk. Very few businesses can be started without money.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Social Network 104

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

For example, “Compared to product x, my solution will get the job done in half the time, and at half the price.” Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. Remember that investors invest in people first. Don’t say “Product x is more expensive and hard to use.”

Startup 100

Startup Competition Patents Training 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

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. Indeed, there are some success factors that are common to both environments. Practice being a good communicator.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2014

The same is true for filing patents, registering trademarks, and filing copyrights. Use the cloud and subscriptions for computing technology. Minimize investment in prototypes and tooling. Setting up the business as an LLC or C-corporation can now be done online with low registration fees and minimal risk.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2012

Even in an open space, you need intellectual property, like patents, to keep potential competitors from overrunning you. The selection of an inappropriate pricing, marketing, or distribution strategy is a large potential risk. Technology risk. Financial risk. Very few businesses can be started without money.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Examples Social Network Marketing 108

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2015

Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. Look hard at the technology for feasibility and risk. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Investors learned this a long time ago, so most will tell you that they invest in people, not ideas.

Ideas 104

Ideas Mentor Resource Entrepreneur 104

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

plus a large settlement on patent disputes paid from Google) so Bill did well on it. I won’t belabor this – I have an investment in this space ( ad.ly ) so I’m biased. I think this classifies as a “crack filler&# and I’m not sure I would have done the investment for that reason. billion to Yahoo!

Venture Capital 271

Venture Capital Capital Google Platform 271

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

For example, “Compared to product x, my solution will get the job done in half the time, and at half the price.” Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. Remember that investors invest in people first. Don’t say “Product x is more expensive and hard to use.”

Startup 102

Startup Competition Patents Training 102

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

In 1994, (I know a long time ago), I invested over a million dollars (two million six hundred thousand in today’s dollars) into a company whose entrepreneurs had a vision that I bought into for many reasons, not the least of which was that I had industry experience and understood the need. Technology advances cannot be stopped.

Competition 156

Competition Research Summary Pricing 156