Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2020

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members.

Leadership 317

Leadership Entrepreneur Cofounder Matching 317

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. No entrepreneur can build a business alone. Constantly strengthening your network of relationships.

Leadership 317

Leadership Founder Startup Networking 317

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” Most entrepreneurs work long hours and weekends to get the job done.

Partner 385

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 385

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2021, from 280 to 360 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. The cost of social media done well is low.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Most are founded and run by experienced entrepreneurs that have previously built companies and who understand the difference between theory and practice. But these look for founders who have a technical or business model insight and a team. But these look for founders who have a technical or business model insight and a team.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage angel investors. Supportive co-founder and executive positions. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built. During this era, from 2009–2015, most founders I knew were in it for building great & sustainable companies. Starting in 2009 I began writing checks consistently, year-in and year-out.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

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. Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. If your team has trouble finding you, you won’t make productive connections.

Leadership 318

Leadership Technical Review Technical Cofounder Development Team Review 318

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2021

If you are a young startup founder, how do you find that CEO or other executive for your “dream team” to close on funding or complement your skills to kick start your company? Most founders are product guys. Make certain you as the founder and the CEO are on the same page on mission, company values, exit strategy, and workplace model.

Exit Strategy 407

Exit Strategy Leadership Founder Networking 407

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2020

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. Otherwise, in my experience, the startup will fail.

Leadership 326

Leadership Technical Review Development Team Review Startup 326

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

by Zain Jaffer, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Zain Ventures. When the time comes, the following actions can help entrepreneurs get back on their feet: 1. As the previous Co-Founder and CEO of Vungle, Zain secured $25 million in funding and was an instrumental player in the major growth of the company.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

More and more entrepreneurs are hearing about the successful graduates and investors queued behind a few well-known startup incubators, including Y Combinator, TechStars, and the Founder Institute. In my view, the quality of incubator leadership is the single biggest potential value provided and learning opportunity for entrepreneurs.

Incubator 366

Incubator Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 366

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2023

I’ve heard it many times from technical entrepreneurs who should know better than to believe the old “ Field of Dreams ” sports fantasy movie theme in today’s Internet information overload environment. “If we build it, they will come.”

Founder 239

Founder Architecture Startup Public Relations 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. The founder had simply not done the work to validate a price and customer segment. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

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 25, 2022

Business partners can be co-founders in a startup, multiple owners of an existing business, or a joint venture. As a former startup investor, I was often involved with due diligence on founders, and I felt that founders should do the same on co-founders, as well as investors. Trust is evident from his/her constituents.

Technical Review 313

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Cofounder 313

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Time management.

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Startup Software Review Retention 333

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

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. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

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

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

View from Seed

JULY 8, 2020

Over the intervening years, we’ve heard continued and consistent feedback about the value of it for seed stage Founders in providing both strategic thought and tactical help in assembling their post-financing investor communications. Again, we’ve put together the full template here for founders to utilize.

Email 331

Email Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 331

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. For one-on-one coaching from the startup founder, I call this approach five-minute mentoring.

Elevator Pitch 386

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Dividend Leadership 386

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2021

As a logical and data-driven business advisor, I have long focused on facts, technology, and quantifiable pain in guiding entrepreneurs. Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes, set a higher purpose of donating a pair of shoes to the needy for every pair sold, and found that the return was far greater than the cost of donated shoes.

Customer 432

Customer Social Media Dividend Technical Review 432

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. Money allows entrepreneurs to execute a flawed business plan far too long, rather than stay focused on the market and adapt.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe that a great idea alone will assure business success. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. Entrepreneurs set the price of their solution based on their costs, and their perception of value.

Sales 348

Sales Startup Bootstrapping Technical Review 348

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Here again, the entrepreneur will be the one hurt most, by having fewer funding sources to access.

Angel Investor 361

Angel Investor Accredited Investor IRR Angel Groups 361

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

and of course a relentless pursuit of helping founders succeed. So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. She made the right decisions not joining back then because that founder empathy is the “++” that makes a difference in this business. So why now? Does This Mean You’re Retiring?

Partner 361

Partner Management Cofounder San Francisco 361

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Investing in strong leaders, including entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs, or corporate icons such as Jack Welch, has long been recognized as a key to reduced risk, and the key to high valuation on the side of the seller.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. 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. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2022

Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the team. From an entrepreneur perspective, here are the key barrier-to-understanding elements: Unclear frame of reference. Stereotyping and biases.

Semantic 342

Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 342

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

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. Yet most investors agree that the “idea” is worth nothing alone, and it’s the entrepreneur execution that counts.

Startup 331

Startup Technical Review Social Network Reputation 331

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

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. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

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. Some entrepreneurs seem to think that their product pitch is also their investor pitch. More importantly, investors want to see and hear the top guy – typically the founder or CEO.

Technical Review 369

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 369