Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2020

One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. If you have a good idea, but haven’t started yet, only friends, family and fools will likely be interested. This is all about setting a credible current value on your startup -- not future value.

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Startup Equity Invest Funding 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2022

Some people are not cut out to be entrepreneurs. I’ve hit this before, but I still hear from too many unhappy entrepreneurs. I’ve hit this before, but I still hear from too many unhappy entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs do not function well in traditional organizations and do not like being in the conventional management hierarchy.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Organization Ideas 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Every business professional I know, or have met in my consulting role, has given serious thought to the alternative of switching to the entrepreneur lifestyle , pursuing a long-standing dream, and controlling their own destiny. You have to cater to many different user categories.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Ideas Satisfaction Customer 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2020

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Resource Startup Guide 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2022

By most definitions of the term, an entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business, incorporating innovative changes to existing products, services, business models, and creating new markets. One way of identifying the right characteristics and approaches is to take a hard look at entrepreneurs who have done it.

Examples 131

Examples Entrepreneur Technology Resource 131

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. But while competition remains fierce, the advancement and accessibility of smart solutions are making it easy than ever for startups to find their feet. VPN Startup tool: VPN Price: Free Hide.me While Hide.me

Tool 128

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. As an angel investor, I quickly look behind the idea or solution, to gauge the mindset and the leadership capabilities of the entrepreneur. People who shape the future, like Steve Jobs, did this.

Entrepreneur 118

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network SpaceX 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. For many years, startups featuring all-electric vehicles fell into this stage of the business lifecycle.

Marketing 174

Marketing Startup Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2022

One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. If you have a good idea, but haven’t started yet, only friends, family and fools will likely be interested. This is all about setting a credible current value on your startup -- not future value.

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Funding Startup Equity Invest 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2020

The way to start is with a sample financial model, available from many sources on the Internet, such as over 200 downloadable free from the Corporate Finance Institute website. For maximum value with the least effort, focus on only the “what ifs” that are the highest priority in your mind for your own startup. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 123

Startup Pricing Sample Customer 123

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Reducing consumption by expanding the notion of the rental economy and giving people access to tools and equipment has been something of a startup holy grail for some time. Unlike Home Depot, The Shed touts its presence in eight categories. The Los Angeles-based startup Joymode was attempting to do much the same thing.

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Startup Product Demand Los Angeles 285

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

The realm of an entrepreneur is all about change, but in my experience as a mentor to business founders, I hear too much about incremental change, and not enough about revolutionary change. Uber and Airbnb are examples of startups that started the sharing movement, but quickly grew to challenge large conglomerates.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Social Media Artificial Inteligence Examples 103

socalTECH

JULY 16, 2014

For the last few years, startup accelerator MuckerLab has been helping very early stage companies define and grow their businesses, using the accelerator model and small investments to get companies to the next stage. What we''ve done now is ramp up the size of our seed investments, and started to do more of them.

Startup 206

Startup Capital Incubator Invest 206

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2021

Creating a startup, or managing any business, is all about problem solving. Entrepreneurs who are great problem solvers within any business are the best prepared to solve their customers’ needs effectively as well. Many entrepreneurs like to jump into solution mode immediately, even before they understand the issue.

Startup 156

Startup Entrepreneur Sales Course 156

TechCrunch LA

MAY 14, 2020

Ettitude , the Los Angeles-based, direct-to-consumer startup making sustainable bedding and sleepwear from bamboo fibers, has raised a sustainably sized round that should keep the company going even in the face of an economic recession. she relocated and took her company with her. So Yu turned to AngelList, which is where she found Dey.

Sample 184

Sample Startup Los Angeles Sales 184

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

Joining Initialized in the round is the serial entrepreneur Moise Emquies, whose previous clothing lines, Ella Moss and Splendid, were acquired by the fashion holding company VFC in 2017. “We start interviewing different talent, speaking with their agents and their managers. We create an entity that we spin out. The Honest Co.

Incubator 184

Incubator Develop Development Los Angeles 184

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2021

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. As a startup investor, I view any evidence of a victim mentality as the kiss of death. Accountability starts by acknowledging reality.

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Startup Class Entrepreneur Coach 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

Anyone who works with entrepreneurs will tell you that all are different. His framework seems to be picking up some traction, and is already in use informally by several entrepreneurship platforms, universities, and even high school programs. The Builder loves building a business from the ground up. Opportunist. Specialist.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Framework Mentor Web 134

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. I had to say it. I know I do.

Competition 296

Competition Entrepreneur Startup GRP Partners 296

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Customer Custom 174

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. the link is here.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2015

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active Angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Startup Marketing Customer 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. A strong team has one or more executives who have run a startup before in the current business domain.

Startup 126

Startup Sites Technical Review Social Media 126

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. When entrepreneurs become prisoners of hope, they look for others to solve their problem.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 107

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!”

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

No business or startup wants to be the next Myspace, or even the next RIM (BlackBerry), where changes in the marketplace were subtle. For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

Recently I’ve been debating with a number of young startup companies that are raising money in the next few months, “what is the right about of capital to raise at a startup?&#. I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs try to do things on the cheap. Google suddenly makes your product category free). -

Startup 319

Startup Venture Capital Capital Competition 319

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2022

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. On the social media side, the stakes are just as great.

Media 118

Media Tips Social Media Startup 118

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. These points may sound obvious, but the process is certainly contrary to the popular “shoot from the hip” approach that is practiced by some entrepreneurs. The team is the same. The company's market is the same.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 92

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute: Tenacity. Well obviously that’s meaningless if your startup idea sucks.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Startup Outsource Development Customer 306

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2023

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members.

Resource 107

Resource Entrepreneur Startup Guide 107

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage. Product development at this stage is the process of scaling up for manufacturing and marketing rollout. Business commercialization. Marty Zwilling

Resource 102

Resource Ideas Funding Research 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2014

If I had a dollar for every time someone has said to me, “One of these days, I’m going to start my own company,” I’d be rich. If this day ever comes for all these people, we will be overrun by startups. So I did my own informal survey of business books, to gather the key reasons why most people never start the journey.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Organization 102

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

Often when startups who have raised venture capital need another round of financing they will turn to their existing investors to give them money before raising from outsiders. It starts as a debt instrument (e.g. They likely are extending payments to debtors way beyond that expected payment terms and start damaging supplier relations.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

Having the best solution is a good start these days, but a solution alone is no longer enough to keep customer attention and loyalty. Start with feedback from real customers, set measurable objectives, and make sure rewards and incentives are tempered by customer experiences, rather than only internal thresholds. Marty Zwilling

Customer 106

Customer Custom Startup Competition 106

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2022

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. This is a tough one to accomplish, but it has paid off handsomely for the first to win in other categories, such as Amazon Kindle and Netflix. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there are over 34 million registered developers in 2022.

Develop 138

Develop Development Platform Mobile 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2021

For most entrepreneurs, their current business is not where they intend to stay until they die. Warren Buffett and Rupert Murdoch clearly fall into this category. Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey are business examples in this category. Many give up everything to stay in the saddle. Which category will you fall into?

Company 164

Company Companies Tips .Net 164