Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Thus, in my consulting with entrepreneurs, I always encourage them to get more comfortable asking for help. She suspects, like me, that no self-respecting entrepreneur wants to seem weak, needy, or incompetent, and none of us like to feel indebted to someone we see as a peer or a competitor.

Help 123

Help Entrepreneur Course IBM 123

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. We went out on a limb in a competitive category with Wheels, and we did it because we believed in the founders. in 2005 for $680M.

Southern California 100

Southern California News Platform Class 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 2, 2019

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 -- CLU New Venture Fair. The New Venture Fair (NVF) is a valuable part of Cal Lutheran's entrepreneur education experience, in which student teams share their innovative startup projects in a competitive environment. They represent the brightest, most motivated, aspiring entrepreneurs on campus.

Education 100

Education Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

It really is possible for an introvert to succeed as an entrepreneur, even though you can’t expect to start and build a business alone. Every entrepreneur, especially an introvert, can benefit from the perspective of another business person, ideally one who has prior experience in the domain you are about to enter.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

So in 2019 she founded Eano , a San Francisco-based startup that aims to walk a homeowner through a renovation and help connect individual contractors with new clients. Eano, she said, offers competitive and transparent pricing so that homeowners aren’t surprised as a remodeling project goes on.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

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.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

. “If big companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon are prevented from acquiring startups, that actually reduces competition,” Sirinivasan writes. If big companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are prevented from acquiring startups, that actually reduces competition. Srinivasan (@balajis) March 8, 2019.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built. It was a way to make it hard for your competition to compete. In a world when LPs benchmark VC performance on a 3-year time horizon from deploying one’s fund (is your 2019 fund in the top quartile!!??)

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

As a business and entrepreneur advisor, I have no trouble getting owners and managers to agree that change is happening faster and faster in the consumer and technology world, requiring them to keep their business more agile , just to keep up. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 11/04/2019. It’s the only way to avoid losing.

Competition 102

Competition Examples Startup Resource 102

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

Fast forward to 2019, and Shopify now has over a million stores in the world, man of them direct-to-consumer stores. They are really focused on their core product, and they have an ecosystem where they want other entrepreneurs and other businesses to help their entrepreneurs.

Startup 113

Startup Platform Commerce San Diego 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2020

The numbers represent a 45% increase from the previous quarter’s tally, but a 14% drop from the same quarter in 2019. Yet I believe the trend will continue at least flat as entrepreneurs become more aware of other considerations that make the IPO route less and less attractive. Market volatility usually hits public companies first.

Startup 127

Startup Technical Review Acquisition Study 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 7, 2019

The simple answer is that we all have to start thinking like entrepreneurs, rather than entitled employees. To me, that means treating your career more like a business than a job – with a continual and global focus on keeping up with competition, finding customers, preparing for changes ahead, and taking responsibility for your own finances.

Artificial Inteligence 96

Artificial Inteligence Startup Social Media Training 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

In my experience working with entrepreneurs, once they feel they have a winning formula for their business, they are often hesitant to change or update it. What worked for you yesterday probably won’t keep you alive and competitive tomorrow. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 12/20/2019.

Customer 143

Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2019

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Public companies are always at risk for takeovers.

Startup 84

Startup Technical Review Report IBM 84

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. For the second year in a row 8 of the 10 companies selected for Techstars LA were local and we anticipate that trend continuing in 2019.

Startup 124

Startup Press Commerce Southern California 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

With the advent and popularity of crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , as a winning alternative for funding your new venture, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs are confused about the need to ever seek a professional angel investor. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 11/21/2019.

Funding 119

Funding Startup Platform Examples 119

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Created in 2014 and acquired by Dentsu in 2019, MuteSix was recommended to TechCrunch by Rhoda Ullmann, VP Consumer at Sense, a Boston-based startup building a home energy monitor. In today’s highly competitive ad environment, both content and data are kings. The key takeaway? What can you tell us about MuteSix as an agency?

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2019

Yet I find in my business advisory activities that busy entrepreneurs and professionals, especially the introverts like me, find it hard to spend the necessary time networking and nurturing the relationships they need to get ahead. That’s more than enough to put you ahead of your competition. Make the investment today.

Social Media 96

Social Media News Tool Email 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

Institutional venture capital dispensed in 2019 was down a bit from record highs the previous year, but up significantly over the last few years. Yet, in my view, every early-stage entrepreneur should be exploring this new funding alternative before approaching VCs.

