Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2014

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for others, that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. I just finished a new book “ Invent, Reinvent, Thrive ,” by Lloyd E. Many entrepreneurs get their first taste of success running their own consultancy or practice.

Technical Review 262

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Institutional Investors 262

Steve Blank

APRIL 16, 2013

In my 21 years as an entrepreneur, I would come up for air once a month to religiously read the Harvard Business Review. To fill this gap I wrote The Four Steps to the Epiphany , a book about the Customer Development process and how it changes the way startups are built. ” Groucho Marx. Go read it. Then go do it.

Technical Review 331

Technical Review Lean Venture Capital Customer Development 331

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. Have monthly reviews with each team member.

Leadership 326

Leadership Technical Review Development Team Review Startup 326

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

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. Bill Gates was the technical genius, but Steve Ballmer, from Procter & Gamble, ran the business side of the equation.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Merger Software Review Acquisition 329

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Entrepreneur 299

Entrepreneur Technical Review Business Plan Angel Investor 299

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

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.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As I was reminded again by the classic book from Dennis Perkins, “ Leading at the Edge ,” this isn’t a new concept. He also famously said," We don't do strategic planning. It's a waste of time."

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 308

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2019

What every entrepreneur needs more than anything else, after they have built an innovative new product or service, is visibility, credibility, and trust by customers, potential employees, and future business partners. Key value elements of a good book include the following: Publishing a book defines you as an influencer and authority.

Technical Review 49

Technical Review Advertising Lead Generation Networking 49

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

A more effective approach in today’s Internet and interactive culture is to use “pull” technology to bring customers and clients to your story. Guy Kawasaki, in his classic book “ Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions ” provides some in-depth recommendations on the “how to” of pull technology. Make it fast.

Technical Review 401

Technical Review Customer Flash RSS 401

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Hearpreneur

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Technology disruption is happening at a rapid pace all around us. We asked our entrepreneurs what changes do they expect due to technology shortly, and this is what they have to say. #1- I also expect to see more technology to assist with personalized experiences at trade shows, both in person and virtually, shortly.

Technical Review 115

Technical Review Software Review Artificial Inteligence Technology 115

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Growth will slow, partly due to internal limits and partly because the company is starting to bump up against the limits of the markets it serves.” And so do entrepreneurs who are quick to pivot to new businesses or to sell in an acquihire. It might be for technical reasons or it might be for customer adoption reasons.

Silicon Valley 390

Silicon Valley Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 390

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

In case you don’t know – as VCs we have have 2 sets of customers: LPs (limited partners) who invest money in our funds and entrepreneurs (who we in turn give money to and help support them in building businesses we hope will be valuable). Who else is going to tell a VC if he got a bad reference from an entrepreneur or fellow VC?

Software Review 341

Software Review Customer Technical Review LP 341

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others. In general I try to focus on the positives and tell entrepreneurs what works, but sometimes it’s important to reiterate the common things that simply don’t work.

Technical Review 274

Technical Review Entrepreneur Advisory Board Silicon Valley 274

Hearpreneur

APRIL 28, 2024

Technology innovation is driving advancements in various industries, shaping our world today. From AI and machine learning to biotechnology, technology is revolutionizing our lives. Entrepreneurs embrace these innovations to unlock possibilities, making them a cornerstone of modern entrepreneurship.

Technical Review 128

Technical Review Technology Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence 128

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Gerber wrote a best-selling business book called The E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. Some pundits argue that the E-Myth principle is now outdated, due to the instant access to information via the Internet, pervasive networking via social media, and courses on entrepreneurship at all levels of education.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Media Media 269

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. He found that the return was far greater than the cost of donated shoes, and his team became intensely loyal, due to the opportunity to travel and deliver shoes in other countries.

Technical Review 357

Technical Review Green Social Media Lean 357

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

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. Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” Nail the solution. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As I was reminded again by the classic book from Dennis Perkins, “ Leading at the Edge ,” this isn’t a new concept. He also famously said," We don't do strategic planning. It's a waste of time."

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 269

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. Direct customer-facing non-technical roles should be the last ones outsourced. with experience.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Employee 308

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. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes.

Technical Review 369

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 369

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

From my consulting with entrepreneurs in Europe and other countries, I’m convinced that we all could benefit from adapting to meet their environments. I found these challenges and opportunities outlined well in a classic book, “ Out-Innovate ,” by Alexandre Lazarow. Build for sustainability and resilience, as well as growth.

Global 345

Global Silicon Valley Marketing Indonesia 345

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

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate the myth that focusing on profits is ALWAYS the right answer and then I hear many entrepreneurs (and certainly many “normals”) repeating the same mantra. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused.

Startup 418

Startup Revenue Technical Review Flash 418

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

As is often said if you don’t get at least a few fellow VCs (and entrepreneurs) scratching their heads you may not be funding ideas with enough upside. Periodically we do portfolio reviews to evaluate whether we have enough diversified risk across the fund. We look at stage, geography and of course sector. 6SensorLabs.

Technical Review 362

Technical Review America United States Partner 362

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

” The local kennels were full as many people had pre-booked for vacations. They can read reviews, see pictures and even talk to the family before confirming. I then clicked on reviews, looked at pictures and read the owners descriptions of what they were looking for. ” Booked it. “Oh s**t.”

San Diego 344

San Diego Technical Review Seed Capital Sacramento 344

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

Based on my own experience in both large and small companies, I agree it can be done, with the essential principles outlined in a new book, “ Winning Now, Winning Later ,” by David M. In my experience, even in startups, longer-term strategy often gets pushed off the agenda due to current challenges. Don’t make growth a big-bang event.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ,” but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. 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. Everyone in the business world has heard of the classic bestseller by Geoffrey A.

Technical Review 375

Technical Review Startup Dilution Early Stage 375

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are looking to the Internet as an opportunity to get rich quick, instead of a place where you can start a business you love, for very little capital and minimal technical expertise. There are also many other good sources of guidance, including the classic book “ Click Millionaires ” by Scott Fox.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Software Review Internet Revenue 312

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

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

MARCH 30, 2020

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others. In general I try to focus on the positives and tell entrepreneurs what works, but sometimes it’s important to reiterate the common things that simply don’t work.

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Advisory Board Silicon Valley Due Diligence 314

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2013

The one word the best entrepreneurs never accept. I used to ask Deborah to book my travel plans in France and Germany were I went 1-2 times / month. There were online tools to book this stuff but the Internet booking sites were early. I had a business class seat due to status of flying a lot and my family was in economy.

Sacramento 416

Sacramento Baltimore Germany DC 416

ReadWriteStart

JULY 7, 2021

Why is an Uber for courier app a viable business idea for entrepreneurs? The entrepreneurs can reduce their operational costs significantly – by utilizing advanced technologies like autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots for courier delivery. Multiple pick-up points along the route ensure the timely delivery of parcels.

Technical Review 163

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Demand Social Media 163

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

It seems inherent in the mind of most first-time entrepreneurs that it was their idea, and they must do all the work themselves to make it happen. I saw this challenge highlighted well in a new book, “ Leadership Skills that Inspire Incredible Results ,” by Fred Halstead. You need to divide and conquer.

Leadership 241

Leadership Technical Review Due Diligence Founder 241

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2019

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Marketing is everything these days.

Marketing 244

Marketing Entrepreneur Technical Review Social Media 244