Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2023

It’s still popular these days for startup founders to operate in stealth mode, meaning no details about the idea or progress are shared with anyone until the big reveal and rollout. Pivots and corrections are inevitable for startups in this age of rapid change, and the earlier you make them, the quicker you get to success.

Marketing 105

Marketing Startup Search Engine Optimization Ideas 105

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

First of all, I will admit that there is some risk involved with talking to any potential investors, even with an agreement, just as there is risk in all the elements of your plan, product and market opportunity. Disclosures relative to patents. Product details in the public domain can never be patented.

Ideas 159

Ideas Tips Technical Review Patents 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

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 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

Santa Barbara-based FindTheBest , the products review startup headed by former DoubleClick founder Kevin O''Connor, has a new mission in life: fight patent trolls. findthebest patent troll lawsuit legal rico doubleclick' READ MORE>>.

Patents 100

Patents Santa Barbara Demand Organization 100

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Fixed overhead for salaries, rent, equipment leases and more make up the majority of the “burn rate” (monthly expenses) for most companies. Since this number is budgeted and pre-authorized, managers tend to focus upon other things such as sales, marketing and product development issues. The art of good management.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Product Marketing Resource 296

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

This is the confirmation that your product or service fills a real need in the marketplace. Similarly, it will be very satisfying to see the productivity increases from your leadership and mentoring. Watch that patent provide a real barrier to competitive entry. Note the growth of your team and your own leadership.

Startup 118

Startup Satisfaction Customer Custom 118

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

Azusa-based Contour Energy Systems , the Caltech battery technology startup headed by Joe Fisher, said today that it has been awarded a new, U.S. According to the firm, the new patent covers its production process and fluorinated multi-layered carbon nanomaterials, which are used in its batteries. READ MORE>>.

Patents 150

Patents Azusa CalTech Research 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Every startup and every new business needs a unique selling proposition (USP) to get people’s attention these days, and make it stand out in the information overload we all see. I’m looking for the “hook” right up front, or I lose interest quickly, just like every customer and investor these days. Keep it simple and short.

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. Almost anyone can start a company today on a shoestring budget, following these cost-cutting recommendations: Establish a solid legal structure for your business.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. Order-of-magnitude cost reduction or productivity increase.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a cofounder or two. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. Now comes the reality check.

Equity 99

Equity Patents CTO Hire Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Invest Patents 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

First of all, I will admit that there is some risk involved with talking to any potential investors, even with an agreement, just as there is risk in all the elements of your plan, product and market opportunity. Disclosures relative to patents. Product details in the public domain can never be patented.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Patents Ideas Sample 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

An excellent example is the initiative by Elon Musk and Tesla Motors a few years ago to give away their battery patents, to infrastructure and competitive car providers, without transactional agreements. A partnership was announced with the City of New York, to connect and grow NYC's startup ecosystem. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 124

Startup IBM IBM Examples 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Startup 83

Startup Technical Review Invest Patents 83

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. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. He or she will assume your comment means there is no market for your product or service, or you haven’t looked. Neither speaks well for you or your startup.

Competition 133

Competition Patents Resource Invest 133

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Thus I often recommend that before you kick off your own business, you join another startup or existing business to see how things really work. It starts with documenting and communicating a real purpose and mission in terms everyone can get excited about. Even the best college degree is not a substitute.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2020

The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Startup 118

Startup Slides Technical Review Research 118

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211

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. Start with a service you know and love. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

An excellent example is the initiative by Elon Musk and Tesla Motors a few years ago to give away their battery patents, to infrastructure and competitive car providers, without transactional agreements. A partnership was announced a while back with the City of New York, to connect and grow NYC's startup ecosystem. Marty Zwilling.

IBM 131

IBM IBM Startup Examples 131

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

conversation literally every week with startups. 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. million and in my second company we raised only $500,000 by choice.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

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.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. If you start by pitching your extended life story, that’s the wrong point. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch.

Slides 147

Slides Funding Technical Review Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2021

Entrepreneurs often have formidable technical expertise, key to developing a new product or service, but a great naïveté in management skills. I’ve extracted here some key ones relevant to startups entering the growth stage: Communication clarity is essential. Most startups begin first, and think about organization later.

Startup 171

Startup Organization Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

My first suggestion is that entrepreneurs need to forget the old myth that all they need to do is sketch an idea on a napkin, and investors will line up to invest. Nice-to have” and “easier-to-use” products, or social ventures needing government support, are not likely to provide a financial return to investors.

Funding 123

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Invest 123

socalTECH

APRIL 6, 2011

Goleta-based Soraa , the Khosla Ventures-backed developer of LED and laser-based lighting and projection display technology, appears to be heading for volume production on its products. manufacturing capacity for volume production. manufacturing capacity for volume production. No details on production dates were given.

Product 147

Product Santa Barbara Patents News 147

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Intellectual Property (IP) is an ugly thing at a startup. However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. How can IP be worthless to a startup yet very worthwhile to a BDC? Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. Startups which display real innovation, such as alternative energy sources and new medical treatments, are still rare. New product process. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply. Value creation.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Berkonomics

APRIL 13, 2017

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. A core patent or “thicket” of patents protecting your offering? Can you translate an idea into a compelling product?

Patents 291

Patents Pricing Ideas Marketing 291

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 13, 2017

VentureWell, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that supports science and technology entrepreneurs, has selected a medical simulation startup founded by University of Maine students to receive funding and training. The company, Zephyrus Simulation LLC, was spun off from a product developed by a group of bioengineering students at UMaine.

Startup 70

Startup Funding Training Ideas 70

Berkonomics

JULY 16, 2015

Several times a month, I’d have lunch with one of my CEOs, and each time we’d find ourselves digging into the intellectual property developed by the company over the years, just to refresh ourselves about what the intended use was back then, and whether new developments or technologies might make these older ideas and patents relevant again.

Patents 120

Patents Screening Startup Email 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2020

In my work with new startups, I often find people who believe that the terms “ entrepreneur ” and “ inventor ” are interchangeable. Yet I find a big difference between “starting a new business” and “creating a new product.” A good entrepreneur starts with quantifying the problem, rather than a solution looking for a problem.

Startup 124

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 124

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. He or she will assume your comment means there is no market for your product or service, or you haven’t looked. Neither speaks well for you or your startup.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118