Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

Many startups fail before reaching that magic “cash-flow positive” position they have been striving for, despite seemingly reasonable financial projections. 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.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. For many years, startups featuring all-electric vehicles fell into this stage of the business lifecycle.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, crowdfunding still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

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VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Drawing insights from ARK Invest’s Big Ideas report, Y Combinator ’s Requests for Startups, and market trends, this post explores the most promising opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to make an impact in 2025. This is an extension of the previous list with new sources and startup requests.

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TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

When talking to startup founders or other innovators, we always ask questions to better understand their business as a core. One way to approach that last question is to use this simple model: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) How will your business reach prospects? And how much will it cost to win them?

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Most of these are easy to avoid if you do your homework up front, but can cost you dearly if you get sucked in. If you feel confused by conflicting time zones, differing currencies, and up-front costs, it’s time to run the other way. Work at home to fund your startup. Off-shore unsolicited investor offers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

Perhaps sparked by the recent pandemic, I’m seeing a new era of the entrepreneur, with startups springing up all around. Problems will occur in every startup, simply because you are stepping into uncharted territory. Every approach is a compromise between cost, time, and return, so forget your perfectionist tendencies.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2023

In fact, there are a host of reasons why a non-focused startup business is more likely to struggle for survival, lose market and investor attention, and miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on their scope: Time to market is tied to the size of your offering. No startup can implement a broad strategy quickly enough to stay ahead.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

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The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 22, 2024

Delays can make or break a startup. In the fast-paced startup environment, where every customer counts, delays can quickly spiral into lost opportunities and tarnished reputations. Startups often juggle multiple priorities with limited resources, making it easy for delays to creep into operations.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2021

For example, my dictate that entrepreneurs need to find a “ painful ” problem to solve (such as high cost, low productivity) to attract customers, doesn’t really account for many successful startup businesses today, including top social media platforms, dating sites, and new fashions. All of these tend to override cost and usability.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

This alternative has been around for several decades, with the generally accepted advantage of reducing costs. Saving cost won’t help you if you can’t make the daily innovations required to stay competitive. Results on commodities, including mature software maintenance, adapt well to low-cost contracting.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

This dual-leadership approach would have avoided the frustration I felt in a startup a few years ago where beta customers loved our software solution as a free prototype, but we couldn’t sell one in the first few months for a price that seemed reasonable for all our work and innovation. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

In my experience, the Silicon Valley startup model, focused on disrupting established industries, has treated the USA well and created some great global businesses. It has played almost no role in the emergence of current non-US bred startups, including Alibaba in China, Waze from Israel, Paytm in India, and many more.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

Universities and other R&D groups have created a large number of new inventions and innovations, mostly lying dormant on the shelves of our researchers and labs, waiting to be commercialized by aspiring entrepreneurs, with minimal up-front costs for licensing. The cost of entrepreneur entry is at an all-time low.

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The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 5, 2025

The Small Business Administration (SBA) also offers a variety of loan programs, including ones specifically designed for startups. If your budgets tight, look into free or low-cost tax assistance programs. The post Top Financial Resources for Small Businesses in Northwest Phoenix appeared first on The Startup Magazine.

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VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Until last week, when the news that a relatively unknown Chinese company called Deepseek, released its R1 reasoning model which is equivalent to the performance of ChatGPT’s o1 model, but is fully open-source and available at a fraction of the cost (3-5% of OpenAI’s model). firms at a fraction of the cost.

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The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 24, 2024

Financial Implications Cost is always an aspect to consider when hiring a VCFO, which will help in budgeting. Clearly outline the scope of service and associated costs in a formal agreement to avoid misunderstandings. The value a VCFO brings outweighs their cost, positioning your business for sustained success.

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The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

In Q3 of 2024, AI-related startups landed $19 billion USD, which equates to 28% of total venture dollars. From the next generation of AI solutions, and revolutionary software engineering solutions to cost-saving consumer solutions, heres a list of 10 breakout innovation trends and companies to watch out for in 2025.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Of course, there are always exceptions, but how much added risk do you need for your startup? Raising capital isn’t the be-all and end-all of startup success.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2020

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. Passion, optimism, and determination are necessary but not sufficient to assure a successful startup. Most startup projects require special skills and a motivated team.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Here are ten of the key questions that apply equally well to the world of startups and entrepreneurs, as they do to large organizations.

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The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 21, 2025

The rise of electric and hybrid vehicles addresses these issues, reducing operating costs and appealing to those who value sustainability. Potential owners should thoroughly research different vehicle models, including their performance, reliability, and costs.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2022

That challenge is a major business opportunity, as well as a risk, for startups. Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, without the costs, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address. Don’t take shortcuts on these.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

For example, “We just patented a new battery technology that will cut your smartphone charge time and cost in half.” The most common business entity used for startups is a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), which is the cheapest and simplest to manage. Description of the business entity you plan to form.

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The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 20, 2025

Factors like state laws, regional risks, and even local driving habits can influence both the cost and the coverage options available to you. Why Costs Vary So Much by State Its no secret that car insurance premiums can differ widely depending on your ZIP code. Special State Rules : Certain states have unique rules.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Who would not want to join the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? He nails the current key startup parameters, including the following: Crafting a lean business plan as your road map.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

The cost of any new product these days must include education and rollout marketing, perhaps equal or greater than the development costs. Don’t forget to address the risks and cost of doing nothing. Marketing costs will continue to increase. Customers won’t buy what they can’t find or don’t understand.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

This is a trap of the past to be avoided at all costs. On the other end of the spectrum, technology startups also really need this mentality, since the rate of change there is rapid, and competition is so intense. The best leaders selectively forget the past, and are constantly on the lookout for the future’s raw material of new ideas.

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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. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. It’s time for a new startup model. How far behind is your startup? Marty Zwilling.

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The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 19, 2025

The beauty of MSPs is that you can work with them ongoing or for one-off projects like this, making them highly cost-effective. The post New Year, Same Threats: 8 Ways to Prepare Your IT Infrastructure for the Holiday Break appeared first on The Startup Magazine.

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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. Make sure everyone accurately posts their role with your startup on social media profiles, resumes, and references.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Business agility is defined as the ability to adapt rapidly and cost efficiently. Bureaucracy can appear quickly in startups as well as large companies. Entrepreneurs that are not listening, not engaging, and not changing are destined to be left behind even in the best of times. The real problem is inflexible people.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2022

Startup investors tell me they invest in a new venture with a higher caliber of people, rather than the product or service, and I agree. It’s a small cost to prevent a long-term loss. In my role as a business advisor, I see successful businesses most often emerging from great teams rather than great products.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. Almost anyone can start a company today on a shoestring budget, following these cost-cutting recommendations: Establish a solid legal structure for your business.

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