Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. On the top line, angel investors look to invest in entrepreneurs that have an almost unwavering passion and sense of urgency. If you don’t have it, you probably won’t succeed, even with funding.

Angel Investor 241

Angel Investor Technical Review Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 241

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

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

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.

Engineer 219

Engineer Entrepreneur Offshore Merger 219

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. If the entrepreneur plans to grow the company into a family business, or keep it private, they will either never be interested in buying out investors, or will certainly not be motivated to provide the 10x return that investors are looking for.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 27, 2012

Entrepreneurs can still build big businesses on the outskirts.” David encourages entrepreneurs to stay away from the big tech firms (such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple) because they are hard to compete with. We once thought the merger of AOL/Time Warner needed to be investigated by the DOJ. Laughable now.

Silicon Valley 299

Silicon Valley Technical Review Early Stage Cofounder 299

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2022

Thus it behooves every entrepreneur to start watching these things more carefully from the very start. This business phase is where every entrepreneur starts. This is the end game for an industry, and many companies, characterized by mergers and acquisitions to a few dominant players. Consider MySpace and Webvan. Consolidation.

Dilution 355

Dilution Startup Merger Flash 355

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

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

OCTOBER 27, 2014

The good news is that a patent can scare off or at least delay competitors, and as a “rule of thumb” patents can add up to $1M to your startup valuation for investors or M&A exits (merger and acquisition). They know that these entrepreneurs don’t have the skill or resources to defend themselves. Software technology changes rapidly.

Software Review 250

Software Review Software Technical Review Intellectual Property 250

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. On the top line, angel investors look to invest in entrepreneurs that have an almost unwavering passion and sense of urgency. entrepreneurs intestors startups characteristics business'

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 273

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. There’s lots of lore, emotion, and misconceptions of what VC’s do or don’t do for entrepreneurs. What this meant for entrepreneurs and VC’s was simple– the gold rush to liquidity was on. What Do VC’s Do?

Silicon Valley 237

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 237

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. These phases are focused on inorganic growth, mergers, buyouts, acquisitions, and exit preparation for the business. Moreover, there is always a possibility of a future merger and consolidation.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

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. You need to be constantly assessing mergers and acquisitions, as well as divestitures. Cote, former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I’d say about 80% of the experienced entrepreneurs & VCs I know privately agreed with me. Create hassles for post-merger integration of technology or teams. Naturally some didn’t. Focus the most senior person in the company’s time away from critical decision making on daily business.

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 28, 2022

9- A merger of two companies. With that merger, half of each of our business’ names also merged, and that’s how we came up with ‘Enventys Partners’. The post 30 Entrepreneur Explain How They Came Up With Their Business Name appeared first on Hearpreneur. Thanks to Marilyn Gaskell, True People Search ! #9-

Naming 161

Naming Entrepreneur Jordan Merger 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2013

How do you as an entrepreneur with a new idea get to be one of those choices? That means there are far more entrepreneurs looking for money than there are investors, and entrepreneur entitlement is not a realistic expectation. That means merger and acquisition (M&A), not initial public offering (IPO). Exit strategy.

Angel Investor 269

Angel Investor Cram Down Intellectual Property Venture Capital 269

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. If the entrepreneur plans to grow the company into a family business, or keep it private, they will either never be interested in buying out investors, or will certainly not be motivated to provide the 10x return that investors are looking for.

Exit Strategy 264

Exit Strategy Private Equity Equity Technical Review 264

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2019

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Yet reverse mergers are not all bad.

Merger 303

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 303

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2010

I have often found entrepreneurs want to present the positive progress of the company to impress the board rather than engage in debate about how to make things better. Of course there are times where a board’s voice is gospel: mergers, raising capital, replacing the CEO, etc. It takes self confidence to do the latter.

Startup 288

Startup Merger Technical Review Framework 288

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

Yesterday I had lunch with a really interesting and capable serial entrepreneur who is raising his A round. Many serial entrepreneurs who have been burned would use something less kind than quotes. Many strategics have less experience in helping entrepreneurs. This is part of my ongoing Raising Venture Capital (VC) series.

Strategic Investors 279

Strategic Investors Venture Capital Due Diligence Early Stage 279

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2019

Thus it behooves every entrepreneur to start watching these things more carefully from the very start. This business phase is where every entrepreneur starts. This is the end game for an industry, and many companies, characterized by mergers and acquisitions to a few dominant players. Consider MySpace and Webvan. Consolidation.

