Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Product development. For a great idea person, the product details keep changing for the better, but nothing ever gets finished. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 237

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 237

Up and Running

JULY 6, 2016

Often, a business plan introduces a new technology that requires some explaining. On one hand, as a reader of business plans for investors, I see way too many business plans that ask a reader to wade neck-deep through technology to get to the business. It’s a business plan, not a term paper or thesis.

Technical Review 72

Technical Review Software Review Business Plan Development Team Review 72

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Marketing should start before product development. No startup can afford to do these serially.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Up and Running

MAY 2, 2011

Tweet Your business plan is the foundation of your business. It’s also an invaluable tool when it comes time to apply for a business loan. When lenders ask for a business plan, they are looking specifically for the following items: History of the business. About the Author.

Business Plan 92

Business Plan SBA Revenue Finance 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2011

Starting a business is a lot like starting a marriage. Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Or the economy has taken a sudden turn for the worse, so your high-end product no longer has a market. But all too soon, reality sets in.

Startup 245

Startup Software Developers Software Development Business Model 245

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2013

Starting a business is a lot like starting a marriage. Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Or the economy has taken a sudden turn for the worse, so your high-end product no longer has a market. But all too soon, reality sets in.

Founder 250

Founder Startup Software Development Software Developers 250

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2012

Starting a business is a lot like starting a marriage. Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Or the economy has taken a sudden turn for the worse, so your high-end product no longer has a market. But all too soon, reality sets in.

Software Developers 229

Software Developers Software Development Business Model Product Development 229

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 15, 2009

I have about 11 years in the technology sector including roles doing market research, sales and product development. My focus has been marketing strategy and product development. I’m currently working with several startups, helping them launch new web businesses. Most people think they can do product design.

Los Angeles 179

Los Angeles Southern California Management Product 179

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

He nails the current key startup parameters, including the following: Crafting a lean business plan as your road map. The days of lengthy, text-heavy, business plan documents prepared by expensive experts are behind us. Establishing your brand with interactive social media. The cost of social media done well is low.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

Develop your business plan. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Product development process.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how dramatically your own role has to evolve as you develop a solution, start a business, and expect it to scale into a successful self-managed company. Thus my job as a small business advisor really is really more about getting you developed than perfecting the business.

Leadership 248

Leadership Technical Review Cofounder Social Media 248

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

The Customer Development process says preserve your cash by not hiring anyone in sales and marketing until the founders turn hypotheses into facts and you have found product/market fit. This “get out of the building” activity is the Customer Discovery step of the Customer Development Model.

Lean 263

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 263

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 17, 2021

Big data is a prominent subject for many businesses around the world, and for those of you who operate entirely online enterprises, studying statistics and numbers is perhaps even more important, and, can be convenient using online business education.

Analytics 179

Analytics Technical Review Social Media Software Review 179

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

One recipe for failure (business failure and capital raising failure) is building a lopsided team weighted to one function of the business. If you have a technical background and you are focused on product development, consider a co-founder with a sales and marketing background that can focus on selling your world class product.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

The second thing that’s changed is that we’re now Compressing the Product Development Cycle. In the 20 th century startups I was part of, the time to build a first product release was measured in years as we turned out the founder’s vision of what customers wanted. Not kind of wrong but going out of business wrong.

Restful 249

Restful Silicon Valley San Jose Puerto Rico 249

Steve Blank

MAY 6, 2015

Waterfall Development. While it sounds simple , the Build Measure Learn approach to product development is a radical improvement over the traditional Waterfall model used throughout the 20 th century to build and ship products. Lessons Learned.

Lean 120

Lean Agile Business Model Customer Development 120

Up and Running

JANUARY 3, 2019

In this article, I’ll cover: What a persona is and how a business can use one. How to create a persona for your business. Success in marketing and product development comes from a deep understanding of your target customer. But, what if your business is solving a problem that you don’t have?

Software Review 130

Software Review Product Development Portland Technical Review 130

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2010

Starting a business is a lot like starting a marriage. Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Or the economy has taken a sudden turn for the worse, so your high-end product no longer has a market. But all too soon, reality sets in.

Software Development 122

Software Development Software Developers Business Model Design 122

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

As a startup, you probably don’t have much money to spend on marketing or product development. For example, you might use guerilla marketing techniques to promote your product without spending much money on traditional advertising channels. Hence it is critical to have a solid business plan before you start.

