Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2023

Let’s take a hard look at the key potential weaknesses of a visionary, and the value of an execution-oriented partner, which the authors call an integrator : Staying focused and following through. If your strength is being a visionary, use that vision to attract a complementary partner, and make it a win-win opportunity for both of you.

Partner 206

Partner Cofounder Startup Bandwidth 206

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

The key elements of leadership in a company, both individual and organizational, are less tangible, but very critical in setting a market value for investment, acquisition, or going public. In the investment community, these leadership elements are often called “goodwill.” Execution leadership. Leadership brand development.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 13, 2019

In businesses, this requires a new internal culture and leadership. By understanding experiences, you will better understand the needs of people around you, including your customers and partners. A design mindset is not product-focused - it’s solution focused and action oriented towards creating better customer experiences and value.

Leadership 242

Leadership Design Dividend Framework 242

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

The key elements of leadership in a company, both individual and organizational, are less tangible, but very critical in setting a market value for investment, acquisition, or going public. In the investment community, these leadership elements are often called “goodwill.” Execution leadership. Leadership brand development.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

The challenge is to recognize and recruit that ideal partner match early with minimal cost and risk. In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO.

Cofounder 221

Cofounder Software Review CTO Hire Founder 221

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2021

There you can connect with thousands of potential executives and partners, or find a planned meetup in a city near you. Provide effective leadership. Remember that leadership is both upward, as well as downward to direct reports and employees. Also, trusted advisors and experienced investors should be polled for good candidates.

Exit Strategy 407

Exit Strategy Leadership Founder Networking 407

View from Seed

JUNE 13, 2019

The company launched in 2011 and then was acquired by PetSmart for over $3 billion in 2017 (PetSmart itself owned by PE firm BC Partners), but Chewy is now preparing for life as a standalone public company. Chewy also appears to have cashflows going up to its parent PetSmart, which is owned by PE firm BC Partners. Conclusion.

Leadership 214

Leadership .Net Revenue Aggregator 214

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

One person can build a product, but it takes a dedicated team, with strong leadership, to build a business. In most companies, maintaining momentum requires the right strategic partners and acquisitions, in lieu of short-term price adjustments and special sales. Build a strong employee culture focused on growth.

Technical Review 400

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 26, 2023

The enterprise focuses on bringing the best global medical partners to the U.S. IML’s leadership role as a resource for the U.S. SpA commented: “Partnering with International Medical Lasers resulted in a positive turnaround in our US presence in the laser surgical sector.

Leadership 147

Leadership Technical Review Global Cofounder 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2020

Let’s take a hard look at the key potential weaknesses of a visionary, and the value of an execution-oriented partner, which the authors call an integrator : Staying focused and following through. If your strength is being a visionary, use that vision to attract a complementary partner, and make it a win-win opportunity for both of you.

Founder 329

Founder Cofounder Bandwidth Matching 329

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence. I was amazed at your innovation, approach, cleverness, enthusiasm, leadership traits, background, education, team?—?everything. What do I do now?

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. Under the stresses of a startup, visible leadership cues can make the difference between success and failure. The rest is history.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2020

These have helped them build trust and confidence among team members, and effectively sell their message to partners, investors, vendors and customers. Hoping for good luck and applying pressure is not leadership. This applies to suppliers and business partners as well. Allocates adequate resources to overcome constraints.

Entrepreneur 314

Entrepreneur Leadership Networking Partner 314

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2022

Based on many years of experience in business as an executive and consultant, I have long been convinced that emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) in leadership wins over logical intelligence (IQ) every time. It is especially important for you to recognize your life’s purpose , and understand how it is driving your leadership.

Leadership 352

Leadership Partner Developer Management 352

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2023

The most valuable assets of a new startup are the people on the team, and the most challenging task of the entrepreneur and team leaders is to spend their leadership time and energy productively. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members. Rising stars.

Employee 267

Employee Leadership Cofounder Matching 267

deal architect

JULY 20, 2022

This time it is Bob Buday of Buday Thought Leadership Partners. As we have moved to virtual briefings, I have increasingly been excerpting short video segments (with permission) as part of my Analyst Cam series. For over 3 decades, he.

Leadership 370

Leadership Partner Video 370

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2023

As a business consultant, I can get you started in this transformation, but I was pleased to see more detailed guidance, including things to watch out for, in a recent book, “ The Ecosystem Economy ,” by Venkat Atluri and Miklos Dietz, both senior partners at McKinsey & Company with much experience.

Partner 350

Partner Operations Metrics Leadership 350

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2022

They don’t realize that it takes more to succeed in business or a career – it takes leadership skills to get people to follow you, including peers, a team, business partners, and customers. Luckily, you can learn needed leadership skills. Celebrate small successes in your leadership efforts.

Leadership 285

Leadership Startup Networking Engineer 285

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 11, 2020

It’s not leadership. The military has three of the four pieces of the puzzle you need: strategy, access to technology, leadership. Leadership was not the problem. Strategy, technology, leadership – those were fine. The operational role key allies and partners should be willing to play in future conflicts.

