Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

In my experience as an employee, up to an executive, in large companies as well as small, I’ve found that people who are consistently negative and complain are a big constraint on productivity, as well as the most difficult management problem that most business leaders face. Administer regular morale and satisfaction surveys.

Employee 371

Employee Salary Hiring Stock 371

TechEmpower

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Ensure that you investigate the designers' past work, samples of their work product, and their process. Quality of Work: The end product should not only look good but function as expected. Employee and Contractor Details: How many full-time W2 employees and contractors do they employ, and where are they located?

Software Developers 295

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Software 295

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

The loss of these major customers can have a dramatic impact on both internal (employees) and external contributors (investors). Once a client has made this decision, it is important for company managers and staff to perform an analysis of what went wrong, and why. sales to product development), the problems will continue to exist.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Yet, as a business consultant, I often find minimal focus on improving employee engagement and assessing their customer-facing performance. For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees.

Customer 369

Customer Technical Review Metrics Employee 369

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. In my role as a business advisor, I see successful businesses most often emerging from great teams rather than great products. Be patient when filling open positions.

Hiring 337

Hiring Technical Cofounder Cofounder Retention 337

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

These days, it is almost impossible to find a small business where everything is done at the home location, by full-time employees. There are many books written on this subject, but this classic by Chris Ducker, “ Virtual Freedom ,” manages to pack a lot more practical guidance into a small space that many others I have seen.

Entrepreneur 303

Entrepreneur Philippines Bandwidth Cofounder 303

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. Thus I was pleased to see a much more complete and broader perspective of employee support recommendations in a new book, “ Employees First! ”

Technical Review 353

Technical Review Cofounder Employee Global 353

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. He had a track record of taking small teams and growing them into successful product lines.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

It plays a crucial role in product development too, where generative AI speeds up design processes, streamlines testing, and tailors user experiences effectively. This technological integration into software engineering not only enhances the productivity of development teams but also ensures that IT infrastructures are robust and reliable.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 295

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

The allocation of shares among the founders, and the number and size of outside investments, will tells volumes about the health, stability, and management of the business. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

Leaders are judged on key elements of execution, including a focus on priorities, ensuring clear accountability, managing decision making, mobilizing others, adapting quickly, and communicating execution urgency. Research has confirmed that culture is a primary driver for financial performance, customer experience, and team productivity.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

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. Hire employees who have strong skills, with the motivation to learn new ones.

Startup 337

Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

Leaders are judged on key elements of execution, including a focus on priorities, ensuring clear accountability, managing decision making, mobilizing others, adapting quickly, and communicating execution urgency. Research has confirmed that culture is a primary driver for financial performance, customer experience, and team productivity.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2022

New entrepreneurs tend to focus only on getting the product right, and assume that the right culture and ethics will come later simply by hiring good people. Business ethics are more about religion than management or leadership. Ethics can’t be managed. The reality is different. We’ve never broken the law so we must be ethical.

Software Review 291

Software Review Offshore Entrepreneur Leadership 291

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 12, 2020

While your branding, marketing campaigns, and product quality will be at the forefront of your mind, you must not overlook the importance of network and data security. Also, if your employees will use personal devices in the workplace, you must ensure they are using the latest security protections, such as: Biometric authentication.

Security 273

Security Software Review Technical Review Networking 273

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 21, 2020

This can essentially be between the business and the customers or the business and the employees. This makes the work space management much easier. The booking system is streamlined which only assists the users, especially the employees who can conduct their meetings in an efficient manner. This is not true at all.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Software Review Distribution Employee 279

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. It’s the same for customers and products, where analytics have long proven their value.

Analytics 303

Analytics Hiring Open Source Employee 303

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. Work on habits that improve your productivity, and find better tools every day. Marty Zwilling.

Leadership 380

Leadership Demand Management Founder 380

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2021

The CEO must focus on key management team hires and assume a few mistakes which need to get fixed. As one company Chairman says, "The common elements I see in first time CEO's: a) they don't hire fast enough, b) they don't fire fast enough, and c) they don't manage their board and investors well." Most founders are product guys.

Exit Strategy 407

Exit Strategy Leadership Founder Networking 407

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors. As a mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, here are my best recommendations for keeping the burn rate low, planning ahead and maintaining credibility with investors: Manage cash flow personally every day.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

If you’re an early employee at a startup, one day you will wake up to find that what you worked on 24/7 for the last year is no longer the most important thing – you’re no longer the most important employee, and process, meetings, paperwork and managers and bosses have shown up. I know a change is going to come.

