Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2022

Business partners can be co-founders in a startup, multiple owners of an existing business, or a joint venture. As a former startup investor, I was often involved with due diligence on founders, and I felt that founders should do the same on co-founders, as well as investors.

Technical Review 313

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Cofounder 313

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. I bought a book and I learned how to program macros and build spreadsheets. And no one could see me as anything but a startup guy, so I started a second company and called myself a serial entrepreneur. Technical founder. You’re 42.

Cofounder 337

Cofounder Technical Cofounder San Diego Startup 337

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2020

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. Otherwise, in my experience, the startup will fail.

Leadership 326

Leadership Technical Review Development Team Review Startup 326

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 11, 2016

When they found out, they questioned my decision-making and me as an entrepreneur. How to recognize when it’s time to pull the plug on your startup idea, and why founders can’t operate afford to operate in a vacuum were the focus on today’s Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. Dan Miller. Brian Zuercher.

Columbus 249

Columbus Entrepreneur Cofounder Ohio 249

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2013

Too many entrepreneurs I know still believe that that their great idea will carry the startup, and they may even minimize their own value, especially if they have introvert tendencies. Yet most investors agree that the “idea” is worth nothing alone, and it’s the entrepreneur execution that counts.

Entrepreneur 274

Entrepreneur Technical Review Social Network Reputation 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2022

Of course, it’s no surprise that most entrepreneurs don’t have a background in hiring teams, and don’t have a budget for training or human resource consultants. Some entrepreneurs approach hiring as a test of their selling ability, while others wait for the candidate to sell them. Get interactive in candidate interviews.

Hiring 337

Hiring Technical Cofounder Cofounder Retention 337

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

This is a very common scenario when entrepreneurs pitch VCs and frankly is a very common scenario when VCs try to raise money from LPs. It’s predictable, there is no reason to get mad about it and with a well-designed play book you can overcome this much of the time. What do I do now? I call it, “Remind me why I love you again?”

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

We had a wide-ranging discussion which included discussions of Eric’s early career (including his failures), how he came to focus on the Lean Startup movement (at the encouragement of Steve Blank who was an investor in the company he co-founded) and what he wants to do next. And make sure to pick up a copy of his book.

Silicon Valley 301

Silicon Valley Lean Social Media PR 301

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. So much so that if you read Ken Auletta’s wonderful book “ Googled ” you’ll see that Larry and Sergey had for years stated they would never do paid search results. “There’s something going on in LA.”

Los Angeles 376

Los Angeles Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Seattle 376

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happy to see a new book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

YoungUpstarts

MAY 8, 2014

I wrote “ The Risk Advantage “ to help entrepreneurs face the many situations, predicaments, and crises they’ll encounter during their lives and to help formulate their leadership style and business strategy. That’s why most entrepreneurs (understandably) want to keep some cash in reserve for a rainy day.

Technical Review 254

Technical Review Entrepreneur Florida Cofounder 254

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2023

In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often find founders who have such conviction and passion for their new idea, that they can’t believe anyone could challenge it. The best entrepreneurs and business professionals learn to anticipate these push-backs before they happen, and respond calmly and effectively.

Technical Cofounder 341

Technical Cofounder Founder Cofounder Mobile 341

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2013

If you are a young startup founder, how do you find that CEO or other executive for your “dream team” to close on funding or complement your skills to kick start your company? There are several books written on this subject. Most founders are product guys. entrepreneur cofounder startup investor dream team business'

Technical Cofounder 219

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Startup Exit Strategy 219

Steve Blank

MARCH 12, 2014

. — Teaching students to think like entrepreneurs not accountants. We wanted to teach our students how to think like entrepreneurs not accountants. For the second startup, we chose a year-old web/mobile startup whose market is college bound teens, with a founder who had skipped the initial customer validation process.

Lean 335

Lean Customer Development Startup Silicon Valley 335

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Fill in gaps with expert advisors to make it whole.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Startup 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often find founders who have such conviction and passion for their new idea, that they can’t believe anyone could challenge it. The best entrepreneurs and business professionals learn to anticipate these push-backs before they happen, and respond calmly and effectively.

Technical Cofounder 315

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Mobile Differentiation 315

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs I know still believe that that their great idea will carry the startup, and they may even minimize their own value, especially if they have introvert tendencies. Yet most investors agree that the “idea” is worth nothing alone, and it’s the entrepreneur execution that counts.

