Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

Perhaps sparked by the recent pandemic, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. Real entrepreneurs always look ahead and learn from problems resolved.

Startup 338

Startup Technical Review Restful Partner 338

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2023

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. The importance and the specifics of practical team leadership were re-confirmed to me a while back in the classic book, “ Unlocked ,” by Robert S. Otherwise, in my experience, the startup will fail.

Leadership 318

Leadership Technical Review Technical Cofounder Development Team Review 318

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Phil Buckley, in his book “ Change With Confidence ,” provides practical answers to fifty of the biggest questions that keep change leaders up at night.

Metrics 387

Metrics Technical Review Leadership Framework 387

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2020

Entrepreneurs inherently understand that they have to be the initial leader of their startup, but often they don’t have the experience or the training to know where their leadership competencies lie, or how to build a leadership team. Mature Helpers are considerate and genuinely the most sensitive and caring of all the leadership types.

Leadership 433

Leadership Startup Restful Entrepreneur 433

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2021

I also enjoyed the classic book, “ 63 Innovation Nuggets for Aspiring Innovators ,” by George E. Some of the most common innovation myths that Barbee mentions or I have encountered in my work with entrepreneurs around the world include the following: True innovation can only come from R&D and geniuses.

Technical Review 431

Technical Review Leadership Operations Networking 431

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2021

Every entrepreneur with a new technology tells me that his innovation will be industry-disrupting, meaning that it will render the existing technology obsolete, and create a new market. I suspect that several of these will surprise most entrepreneurs as being counter-intuitive to their thinking.

Non-Compete 394

Non-Compete Technical Review Forecast Social Media 394

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Money allows entrepreneurs to execute a flawed business plan far too long, rather than stay focused on the market and adapt.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2022

Thus it behooves every entrepreneur to start watching these things more carefully from the very start. In the classic book, “ Fish Can’t See Water ,” Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Incidentally, I love that book title, which seems to me applicable to most aspects of business (and even people), as well as business culture.

Dilution 355

Dilution Startup Merger Flash 355

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I believe that the sooner every entrepreneur and brand builder adapts to this emerging trend, the sooner they will find success.

Customer 433

Customer B2C Technical Review Social Media 433

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe that a great idea alone will assure business success. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. Entrepreneurs set the price of their solution based on their costs, and their perception of value.

Sales 348

Sales Startup Bootstrapping Technical Review 348

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Every entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. They know they need to act proactively, but still are often blindsided by a new competitor coming out of the blue with a future they never imagined.

Framework 402

Framework Engineer Leadership Revenue 402

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Rose, according to his classic book, “ Angel Investing.” Neither does David S.

Angel Investor 361

Angel Investor Accredited Investor IRR Angel Groups 361

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

In his classic book, “ The Leadership Capital Index ,” Dave Ulrich, a best-selling author, business consultant, and business school professor, provides some real insights and metrics on what makes up the elements of goodwill in the minds of top valuation experts. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved.

Technical Review 385

Technical Review Salary Metrics Matching 385

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ,” but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. Everyone in the business world has heard of the classic bestseller by Geoffrey A. In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers.

Technical Review 375

Technical Review Startup Dilution Early Stage 375

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2022

Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the key barrier-to-understanding elements: Unclear frame of reference. The responsibility is on you the entrepreneur to decipher the receiver reference, and do the “translation” of your message to them. Information withheld.

Semantic 342

Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 342

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

I found a good summary of the most common mistakes in a classic book by Kelly Clifford, “ Profit Rocket ,” written primarily to help you on the other side of the equation – skyrocket your profits. Entrepreneurs should sign every check and manage cash personally, rather than delegate this task to anyone.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. In his classic book “ The 3rd American Dream ,” thought leader Suresh Sharma summarizes the large corporate accomplishments of the 19 th and 20 th centuries, and then lays out the potential of a new entrepreneurial business ecosystem for the 21 st century.

Artificial Inteligence 315

Artificial Inteligence Offshore Merger Technical Review 315

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

What they should be doing is hiring only “entrepreneurs,” meaning people who think and act as if this is their own business. This commitment to hire people who think like entrepreneurs, or instill an “owner’s mindset” in every employee, should be a high priority in every business.

Startup 337

Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

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

JANUARY 6, 2023

Many passionate entrepreneurs fight to add more features into their new products and services, assuming that more function will make the solution more appealing to more customers. YouTube did it with videos, Instagram did it with photos, and Amazon did it with books. In some environments product focus is not the most important element.

Startup 287

Startup Bandwidth Distribution Agile 287

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. I like the guidance from marketing coach David Newman’s classic book “ Do It! Many entrepreneurs fear giving away their very best insights, strategies, or tools via social media – it might diminish the demand and the profit.

Marketing 353

Marketing Technical Review Social Media Technology 353

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.

Artificial Inteligence 436

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

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

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2021

To complement local face-to-face networking, you can always use one of the many online matchmaking sites that have sprung up in the last few years, like CoFoundersLab and Startbee (think eHarmony™ for entrepreneurs, or Match.com meets LinkedIn). There are several books written on this subject.

Exit Strategy 407

Exit Strategy Leadership Founder Networking 407

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2023

One of the things I’ve learned in working with aspiring entrepreneurs is that managing and leading a team is a scary venture into the unknown for many people, even if they have worked as a business professional for years. As an entrepreneur, executive, or team member, you are most impacted by the people you gather around you.

Management 291

Management Leadership Demand Founder 291

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2021

I see the commonalities detailed well in the classic book, “ Extreme Teams ,” by Robert Bruce Shaw. Shaw is a consultant specializing in team performance, and he brings real experience building and working with extreme teams in companies like the ones mentioned above.

Developer 387

Developer Startup Social Media Internet 387

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. Almost any startup can start with Excel, and move to open-source data analysis tools, including Python or RStudio.

Analytics 303

Analytics Hiring Open Source Employee 303

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. Great business leaders, including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett , are constantly asking questions and reading books about new technologies, new cultures, and new business opportunities.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Technical Review Leadership Metrics 284

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

Even if you have booked an hour with a VC, you should plan to talk only for the first fifteen minutes. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation.

Technical Review 369

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 369

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2022

In my work with entrepreneurs, I have concluded that finding and communicating that purpose is often more important than the solution offered. I found real insights into this strategy, along with specific sources of purpose inspiration in a new book, “ Leading With Heart ,” by John Baird and Edward Sullivan.

Technical Review 357

Technical Review Green Social Media Lean 357

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2023

The challenge for every entrepreneur and every business is to understand the pragmatics of identifying and reacting to what their customers love and what they hate. I found some excellent guidance on the specifics in the classic book, “ What Customers Crave ,” by Nicholas J. Satisfied is far from memorable.

Social Media 328

Social Media Customer Media Employee 328

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

MAY 25, 2022

I was pleased to see this approach highlighted as well in a new book for startups, “ Zero to IPO ,” by Frederick Kerrest. In my experience, most technical entrepreneurs have little interest or expertise in the financials, or marketing. Thus they benefit hugely from finding a partner who has skills and interest in the these domains.

Technical Review 313

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Cofounder 313