Startup 198

Startup Technical Review Ghana Guerilla 198

Business Plan Blog

AUGUST 20, 2013

Development Plan (Timelines/Costs/Budgets). Product Development Team. Whether you have a question about your technology plan or you’d like to discuss our business plan writing services , feel free to contact us for a free consultation ! Wireframes.

CTO Hire 55

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Architecture Cofounder 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

He nails the current key startup parameters, including the following: Crafting a lean business plan as your road map. The days of lengthy, text-heavy, business plan documents prepared by expensive experts are behind us. Establishing your brand with interactive social media. The cost of social media done well is low.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

YoungUpstarts

MAY 3, 2017

From product development to market research, many startups are one-person operations in their early days. Even as their teams grow, entrepreneurs often feel that they must tend to every aspect of the business, including low-level tasks that distract from revenue-generating activity. Wearing Your Many Hats With Style.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Management Arizona Software Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Marketing should start before product development. No startup can afford to do these serially.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Marketing should start before product development. No startup can afford to do these serially.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 120

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

Most likely, your business plan is loaded with opinions and guesses, sprinkled with a dash of vision and hope. Customer development is a parallel process to product development, which means that you dont have to give up on your dream. This is a common mistake.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. Seed capital is a component of the initial investments made in young businesses. During the pre-seed fundraising stage, investors need a viable business plan to base their investments on.

Seed Stage 148

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 148

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 19, 2020

Capturing and analyzing data enables companies to get insights that benefit their companies in cost-saving, relevant marketing, product development, etc. With appropriate data analytics, a business can predict and comprehend the market, competition, customer demands, etc.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Forecast Analytics Social Media 158

YoungUpstarts

MAY 23, 2018

Sometimes, it’s the lack of a proper business plan that really hurts the startup. If the business was launched off of a vision, product idea or loose handshake agreements, but there was no due diligence in building a thorough business case, then the unknowns can sweep in and cripple forward momentum.

Due Diligence 133

Due Diligence Startup Finance Leadership 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Business commercialization.

Product Development 120

Product Development Developer Product Angel Investor 120

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 6, 2008

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 6, 2008 When NOT to listen to your users; when NOT to rely on split-tests There are three legs to the lean startup concept: agile product development , low-cost (fast to market) platforms , and rapid-iteration customer development. I think Drucker said it best.

San Francisco 128

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Agile 128

Up and Running

MARCH 24, 2021

One of the best ways to start developing your market penetration strategy is using the Ansoff Matrix. Typically, product development and diversification are the more costly and riskier options, while market development and market penetration are considered to be lighter risk strategies. Launch a new product or service.

Software Review 146

Software Review Marketing Campaign Forecast 146

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

Product development. Now that you have a refined product idea and a team that can turn this idea into reality, the product development stage will start. Initial product development usually consists of prototyping and MVP. Prototyping usually means the initial working draft of the product idea.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Business commercialization.

Early Stage 412

Early Stage Angel Investor Incubator Government 412

Up and Running

MARCH 17, 2022

Many business owners know and understand the value of a business plan. The business plan is a key component of the startup and fundraising process and serves as a foundation for your organization. What is a business plan? It lays out who is running the business and what the business does.

Business Plan 145

Business Plan Operations Lean Forecast 145

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 10, 2021

A key to making this entire process much easier is to invest a little time and write a business plan. It’s true — not all investors will ask to see your business plan. Why do investors want to see a business plan? The business plan document itself isn’t what’s important to investors.

Business Plan 138

Business Plan Forecast Balance Sheet Exit Strategy 138

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

On the other hand, if you arrive at a VC pitch without a comprehensive understanding of the industry you’re hoping to compete in, or without a clear path to profitability or a thoughtful product-development road map, you’ll likely leave empty-handed. Investors want to feel confident that they’ll see a return on their investment.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 12, 2010

For the many entrepreneurs that send me cold emails asking for me to review a business plan or answer a strategic dilemma: Im much more likely to answer if youve already tried getting an answer on the mailing list. Youll probably get a better result, anyway. Youll probably get a better result, anyway.

Lean 146

Lean San Francisco Wiki Startup 146