Startup 331

Startup Technical Review Social Network Reputation 331

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I should note that my friend Brad Feld has written a new book on the subject that I would recommend if you want the bible on the topic. When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. There are just as many bad entrepreneurs who do bad things.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Every entrepreneur and business leader I know realizes that it takes a dedicated team to build and run a successful business, and nurturing that team is one of your most important priorities. Thus I was pleased to see a much more complete and broader perspective of employee support recommendations in a new book, “ Employees First! ”

Technical Review 353

Technical Review Cofounder Employee Global 353

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2018

There are many books written on this subject, but this classic by Chris Ducker, “ Virtual Freedom ,” manages to pack a lot more practical guidance into a small space that many others I have seen. Some entrepreneurs get outsource-happy to save costs and begin outsourcing everything and anything that lands on their desks.

Philippines 181

Philippines Bandwidth Cofounder Affiliate 181

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.

Employee 267

Employee Leadership Cofounder Matching 267

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how dramatically your own role has to evolve as you develop a solution, start a business, and expect it to scale into a successful self-managed company. At this stage, I typically find a solo entrepreneur who creates, manages projects, directs, and oversees every step in the process.

Leadership 248

Leadership Technical Review Cofounder Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2023

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Thus, unless the visionary highlights a cofounder who can take the vision and execute, I assume the worst. Cause organizational whiplash.

Partner 206

Partner Cofounder Startup Bandwidth 206

Hearpreneur

MARCH 13, 2020

We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1- To build a community. I had already been freelance writing for several years and decided to turn it into a business, creating content, ghostwriting, and teaching businesses to use storytelling and Cause Marketing through keynotes, trainings, and my books.

Entrepreneur 148

Entrepreneur LLC Technical Review Finder 148

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 20, 2021

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about the future trends entrepreneurs see in their industry and here are the responses. #1- I am a business owner who works to help entrepreneurs incorporate or form LLCs for their businesses. We’ve also seen extensive use of technology and increased remote working.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur United States Software Review Technical Review 149

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. Sloan’s book My Years with General Motors , written half a century ago, is still a readable business classic. The founder of what became General Motors was William (Billy) Durant.

Michigan 301

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 301

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 8, 2016

Most entrepreneurs are the same way: They start a new venture because they’re frustrated with existing answers to an ongoing problem. started because the company founder was upset after he struggled to find new content for his daughter to watch on YouTube. Similarly, entrepreneurs won’t find success solely because they’re passionate.

Phoenix 256

Phoenix Los Angeles .Net Matching 256

Steve Blank

AUGUST 15, 2016

I don’t recommend anyone become an entrepreneur. The tools and temperament needed to get from startup idea to startup success were the focus of the guests on today’s Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. Prior to founding Andela , he co-founded 2U , an education technology startup that went public in 2014.

Cofounder 147

Cofounder Entrepreneur Africa Sales Cycle 147

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 11, 2021

by Swapnil Shinde, Co-Founder and CEO of Zeni. If you use cash basis for your accounting, you book expenses and income when cash changes hands; with accrual basis, you record income and outgoings when they are earned or due. Swapnil Shinde is Co-Founder and CEO of Zeni , the all-in-one finance automation platform for startups.

Small Business 208

Small Business Startup Cofounder Vertical 208

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2019

To put this all in perspective, I was happy to see the guidance and recommendations on how to deal with artificial intelligence correctly in a new book, “ The Big Nine ,” by Amy Webb. AI assistants in homes are great (Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa) – but to children, they might easily be considered co-parents or teachers.

Artificial Inteligence 243

Artificial Inteligence Technical Cofounder Cofounder Security 243

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2021

If you are a young startup founder, how do you find that CEO or other executive for your “dream team” to close on funding or complement your skills to kick start your company? There are several books written on this subject. Most founders are product guys. Craft an operational plan and make it work.

Exit Strategy 407

Exit Strategy Leadership Founder Networking 407

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2019

Of course, it’s no surprise that most entrepreneurs don’t have a background in hiring teams, and don’t have a budget for training or human resource consultants. Some entrepreneurs approach hiring as a test of their selling ability, while others wait for the candidate to sell them. Get interactive in candidate interviews.

Hiring 184

Hiring Technical Cofounder Cofounder Retention 184

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

Thus, in my mentoring of potential technical entrepreneurs who have a real passion for their technology, I often recommend that they find a co-founder who can manage the marketing and execution elements of the new venture. No matter how strong your passion, a business requires results to succeed.

Cofounder 332

Cofounder Founder Partner Leadership 332