Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

As an angel investor, I’ve learned to believe in this approach, since I have seen great ideas go astray, due to poor execution and I have seen apparently marginal ideas make millions, managed by a savvy entrepreneur. Similarly, mentioning viral marketing without specifics won’t assure fundability. Focus on customer needs.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2016

What every entrepreneur is asking me these days, is “How do I get to be a unicorn?” Yet there are a common set of driving factors that every entrepreneur should know, including the following: Extraordinary marketplace traction. Strong intellectual property and defensibility. These are popularly called “unicorns.”

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Merger Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

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 120

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

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 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. No intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 274

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Viral Early Stage 274

The Next Web

AUGUST 26, 2012

We are currently in the middle of a restart and would like to share our seven lessons learned in the hopes that other entrepreneurs can benefit from our experiences and increase their chances for success. The metrics that matter the most are returning customers (user retention), turnover per customer and viral growth (k-factor).

Bankruptcy 121

Bankruptcy Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Of course, never forget those ongoing perspiration items that seem to haunt you every day: Create intellectual property. Marketing is top priority.

Sweat Equity 400

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Startup Viral 400

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2012

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” Word-of-mouth and viral are not long-term solutions. Protecting your company’s assets should be your first priority.

Intellectual Property 276

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Leadership Viral 276

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2012

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Of course, never forget those ongoing perspiration items that seem to haunt you every day: Create intellectual property. Marketing is top priority.

Sweat Equity 256

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Viral 256

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2021

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” Word-of-mouth and viral are not long-term solutions. Protecting your company’s assets must be your first priority.

Intellectual Property 345

Intellectual Property Leadership Viral Early Stage 345

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. No intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 251

Intellectual Property Startup Viral Early Stage 251

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 18, 2012

Know your market dynamics If traction relative to your competitors defines the success of a company, it’s absolutely critical for any entrepreneur to understand the dynamics happening in his or her market. Again, word of mouth can lead to a strong market leader, creating a significant barrier to entry for anyone else.

IP 163

IP Technical Review B2C Social Network 163

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2013

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” Word-of-mouth and viral are not long-term solutions. Protecting your company’s assets should be your first priority.

Intellectual Property 265

Intellectual Property Founder Startup Leadership 265

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2013

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Of course, never forget those ongoing perspiration items that seem to haunt you every day: Create intellectual property. Marketing is top priority.

Sweat Equity 251

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Startup Viral 251

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2010

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Of course, never forget those ongoing perspiration items that seem to haunt you every day: Create intellectual property. Marketing is top priority.

Sweat Equity 222

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Viral Salary 222

Gust

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Every young entrepreneur knows implicitly that startup success is a long hard road. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. No intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 183

Intellectual Property Startup Viral Early Stage 183

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2019

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” Word-of-mouth and viral are not long-term solutions. Protecting your company’s assets must be your first priority.

Intellectual Property 231

Intellectual Property Leadership Viral Early Stage 231

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

In the aftermath of the recent pandemic, which caused many businesses to close, a new raft of business workers and entrepreneurs are deciding to pursue their own dreams of being a new business owner, and controlling your own destiny. Pick a name, location, and marketing strategy early. Names and taglines are critical to success.

Intellectual Property 245

Intellectual Property Social Media Angel Investor Metrics 245

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2011

So sites have to invest heavily in viral marketing to achieve critical mass, which competes with current social networks, while users expect to join both for free. Intellectual property is tough. It’s hard to invent and patent more “scientific” methods on how to match people.

Intellectual Property 229

Intellectual Property Social Network Matching Viral 229

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2013

So sites have to invest heavily in viral marketing to achieve critical mass, which competes with current social networks, while users expect to join both for free. Intellectual property is tough. It’s hard to invent and patent more “scientific” methods on how to match people.

Intellectual Property 215

Intellectual Property Social Network Matching Viral 215

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2017

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” Word-of-mouth and viral are not long-term solutions. Protecting your company’s assets must be your first priority.

