Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2015

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more new business solutions than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off. Change requests must be visibly reviewed by executives frequently.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Product Software Review High Tech 104

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2013

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 110

InfoChachkie

APRIL 25, 2011

The short version of my review is: “Enchanting? It has also influenced my thoughts, as evidenced by the six infoChachkie blog entries which reference Art. At the beginning of the index, Guy writes, “I hope Robert Cialdini checks this index.” For instance, Guy refers to an entrepreneur’s venture as their “cause.”

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Blogging Class Entrepreneur 279

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

I have no reference point from which to judge whether you were higher on the y-axis 3 months ago or lower. You’ll be able to give them an update on key hires, pilot customers, key tech innovations – whatever. Investors are writing checks for dots. Tags: Startup Advice Tech Market Analysis VC Industry.

Invest 411

Invest Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 411

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

Often this situation is characterized as a “good problem to have” until you’re the technical person who needs to solve the problem—and quickly. Well, there are a number of technical reasons for applications suffering performance issues. Performance in your technology selection process. So, why does this happen?

Web 200

Web Technical Advisors Framework Technical Review 200

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

A critical stage for most first-time entrepreneurs is getting their idea developed into at least a prototype to validate their technology. Specifically, I often point to the NSF or the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for high-tech startups. Another alternative is to find an inexpensive class on grant writing.

Funding 90

Funding Technical Review Startup Research 90

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.” From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the barrier to understanding categories: Unclear frame of reference. Technical semantics and jargon. Stereotyping and biases. Information withheld.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Guide Entrepreneur Mentor 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2011

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2017

Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.” From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the barrier to understanding categories: Unclear frame of reference. Technical semantics and jargon. Stereotyping and biases. Information withheld.

Mentor 61

Mentor Technical Review Entrepreneur Guide 61

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can.

Technical Review 75

Technical Review Startup Software Review High Tech 75

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. Similarly I liked to keep myself apprised of the technical decisions we were making. As a content management system we had lots of write activities and went with Postgres.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2013

Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.” From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the understanding barrier categories: Unclear frame of reference. Technical semantics and jargon. Stereotyping and biases. Information withheld.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Technical Review Guide Mentor 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2016

Next comes the more arduous process of reviewing every applicant, looking for key attributes including the following. On a business team, the ability to communicate verbally and in writing is more important than technical depth. Get it reviewed and approved by peers, including salary and perks. Good communication skills.

Technical Review 56

Technical Review Coach Training Screening 56

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

I recall being impressed with Jeff, but I was concerned that he was creating a platform, which often requires a significant amount of capital, takes an extended amount of time to establish and can be subject to margin pressure as the enabling technologies become commoditized. Tech Diligence - Consider The Source.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 13, 2011

For the next four days if you’re in the tech industry you’re going to hear a non-stop stream of information about SXSW. They have fun & meet tons of interesting people and they confuse this with the need to do be at every major tech event. Write them in advance and request meetings. We just hung.

Conference 289

Conference Startup Technical Review Writing 289

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2012

It’s best if you send a deck so that the investor can review it for a fit before the introduction takes place. This might be somebody I know well (thus the email will come very highly referred) or somebody I just met for which the company will get the “I just met this person. I haven’t referenced him/her.

Email 359

Email Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 359

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2010

This insidious disease kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. Feature creep” (or scope creep) refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product before first delivery. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Software Review High Tech Writing 51

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. Have you reference them? That was an important part of our “social proof&# that we had built interesting technology. People call their friends. Typical questions: What do you think of management?

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. I’ve started writing up some of those sales & marketing lessons and I plan to continue to build that section out over time. Customer also buy social proof because others are acting as strong references. Please call our references.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. Write things down. We helped the write out their requirements for a system. They hired a consultant to help them with the review. We in the tech world extol the virtues of lots of product releases and rapid innovation.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. Write things down. We helped the write out their requirements for a system. They hired a consultant to help them with the review. We in the tech world extol the virtues of lots of product releases and rapid innovation.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

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. It included one firm who I asked not to call Salesforce.com as a reference (they were our largest pilot customer) and in their kindness they called Marc Benioff (the CEO) and asked his opinion. That changed very quickly.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 29, 2011

This is a technological innovation of the past decade and perhaps the most extreme case of using the actors ‘nuances.’. Interaction is removed (often), making it easier to record snippets and pieces to animate to as the scenes evolve through the on-going writing and production of the film. It is rather an outlined structure.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Technology Examples Malibu 90

InfoChachkie

JUNE 20, 2011

Due to their lack of practical experience, this delegation/efficiency tradeoff is especially acute with respect to hiring Interns. However, many of the characteristics of our Intern Programs were also applicable to non-technical positions, as follows: Meaningful Work – Treat your Interns as adults and magical things will happen.