Dilution 224

Dilution Merger Flash Global 224

Gust

OCTOBER 19, 2014

The good news is that a patent can scare off or at least delay competitors, and as a “rule of thumb” patents can add up to $1M to your startup valuation for investors or M&A exits (merger and acquisition). They know that these entrepreneurs don’t have the skill or resources to defend themselves. Software technology changes rapidly.

Software Review 173

Software Review Software Technical Review Intellectual Property 173

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2013

Thus it behooves every entrepreneur to start watching these things more carefully from the very start. This business phase is where every entrepreneur starts. This is the end game for an industry, and many companies, characterized by mergers and acquisitions to a few dominant players. Consider MySpace and Webvan. Consolidation.

Dilution 187

Dilution Merger Flash Global 187

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2014

With the uptick in the economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, and an old one long out of favor, the so-called “reverse merger.” Yet reverse mergers are not all bad.

Merger 246

Merger OTC IPO Stock 246

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Techventure 2011 – one of Asia’s topmost events for the venture capital community to engage with the latest technology entrepreneurs organized by Asiasons WFG and presented by National Research Foundation (NRF) and Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) – will celebrate its 15th year on October 13 and 14.

Singapore 162

Singapore Private Equity Asia Venture Capital 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2018

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. Thus I’m getting more questions on new mechanisms, like crowd funding, or going public through the side door as a reverse merger. Yet reverse mergers are not all bad.

Merger 198

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 198

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

An exit strategy is a method by which entrepreneurs and investors, especially those that have invested large sums of money in startup companies, transfer ownership of their business to a third party, or by which they recoup money invested in the business. See Also 3 Things Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Exit Strategies.

Exit Strategy 117

Exit Strategy Lock-up Period Merger IPO 117

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 2, 2013

How Empires Fall: The Publicis Omnicom Merger Underscores The Rapid Decay Of The Ad Industry – [link]. On Publicis/Omnicom merger: Between 70 & 90% of most mergers fail – [link]. “Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.” – [link].

Social Media 98

Social Media Small Business Design Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

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.

Offshore 139

Offshore Merger Technical Review Distribution 139

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

The founders felt that having a legitimate site for content would discourage Silicon Valley VC’s from funding entrepreneurs to create the next big TV killer. As NBC (founding shareholder at Hulu) and Comcast complete their merger I suspect the pressure on and control of Hulu will be even firmer. The Road Ahead?

Video 292

Video Technical Review Advertising Distribution 292

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

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.

Offshore 120

Offshore Startup Merger Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

Thus it behooves every entrepreneur to start watching these things more carefully from the very start. This business phase is where every entrepreneur starts. This is the end game for an industry, and many companies, characterized by mergers and acquisitions to a few dominant players. Consider MySpace and Webvan. Consolidation.

Dilution 134

Dilution Merger Flash Global 134

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

The road to becoming an entrepreneur is a journey , and it’s not a short trip. Every entrepreneur starts by accepting the reality that you have a rare mindset of joy of discovery, with an intense curiosity about how certain things or people work, or why a new technology hasn’t yet been accepted.

Entrepreneur 348

Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Incubator Merger 348

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 22, 2018

With constant downsizing, mergers, and business pivots, today’s workers must be able to create a stable income. You have to understand the impact of technology on your field and be able to manage yourself as a brand and an entrepreneur. Many workers transition to gigs because they enjoy the flexible work schedule and location.

Merger 100

Merger Software Review Technical Review Developer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2016

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. If the entrepreneur plans to grow the company into a family business, or keep it private, they will either never be interested in buying out investors, or will certainly not be motivated to provide the 10x return that investors are looking for.

Equity 120

Equity Exit Strategy Private Equity Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2016

Most entrepreneurs work long and hard to get a handshake agreement from an investor, and then tend to relax and wait for the check to clear. What they don’t realize is that about half the investment deals fail to close at this stage, including mergers and acquisitions , during the due-diligence process.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Cap Table Intellectual Property 120

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 15, 2022

There are many benefits of selling your startup through a mergers and acquisitions advisor. When selling your startup with a mergers and acquisitions advisor, it’s essential to identify the key employees who have made the most valuable contributions to the business. As an entrepreneur, you already built a marketable startup.

Merger 158

Merger Acquisition Due Diligence Valuation 158