Part-Time VPE 334

Part-Time VPE Employee Cofounder Hiring 334

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Minimum viable products (MVPs) are recommended for validating the market, with iterative enhancement to quickly meet market feedback. Building your public image and presence should start even before product development, through your website, logo, and blogging.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

One of the most stressful and unanticipated challenges that comes with starting a new business is hiring and managing employees. While this approach appears to cost more on the surface, it often actually costs you less, when you consider the hidden costs of rework, poor customer satisfaction, employee management, and training required.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Employee 308

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

In the interests of helping you work smarter and last longer, I would like to offer my top ten list of key resource drains to avoid in early businesses and startups, based on my years of advising entrepreneurs and my own business experience: Expanding your product line too quickly for scaling. Make employee management a proactive process.

Technical Review 306

Technical Review Metrics Social Media Channel 306

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 is random, and can’t be orchestrated.

Technical Review 431

Technical Review Leadership Operations Networking 431

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment. Make sure the Business Plan and all related documents are current, synchronized, and in the hands of every key employee. Validation of product. Size of the market.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 380

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Look for real problems to solve, like losing weight, staying healthy, or gaps in a popular product line. Today it more often means a “trusted friend” who seems real, visible, and doesn’t “push” products. Hiring virtual assistants for each specific project can be a lot more efficient and cheaper than hiring and managing employees.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Software Review Internet Revenue 312

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Building and managing a business is a wholly different world from building an innovative solution. Remember that people make a business, more often than a product. Learn how to budget your time and select productive relationships. Learn how to build and manage a small team. What you learn will apply to employees.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2024

After all, it offers flexibility and accessibility to both employers and employees. For employees, however, the idea of working remotely may seem a bit daunting at first. However, with the right tech and employee training, it can be a seamless process.

Operations 147

Operations Software Review Technical Review Cloud 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Chip Bell and Ron Zemke, who are experts in this area, provide some of the best specific insights I’ve seen, in the classic book “ Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service.” The process must be employee friendly, as well as customer friendly, and have feedback mechanisms to correct poor results. Make your service deliver process “happy.”

Technical Review 385

Technical Review Salary Metrics Matching 385

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Key Takeaways Efficient workflows can significantly boost productivity and reduce stress. Embracing these tools is pivotal to unlocking new levels of productivity. Automation software can precisely handle repeatable tasks, freeing employees to focus on strategic initiatives.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Software Review Agile Operations 167

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

For best results, my advice is to think like an entrepreneur, even if you are a corporate employee. He lays out seven thinking strategies for both entrepreneurs and employees that will make them business winners: Focus on the customers at all times. They don’t realize that customers are the source of all business payback.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Business Model Employee Sales 294

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Automated delivery services – the more people you can take out of the equation, the safer the product. B2B – cloud services, online meetings, virtual workforce management, collaboration tools. Your CFO now becomes the head of cash management. Award equity to employees equal to the value of their reduced salaries.

South Korea 334

South Korea Salary Business Model China 334

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

While these activities shape and build culture, they don’t win wars, and rarely deliver shippable or deployable products. It’s not that these companies are smarter than Defense Department employees, but they operate with different philosophies, different product development methodologies, and with different constraints.

Government 316

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 316

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

VC’s have just changed the ~50-year old social contract with startup employees. For most startup employee’s startup stock options are now a bad deal. As Venture Capital emerged as an industry in the mid 1970’s, investors in venture-funded startups began to give stock options to all their employees. Here’s why.

Stock Options 335

Stock Options Stock Vesting Common Stock 335

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Its use helps to significantly save time for both the manager and ordinary employees. Also, the use of a CRM system not only helps companies manage their customer base, but also makes it possible to keep up with the expectations of today’s home buyers and sellers. a 34 per cent boost in sales productivity.

Software Developers 216

Software Developers Software Development Software Developer 216

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

This perspective looks at the business as the product, competing for the customer’s attention against a whole shelf of competitors. In this view the product features, cost, and support are the key to success. As startups grow, they quickly realize that they need a third personality, called the Manager, to build systems and processes.

Technical Review 341

Technical Review Social Media Startup Internet 341