Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 9, 2020

We just held our sixteenth session of our new national security class Technology, Innovation and Modern War. Joe Felter , Raj Shah and I designed a class to examine the new military systems, operational concepts and doctrines that will emerge from 21st century technologies – Space, Cyber, AI & Machine Learning and Autonomy.

Acquisition 333

Acquisition Technical Review Technology Government 333

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options. Maintaining business momentum requires constant analysis and vigilance for market and technology changes, as well an internal focus on optimization.

Technical Review 400

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

Some pundits argue that the E-Myth principle is now outdated, due to the instant access to information via the Internet, pervasive networking via social media, and courses on entrepreneurship at all levels of education. The Technician’s Perspective envisions the business in parts, constructed from the bottom up, based on technical tasks.

Technical Review 341

Technical Review Social Media Startup Internet 341

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 380

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2022

In my experience as an angel investor to startups, goodwill disagreements are perhaps the most common reason that you will fail to close interested investors as an entrepreneur. Quality of your technical and business teams. Proprietary technology with a high barrier to entry. You need to do the same now.

Valuation 368

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 368

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. First in late-stage tech companies and then it will filter back to Growth and then A and ultimately Seed Rounds. In 2009 we could take a long time to review a deal.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2021

Some get stuck in a rut and get run over by competitors with new technology, like Eastman Kodak, and others get pushed into a crisis, like Apple did, before they reinvent themselves into a new market. Use that same technical and business expertise that served you well on this startup to find the next opportunity.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Institutional Investors 417

The Startup Magazine

JULY 25, 2024

When launching a product, digital technology can play an important part during the testing and research phase. Below are just a few different ways in which you can use digital tech to test and research your product. This technology can reduce the amounts of changes that might be requested during construction. CCO Licensed.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Technology Product Software Review 167

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away. Potential investors don’t need this data, except perhaps as part of a final due diligence after agreement on terms. Sharing trade secrets.

Non-disclosure Agreement 399

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 399

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

And the best startups spun out of Stanford were building components for weapon systems. As there was no venture capital, these early startups were funded by early sales to weapon systems prime contractors and subcontractors. There was a time when much of U.S.

Government 316

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 316

View from Seed

APRIL 6, 2021

You are a native of NYC tech with a strong network. You have 4-6 years of professional experience as a technology operator, founder, or investor in New York. You have unbounded curiosity for emerging trends, a love for experimentation, and you’re always eager to dive into new products and technologies before others do.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage Cofounder 317

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. For many years, startups featuring all-electric vehicles fell into this stage of the business lifecycle.

Artificial Inteligence 436

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Technical Review 375

Technical Review Startup Dilution Early Stage 375

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Facing competition is a major hurdle for startups. Startups must tackle challenges from scarce resources to changing customer needs proactively. Startups must tackle challenges from scarce resources to changing customer needs proactively. Success often hinges on careful strategic planning and adapting to market shifts.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Startup Differentiation Social Media 145

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2022

That challenge is a major business opportunity, as well as a risk, for startups. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. The bad news for startups is that your company can lose big if it’s caught in the middle. There are others, like Norton LifeLock , acquired in 2017 by Symantec for $2.3

Technical Review 342

Technical Review Customer Social Network Software Review 342

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Stable and friendly work environment.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. In any case, before you select a specific outsourcing or contract alternative, there is no substitute for doing thorough due diligence. Don’t count on contracts and non-disclosure agreements to save you.

Intellectual Property 306

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Software Review Technical Review 306

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company. Stable and friendly work environment.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 2, 2024

Many firms are drawn to the region for its combination of technical expertise and cost-effectiveness. Technical Expertise and Educational Foundation Eastern Europe boasts a highly skilled workforce with strong technical expertise and a strong educational foundation.

Europe 167

Europe Software Developers Software Development Technical Review 167

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. Member of the Advisory Board.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Most startups equate the process of fundraising to dating – founders have to typically kiss a lot of frogs until the find the right fit. It’s been a while since they’ve updated their RFS list and it captures all the buzzword’s of today’s tech world: AI, defence tech, climate, spatial computing, etc.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. Of course it helps to have innovative technologies before you start building a business.

Technical Review 391

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 391

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

A more effective approach in today’s Internet and interactive culture is to use “pull” technology to bring customers and clients to your story. Guy Kawasaki, in his classic book “ Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions ” provides some in-depth recommendations on the “how to” of pull technology. Refresh it often.

Technical Review 401

Technical Review Customer Flash RSS 401

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2019

Most of us have blind spots in our ability to build a business, due to lack of experience, too much ego, over-confidence, or unjustified faith in a subordinate. If I suggest your technology needs validation in the market before scaling, it’s fair to ask how long and how expensive that test could be.

Technical Review 317

Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership Search 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2020

As an advisor to many startups, I’m convinced it’s an expensive and painful approach, but I do see it used all too often. In the rush of a startup, it’s tempting to start spending the money you expect any day from a rich uncle or a major new customer. Underestimate the importance of due diligence. You may be dead wrong.

Technical Review 314

Technical Review Advisory Board Due Diligence Silicon Valley 314

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

He was able to identify ten lessons from the common threads to survival in the winning explorer teams, which I believe apply equally well to the survival and success of business startup teams today: Never lose sight of long-term goals, but focus real energy on short-term objectives. Teamwork is the hallmark of high-performing startups.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 308

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. Passion, optimism, and determination are necessary but not sufficient to assure a successful startup. Most startup projects require special skills and a motivated team.

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 267

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Partially due to the pandemic, but also due to longer, healthier lives and changes in job tenure, Boomers are now expected to stay in the labor force longer, and according to projections , could actually dominate the labor market by 2024.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Founder United States Technical Support 315

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Too many entrepreneurs I know start by highlighting their new technology , and assume that it will sell itself. Unfortunately, technology doesn’t create a vision, and usually frightens customers away, unless they understand the vision and value first. Every balanced leader does marketing early.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review Metrics Leadership Technology 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location. get the attention of the market they choose.

Las Vegas 309

Las Vegas Silicon Valley Arizona Montana 309

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. Member of the Advisory Board.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

More and more entrepreneurs are hearing about the successful graduates and investors queued behind a few well-known startup incubators, including Y Combinator, TechStars, and the Founder Institute. His tests focus on personality traits alone (ignoring your startup idea), looking for fluid intelligence, openness, and agreeableness.

Incubator 366

Incubator Technical Review Due Diligence Venture Capital 366