Funding 125

Funding Venture Capital Startup Class 125

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2019

Conventional business wisdom tells us that entrepreneurs are today’s main source of innovation. In fact, a Wharton Business School study in this decade of the “Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years,” concluded that only eight were first conceived by entrepreneurs, and twenty-two were conceived by employees.

IBM 53

IBM IBM Java Google 53

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

A theme I often hear from the entrepreneurs and startups I advise is that once they see that first surge of traction from customers, they can relax and enjoy life for a change. In today’s world of growing competition and customer evolution , holding your own, and growing to the next level is a constant challenge that can never be ignored.

Ideas 77

Ideas Customer Custom Competition 77

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2019

These things are clearly good for morale, but its not so clear that they translate into a competitive advantage. The overall approach to culture change that I and the authors recommend is to first assess your current culture for a liability, or a competitive disadvantage. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 06/14/2019.

Competition 76

Competition Coach Case Study Statistics 76

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Every entrepreneur and business leader believes that he or she has the full trust of their team and their customers, and in fact most do in the beginning. Thus it is incumbent on new entrepreneurs and leaders to start early practicing the principles outlined here, to build a trusting culture and a powerful competitive advantage.

Mentor 98

Mentor News Summary Coach 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2019

Every aspiring entrepreneur I know is convinced that his or her idea could be the next big startup, blossoming into a billion dollar unicorn. In fact, customer experience can be a greater competitive advantage than your product. More diagnostic tools to fix problems may not be competitive.

Startup 91

Startup Customer Custom Examples 91

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

What were doing in 2019, is scaling the company. The last fundraising we did was use to prove out our technology, and weve now had head-to-head competition with our competitors and others in the space to prove out our technology, our unique capabilities, and our unique approach to solving this problem.

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2019

After working in business at all levels, and consulting to entrepreneurs for years, I’m still surprised to see so many situations where things that should be easy are painful to customers, and lead to customers hating your business. Accelerating worldwide competition and financial upheavals are undermining established market positions.

Customer 83

Customer Custom Demand Examples 83

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2019

In the entrepreneur world, it’s still a popular misconception that the “idea” is everything. Very few businesses can grow organically fast enough to stay ahead of competition. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 09/27/2019. The power is in the people, their business relationships, and their connections.

IBM 87

IBM IBM Ideas Technical Review 87

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2019

As an advisor to entrepreneurs for many years, I strongly disagree, and still see the value of at least combining intuition with logical analysis, as we face customers and markets driven by relationships, emotions, and unpredictable social trends. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 03/04/2019.

Examples 81

Examples Tool Statistics Tips 81

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2019

For example, I too often see entrepreneurs with great determination failing to get investor funding to start a capital-intensive business, such as building a new automated factory. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 05/22/2019. Also, opinions are sometimes over-stated as facts.

Help 91

Help Examples Summary Design 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

Highlight your competitive value, not your technology. Most successful CEOs now recognize motivated teams and a strong culture as one of the greatest sources of competitive advantage and long-term growth. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 07/03/2019. Turn value creation (revenue) into value capture (profit).

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Customer Custom Competition 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2019

Yet in today’s competitive and rapidly changing world, top notch sales and marketing skills are critical to the success of every business. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 01-11-2019. In reality, leadership requires first selling yourself, so these same steps apply.

Mentor 90

Mentor Startup Sales Examples 90

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

Do the research to find your best competitive advantage, and then highlight and live the differentiation. Use analytics to assess your efforts and your competition. Marty Zwilling First published on CayenneConsulting on 01/15/2019. You can’t win by being “just another” company that sells on price.

Social Media 73

Social Media Customer Custom Mobile 73

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

This statement leaves no confusion in the minds of investors, or customers, of what the company does and how it is different (and better) than the competition. Ideally the solution embodies intellectual property that you own, giving you a sustainable competitive advantage. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 01-22-2019.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2019

Owners realize that customers and the market change rapidly these days, and innovative change is necessary to keep ahead of competition and survive. Thinking like an owner in your current job is especially valuable if you are contemplating a future as an entrepreneur. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 03/18/2019.

Technical Advisors 75

Technical Advisors Startup Satisfaction Customer 75

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 28, 2019

In reality, it takes a collaboration of many good people to build and run a business, even though the original idea probably did come from that innovative entrepreneur. Solo or autocratic entrepreneurs usually don’t survive, due to required skills and a workload far beyond the capacity of a single human.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Technical Review Ideas Tool 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2019

What every entrepreneur needs more than anything else, after they have built an innovative new product or service, is visibility, credibility, and trust by customers, potential employees, and future business partners. Successful businesses require the best people to deliver your vision and services one step better than the competition.

Writing 19

Writing Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 19