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

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. Products too expensive for the market won’t succeed, and prices too low will leave you exposed. Match with competitor prices and market demographics.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 21, 2013

Building a business from the ground up can be a difficult process, and every entrepreneur knows the importance of marketing. There are many different types of marketing, and it isn’t uncommon for one or more of them to be overlooked by busy business owners. Professionalisms marketing startup startups'

Marketing 153

Marketing Startup Technical Review Viral 153

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Companies are rightsized quickly now as markets change rapidly, and business professionals are quick to jump to new opportunities for growth and survival, with no ties to special benefits or pension plans. Thus smart business professionals are rapidly becoming the new entrepreneurs. Here are some examples: Marketing Professional.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

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

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

His basic point was: If someone, including me, tells you something isn’t a great idea and there’s no market for it there are only two acceptable responses. The other was a consumer play with possible viral growth. Would the consumer one get traction and be viral? Beware of Mentors. It was a top post on StartupRoar on Tuesday.

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227

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

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. If the customer need is obvious and large, the calculated risk is in the quality of your solution, your team, and marketing.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. If the customer need is obvious and large, the calculated risk is in the quality of your solution, your team, and marketing.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

I actually really enjoyed many of the points Muhammad made about marketing in general and I found myself nodding through the entirety of the article except for it’s core premise. It’s about looking out for and catching the next major marketing wave before others have grokked it. I laughed as I did at much of his rant.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

There are obvious reasons the industry has had less-than-desirable returns, including: massive over-funding of the sector, huge increases in inexperienced venture capitalists that took a decade to peter out, and the massive correction in the value of the public stock markets that closed many exit opportunities for half a decade.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2015

Companies are rightsized quickly now as markets change rapidly, and business professionals are quick to jump to new opportunities for growth and survival, with no ties to special benefits or pension plans. Thus smart business professionals are rapidly becoming the new entrepreneurs. Here are some examples: Marketing Professional.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media LLC 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2016

Companies are rightsized quickly now as markets change rapidly, and business professionals are quick to jump to new opportunities for growth and survival, with no ties to special benefits or pension plans. Thus smart business professionals are rapidly becoming the new entrepreneurs. Here are some examples: Marketing Professional.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media LLC 120

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Your business has a high viral co-efficient (or perhaps even a network effect) that lets you amass users cheaply without worrying too much about the monetization per user or spending money on paid acquisition. High LTV can usually be found in transactional or subscription businesses. In addition, churn tends to rise as a company grows.

Churn Rate 168

Churn Rate Viral Acquisition Cofounder 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2023

In retrospect, however, Bill Gates did a lot of things right as a startup that I still look for today in aspiring entrepreneurs and their companies: Build a strong team. Bill Gates ran the technical show, but Steve Ballmer never let him forget the marketing and business side of the equation. Market vision, focus, and opportunity.

Startup 205

Startup Viral Software Developers Software Development 205

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

When my friend’s small business was struggling a while back, I suggested he add some social media marketing initiatives, and his answer was that he was “too busy.” According to a recent Harvard Business Review article , only 60% of companies today use social media for marketing, and only 12% of those feel that they are using it effectively.

Social Media 289

Social Media Small Business Media Technical Review 289

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Products too expensive for the market won’t succeed, and prices too low will leave you exposed. Match with competitor prices and market demographics.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Mike Michalowicz

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

The most common question entrepreneurs ask me, is “how can I improve my marketing with no or little money?’ Just one of these ideas may trigger a marketing opportunity that you never considered before. Just one of these ideas may trigger a marketing opportunity that you never considered before. Facebook It!

Small Business 167

Small Business Marketing PR Social Media 167

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 25, 2023

From crafting a compelling brand identity to mastering digital marketing, it's a multifaceted journey that demands careful planning and execution. We asked entrepreneurs, and business owners their tips on building an e-commerce business and here are the responses. #1- Thanks to Jonathan Hussey, Developer Connection ! #4-

eCommerce 143

eCommerce Omaha Entrepreneur SEO 143

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

But why did Ring succeed when the entire market kept saying that Nest was going to be the winner? Why did Ring become an enormous success when it produced a hardware product and the market keeps saying, “hardware is too difficult to scale?” We had this discussion many times and with Jamie it wasn’t a marketing slogan?—?it

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Growth Hacking isn’t viral marketing (although viral marketing is part of it). and answers with A/B tests, landing pages, viral factor, email deliverability, and Open Graph. If a startup is pre-product/market fit, growth hackers can make sure virality is embedded at the core of a product.