Startup 244

Startup Software Review Technical Review Class 244

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I know you’re not a tech guy and haven’t done anything other than an HTML course you once took, but if you’re inspirational and a leader you’ll find somebody to moonlight for free to get your prototype built. Existing tech or industry executives - Do you have strong relationships in your industry?

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

Thus, you must first create the playbook by which an independent sales rep can readily sell your product, including: identifying objections and developing strategies to overcome them, creating reference accounts and establishing meaningful customer adoption. Value is created through diligent hard work. Fallacy: Yes.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Eric Greenspan

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Today, I received this email from the BBB: We’re writing to let you know that during the past month the Reliability Report that we publish on Make It Work was accessed 6 times. link] we have been unable to resolve this issue due to technical issues on your site and yet this remains on our profile. First, we remain an A-.

Santa Barbara 265

Santa Barbara Technical Advisors Email Technical Review 265

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

so compelling (other than the fact that the CEO Sean Rad is a great young technology leader and his advisers – Brian Norgard , Dan Gould and Evan Rifkin - are some of the guys I respect most in the LA tech market.). Wordpress), video (YouTube), pictures (Flickr), review sites (Yelp) and collaborative content (Wikipedia).

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

We helped the write out their requirements for a system. We had every reference client we worked with call their senior team members (we had already won a major project at Scottish Water, Anglian Water and another at a large water company in Paris, France). They hired a consultant to help them with the review. Be gracious.

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 24, 2016

The Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” has enacted major changes for healthcare providers since it was enacted at the start of President Obama’s first term. This is doubly true due to the potential fines that employers could face if too many employees opt for marketplace plans due to factors like cost.

Startup 49

Startup Competition Study Writing 49

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 19, 2012

The industry had seen unprecedented growth in the past decade due to a combination of factors, one of which was the United States’ economic recession. With the rise of digital coupons, so came a rise in consumers using their mobile devices to reference coupons visually on their smartphones. Submited by GroceryCouponNetwork.com.

Mobile 85

Mobile Software Review Statistics Technical Review 85

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. I’m writing this post to explain to entrepreneurs what you should be thinking about in terms of the VC’s you approach and the size and stage of their funds.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2012

The multi-tiered platform allows for money to be transferred between Facebook friends, the ability to click and purchase any item that you see on Facebook and through the published API’s, developers can integrate and write their own applications on top of the ZunguZ platform. Why the name? We don’t compete with banks.

Software Review 92

Software Review Social Network Platform Technical Review 92

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

Yet, despite his exceptional courtroom theatrics, you would be foolhardy to hire good old Johnnie to review your software cross-licensing agreement. The reference may be well-intentioned, but the lawyer’s allegiance may be divided between the investor and you. They make mistakes. Sometimes You Do Get What You Pay For.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

InfoChachkie

MAY 23, 2011

As noted in Alliances , startups with compelling technologies can often form an alliance of partners around their unique solutions. Once you establish a non-exclusive partnership, you can reference it when other BDCs ask for excludesivity. Write this number down. As such, deals are not exclusive, they are excludesive.

Technical Review 183

Technical Review Marketing Sales Competition 183

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

They come in the form of personal references. No rule is ever absolute no matter how it sounds when one writes a blog. I learned how to establish a technology center in India and how to manage disparate development teams (and this has drive my thoughts also about what does NOT work.). I learned about revenue recognition.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Sales Software Review 285

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

Now, suppose the number of people willing to eat a delicious but fattening cheeseburger is in decline due to awareness by Jamie Oliver and the rest of the die-hard healthy food proponents. I liked the diaper and this new drymax technology was supposed to be the biggest breakthrough in diaper technology in the last decade.

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214