Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the kay to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage. Training and coaching. Business risks are not just development risks. Value creation. Accountability.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Look for technologies to adapt from other domains. Elon Musk with SpaceX is an example of a new business bringing in technologies from artificial intelligence and solar power to develop smart and reusable rockets to do satellite delivery and space travel. Provide outside training opportunities and hiring to promote this culture.

Artificial Inteligence 114

Artificial Inteligence Ideas Satisfaction Customer 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2023

Patents and trade secrets are more powerful advantages than missing competitive features, which might be quickly filled in as you gain traction. Make it evident that you have learned and evaluated competition from a higher perspective – meaning the evolution of industry technology and trends.

Competition 111

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 111

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Remember the transportation transitions from horses to autos to trains to airplanes. Here are some of the key ones: Patent protection in place as a barrier to entry. Investors are looking for technology, process, or business model breakthroughs, to move costs to a new level. This approach is not convincing.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

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. Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. Don’t count on contracts and non-disclosure agreements to save you.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

socalTECH

DECEMBER 31, 2018

Editor's note: As we head into the new year, we've been featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Are there any technology innovations, gadgets, devices, software, that you found most interesting in 2018? He later earned his JD/MBA degrees from UCLA.

Capital 113

Capital Venture Capital News Patents 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2018

Young entrepreneurs often are so excited by new technology or their latest invention that they forget to translate it into a value proposition that their customers or potential investors can understand and relate to. Often new technologies are seen by senior decision makers as new opportunities for litigation and hackers.

Social Network 91

Social Network Training Startup Technology 91

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

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Registered patents and other intellectual property. There is no substitute for experience and trained skills in the business area you are attacking. They seek to establish win-win relationships with all partners, including investors, and treat them all as trusted advisors, rather than win-loss opportunities.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

There are no “overrides” – for example, businesses don’t thrive just because they offer the latest technology, or because everyone wants to be “green,” or because their goal is to reduce world hunger. Think broadly here, like planes versus trains. Investors look for a sustainable competitive advantage, like a patent.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the kay to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage. Training and coaching. Business risks are not just development risks. Value creation. Accountability.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2020

Patents and trade secrets are more powerful advantages than missing competitive features, which might be quickly filled in as you gain traction. Make it evident that you have learned and evaluated competition from a higher perspective – meaning the evolution of industry technology and trends.

Competition 125

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2022

Plus you can challenge yourself to keep abreast of technology advancements in related industries, looking for a fit in your own. For example, Elon Musk, who owns many battery patents , normally kept for a competitive edge, decided to open them all to any competitors in an effort to expand the market for his electric vehicles.

Competition 139

Competition Examples Customer Custom 139

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. Are any lawsuits and challenges to intellectual property pending? How much and when can I reasonably expect a payback?

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Invest Patents 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes. These days, you can find existing patents and trademarks through Google and the US Patent Office online site without spending thousands of dollars with your favorite patent attorney. Check for intellectual property barriers in your way.

Ideas 83

Ideas Technical Review Patents Startup 83

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. Are any lawsuits and challenges to intellectual property pending? How much and when can I reasonably expect a payback?

Startup 83

Startup Technical Review Invest Patents 83

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2017

How did the company and its technology come about? He's trained many thousands of people over the decades for the program, which is now nationwide, in Canada, the United Kingdom, and around the world. They set aside what they were working on, and started working on bringing this technology to law enforcement.

Pasadena Angels 100

Pasadena Angels Pasadena Technical Review Southern California 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2020

In that critical first minute, no one needs to hear that you have a passionate dream of changing the world, introducing new disruptive technology, or a product with more features than competitors. For example, “I have patented a new tire that will double the wear mileage at half the cost.”

Sample 127

Sample Summary Startup Slides 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Registered patents and other intellectual property. There is no substitute for experience and trained skills in the business area you are attacking. They seek to establish win-win relationships with all partners, including investors, and treat them all as trusted advisors, rather than win-loss opportunities.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2009

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 133

Southern California IP Orange County Glendale 133

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

A good answer might be “We have several patents on the base technology, which is so robust that we expect to roll out new products every year for the next ten years, always staying a step ahead of our competitors.” Remember that cars compete with trains, so alternative solutions, or doing nothing, are real competition. “We

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes. These days, you can find existing patents and trademarks through Google and the US Patent Office online site without spending thousands of dollars with your favorite patent attorney. Check for intellectual property barriers in your way.

Ideas 106

Ideas Entrepreneur Technical Review Patents 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2016

Young entrepreneurs often are so excited by new technology or their latest invention that they forget to translate it into a value proposition that their customers or potential investors can understand and relate to. Often new technologies are seen by senior decision makers as new opportunities for litigation and hackers.

Social Network 58

Social Network Startup Training Technology 58

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. Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. Don’t count on contracts and non-disclosure agreements to save you.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

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. You don’t have enough hours in a day, or trained people, to succeed with lower margins in a services startup.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

A good answer might be “We have several patents on the base technology, which is so robust that we expect to roll out new products every year for the next ten years, always staying a step ahead of our competitors.” Remember that cars compete with trains, so alternative solutions, or doing nothing, are competition. “We

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

Unfortunately, too many of the technical entrepreneurs I mentor and advise are focused on their technology, and assume that the value will be self-evident to customers. Voice recognition and artificial intelligence are great technologies, but very few customers today can tell you how these make their life more enjoyable.

Technical Advisors 82

Technical Advisors Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 82

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes. These days, you can find existing patents and trademarks through Google and the US Patent Office online site without spending thousands of dollars with your favorite patent attorney. Check for intellectual property barriers in your way.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Ideas Patents Startup 58

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the key to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage. Training and coaching. Your people are the key to innovation, more so than a new technology.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

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. You don’t have enough hours in a day, or trained people, to succeed with lower margins in a services startup.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

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. You don’t have enough hours in a day, or trained people, to succeed with lower margins in a services startup.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Patents and trade secrets are more powerful advantages than missing competitive features, which might be quickly filled in as you gain traction. Make it evident that you have learned and evaluated competition from a higher perspective -- meaning the evolution of industry technology and trends.

Competition 107

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 107

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the kay to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage. Training and coaching. Business risks are not just development risks. Value creation. Accountability.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2017

A strong work ethic is great, but patents and intellectual property are critical. Fuzzy words, like “improved usability”, “paradigm shift,” and “breakthrough technology” won’t convince investors, customers or deter competitors. Are you prepared to hire and train team members required?

Metrics 58

Metrics Resource Startup Training 58

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2012

We brought together some very brilliant engineers I'd known from my former companies in the technology industry, and we built this really as something that would deliver value to the music industry. David King Lassman: I actually trained to be a musician, and went to music college. That's been put to good work in the technology space.

Startup 235

Startup Entertainment Los Angeles Ideas 235

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

It’s tempting to tell everyone about all the future potential uses of your new technology and risk confusing them, having them wait for your future or disappoint them with several poor solutions. Every business takes time to scale and penetrate a market due to organizational growth, hiring, training, brand building and customer adoption.

Startup 59

Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 59

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

Remember the transportation transitions from horses to autos to trains to airplanes. Here are some of the key ones: Patent protection in place as a barrier to entry. Investors are looking for technology, process, or business model breakthroughs, to move costs to a new level. This approach is not convincing.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93