Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2013

Since the recent recession, and at least partially sparked by it, I’m seeing a real resurgence of entrepreneurial spirit, and more startup activity than ever before. is already well above the dot.com bubble of 15 years ago, although we have slipped a bit this year from the high point of 320 new entrepreneurs out of 100,000 adults in 2011.

IPO 273

IPO Entrepreneur Social Media Startup 273

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Startups with no exit planned will minimize investor returns. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

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

JUNE 30, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

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.

New York City 315

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 315

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, lawyers, venture capitalists, or Angels. Budding entrepreneurs and home-based businesses should be writing business plans before they start, so they understand and can manage the tasks ahead, but no outside investor need ever see the plan.

Startup 252

Startup eCommerce Hosting Bootstrapping 252

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

On a regular basis, I am approached by entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. With bootstrapping, no business plan is expected by anyone.

Business Plan 250

Business Plan Technical Review Entrepreneur Angel Investor 250

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. It’s also valuable to talk to potential investors for their views, even if you are bootstrapping the effort. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Startup studios continue to grow in popularity as incubators for new businesses. Rather than simply launching one startup, the startup studio model creates an organization whose business is launching startups. These can then be repeated and improved on with each successive startup.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Development Software Developers 188

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. dream team entrepreneur startup technical'

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Sweat Equity 239

Sweat Equity Technical Review Bootstrapping Equity 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. Tiny bootstrapped teams usually don’t have a business plan, and probably don’t need one. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Business Plan 316

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Business Plan 274

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 274

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

For a nonprofit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. Some nonprofit entrepreneurs think they can skip the whole plan, rather than just the sections on valuation, equity offered, and exit strategy. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)?

Equity 235

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 235

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

For new entrepreneurs , the startup phase is one of the most challenging yet exciting stages of launching a business. If you’re struggling to raise capital, here are six practical strategies to obtain startup funding in today’s modern and competitive business world.

Security 158

Security Angel Investor Startup Bootstrapping 158

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

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.

New York City 254

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 254

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

A few months ago, VC Cafe launched a series on startup engagement and outreach programs of large tech companies. After covering Google startup outreach and support (from first hand experience), today I’m happy to add Amazon and AWS, by looking into the variety of ways startups can engage with the commerce and cloud giant.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Startups with no exit planned will minimize investor returns. Most entrepreneurs like the startup role, but not the big-company role. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

For a nonprofit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. Some nonprofit entrepreneurs think they can skip the whole plan, rather than just the sections on valuation, equity offered, and exit strategy. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)?

Angel Investor 327

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

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.

New York City 246

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 246

ReadWriteStart

MAY 30, 2022

The Proud Owners of a Startup. Today, as the proud owner of a startup, you’re probably much better at managing your money. It might take the experience of growing and exiting two or even three startups before you know how to do that. . Let’s take a deeper look at why your startup probably doesn’t need funding.

Bootstrapping 147

Bootstrapping Startup Equity Silicon Valley 147

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

APRIL 25, 2011

Everyone says small startups require focus. Given my specialty and my goals, traditional career (or startup) theory says I should have said “no.&#. “Yes&# if this extends the runway of our startup by at least three months. Sign up for AppSumo 's daily deals specifically for web geeks & entrepreneurs.

Java 311

Java Software Review Technical Review Salary 311

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2019

Small businesses and young entrepreneurs are in a difficult position in the market. Around half of all startups fail by their fifth year. Capital can be hard to come by when you’re a starting young entrepreneur. If you haven’t been able to save up for your capital, consider bootstrapping your business. Review Your Taxes.

Software Review 191

Software Review Entrepreneur Cost Cofounder 191

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. It’s also valuable to talk to potential investors for their views, even if you are bootstrapping the effort. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2014

In my experience, that’s actually the worst way to start, for reasons I will outline here, and also the least common way, according to an authoritative survey of new startups. Eighty percent of new entrepreneurs use this approach, with only six percent using investor funding. Entrepreneurs need to start small and pivot quickly.

Bootstrapping 276

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 276

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 13, 2024

The country has some of the greatest startups to its credit. A Master of Business Administration, or MBA, is considered the golden ticket for aspiring entrepreneurs. 2 Brainstorm Startup Ideas Embarking on a journey to entrepreneurship doesn’t mean you should have an out-of-the-box idea. A record 5.5

United States 132

United States Bootstrapping Social Media Angel Investor 132

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Reinvest gross profit. Marty Zwilling.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278