The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Canadian entrepreneurs are facing what can only be described as an unpredictable economic outlook in the coming year, with inflation, interest rates, and political turbulence combining to create a stew of spicy flavors that may be welcomed by those with a sense of adventure but dreaded by those who crave stability and security.

Canada 83

Canada Entrepreneur Global Technical Review 83

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Based on my experience advising new entrepreneurs as well as more mature businesses, I recommend the following strategies for building business momentum, while still optimizing the limited resources of every small business: Find more customers that like what you do best. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

Technical Review 400

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

From my consulting with entrepreneurs in Europe and other countries, I’m convinced that we all could benefit from adapting to meet their environments. Even consumers here in the US are demanding a more responsible approach. Managing risk is about determining upfront which risks are acceptable and which are non-negotiable.

Global 345

Global Silicon Valley Marketing Indonesia 345

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 21, 2025

As governments and communities aim to reduce environmental impact, there is a rising demand for eco-friendly transport solutions. Entrepreneurs entering this field should consider adopting environmentally friendly technologies to stay competitive.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Government Operations Demand 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

Technical Review 345

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 345

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2020

From my consulting with entrepreneurs in Europe and other countries, I’m convinced that we all could benefit from adapting to meet their environments. Even consumers here in the US are demanding a more responsible approach. I found these challenges and opportunities outlined well in a new book, “ Out-Innovate ,” by Alexandre Lazarow.

Silicon Valley 312

Silicon Valley Indonesia Venture Capital Global 312

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. I once met with an entrepreneur who had developed a new algae strain to cure world hunger and make him rich.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Merger Software Review Acquisition 329

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

Most of the entrepreneurs and business owners I work with recognize that they must occupy and practice a primary leadership position , but many will admit that they are not thriving in this role. Be prepared to create and train a dedicated support group that can keep up with your now larger and growing install base of demanding customers.

Leadership 227

Leadership Entrepreneur Agile Demand 227

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2020

One of the things I’ve learned in working with aspiring entrepreneurs is that managing and leading a team is a scary venture into the unknown for many people, even if they have worked as a business professional for years. As an entrepreneur, executive, or team member, you are most impacted by the people you gather around you.

Leadership 380

Leadership Demand Management Founder 380

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 310

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. Success demands testing the solution early and quickly in the market, then iterating to get it right. Nail the go-to-market strategy.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are looking to the Internet as an opportunity to get rich quick, instead of a place where you can start a business you love, for very little capital and minimal technical expertise. With a stable base of subscribers, this can mean a continuing revenue stream from newsletters, support, or advice on demand.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Software Review Internet Revenue 312

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 believe that the sooner every entrepreneur and brand builder adapts to this emerging trend, the sooner they will find success.

Customer 433

Customer B2C Technical Review Social Media 433

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved.

Technical Review 385

Technical Review Salary Metrics Matching 385

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. For example, I once was approached by an entrepreneur, passionate that his new algae strain would cure world hunger and make him rich. Bandwidth is a constraint we all feel.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

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.

Metrics 387

Metrics Technical Review Leadership Framework 387

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

What they should be doing is hiring only “entrepreneurs,” meaning people who think and act as if this is their own business. This commitment to hire people who think like entrepreneurs, or instill an “owner’s mindset” in every employee, should be a high priority in every business. Again, you get what you demand and reward.

Startup 337

Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. His focus is on entrepreneurs in America, but what he says applies to every other country as well. This next frontier lies in building enterprises as an entrepreneur, rather than waiting for innovation and opportunity from large corporations.

Artificial Inteligence 315

Artificial Inteligence Offshore Merger Technical Review 315

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2022

If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your own work done, as well as run the many one-hour meetings each team member seems to demand for decisions and mentoring. Even if multiple cycles are required to reach the goal, you will spend less time, and they will learn infinitely more.

Elevator Pitch 386

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Dividend Leadership 386

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. If the entrepreneur plans to grow the company into a family business, or keep it private, they will either never be interested in buying out investors, or will certainly not be motivated to provide the 10x return that investors are looking for.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2022

My recommendation to entrepreneurs is to recognize these concerns as an opportunity to make people’s life better, rather than worry and dodge the risk. Make navigation simple and consistent, with abundant online help The good news is that, if your company does it right, it might be another Amazon.

