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. Start with a service you know and love. Don’t let your service be viewed as a commodity.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect. This section of the product plan details every element of the product or service that is your solution. Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

The question to study in your board meeting long before making any offer to purchase a candidate business is: “Would this acquisition add significantly to our enterprise value and attractiveness in an eventual sale?”. The alternative uses of your time and money.

Company 120

Company Companies Acquisition Resource 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Be a miser with contract services and facilities. Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory. Think of these alternatives as paying interest on a loan, and manage them wisely. Social media is not rocket science.

Search Engine Optimization 103

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect. This section of the product plan details every element of the product or service that is your solution. Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

With the appearance of do-it-yourself services on the Internet, entrepreneur curriculums at every university, and a wealth of new books on the subject, the need for expensive consultants and business advisors has also been mitigated. The same is true for filing patents, registering trademarks, and filing copyrights.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

The company has created a product that can be delivered as a service to medical clinicians anywhere in the world, enhancing their ability to understand their patents’ problems and needs in less time, using the expertise built into an expert system created by the best minds in many medical specialties.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

Among other updates the firm added to its S-1 filing, the firm reported it now has eight patents granted--up from five--for its intellectual property, and an additional sixteen pending in the United States and other jurisdictions.

Demand 194

Demand Media Santa Monica Report 194

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Be a miser with contract services and facilities. Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory. Think of these alternatives as paying interest on a loan, and manage them wisely. Social media is not rocket science.

Search Engine Optimization 124

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 124

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. They run into difficulty when their business reaches the $1-2 million annual sales range, or their employee count exceeds 5-10. Inspire, Motivate, and Bring Out the Best in Your People.”

Startup 171

Startup Organization Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Customers today quickly get beyond these, and put a competitive priority on the experience of others, reflected in reviews and social media, and their own total experience with your sales process, delivery, returns, and support on their schedule. Create a team culture for personalized service. Find funders who seek long-term returns.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. They only want a quick overview of the product, not detailed features and patent secrets. It’s always impressive to have stand-alone supporting documents for product specifications, sales plan details, and backup financial reports.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I recommend a ten-slide pitch to start, reviewed by friends and advisors, to be expanded to a ten-to-twenty-page business plan with opportunity sizing, cost and price details, competitors, marketing and sales strategy, financial projections, and resources required. Make the product or service come alive.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. This is the point where you work on the specifics of being able to deliver your product or service. Relevant questions include the type of business entity (LLC or C-Corp), licensing or manufacturing, sales and marketing, and staffing. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

I’m going to start a website to offer this service!” No known patents filed. Maybe the solution hasn’t yet been commercialized, but a patent has been submitted by someone else, putting your idea in jeopardy. Of course, you could pay a Patent Attorney a few thousand dollars to do the same search.

Ideas 97

Ideas Patents Startup Google 97

Xconomy

JULY 5, 2016

According to OrthoWorx, a community-industry partnership in the global orthopedic sector, the cluster of orthopedic businesses in Warsaw has more than $11 billion in annual sales, which is almost one-third of the industry’s world sales volume. The results?

Patents 67

Patents Research Anthem Education 67

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Steve is now in charge of Marina Del Rey-based TeleSign (www.telesign.com), which has quietly become a huge force in providing authentication services to nearly every major Internet service out there. Telesign provides authentication services for the largest web companies in the world. To learn more, we caught up with Steve.

Marina Del Rey 238

Marina Del Rey Startup IP Examples 238

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Barry Lieberman: My backgruond is about 35 years in technology, business development, and sales and marketing. I built my own company around marketing services, and have been around business development, marketing, custom service, and sales, and also on the consumer side of technology, a little bit a mix of the two.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2011

I’m going to start a website to offer this service!” No known patents filed. Maybe the solution hasn’t yet been commercialized, but a patent has been submitted by someone else, putting your idea in jeopardy. Of course, you could pay a Patent Attorney a few thousand dollars to do the same search.

