Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. It’s hard to write a detailed specification on an evolving new service, process, or product that embodies your core competency. Keep intellectual property keys in-house. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. The average time required to obtain a patent is 36-to-40 months, during which there is no guarantee your adVenture will ultimately receive patent protection. Even if you are granted a patent, the scope of your claims may be significantly denuded.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down. The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Finish the product before marketing begins.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

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. Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time. .” . The company has been funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

First: Product risk. . Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to compete in the marketplace? Email readers, continue here…] Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service? Will the public respond in numbers to buy, license or rent your offering?

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Registered patents and other intellectual property. Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

First: Product risk. Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to compete in the marketplace? Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service? Second: Market risk. Will the public respond in numbers to buy, license or rent your offering?

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Registered patents and other intellectual property. Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I love good causes and social entrepreneurs, but a recent pitch to me about eliminating world hunger with a new product (harvesting algae at low cost) seemed to forget that really hungry people don’t have any money. Writing down key parameters will force you solidify the specifics, and mentally commit to them.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. It’s hard to write a detailed specification on an evolving new service, process, or product that embodies your core competency. Keep intellectual property keys in-house. Marty Zwilling.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost. List key competitors and alternatives, highlighting your sustainable competitive advantages, such as patents and trademarks. Professional investors look for the right people, more than the right product.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

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. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

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. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

What does your pain reliever look like, how is it implemented by the customer and what future products do you expect to roll out? Patents and Trademarks. Who do I write the check to and where do I send it? Distribution and Sales. How do you profitably get the pain reliever to the consumers experiencing the pain?

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

There is a battle between entrepreneurs who try to change the world and solve a meaningful problem and those who write take-down pieces with no apparent personal benefit other than attention. We checked patents. When we ship product. But would you expect Apple to reveal its product details before launching? ” **.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Course Software Review 417

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

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. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down. The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Finish the product before marketing begins.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Ideas 105

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

"The best way to prepare [to be a programmer] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. Unless your venture is focused on researching potential scientific breakthroughs, it is likely that your technology can be easily copied and your patents circumvented. " [Tweet this quote].

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

For the rest of us, we need a business plan, as well as a product plan. Some of you may be convinced that your product specification communicates the product message even better than a business plan, so why be redundant? Professional investors and even customers invest in people, rather than just a product.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

I have been meaning to write this for a while as I’ve noticed that much of my board time is involved in trying to be an independent referee for founders who themselves are trying to resolve their own conflicts. Often we are asked to get involved in executive-level recruiting. What prompted this post?

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Registered patents and other intellectual property. Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down. The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Finish the product before marketing begins.

Startup 57

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Ideas 57

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt. There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. That changed very quickly. And covered we did.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO).

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2014

We''ve also had a pretty wide range of check writing in terms of amount. The notion there is not only would be investing in the venture aspect of the business, but would help tilt the company to success by bringing shared services to help bring their products to life. We''re really looking for that first and foremost.

Seed Funding 220

Seed Funding Santa Monica Funding Startup 220

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Convincingly presents a patent, trademark, or other “secret sauce” that can create equity value, not just current cash flow for the owners. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Values intellectual property.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Course Patents 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Its hard to write a detailed specification on an evolving new service, process, or product that embodies your core competency. Keep intellectual property keys in-house. Marty Zwilling.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Convincingly presents a patent, trademark, or other “secret sauce” that can create equity value, not just current cash flow for the owners. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Values intellectual property.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO).

Startup 104

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 104

InfoChachkie

MARCH 1, 2012

Some of the examples are patently obvious (e.g., (i) They differentiated their product with subtle, unconventional techniques, such as the use of the B7 chord in I Want To Hold Your Hand. However, the Beatles consistently differentiated their products by deploying surprising, adventuresome chord progressions throughout their career.

Tips 259

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Product 259

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

The discipline of writing down a plan is the best way to make sure you actually understand how to transform your idea into a business. If your product is free, or you lose money on every one, it’s hard to make it up in volume. Don’t believe the old urban legend that a business plan isn’t worth the effort. No intellectual property.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2016

Dean Kamen, while still struggling with the Segway Human Transporter, holds 440 other device patents. Bill Gates of Microsoft, even late in his career, wasn’t afraid to jump in and write some code to illustrate a point. The quickest way to great results is to build a great team , and let it multiply your productivity.

Examples 76

Examples Startup Coach Patents 76

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

The discipline of writing down a plan is the best way to make sure you actually understand how to transform your idea into a business. If your product is free, or you lose money on every one, it’s hard to make it up in volume. Don’t believe the old urban legend that a business plan isn’t worth the effort. No intellectual property.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Statistics 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

One of the big things about Telesign, and if you go back to the founders, and the things they did well before I got here, is they spent lots of time and effort around writing patents and protecting their IP. In 2011, we had two of our patents approved. One was for our PhoneID product, which is extremely important to us.

Marina Del Rey 238

Marina Del Rey Startup IP Web 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. A CEO who has “been there and done that” is traction, especially if teamed with a financial lead (CFO) and a product lead (CTO).

Startup 101

Startup CTO Hire Press Custom 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2016

Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. It’s hard to write a detailed specification on an evolving new service, process, or product that embodies your core competency. Keep intellectual property keys in-house. Marty Zwilling.

Outsource Development 53

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 53

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2013

Dean Kamen, while still struggling with the Segway Human Transporter, holds 440 other device patents. Bill Gates of Microsoft, even late in his career, wasn’t afraid to jump in and write some code to illustrate a point. The quickest way to great results is to build a great team, and let it multiply your productivity.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Examples Ideas 104