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.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

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. Budget time and dollars for each.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

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. Often the Boomer is more willing to work for equity, and easily convinced to step aside when revenues reach that next threshold.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are looking to the Internet as an opportunity to get rich quick, instead of a place where you can start a business you love, for very little capital and minimal technical expertise. Generate revenue around the clock. Focus on recurring revenues. Use the Internet to outsource staff.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Software Review Internet Revenue 312

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

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

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. Typical valuations range from 3x-5x revenues. Valuations are back to 3x-5x revenues.

Artificial Inteligence 436

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Based on my experience advising new entrepreneurs as well as more mature businesses, I recommend the following strategies for building business momentum, while still optimizing the limited resources of every small business: Find more customers that like what you do best. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

Technical Review 400

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2020

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? Ask domain experts to quantify value for you. Martin Zwilling.

Technical Review 434

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 434

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. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

by Zain Jaffer, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Zain Ventures. When it occurs, the consequences can be swift and devastating, wreaking potential havoc on a once steady stream of revenue. When it occurs, the consequences can be swift and devastating, wreaking potential havoc on a once steady stream of revenue.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

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. Often the Boomer is more willing to work for equity, and easily convinced to step aside when revenues reach that next threshold.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

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

MAY 14, 2023

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 258

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

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. Yet don’t assume that any of these will override the basic need of every business to be self-sustaining via revenue to meet expenses over time.

Customer 432

Customer Social Media Dividend Technical Review 432

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. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. In reality, all risks are not the same.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Every aspiring entrepreneur I know is talking about the fact that there are over 2,000 billionaires in the world today, and how their innovative idea could make them one of the next ones. Becoming an entrepreneur is actually a commitment to a new lifestyle, certainly very exciting, but also facing many unknowns and risks.

Merger 386

Merger Acquisition Software Review Social Media 386

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. It’s a company that creates multiple startups in-house, then finds entrepreneurs who take them over to grow them. Why Would an Entrepreneur Join a Venture Studio?

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Every entrepreneur and business executive knows that continuous innovation is required to survive, but most struggle with this more than any other challenge they face. Experiments on today’s revenue engine necessarily focus on short-term financial goals. Innovation driven by the next crisis is not leadership.

Framework 402

Framework Engineer Leadership Revenue 402

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

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

MARCH 6, 2021

Many startups see initial revenue from customers, and love the fast growth, but fail to anticipate the cost of early vendor payments, monthly overhead costs, and later taxes. Entrepreneurs should sign every check and manage cash personally, rather than delegate this task to anyone.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

YoungUpstarts

MAY 12, 2020

by Mario Peshev, author of “ 126 Steps to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur: The Entrepreneurship Fad and the Dark Side of Going Solo “ Running a business alone is challenging, but this is usually not the end goal for beginner entrepreneurs.

Distribution 264

Distribution Vertical Business Plan Software Developers 264

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

As a long-time business advisor, and an investor in startups along the way, I’m always on the lookout for an entrepreneur who is responding first to a problem in the marketplace , rather than bringing a new technology to the market, assuming it will find a problem to solve. A recurring expense was turned into a recurring revenue.

Social Media 330

Social Media Entrepreneur Revenue Internet 330

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

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. Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits. It’s the antithesis of the Lean Startup.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 12, 2024

Rising costs threaten AI projects From intelligent product development to data-driven decision-making, it’s no wonder entrepreneurs have turned to AI to drive business growth. Despite the generous budget allocated to this area of business operations, unfortunately costs for entrepreneurs and executives continue to rise.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Cost Artificial Inteligence Analytics 167

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

But I recommend entrepreneurs and prospective business builders consider the Agency Builder model. So an entrepreneur forming a startup studio benefits from having experience in the industry sector they hope to serve. Client work serves as an additional source of revenue to form new startups.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

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

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 10, 2023

Often entrepreneurs and business owners create their New Year’s Resolutions around their businesses. It could be more revenue, hiring clients, or launching a new product or service, but every new year is an exciting time because it’s ripe with opportunity. It’s almost new year and right after the ball drops, it’s time to go to work.

Technical Review 146

Technical Review Entrepreneur Artificial Inteligence Affiliate 146

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2023

Entrepreneurs who experience success with their first startup are often amazed to realize that the risks and fears of doing it right the second time go up, rather than down. Encores are tough, especially in the high-risk world of startups, yet every entrepreneur I know can’t wait to start over and do it again.

Technical Review 229

Technical Review Due Diligence Business Model Demand 229

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 11, 2021

Since releasing my newest book The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Nietzsche: A Book for Disruptors I’ve been continually getting the questions “Why Philosophy and Entrepreneurship?” For entrepreneurs? We started playing with expanding upon his pithy aphorisms and gathering stories from entrepreneurs, and it clicked.

Common Stock 213

Common Stock Boston Europe Software Developers 213

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 7, 2024

From identifying your audience to understanding the market and mapping out your finances, entrepreneurs have found they have a lot to do before building a successful venture. But luckily, gone are the days when entrepreneurs have to spend countless hours on these beginning steps.

Artificial Inteligence 156

Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Algorithm Cofounder 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Real contracts, testimonials, and even statements of intent are much more effective, if not real revenue and growth statistics.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

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? Ask domain experts to quantify value for you. Martin Zwilling

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 267

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

REASON 4: Digitally Driven Companies Have Greater Revenue Growth. A study by the Aberdeen Group found that the top 20 percent of companies as measured by their “quality of digital customer experience” enjoyed an average year-over-year increase in revenue of over 35 percent, compared to a 7.7 percent average for the rest.

Valuation 264

Valuation Technical Review Revenue Operations 264

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Real contracts, testimonials, and even statements of intent are much more effective, if not real revenue and growth statistics.

Business Plan 273

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 273