Ideas 94

Ideas Patents Startup Google 94

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Who will be in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, National Institutes of Health, and Medicare and Medicaid? —Oral arguments in the landmark patent fight over ownership of the gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 were set for Dec. Patent and Trademark Office. CRISPR DEVELOPMENTS.

Patents 87

Patents Study Pricing Research 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2012

For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost. My friend, Dave Bittner , offers a simple template to get started that will work for most products and services: “We sell [product/service deliverable] to [market niche] who want [unmet market need]. About 150-225 words.

Startup 113

Startup Patents Template Competition 113

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2009

and international patent and trademark procurement - IP. A Stanford alum, Aaron wrote the book on sales 2.0. While Senior Director of Corporate Development & Acquisitions at Salesforce.com, he grew the B2B sales division to $100M. We put the "Service" back into Internet Service Provider.

SoCalTech 100

SoCalTech Orange County Southern California Westlake Village 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. They only want a quick overview of the product, not detailed features and patent secrets. It’s always impressive to have stand-alone supporting documents for product specifications, sales plan details, and backup financial reports.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Investors are looking for a concise description of your product or service without technical jargon or fuzzy marketing terms with value quantified in customer terms. This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. What are your specific marketing and sales plans?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

For instance, a services business or an opportunity with limited growth potential might be a good fit for an Angel investor, but not a venture capitalist. Distribution and Sales. Patents and Trademarks. No VC Fit - Match your venture with appropriate funding source. Competition.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Be a miser with contract services and facilities. Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory. Think of these alternatives as paying interest on a loan, and manage them wisely. Social media is not rocket science.

Startup 89

Startup Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 89

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect. This section of the product plan details every element of the product or service that is your solution. Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2015

Passionate entrepreneurs tend to talk on and on about their disruptive technology, their intent to change the world and free services, but if a business can’t provide quantifiable value to real customers, the dream will likely turn into a nightmare. Skip the sales pitch and avoid preaching. Build up for the punch line at the end.

Startup 104

Startup Summary Patents Examples 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Be a miser with contract services and facilities. Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory. Think of these alternatives as paying interest on a loan, and manage them wisely. Social media is not rocket science.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 108

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2014

Chief Sales Officer (VP Sales). What you really need is a VP of Marketing and Customer Development, who can help with lead generation and honing the message, rather than an executive to manage a sales team and existing customers. See this anecdote by Steve Blank on how a hotshot sales executive can sink your startup.

CTO Hire 100

CTO Hire Funding Cloud Computing CIO 100

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. Marketing, sales, and customer experience. Use concrete terms to quantify value and pain.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

Potential investors love to see gross margins in the fifty percent range or greater, with recurring revenue through subscriptions, follow-on sales, or services. Patents, trade secrets, and trademarks are very attractive to investors, since these are not easily overcome by competitors.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

We recently ran into Dave Compton , Chairman and CEO of Ventura-based NetPlenish.com (www.netplenish.com), a early stage startup working on a service which will automatically re-order items for consumers. Dave gave us an overview of the service and what it hopes to do. Are you running now, or when will your service be available?

Compton 138

Compton Ventura Startup IP 138

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Describe your technology patents and “secret sauce”. Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe marketing strategy, sales plan, licensing, and partnership plans. Opportunity sizing. Show a breakdown of the intended uses of these funds.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect. This section of the product plan details every element of the product or service that is your solution. Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding.

Product 55

Product Startup Summary Entrepreneur 55

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Chief Sales Officer (VP Sales). What you really need is a VP of Marketing and Customer Development, who can help with lead generation and honing the message, rather than an executive to manage a sales team and existing customers. See this anecdote by Steve Blank on how a hotshot sales executive can sink your startup.

Startup 97

Startup Invest CTO Hire Cloud Computing 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2010

I’m going to start a website to offer this service!” No patents filed. Maybe the solution hasn’t yet been commercialized, but a patent has been submitted by someone else, putting your idea in jeopardy. Another series of searches on Google Patents and the US Patent Office site and Free Patents Online is in order at this point.

Ideas 48

Ideas Patents Startup Google 48