API 167

API Viral Startup Retention 167

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2013

With an innovative product in the consumer payment space, the company had viral-ready content. Think of this as a marketing expense; these early adopters are the most valuable members of your social marketing team. Take good care of them, and organic, viral sharing may welcome your product to the marketplace.

Social Media 158

Social Media Media Viral Startup 158

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

How does an entrepreneur best deal with that environment? Jeremy applies his culture shift tenants to political and generic social issues, but I have adapted them here more specifically to the business realm of entrepreneurs and startups: Establish a social contract. business customer culture entrepreneur pivot startup'

Customer 210

Customer Social Media Affiliate Viral 210

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 21, 2013

Enter “ The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses “, a New York Times bestseller by founder of IMVU (creator of 3D avatars) Eric Ries. Validated learning should be the goal of all entrepreneurs.

Lean 193

Lean Technical Review North America Startup 193

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about their best business or entrepreneur turnaround story and here are the responses. #1- My favorite entrepreneur turnaround story is that of Lord Alan Sugar. Having a simple background in sales and marketing , he came up with attractive employee benefits. 6- Lord Alan Sugar.

Entrepreneur 127

Entrepreneur Bankruptcy Southern California South Africa 127

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Los Angeles Technical Review 256

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

How does an entrepreneur best deal with that environment? Jeremy applies his culture shift tenants to political and generic social issues, but I have adapted them here more specifically to the business realm of entrepreneurs and startups: Establish a social contract. I just saw some real insights in a new book by Jeremy D.

Social Media 201

Social Media Affiliate Viral Technical Review 201

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

One question that keeps coming up when speaking with early stage entrepreneurs when it comes to funding, is what metrics the company needs to hit to raise seed/series A/B etc: What’s a good conversion rate? Forecasting is sometimes done by dragging the mouse based on many assumptions, because it’s hard to predict the future.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 22, 2023

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about the 2023 trends they see in their industry and here are the responses. #1- 3- Social media Photo Credit: Tom Miller In my professional view, social media will continue to play a crucial role in the digital marketing strategies of successful businesses. Facebook is here to stay.

Artificial Inteligence 127

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Media 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. If the customer need is obvious and large, the calculated risk is in the quality of your solution, your team, and marketing.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

The Next Web

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Therefore, if you want to bring an MVP ( Minimum Viable Product ) to market, Werdelin approximates that you’ll need $50,000 to $250,000 , depending on the skill sets of the developers and designers you hire. Luck, timing and social engineering are bigger components than most entrepreneurs care to imagine,” adds Werdelin. 3) Facebook.

Cost 168

Cost San Francisco New York City Ruby 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2011

Viral marketing and word-of-mouth are not enough these days to make your product and brand visible in the relentless onslaught of new promotional media out there today. Innovation in marketing is perhaps more important than product innovation. Here are the new marketing rules I support: Insight comes before inspiration.

Viral 228

Viral Marketing Startup Demand 228

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

The good news is that everyone expects entrepreneurs to make mistakes, since founders explore uncharted territory. Usually, no competitors means no market -- or it means you haven’t looked. Every business takes time to scale and penetrate a market due to organizational growth, hiring, training, brand building and customer adoption.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

The Next Web

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Amanda Foley is a writer and marketing associate at audience.io , a New York and London based audience development company. Naming your startup can be one of the most difficult challenges for an entrepreneur. It’s like a TLD for techies with taste” says entrepreneur Russell Beattie. and wrangler.io , says, “.io io” as well.

Naming 166

Naming Cofounder New York Taiwan 166

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

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

Measuring viral adoption is obviously important. Most people under estimate the challenge of winning “share of mind” the least understood concept with tech entrepreneurs. How many adds came through organic SEO? How many through affiliate deals? How many through SEM? Do you have a customer referral program? In 6 months? In 3 months?

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

The Next Web

DECEMBER 19, 2013

Of course, my professional experience and accomplishments were instrumental in creating these opportunities, blogging amplified peoples’ interest in me and helped market my expertise. It’s a Long-Term Investment - It’s highly unlikely your first, second, third, or 50th post will “go viral.” I was going to be fine. And that’s fine.

Stealth 167

Stealth Cofounder Social Media Viral 167