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. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Given the stock market was buying “the story and vision” of anything internet, inflated expectations were more important than traditional metrics like customers, growth, revenue, or heaven forbid, profits. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 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. Commit to a major customer. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

View from Seed

APRIL 14, 2020

Business Models and Sectors. The public markets have clearly rewarded traditional, software based businesses over different business models, and that effect was starting to work its way through the earlier stage ecosystem. In a FOLD world, this is going to continue.

Early Stage 374

Early Stage Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence 374

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2020

Solution and business model innovation require pushing the limits. Focus on the customer for repeated success. The basic premise is that if a startup expects paying customers to use its products or services, it should expect no less from its own team. A business model is not an after-thought.

Technical Review 324

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Business Model 324

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. Commit to a major customer. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

I suggest looking for painful problems to solve, rather than “easier to use” or “nice to have” solutions, for customers with money. Customers line up to believe and buy from people who are viewed as leaders or experts relative to a specific solution. Collaborate with customers to tune your solution.

Merger 386

Merger Software Review Acquisition Social Media 386

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business. In other words, inventions are necessary but not sufficient to create real value for investors and customers. Here are some reality checks you should apply: It takes a business team to build a business.

Technical Review 391

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 391

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

As a long-time mentor to new entrepreneurs and business owners, I have noticed that many no longer associate more fulfillment and satisfaction with more money, power, and success. In fact, customers today also seem more attracted to companies with a higher purpose than profit.

Business Model 432

Business Model Entrepreneur Cost Customer 432

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

But other businesses like law firms, contracting firms, real estate firms, will take hits, too. Your customers will no longer be your customers. Out of business? Your customers start buying. Days 3 and 4: Prepare new business model and operating plan. Your revenue plans are no longer valid.

South Korea 334

South Korea Salary Business Model China 334

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

He lays out seven thinking strategies for both entrepreneurs and employees that will make them business winners: Focus on the customers at all times. Corporate thinkers often become preoccupied with doing their jobs and following rules, not pleasing customers. Think like your ideal customer seeking value.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Business Model Employee Sales 294

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

For success these days, the purpose better focus on people, and solve a real problem for customers. Building successful businesses still requires the ability to find and inspire the best people who “have what you haven't,” whether that be skills, knowledge, connections, or funding. Master-mind alliance. Imagination. Enthusiasm.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 315

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2022

Today more than ever, the evidence is clear that business people need to find and communicate a purpose that goes beyond making a profit, in order to ensure customer engagement, as well as your own, and drive results in the marketplace. As you grow, so will your team and customers.

Technical Review 357

Technical Review Green Social Media Lean 357

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

What does the business do? How does it meet customers’ needs? One way to approach that last question is to use this simple model: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) How will your business reach prospects? Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) How much money will your business generate from each converted customer?

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

To be clear, I define a product specification as the technical definition of your product, to be used for development and testing purposes, with a quick business summary for context. Use non-fuzzy terms to quantify customer value. Provide specifics on the customer business model.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

For success these days, the purpose better focus on people, and solve a real problem for customers. Building successful businesses still requires the ability to find and inspire the best people who “have what you haven't,” whether that be skills, knowledge, connections, or funding. Master-mind alliance. Imagination. Enthusiasm.

Technical Review 297

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 297

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

Having only a large capital base and distribution channels, with no innovation, is not a sustainable business model. Non-industrial large organizations cling to outdated business models. The new corporate model is a distributed entrepreneurial model. Competitive advantages are rapidly vaporizing on these.

Artificial Inteligence 315

Artificial Inteligence Offshore Merger Technical Review 315

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2022

These can be as simple as how to handle customer over-payments, or more complex in how to handle the choices every employee may face between conflicting customer and company interests. Business ethics are best left to philosophers and academics. This is usually an excuse for not developing ethical policies and practices.

Software Review 291

Software Review Offshore Entrepreneur Leadership 291

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Implement a modern real business model.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

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. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

There are currently 488 businesses in the IV therapy industry in the United States, indicating a thriving market. To stand out, new entrants must focus on creating a robust business model that prioritizes patient safety and adheres to healthcare regulations.

Mobile 94

Mobile United States Technical Review Business Model 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Customer support is more than handling exceptions.

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 10, 2021

Creating unique customer experiences sets you apart, signaling to customers that they’re appreciated and essential to shaping the success of your business. The post Customer Experience-Based Business Models Lead To Greater Customer Loyalty appeared first on Young Upstarts.

Business Model 264

Business Model Customer Management 264

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Implement a modern real business model.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2023

People respond to positives, such as new growth, versus problems implying costs and loss of customers. Also, being transparent in business and open with communication breeds trust. In every business, trust is the foundation of great teamwork, especially in dealing with constraints and challenges.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Partner Matching Channel 277

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

My simple answer is that they keep their focus on customers, rather than technology. Jeff Bezos has kept his focus on customers. In my view, every startup in today’s world would do well to adopt a management system with the same key objectives: Start with a customer-obsessed business model.

Global 308

Global Marketing Technical Review Algorithm 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2023

No matter how well your business seems to have worked for you up to this point, you can be certain that it will need to be heavily transformed for tomorrow’s new world-wide economy and no industry sector boundaries. In my experience, there are still only a few people who like to read numbers and understand them, aside from data analysts.

Partner 350

Partner Operations Metrics Leadership 350

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 15, 2019

Once upon a time every great organization was a scrappy startup willing to take risks – new ideas, new methods, new customers, targets, and mission. They’ll use government regulation and lawsuits to keep out new entrants with more innovative business models. Companies Run on Process.

Government 322

Government Technical Review Acquisition Metrics 322

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

An effective tool I see used more and more, as a prelude to a more detailed business plan, is the Business Model Canvas , first introduced by Alexander Osterwalder back in 2008. In my experience as a new business advisor, a business is nothing until people are aligned and work in sync. Customer relationships.

Business Model 334

Business Model Intellectual Property Angel Investor Channel 334

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Providing business leadership is a challenge under the best of circumstances, but it is especially difficult in times of market and customer crises. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic caught every company, large and small, off guard, and at least a third of small businesses did not survive. Make sure your team trusts you today.

Leadership 305

Leadership Business Model Customer Small Business 305

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Message delivery must be customized for each investor. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors. A proven business model, ready to scale, is particularly attractive.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2023

Solution and business model innovation require pushing the limits. Focus on the customer for repeated success. The basic premise is that if a startup expects paying customers to use its products or services, it should expect no less from its own team. A business model is not an after-thought.

Technical Review 229

Technical Review Due Diligence Business Model Demand 229

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan.

Technical Review 345

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 345

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

So here are my own top recommendations on how to think about your business aspirations, and put innovation in perspective among all the other priorities you will need to achieve success and satisfaction with your role on the road ahead. We are looking for people who can lead a team and turn any idea into a business.

Artificial Inteligence 286

Artificial Inteligence Technology Leadership Business Model 286

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 4, 2023

This will allow you to identify opportunities, challenges, customer preferences, and emerging trends. Market research involves gathering information about potential customers in your target area, competitor strategies, pricing scales, and demand patterns amongst other things.

Balance Sheet 145

Balance Sheet Technical Review Business Model Business Plan 145