Technical Review 342

Technical Review Customer Social Network Software Review 342

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Many entrepreneurs fear giving away their very best insights, strategies, or tools via social media – it might diminish the demand and the profit. entrepreneurs need to focus more on who they are marketing to and why.

Marketing 353

Marketing Technical Review Social Media Technology 353

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2020

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs seem to prefer to fail their way to the top, rather than do some research and learn from the successes and mistakes of others. In general I try to focus on the positives and tell entrepreneurs what works, but sometimes it’s important to reiterate the common things that simply don’t work.

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Advisory Board Silicon Valley Due Diligence 314

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Being in love with your business, when you’re an entrepreneur, is even better. Although there are days when tossing in your hat seems like a viable option, remembering how much you love your “job” can quickly snap an entrepreneur out of that mentality. The reasons are as varied as the businesses themselves. It is an absolute joy.

Entrepreneur 147

Entrepreneur LLC Technical Review SEO 147

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. These platforms, and every investor who uses them to find entrepreneurs, expects to find a good business plan posted. You need money, and plan to do crowdfunding.

Business Plan 316

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 316

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2023

One of the things I’ve learned in working with aspiring entrepreneurs is that managing and leading a team is a scary venture into the unknown for many people, even if they have worked as a business professional for years. As an entrepreneur, executive, or team member, you are most impacted by the people you gather around you.

Management 291

Management Leadership Demand Founder 291

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2023

Entrepreneurs who experience success with their first startup are often amazed to realize that the risks and fears of doing it right the second time go up, rather than down. Encores are tough, especially in the high-risk world of startups, yet every entrepreneur I know can’t wait to start over and do it again.

Technical Review 229

Technical Review Due Diligence Business Model Demand 229

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

In my business of mentoring new entrepreneurs and advising small company owners, I recognize that most don’t start as experienced leaders, and most don’t realize that people leadership is a primary key to their future success. Building a business is not a one-person job, and leading by edict rarely works today.

Developer 311

Developer Leadership Demand Entrepreneur 311

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked for the magic that has made Amazon the world's most valuable brand , from a total unknown only twenty years ago. They present a convincing story that every entrepreneur has the same potential, but most get sidetracked and bogged down by their technology, competitors, and internal organization.

Global 308

Global Marketing Technical Review Agile 308

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

I hear too often from business owners and entrepreneurs that they are bombarded by so many requests and problems, that they have trouble sorting out the daily crises from opportunities with a major payback for the business. Every business owner and entrepreneur has to be the role model for trust, a good moral compass, and ethics.

Leadership 301

Leadership Founder Salary Demand 301

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. As your business matures and stabilizes, regular employees make more sense.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Employee 308

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 25, 2023

From crafting a compelling brand identity to mastering digital marketing, it's a multifaceted journey that demands careful planning and execution. We asked entrepreneurs, and business owners their tips on building an e-commerce business and here are the responses. #1- Thanks to Jonathan Hussey, Developer Connection ! #4-

eCommerce 143

eCommerce Omaha Entrepreneur SEO 143

The Startup Magazine

MAY 3, 2024

In the bustling and often unforgiving realm of startups, where the lines between personal and professional life blur, understanding how to maintain a healthy entrepreneur work-life balance is not just beneficial—it’s essential. What tasks demand your immediate attention, and which ones can wait? Tap into it.

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Startup Agile Software Review 166

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2019

If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your own work done, as well as run the many one-hour meetings each team member seems to demand for decisions and mentoring. Even if multiple cycles are required to reach the goal, you will spend less time, and they will learn infinitely more.

Elevator Pitch 312

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Dividend Leadership 312

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 29, 2019

Here’s what I suggested they do: Mei and Bill are building a better version of an on-demand help service like TaskRabbit. Even more interesting, their product might have a much higher initial order size and much greater lifetime value than existing on-demand help services. And “better” didn’t do it justice. So what was the problem?

Bandwidth 302

Bandwidth Database Venture Capital Demand 302

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. Many entrepreneurs try to do the whole job alone, or surround themselves with “yes” people, or count on family and friends to back them. Assembling a winning team and delivering results.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Technical Review Leadership Metrics 284