Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. This source is a major focus these days, due to government initiatives to incent research and development on alternative energy and other technologies. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

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

DECEMBER 6, 2019

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. This source is a major focus these days, due to government initiatives to incent research and development on alternative energy and other technologies. Marty Zwilling.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

The first part was railing against the consequences of regulatory capture on innovation and a second part, about the consequences of premature government regulation of AI and why the incumbents are all for it. He recently gave a talk at the All-In Summit that was really two talks in one. Regulation What’s regulatory capture? In the U.S.

Washington 319

Washington Government Marketing Silicon Valley 319

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. Every inventor seems to think their invention is worth a million dollars, but I haven’t seen anyone pay that much for one yet.

Technical Review 391

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 391

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 5, 2023

The last few months have been an unprecedented time for entrepreneurs and startup founders on the market. Entrepreneurs Want a Great Place for Their Startup A slowdown in economic activity has made it increasingly challenging for entrepreneurs to establish themselves against the backdrop of reluctant consumer spending and recession risks.

South Africa 136

South Africa New York City San Francisco Silicon Valley 136

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. The most valuable organizations are able to govern their work environment through innovation, to cope with the increasing pace of change in culture and the marketplace. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. I continue to be amazed that some government agency reportedly still gets 100 calls per day from victims of the Nigerian unclaimed cash scam alone. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 371

Technical Review Due Diligence Non-disclosure Agreement Term Sheet 371

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. Board members provide inexpensive expertise.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

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

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Entrepreneurs that are not listening, not engaging, and not changing are destined to be left behind even in the best of times. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground. They don’t realize that business as usual is gone forever.

Agile 379

Agile Technical Review Leadership Social Media 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. The most valuable organizations are able to govern their work environment through innovation, to cope with the increasing pace of change in culture and the marketplace. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2020

There is so much confusion and misinformation out there about the government sponsored “payroll protection plan” loans to companies that the heads of every small business CEO in the country must be spinning. We have been advising a lot of entrepreneurs so I thought I’d “open source” some of the advice I have been sharing. shouldn’t I?

Programming 279

Programming Affiliate SBA Government 279

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

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 8, 2022

Here are seven new and unique business ideas for budding entrepreneurs. A facility management company can be a good start for budding entrepreneurs who want to tackle big companies such as banking and government offices. Discover your hidden talents and hone your skills; it is the best way to be an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 158

Entrepreneur SEM United States Web Development 158

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 25, 2023

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about the companies they’re starting in 2023 and here are the responses. #1- This presents a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to launch their own businesses and capitalize on the latest technology. Thanks to Michelle Wintersteen, MKW Creative Co. ! #3- Thanks to Justin Siken, HigherGov ! #15-

Software Review 124

Software Review Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur 124

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Most entrepreneurs today don’t remember the Dot-Com bubble of 1995 or the Dot-Com crash that followed in 2000. In short, Lean was an answer to a specific startup problem at a specific time, one that most entrepreneurs still face and which ebbs and flows depending on capital markets. It’s the antithesis of the Lean Startup.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. This source is a major focus these days, due to government initiatives to incent research and development on alternative energy and other technologies. Are you ready to start?

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

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 12, 2023

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Without it, entrepreneurs cannot protect their data and transactions, which is why understanding cryptography and csr certificates are critical. Here are five reasons why entrepreneurs need to understand cryptography, and how to implement cryptography as part of their digital security. Source: Pixabay. Data Security. Fraud Prevention.

Algorithm 158

Algorithm Entrepreneur Security Networking 158

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Government grants. Some nonprofit entrepreneurs think they can skip the whole plan, rather than just the sections on valuation, equity offered, and exit strategy. As in any company, they can lead to employee problems, or messy legal issues. In addition, the best nonprofits turn out to be the angel, rather than require one.

Angel Investor 327

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 327

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 23, 2020

Being an entrepreneur or business owner has its share of ups and downs. While the downs can be pretty low the ups always seem to triumph for a true entrepreneur at heart. Milestones are what entrepreneurs and business owners work towards. To be a successful entrepreneur, one can never standstill. 1- Freedom with my time.

Entrepreneur 152

Entrepreneur Technical Review Africa Revenue 152

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

Entrepreneurs that are not listening, not engaging, and not changing are destined to be left behind even in the best of times. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground. They don’t realize that business as usual is gone forever.

Agile 315

Agile Technical Review Leadership Social Media 315

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs. Products requiring changes to government regulations.

New York City 315

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 315

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

A critical stage for most first-time entrepreneurs is getting their idea developed into at least a prototype to validate their technology. Acquiring seed-stage funding is admittedly tough, but a source that I find often overlooked is government grant funding, accessible in the U.S. The approval process is long and bureaucratic.

Early Stage 225

Early Stage SBIR Technical Review Seed Stage 225

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. This source is a major focus these days, due to government initiatives to incent research and development on alternative energy and other technologies. Are you ready to start?

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Steve Blank

JUNE 8, 2021

In 2016, brainstorming with Pete Newell of BMNT and Joe Felter at Stanford, we observed that students in our research universities had little connection to the problems their government was trying to solve or the larger issues civil society was grappling with. Many will continue to work with their problem sponsor.

Lean 417

Lean Security Asia SBIR 417

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 2, 2022

In the last few days of 2021, we took some time to ask a few entrepreneurs and businesses what their biggest business accomplishments were. #1- Our membership network of thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs across hundreds of local chapters nationwide feel like they belong to an entire community now. 26- Grew my team.

Entrepreneur 127

Entrepreneur Jordan Employee Revenue 127

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 14, 2020

Design and construction cost – the enforcement of strict building codes at different levels of governance coupled by the need to reduce building design and construction cost is fueling the development of green buildings across the US and the rest of the world. Distinguished entrepreneur, Rusty Tweed is a strong proponent of renewable energy.

Green 176

Green California Government Valuation 176

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? Availability of necessary skills and team members.

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 267

View from Seed

JULY 8, 2020

Although many of these investors aim to actively help the company, the dynamics of the syndicate combined with the entrepreneurs’ preference result in a situation where there isn’t a regular assembling for a formal meeting. For an entrepreneur to grow from founder to true CEO, it’s empowering to act as if your business is already ahead.

Email 331

Email Seed Stage Syndicate Syndication 331

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Every business owner and entrepreneur I meet in my consulting rounds dreams of finding that “ disruptive ” innovation that will supercharge their business and move it into the ranks of business unicorns (billion-dollar valuations), such as SpaceX and Apple. Establish a governance process to support efforts.

Technical Review 252

Technical Review Silicon Valley Software Review Metrics 252

Hearpreneur

JULY 13, 2022

Here’s the list of industries with the most optimistic future as suggested by entrepreneurs. #1- Entrepreneurs who can spur innovation and offer solutions to these long-standing problems will have an edge over others and be a part of a fast-growing industry. 1- Network marketing is one such industry. Photo Credit: Hannah Dworkin.

Artificial Inteligence 126

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review 126

Up and Running

JUNE 21, 2021

New tech entrepreneurs can find it difficult to surmount the onslaught of obstacles to getting a new business off the ground. Rather than seeking private funding, the company’s owners obtained funds through DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), committing them to building products for government use.

Columbus 134

Columbus SBA SBIR Utah 134

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

I even prefer to fund entrepreneurs who have experience some level of set-backs in their careers or startups because I think it brings a humility to decision-making that I find healthy. I talk about failure a lot because I think it can be tremendously instructive and I think that success without failure often masks underlying lessons.

South Korea 261

South Korea Silicon Valley Los Angeles Japan 261