Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. Customers won’t buy what they can’t find or don’t understand. Customers need supporting approvals to fully benefit.

Product 354

Product Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Dividend 354

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I summarize the key elements of the transformation as follows: Customers are seeking control in a run-away world.

Customer 433

Customer B2C Technical Review Social Media 433

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Technical Review 375

Technical Review Startup Dilution Early Stage 375

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2022

Successful startups seem to follow similar paths to greatness, and unfortunately all too often that path leads them back down the hill much faster than they went up. By definition, most startups begin as a result of some innovation in product, process, or service. Product-line expansion. Geographic expansion.

Dilution 355

Dilution Startup Merger Flash 355

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. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Finish the product before marketing begins.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. It’s what every customer looks for in every transaction.

Startup 337

Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 5, 2025

Whether you are trying to increase your revenue or improve your customer satisfaction, taking your business to the next level means looking at all of your strategic opportunities. Your goals might include increasing market share or maybe launching a new product. It could also be improving customer retention.

Software Review 147

Software Review Technical Review Retention Campaign 147

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? There was no money train.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. 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. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 345

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 345

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.

Global 345

Global Silicon Valley Marketing Indonesia 345

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Finding a customer for your product in the Department of Defense is hard: Who should you talk to? Looking for DoD customers How do you know if they have money to spend on your product? Today, a new class of startups are attempting to sell these products to the Defense Department. But startups?

Programming 249

Programming Customer Portfolio Government 249

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. They do the most to de-risk the early stages of a startup. Reducing Startup Risk.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2022

Every new entrepreneur has to initiate the right actions to be perceived as a leader in their chosen business domain by their team and by their customers, or the road to success and satisfaction will be lost along the way. Don’t wait for competitors to force the need for better products, lower prices and better customer service.

Leadership 317

Leadership Founder Startup Networking 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2023

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. The only real alternative is to find a cofounder who can build and lead the team, while you focus on the product. Otherwise, in my experience, the startup will fail.

Leadership 318

Leadership Technical Review Technical Cofounder Development Team Review 318

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2021

With real-time online reviews and feedback via the Internet, and instant relationships via social media, a voice from the top that is inconsistent with what is heard from the firing line defines a dysfunctional and noncompetitive company for today’s customer. Thus team makeup is the critical success factor.

Developer 387

Developer Startup Social Media Internet 387

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2021

In reality, the best business process innovations usually come from regular employees on the front line of your business, just trying to do a better job and better serve customers. Many product innovations come from quality improvement focuses, like the Japanese Kaizen initiative. Innovation and creativity are two different things.

Technical Review 431

Technical Review Leadership Operations Networking 431

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. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

Juggling multiple responsibilities and ensuring productivity can be challenging without effective time management strategies. Avoid Multitasking Multitasking may appear beneficial but often leads to decreased productivity and increased mistakes.

Management 158

Management Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 158

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Focus on talent and people growth.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. In fact, this article was driven by a startup press release I saw a while back, highlighting a startup’s “geo-fencing technology” as a new basis for discount coupons.

Marketing 353

Marketing Technical Review Social Media Technology 353

Steve Blank

JUNE 20, 2022

He previously cofounded several enterprise software startups, and his previous job was building a new innovation organization from scratch inside another large company. And more importantly it wasn’t clear which, if any, of those groups were actually continuously delivering products and services at high speed. His challenge was to.

CTO 368

CTO Technical Cofounder CTO Hire Incubator 368

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. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. In other words, inventions are necessary but not sufficient to create real value for investors and customers.

Technical Review 391

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 391

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

This isn’t just our opinion - our startup metrics prove it! So instead, we fill it with a completely custom blurb, written just for him: Hello! Thanks to his custom blurb, instead of closing his browser and feeling inadequate for the rest of the day, Mark completes his bio and becomes a happy customer.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence Houston America 295

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2022

With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. Today’s customers are much more proactive in going online for the latest information, rather than simply reacting to the “push” messages that businesses traditionally use to drive commerce. The real problem is inflexible people.

Agile 379

Agile Technical Review Leadership Social Media 379

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Whether it’s a logo, product design, software, or a unique business process, safeguarding your IP is essential to maintaining a competitive edge and protecting your business from theft or unauthorized use. Hackers can steal sensitive business information, compromise customer data, or disrupt operations entirely. Image Credit 4.

Intellectual Property 119

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Entrepreneur Limited Liability Company 119

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Thus I often recommend that before you kick off your own business, you join another startup or existing business to see how things really work. You may think that patents and copyrights are not required, since your products are so innovative, but you will find that competitors are quick to copy your idea if you don’t protect it.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Who would not want to join the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? Excellent detailed resources are everywhere, including a classic book, “ The Startup Checklist ,” by serial entrepreneur and founder of the New York Angels, David S. Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2023

In reality, based on my experience as a startup advisor and investor, these constraints lead the best entrepreneurs to the most innovative solutions and new markets otherwise overlooked by their peers and competitors. In fact, that feeling of autonomy makes everyone more productive, more loyal, and feel valued.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Partner Matching Channel 277

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Remember you are pitching to investors, not customers. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. Don’t forget to ask for the order.

Technical Review 369

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 369

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2021

– while simultaneously building a series of minimal viable products. Unlike traditional demo days or Shark Tanks which are, “Here’s how smart I am, and isn’t this a great product, please give me money,” a Lessons Learned presentation tells the story of a team’s 10-week journey and hard-won learning and discovery.

Lean 417

Lean Security Asia SBIR 417

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2021

It takes a long time and lots of effort to overcome existing momentum, and both investors and customers want to see results on a small scale in their lifetime, before they line up to join the movement. Look for sizable customer populations unattractive to incumbents. Consider Apple’s move into music, telephones, and watches.

Non-Compete 394

Non-Compete Technical Review Forecast Social Media 394

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Yet I find, as a mentor and outside consultant, that many of you focus only on working conditions and compensation as the key factors determining team engagement , health, and productivity. by Donna Cutting, who is a globally-recognized guru on employee culture and optimizing customer service. Emotional stability. Environmental safety.

Technical Review 353

Technical Review Cofounder Employee Global 353

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

These haven’t changed much over the years, but still seem to be often overlooked by business professionals and leaders in their haste to keep up with peers, competitors, and customers in today’s volatile environment. Timely follow-up on customer and team member requests. Find what works for you.

Flash 303

Flash Angel Investor Technical Review Social Media 303

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2022

Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the team. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. In startups, the best policy is transparent honest disclosure across all levels of the team.

Semantic 342

Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 342

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Unfortunately, for startups entering a regulated market following this advice this might not be the optimum path. And why was Bill’s advice of staying away from Washington flawed for startups? These barriers to new innovative startups are called economic rent. Regulation What’s regulatory capture? Why is it bad? In the U.S.

Washington 319

Washington Government Marketing Silicon Valley 319

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Whether you are a business professional in a big company, or an entrepreneur with a startup, innovation is a key strategy. You will see that I believe innovation is only one of many factors that ultimately determine your position with customers and your own legacy: Ideas are everywhere – success is all about execution.

Artificial Inteligence 286

Artificial Inteligence Technology Leadership Business Model 286