Technical Review 369

Technical Review Taiwan Technology Design 369

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Peer relationships and good advisor relationships are key to any balanced leadership, especially for right-brained people. Even Steve Jobs, who relished his visionary thinking, later learned to listen to his advisors and his Board, after loosing his leadership role in the early days of Apple.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review Metrics Leadership Technology 332

TechEmpower

AUGUST 21, 2023

The explanation from software leadership is often unsatisfying or unclear. Are you preparing to expand, take your business in a new direction, or take on new partners? Getting Buy-in from Leadership Business leaders are often concerned about how their tech teams will react to an external technical review. Why TechEmpower?

Technical Review 260

Technical Review Development Team Review Software Review Architecture 260

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 10, 2025

Solving the Marketing Leadership Gap for Small Business (Marketing Leadership as a Service) written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Small business marketing can feel like an endless checklist: create content , run Google Ads, post on social media, and optimize for SEO. They fail because they lack marketing leadership.

Leadership 44

Leadership Small Business Marketing Social Media 44

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2023

I believe it all starts with you as a leadership role model, and the mindset and expectations you broadcast to your team. This also applies to key customers as well as strategic partners. Solicit partners with complementary strengths. I’m often asked for the secret to this attribute in developing a team culture.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Partner Matching Channel 277

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

They had been introduced by my friend Brian Garrett, a partner at Crosscut Ventures and the ambition outlined in their deck seemed almost unbelievable, “to make wireless charging of phones (and other devices) as easy as WiFi” that I had to see it for myself. Meredith came to see me along with the CTO Marc Berte.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence CTO Hire 418

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. Under the stresses of a startup, visible leadership cues can make the difference between success and failure. The rest is history.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 269

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

By September 18th we were ready to bring them to a full partner meeting and as a group we were bought into the vision and the experience of this exact team to pull things off. And to watch my partner Steven really develop a great thesis around where gaming and transmedia are heading into the future. And Seriously.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2019

As an advisor to business owners, and an occasional angel investor, my job is to separate the actual challenges from the common misconceptions that distract many promising entrepreneurs while building the leadership team required for your solution, marketing, and finance success. Partner with experts who share the risk.

Bandwidth 246

Bandwidth Software Review Salary Angel Investor 246

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

During my time in Silicon Valley, I was struck by the fact that most successful entrepreneurs seemed to personally know and regularly hear from all the “movers and shakers” who had the investment capital and leadership they needed. The best marketing requires storytelling skills , with emotions and values.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Technical Review Leadership Metrics 284

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 29, 2020

Since employees have been working remotely, organizations have seen a significant increase in productivity and communication, making employers more open toward hiring or partnering with people that are located throughout the US and all over the world. It’s a win-win. Employees clearly want and enjoy the flexibility. It’s a win for both sides.

Technical Review 275

Technical Review Cofounder Leadership Employee 275

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Now they are partners. Leadership over backbenchers? I wish I had 20% of her confidence, focus and leadership skills at 25. Who in the auto industry believed Tesla, a totally electric car, was a good idea? The collective wisdom of the establishment to this huge innovation? Are you willing to give them the benefit of the doubt?

Technical Review 417

Technical Review South Korea San Francisco Software Review 417

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

Mr. Everhart distills his leadership insights from many decades in one of the largest business-to-business marketing agencies, working with companies across the country. Outside partners and channel impacts are complex. Use these to set probability limits on apparent ROI results.

Acquisition 250

Acquisition Cost Customer Sales Cycle 250

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2019

I also find that leaders are made, not born , meaning that we all can grow into leadership, if we learn from experience. This made his leadership team stronger, and built huge bonds with his team. Develop an action plan to lead from your strengths, and seek outside support or complementary partners to shore up leadership weaknesses.

Leadership 195

Leadership Partner Restful Demand 195

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2023

Should they go after high-tech nerds for partners, or professional technologists? The right answer for a good business partner today is neither of the above. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology. Are you there? Martin Zwilling

Technical Cofounder 260

Technical Cofounder Technology Management Entrepreneur 260

View from Seed

MARCH 4, 2020

At a firm level, I think that getting multiple partners on the list is a great milestone as well. In 2009 Bessemer had the most Midas List partners with 6 investors. Name brand firms like Benchmark, Sequoia, and NEA had 4+ partners on the list. The number of firms with multiple midas list partners was 16.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital China Technical Review Africa 313

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

To win in this environment, you may need to expand your leadership in industry conferences and community activities. This may require you selling exclusivity, doing channel development, or alliances with new partners. Target audience may be limited or new due to price. Another approach is to expand your scope geographically.

Product 354

Product Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Dividend 354

Up and Running

OCTOBER 13, 2022

But there comes a time when bringing on executive leadership is the reasonable and right next step. Another benefit of filling executive leadership roles is that doing so will likely free up time you can spend on other things. The nature of your business will determine which executive leadership positions make the most sense.

CTO Hire 163

CTO Hire Fractional CTO CTO Hiring 163

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2020

In the entrepreneur world, your perception is equally critical, except the “managers” in this world are your investors, customers, vendors, business partners, and team members. Use the idea to kick-start your relationships with co-founders, investors, customers and business partners.

Startup 331

Startup Technical Review Social Network Reputation 331