Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

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. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. A business plan is for you first, not investors.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2021, from 280 to 360 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 10, 2023

In the realm of great business ideas, a well-crafted business plan takes center stage. Beyond that, it acts as your business's guiding roadmap, ensuring you stay aligned with your goals as your operations adapt to evolving circumstances. Thanks to Evan Tunis, Florida Healthcare Insurance ! #2-

Business Plan 136

Business Plan Jordan Entrepreneur Florida 136

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 27, 2020

The most successful entrepreneurs have always used the realities of the environment around them as a basis for exploring opportunities and developing new ideas that actually provide value for people and are structured to create profit. The post The Next Entrepreneurs And Startups appeared first on Young Upstarts. Healthcare.

Entrepreneur 246

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup LLC 246

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. 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. Just make sure you can fill in all the details.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business.

Technical Review 391

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 391

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. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

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. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point. Nail the business model.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

YoungUpstarts

MAY 12, 2020

by Mario Peshev, author of “ 126 Steps to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur: The Entrepreneurship Fad and the Dark Side of Going Solo “ Running a business alone is challenging, but this is usually not the end goal for beginner entrepreneurs. How is a business plan usually structured?

Vertical 264

Vertical Distribution Business Plan Software Development 264

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. Experience and connections in your business area. Textbook knowledge and academic degrees don’t count here.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2020

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. Focus is the art of limiting your scope to the key function that really matters for the majority of customers.

Startup 424

Startup Bandwidth Distribution Agile 424

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. In reality, it is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of the business and the team.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

This creates a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to start an Airbnb. Before you jump into starting your own vacation rental business, you’ll need a business plan. This article will cover the steps to create your Airbnb business plan, along with some tips to run it successfully. Need more guidance?

Business Plan 110

Business Plan Software Review Technical Review Forecast 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. As with most business and personal interactions, first impressions tend to become lasting ones. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 11, 2016

When they found out, they questioned my decision-making and me as an entrepreneur. And not keep investors informed about changes to your business model can have serious consequences. He was also on the team that wrote the business plan for BlackGirlsCode. They questioned my decision-making and me as an entrepreneur.

Columbus 249

Columbus Entrepreneur Cofounder Ohio 249

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

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. Others will work hard on a business plan, and then mail it indiscriminately to every potential investor they can find on the Internet.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

In my experience as an angel investor for new startups, I’m always surprised by how many entrepreneurs are looking for funding without outside advisors. Especially if you are a first-time business owner, the payback for this initiative is well worth the effort and cost. Remember that people make a business, more often than a product.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

Don’t forget to add all pesky “overhead” costs, with fixed elements, like rent, insurance, and administration, and variable elements, like delivery, customer support, and commissions. If you expect payment in 30 days, many customers will stretch this period to 45 days or even 90. This difference will kill your profit margin.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

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. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. A business plan is for you first, not investors.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2019

Image via Wikipedia From the advice I hear these days, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to be in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, or one of the few other financial hubs around the world. Being an entrepreneur anywhere without fear likely means your business is at risk. All businesses require collaboration.

Silicon Valley 269

Silicon Valley Missouri Technical Review Boston 269

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2022

In my experience as an angel investor to startups, goodwill disagreements are perhaps the most common reason that you will fail to close interested investors as an entrepreneur. The same goes for business deals that fail during acquisitions or when it is time for you to retire. Quality of your technical and business teams.

Valuation 368

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 368

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 7, 2024

Companies are turning to AI to streamline their operations, notably in areas like customer service, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention. However, the utility of AI goes beyond that; it proves beneficial even in the pre-launch phase of a business. Nowadays, they can leverage AI solutions to create a business plan.

Artificial Inteligence 152

Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Algorithm Cofounder 152

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2019

Unfortunately, even today, building a good product doesn’t guarantee you a business. Most entrepreneurs realize and budget for the additional costs of incorporating a business, marketing, equipment costs, and manufacturing. Then there is the need for more substantial business accounting, database, and social media monitoring.

Cost 264

Cost Founder Software Review Startup 264

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2021

The biggest challenge for every entrepreneur and every startup today is to get noticed and remembered in today’s information overload. The number of entrepreneurs worldwide is huge, starting an estimated 50 million new businesses per year, or 137,000 per day. Stories relay events, and these events have to happen somewhere.

Elevator Pitch 313

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Boston Sales 313

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves. Even if you feel that all is well, here are some thoughts and actions I would strongly recommend: Whole team must know the plan. Contact key vendors and existing customers.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 380

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. As with most business and personal interactions, first impressions tend to become lasting ones. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Steve Blank via Flickr by jdlasica 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. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

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. Focus is the art of limiting your scope to the key function that really matters for the majority of customers.

Startup 287

Startup Bandwidth Distribution Agile 287

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Nevertheless, we can all benefit by understanding a collective view from investors on the high-risk elements that every new business has faced historically based on the team, as well as in the marketplace. If you want U.S.

New York City 315

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 315

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2019

As an advisor to business owners, and an occasional angel investor, my job is to separate the actual challenges from the common misconceptions that distract many promising entrepreneurs while building the leadership team required for your solution, marketing, and finance success. Sharing your business ownership increases the risk.

Bandwidth 246

Bandwidth Software Review Salary Angel Investor 246

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. With fewer than 10 employees but almost $2-billion dollars in the bank, they plan on jumping right in. Most entrepreneurs today don’t remember the Dot-Com bubble of 1995 or the Dot-Com crash that followed in 2000. ” Fire, Ready, Aim. And it may work.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2021

The outdoor industry wasn’t helping itself, so he did what all entrepreneurs do: start a business to solve the problem. It’s difficult to be an entrepreneur — whether you’re a recent college graduate or have managed multiple companies. It’s why the average age of an entrepreneur is 42 years old. Solve the rest later.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Lean Colorado Engineer 132

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

You envision your business as the next Uber or Spotify, yourself as the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, reaching that prestigious ‘unicorn’ startup status in record time. Like most entrepreneurs, you’ve probably mapped out the business plan, dreamed up the layout and you’re already snapping up domains and emailing developers with your plan.

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2021

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Lack of clear objectives/goals. You don’t need surprises or disappointments either. Being unprepared for the next steps.

Software Review 307

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Early Stage 307

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

We interviewed Mr. Abraham Gin, an entrepreneur, business coach, and CEO of Gin Consulting Group , which provides unique leadership development and training platforms. Abraham serves his clients with both forward-looking business growth strategy and digital marketing through leadership applications partners.

Leadership 167

Leadership Founder Technical Review Entrepreneur 167

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. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a cofounder or two. You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. Experience and connections in your business area. Textbook knowledge and academic degrees don’t count here.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247