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.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Employee 308

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

This post previously appeared in the Harvard Business Review. 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. Reducing Startup Risk.

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The Startup Magazine

MARCH 4, 2023

Perhaps it won’t be wrong to say these staggering numbers are a wake-up call for organizations to take employee retention seriously. Otherwise, they will (sooner or later) experience the resource drain, high overhead costs & low employee productivity. What Is Employee Turnover? So, let’s get started.

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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. Performance accountability processes.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

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. Performance accountability processes.

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Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

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Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 14, 2023

Yet, we know tech startups will weather the storm. For startups that sell to businesses, however, this pain creates new opportunities as forward-thinking companies look for permanent, technical solutions to these cyclical problems.

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Technical Review Ukraine Software Review ChatGPT 148

Steve Blank

APRIL 3, 2018

That) takes focus, diligence, discipline, flexibility and perseverance. Others join startups to strike out on their own. Others join startups to strike out on their own. But what I’ve noticed is that it’s rare that the smartest technical innovator is the most successful entrepreneur. Now I have a different perception.

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The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Modern technologies may be a real blessing for small companies lacking resources and having to promptly produce tangible outputs. In this article, we will analyse the top 5 technological challenges your startup will face in 2023. . In the case of startups, this poses a number of major challenges including: . Scaling Up.

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Technical Review Technology Software Review Startup 158

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. Member of the Advisory Board.

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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. 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.

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Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 25, 2021

There are several effective ways to protect your tech startup from hackers in 2021. For startups, this is a significant cost. As a tech entrepreneur, you need know the most effective ways to secure your tech startup while laying the foundation for company growth. Store Your Source Code.

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Technical Review Software Review Security Startup 161

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

A version of this article is in the Harvard Business Review. — Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. The startup process has become demystified – information is everywhere.

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ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 16, 2020

Here is how remote startups are changing the game for everyone. In fact, according to Founders Forum’s survey of 400+ startup owners, 94% of the respondents were already working from home before the pandemic. To help them make the transition, a new breed of “remote startups” has emerged. Image Credit: pixaby.

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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. Unless you have a co-founder or two with the business skills to complement your technical ones, you need a friendly Advisory Board. What you learn will apply to employees.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2020

As an advisor to many startups, I’m convinced it’s an expensive and painful approach, but I do see it used all too often. In the rush of a startup, it’s tempting to start spending the money you expect any day from a rich uncle or a major new customer. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. You may be dead wrong.

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Technical Review Advisory Board Silicon Valley Due Diligence 314

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.

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Customer Technical Review Metrics Employee 369

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 18, 2020

NewVoiceMedia’s 2018 “Serial Switchers” report also reveals that businesses lose around $75 billion due to poor customer support, indicating that weakness in this sector of your business may lead to significant losses. This can be especially crucial for startups since they’re only beginning to establish themselves in the business arena.

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Customer Technical Review Software Review Startup 231

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

And with the technology available these days, it is convenient to invest in emerging startups. Are you wondering how to invest in startups in India? The digital startup craze. The world is about to see a new generation propagating the Indian startup investing industry. Sectors witnessing a startup boom.

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Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 167

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 5, 2025

They know the community, and theyre more likely to take a personal approach when reviewing your loan application. The Small Business Administration (SBA) also offers a variety of loan programs, including ones specifically designed for startups. Local banks and credit unions in Northwest Phoenix are often the best place to start.

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Phoenix Small Business Small Business Administration Software Review 148

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

The current state of the tech industry is a paradox. Startups are the most vulnerable considering they are limited in terms of the resources needed to invest in robust cybersecurity systems. As a startup founder, you will secure these physical assets from the hands of data thieves and saboteurs.

Security 167

Security Technical Review Software Review Startup 167

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2019

It’s amazing how fast your startup will outgrow your garage or home office. You find that you need to be near major customers, or employee transportation hubs, where rents are higher than you ever anticipated. Your frugal role model of bringing your own lunch won’t be convincing to most employees.

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Cost Founder Software Review Startup 264

Steve Blank

APRIL 10, 2019

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. VC’s have just changed the ~50-year old social contract with startup employees. In doing so they may have removed one of the key incentives that made startups different from working in a large company. Why Startups Offer Stock Options.

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The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 5, 2025

Invest in Employee Development Your team is one of your most valuable assets. Investing in employee development is not only going to boost their morale but also enhance their skills and productivity at the same time. Leverage Technology for Growth Technology is a powerful tool for driving efficiency and innovation.

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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. Consider MySpace and Webvan. Geographic expansion.

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Dilution Startup Merger Flash 355

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. Member of the Advisory Board.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Startup businesses often struggle with limited resources. Here are examples of services that startups can outsource. Due to the low volume of financial transactions, most startups may not require a full-time bookkeeping expert. Technology and IT services. Technology is expensive. Financial services.

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Startup Technical Review Salary Hiring 238

Steve Blank

MARCH 15, 2017

I was having a second coffee with an ex student, now the head of a marketing inside a rapidly growing startup. If these sound like reasonable answers to you, and you are in a startup, update your resume. Titles in a startup are not the same as what your job is. It wasn’t that I had somehow inherited dumb employees.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs I know still believe that that their great idea will carry the startup, and they may even minimize their own value, especially if they have introvert tendencies. Everyone needs to realize that whether it’s in the workplace or in the startup community, business is a new world today with new rules.

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Startup Technical Review Social Network Reputation 331

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2013

I’ve been involved with technology product design in one form or another for nearly 25 years and seen one mistake consistently repeated. The single biggest mistake most product teams make is building technology for what they believe the user would want rather than what the actual end-user needs. Startup Advice'

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term. In my experience, even in startups, longer-term strategy often gets pushed off the agenda due to current challenges.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 8, 2022

Heralding a new era of digital transformation, technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are being infused exponentially into the world around us. Most notably, the ground-breaking development and rapid global distribution of mRNA vaccines highlighted the speed and scale of technological advances to outsmart humanity’s most dire threats.

Artificial Inteligence 166

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Global Technology 166

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

A version of this article first appeared in the Harvard Business Review. With fewer than 10 employees but almost $2-billion dollars in the bank, they plan on jumping right in. It’s the antithesis of the Lean Startup. Then the cycle repeats with a new set of technologies. But NewTV doesn’t plan on testing these hypotheses.

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Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

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. After some review of available resources, I’m convinced that problem solving is a learnable trait, rather than just a birthright. Don’t let it make your startup dysfunctional in resolving future challenges.

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Startup Technical Review Restful Partner 338

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

There is no doubt that technology has become an integral part of any industry, whether it may be manufacturing, health, transport, or even legacy industries such as construction, publishing and retail. Some focus on using technology as their primary driver of development, while others use it as an aid. Higher levels of automatization.

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Technical Review Technology Artificial Inteligence Software Review 158

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2019

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. 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.

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Employee Technical Review Hiring Lead Generation 222

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2022

As an advisor to many startups, I’m convinced it’s an expensive and painful approach, but I do see it used all too often. In the rush of a startup, it’s tempting to start spending the money you expect any day from a rich uncle or a major new customer. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. You may be dead wrong.

Technical Review 250

Technical Review Advisory Board Silicon Valley Due Diligence 250