Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know finds it a challenge to balance the joys of entrepreneurship against a set of frustrations they never anticipated. The norm for entrepreneurs is to be optimistic on revenue projections, and miserly on funding needs.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Due Diligence Startup Acquisition 306

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. Incorporating a business entity early through online services.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

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. Don’t attempt to scale it until you have a proven repeatable business model that predictably generates revenue.

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

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.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2013

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. In a business plan these are called marketing campaigns, which continue to rise in cost. entrepreneur startup marketing budget viral marketing business'

Viral 249

Viral Marketing Entrepreneur SEM 249

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

Many startups see initial revenue from customers, and love the fast growth, but fail to anticipate the cost of early vendor payments, monthly overhead costs, and later taxes. If you fail to pay a cash obligation when it is due, the business is technically insolvent. business entrepreneur mistakes profits startup'

Technical Review 251

Technical Review Entrepreneur Salary Finance 251

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

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. Don’t attempt to scale it until you have a proven repeatable business model that predictably generates revenue.

Startup 296

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 296

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

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. Don’t attempt to scale it until you have a proven repeatable business model that predictably generates revenue.

Startup 286

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 286

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 23, 2013

To get some perspective on this question, I recently talked with Steve Blank , a serial entrepreneur, co-author of The Start-Up Owner’s Manual, and father of the “lean start-up” movement. Finding a viable business model is not a linear, analytical process that can be guided by a business plan.

Business Model 334

Business Model Technical Review Business Plan Search 334

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

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. To secure your funding, you must establish the feasibility of your idea through proper planning and implementation. You can get a personal loan without a business plan.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

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

MARCH 6, 2021

Many startups see initial revenue from customers, and love the fast growth, but fail to anticipate the cost of early vendor payments, monthly overhead costs, and later taxes. If you fail to pay a cash obligation when it is due, the business is technically insolvent. Thinking you are profitable once money begins to flow in.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. Get a real customer and real revenue.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

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. Sizing the market, projecting revenue, and calculating break-even points are critical, even for a coffee shop.

Silicon Valley 269

Silicon Valley Missouri Technical Review Boston 269

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. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Sure, there will always some seed funding (10% of overall deal flow), but you can bet that this money goes to entrepreneurs who have been there before and won. Your friends and family are really the only answer until you have a significant revenue stream. Practice every step, including the elevator pitch to get the first meeting.

Venture Capital 252

Venture Capital IPO Elevator Pitch Initial Public Offering 252

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

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. Startups wrote business plans, generated expansive 5-year forecasts and executed (hired, spent and built) to the plan.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 7, 2024

From identifying your audience to understanding the market and mapping out your finances, entrepreneurs have found they have a lot to do before building a successful venture. But luckily, gone are the days when entrepreneurs have to spend countless hours on these beginning steps.

Artificial Inteligence 152

Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Algorithm Cofounder 152

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2012

Many startups see initial revenue from customers, and love the fast growth, but fail to anticipate the cost of early vendor payments, monthly overhead costs, and later taxes. If you fail to pay a cash obligation when it is due, the business is technically insolvent. Thinking you are profitable once money begins to flow in.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Startup Finance Cost 273

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. Many, however, don’t know how to take their small business to the next level. Productivity ratios can be applied to almost any aspect of your business. Size of gross margin.

Metrics 252

Metrics Technical Review Retention Acquisition 252

Steve Blank

MARCH 8, 2011

We were positing that 20 years of teaching “how to write a business plan” might be obsolete. Startups, are not about executing a plan where the product, customers, channel are known. Startups are in fact only temporary organizations, organized to search –not execute–for a scalable and repeatable business model.

Lean 307

Lean Business Model Customer Development Guinea 307

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There are many things a VC is looking for in reviewing your business plan but beyond things the like the quality of revenue, margins, OPEX and CAPEX there’s a really simple rule I call, “Cash In, Cash Out, Milestones Achieved.” So it’s incumbent on you to know what a smart business plan and use of cash looks like.

Burn Rate 247

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Dilution 247

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 16, 2020

Business valuation is defined as a way to determine the overall economic value of a company , and is a necessary component of a sound business plan and strategy. An Earnings Based approach to valuation is predicated on the concept that a business is only as valuable as its potential to produce value in the future.

Valuation 162

Valuation CPA Software Review .Net 162

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 17, 2020

Michael Majeed is quick to note the vast numbers of new startups that launch each year on the Canadian landscape, and he’s keenly interested in helping young business owners make the most of their opportunities, especially when it comes to their finances. While every type of business has its own financial requirements, (i.e.

Finance 217

Finance Forecast Balance Sheet Angel Investor 217

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 24, 2017

One characteristic remains: the products subscription businesses can provide, ranging from magazine subscriptions to literally anything, can appear on a customer’s doorstep every day, week, month or year. As a starting entrepreneur, you might wonder: why on earth would I want to start a subscription (box) business?

Churn Rate 149

Churn Rate eCommerce Business Model Bootstrapping 149

Up and Running

JUNE 21, 2021

New tech entrepreneurs can find it difficult to surmount the onslaught of obstacles to getting a new business off the ground. However, the challenges you face are the same ones that every successful small business owner has faced and then surmounted in some way or another. iRobot — From robots to riches.

Columbus 134

Columbus SBA SBIR Utah 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2020

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. These are also important for your product positioning in the competitor section of your business plan.

Business Plan 393

Business Plan Marketing SBA Venture Capital 393

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2017

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. Don’t attempt to scale it until you have a proven repeatable business model that predictably generates revenue.

Startup 161

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 161

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

Yet in my role as a small business advisor, I still see a singular focus on achieving repeatable processes and “cookie-cutter” manufacturing. Plan in great detail and avoid things not in the budget. Business plans should be loose frameworks to be used as guidelines rather than detailed route maps.

Stock Options 277

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 277

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. A related company may see the value of your product as complementary to theirs, and be willing to advance funding, which can be repaid when you develop your revenue stream. Friends and family. Partner with distributor or beneficiary. Commit to a major customer.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Now is the time to be an entrepreneur and create a business from your passion. The cost of rolling out a business has never been lower – it only takes a few hundred dollars to incorporate a Limited Liability Corp (LLC) online, create your own website, use social media to get attention, and you are in business.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

After listening to hundreds of startup pitches, and reading even more business plans, most new venture investors develop their own favorite list of “red flags” that signal the beginning of the end of their interest. Entrepreneurs in this category are usually dreamers. Declare a $10 million valuation with no revenue or customers.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Technical Review Equity 120

YoungUpstarts

MAY 13, 2014

These two childhood friends saw how busy and exhausted new parents were and identified the need for a convenient way to purchase diapers. In 2010, Diapers.com brought in an estimated $300 million in revenue. Thinking Aloud business planning business strategy Deksia Joshua Conran market economics market fit'

Pennsylvania 224

Pennsylvania Retention Differentiation Reputation 224

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

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 157

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 157

YoungUpstarts

MAY 25, 2018

You might say that Pat Mackaronis has never not been an entrepreneur. He got an early start as an entrepreneur at the age of 12 when he used to live near a golf course and would gather up lost golf balls from the players in the trees, ponds and lakes. All parts of what is vital in a business plan.

Developer 159

Developer Investment Bankers eCommerce Social Media 159