Intellectual Property 160

Intellectual Property Leadership Viral Early Stage 160

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Small investment firms often have interns and entrepreneurs in residence passing through, each of which is a security risk. Chris Dixon, Partner, A16Z, observes , “Success in VC is probably 10% about picking, and 90% about sourcing the right deals and having entrepreneurs choose your firm as a partner”. 2) Market .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2010

So sites have to invest heavily in viral marketing to achieve critical mass, which competes with current social networks, while users expect to join both for free. Intellectual property is tough. Tags: online dating entrepreneurs failure business. So are customers. Let’s give it them. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 124

Intellectual Property Social Network Matching Viral 124

Growthink Blog

AUGUST 14, 2010

The best articulation of it comes from Basil Peters, a serial technology entrepreneur, co-Founder of Nexus Engineering, former Canada Entrepreneur of the Year, and Managing Partner at 3 venture capital funds – Fundamental Technologies I and II and the BC Advantage Funds. The next big technology investment idea is the “Early Exit.”

Private Equity 67

Private Equity Intellectual Property IPO Venture Capital 67

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. More than one smart entrepreneur has been caught in the lofty lifestyle of big money investors, viral growth, and movie star status. But I’m not convinced that it’s as simple as that. Fail fast and pivot. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 314

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Bankruptcy Viral 314

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2020

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. More than one smart entrepreneur has been caught in the lofty lifestyle of big money investors, viral growth, and movie star status. But I’m not convinced that it’s as simple as that. Fail fast and pivot. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 310

Intellectual Property Startup Bankruptcy Viral 310

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 17, 2015

Kim Kardashian Is a Lot of Things, But Not an Entrepreneur [link] crowdspring.co/1KKoh6v 4 Steps to Being an Entrepreneur Without Quitting Your Job [link] crowdspring.co/1C38ehk How to Protect Your Intellectual Property When Crowdfunding: 5 Tips [link] crowdspring.co/1LyHiI1 1LyHlna . 1TjcNbz .

Small Business 48

Small Business Design Social Media Cuba 48

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2016

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. More than one smart entrepreneur has been caught in the lofty lifestyle of big money investors, viral growth, and movie star status. But I’m not convinced that it’s as simple as that. Fail fast and pivot. Marty Zwilling.

Business Model 120

Business Model Intellectual Property Startup Bankruptcy 120

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 14, 2011

5 great viral marketing campaigns (and what small businesses can learn from them!). This is not to say that you shouldn’t introduce value in features that can be easily copied, but rather that your most significant brand benefits should be unique and difficult to re-create. Photo: Nelson Minar.

Small Business 96

Small Business Intellectual Property Differentiation Startup 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2015

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. More than one smart entrepreneur has been caught in the lofty lifestyle of big money investors, viral growth, and movie star status. business entrepreneur mistakes Scott Fearon startup' Fail fast and pivot. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Bankruptcy Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2013

The hot term these days is “viral marketing”, meaning we won’t do any marketing, but our product is so great that everyone will know about us anyway by word of mouth and through Internet social networks. In most cases, viral marketing only begins to work after you prime the pump with several million in real marketing over a couple of years.

Sweat Equity 277

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Viral 277

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2011

The hot term these days is “viral marketing”, meaning we won’t do any marketing, but our product is so great that everyone will know about us anyway by word of mouth and through Internet social networks. In most cases, viral marketing only begins to work after you prime the pump with several million in real marketing over a couple of years.

Sweat Equity 246

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Viral Social Network 246

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

The hot term these days is “viral marketing”, meaning we won’t do any marketing, but our product is so great that everyone will know about us anyway by word of mouth and through Internet social networks. In most cases, viral marketing only begins to work after you prime the pump with several million in real marketing over a couple of years.

Sweat Equity 238

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Startup Viral 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2010

The hot term these days is “viral marketing”, meaning we won’t do any marketing, but our product is so great that everyone will know about us anyway by word of mouth and through Internet social networks. In most cases, viral marketing only begins to work after you prime the pump with several million in real marketing over a couple of years.

Sweat Equity 130

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Startup Viral 130