Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2020

Although most people believe that being a successful entrepreneur is all about having the right idea, I’m convinced from my years of experience as a startup advisor and investor that’s it’s more about you as a person. So how do you develop that reputation such that everyone believes in you, and customers jump to try your solution first?

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2020

Attracting the right customers is the key to success in business, whether you have a new startup or a mature enterprise. For example, Xerox tried to broaden the use of "xerox" as the standard term for "photocopying" to extend their existing customer segment into office automation and all kinds of computing.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2020

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always surprised by the fact that some never seem to be able to that first startup going, while many others never seem to stop, starting their second or third initiative before the first one is fully hatched. I’m now convinced that serious entrepreneurs relish the startup process more than success.

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SoCal Tech Calendar

JULY 30, 2020

Monday, August 3, 2020 -- Fixing the Top Fundraising Mistakes Startup Entrepreneurs Make. Join JJ Richa in a fireside chat with Scott Fox, CEO of the OC Startup Council, for a discussion of the top mistakes that early stage entrepreneurs make when pitching their startups for funding. See [link] (more)

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2020

As an angel investor in startups, I’m a believer that smart investors invest more in you as the entrepreneur than the next billion dollar solution you are pitching. Even if you are still in school, and never started a company before, strong entrepreneur candidates can point to projects they initiated, led, that produced significant results.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

Even though I’m a big proponent of becoming an entrepreneur, it is definitely not for everyone. In my view, entrepreneur roles need to be planned carefully rather than made on the spur of the moment. Adopt the Silicon Valley entrepreneur family model. Test your entrepreneur instincts through crowdfunding.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2020

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have new ideas on a regular basis, and find it hard deciding which to pursue, or try to tackle several at the same time. Good examples of initial focus by an entrepreneur would include Jeff Bezos when he started Amazon as an online marketplace for books only, and Elon Musk starting PayPal as an online bank.

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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.

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TechCrunch LA

MAY 23, 2019

That’s still a steep price for customers to pay out of pocket. The company is in talks with some insurance companies and expects to have some pilot projects up in the last quarter of 2018 and first quarter of 2020. Insurance companies won’t pay for Ezra’s screens… yet.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs I advise or invest with spend considerable time on the Internet, keeping up with technology, customers, and competitors, but very few feel the need for an early personal presence. Every future entrepreneur should start by networking. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 02/06/2020.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know finds it a challenge to balance the joys of entrepreneurship against a set of frustrations they never anticipated. Of course, most of you expect that raising money will be difficult, as well as staving off competitors, and handling that occasional toxic customer.

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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.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Every new business I know dreams of building momentum in their business, where growth continues to increase, customers become your best advocates, and employee motivation is high. Unfortunately, with limited resources, this isn’t possible, and it frustrates customers and the team. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

As an entrepreneur advisor, I am surprised at how often I hear the same or very similar proposals of an incremental innovation to an existing process, versus a really new or breakthrough solution. But we all know that these are not solutions by themselves, but require integration into an innovative framework to solve real customer problems.

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InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Even entrepreneurs that already sold on SaaS should stake note of new research from the SalientGroup : SaaS gets funded - Nearly 50% of SaaS-based startups are getting successfully funded—a rate of funding success no other sector can match. The result: they had more than 20 enterprise customers on Day 1. Share and Enjoy.

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Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. million it generated in 2020. 2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. Organic milk formula product Bobbie.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Every entrepreneur and startup loves you, but too many forget that every potential customer is not like you. If you are a technical entrepreneur, you can count on early adopters to be first in line for your product, and they are quick to provide feedback on quality, and suggest even more features.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2020

In my work with new startups, I often find people who believe that the terms “ entrepreneur ” and “ inventor ” are interchangeable. In my experience, most successful entrepreneurs have indeed created a new product, but most people who claim to be inventors have a hard time starting a business.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

What I want to hear is an innovative marketing and growth strategy that will set you apart in the minds of investors, as well as customers. Today’s customer is especially attracted to companies like TOMS , who donates a pair of shoes for every pair they sell, or Patagonia, with its support for grassroots environmental groups.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 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. Look for a number of important announcements from the Alliance on this front in 2020. What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?

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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.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs like you that I have met in my role as a business advisor are really product creators versus business creators, convinced that a great product will generate a great business. Entrepreneurs are typically focused on the big picture – creating a vision, purpose, and a long-term strategy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2020

According to studies , the alternative of acquiring new customers still costs you five to seven times more than retaining existing ones. But customers today are fickle, instantly aware of every new alternative, due to the Internet and social media, and not afraid to change. Appeal to all your customer senses all of the time.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2020

Jeff Bezos is one of the world’s most admired entrepreneurs, primarily because of his humble style and his growth from a regular person background to a current net worth in the neighborhood of $200 billion dollars. It allows investors to come into alignment with customers. Focus relentlessly and passionately on the customer.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

As an advisor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I tell people that these platforms are an easy and low risk way to test your fit for the entrepreneur lifestyle, without jumping off the cliff. Here are some key principles to consider in every case: Solve a significant problem for customers with money.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2020

Unfortunately, many inventors I know are stuck at this stage, being great technologists, but not so great as entrepreneurs. You see, inventing a business is about attracting money from investors and customers, rather than spending money on a challenging dream. Target a higher customer need and ability to pay.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2020

In fact, I see more and more evidence that new entrepreneurs are coming from the older age groups (age 45-64), and success rates move up with age. We summarize the advantages of older entrepreneurs along the following lines: Think life-changing, not lifestyle entrepreneurship. Play to the fastest growing customer segment you know.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2020

In my view as a business advisor, it’s an ideal time for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners to get ahead of the crowd by driving an innovative solution to a painful problem with the passion, perseverance, and work ethic I see every day. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 11/13/2020.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Many entrepreneurs still believe they need a traditional multi-level organization to handle growth and scaling, so they start hiring career managers to populate it. You can advertise your “greener” strategy, which today will get you greater customer loyalty and advocacy. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 09/24/2020.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2020

It seems that most of you entrepreneurs I meet in my role as business advisor are convinced that starting a new business requires equity investors, exponential growth, and a plan to go public via IPO. If your passion is customers, you definitely will be happier as a lifestyle entrepreneur.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2020

As an investor, innovation is a term I certainly like to hear these days, but many of you entrepreneurs try to take it to the next level, by claiming to have a “ disruptive innovation.” Target viable customer segments overlooked by competitors. Yet the customer and driver both appreciate the service innovations provided.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

In my own business career, many years as a business advisor, and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I have validated the following strategies to practice and guide you. A broken process or a subtle quality issue can generate a flood of customer satisfaction problems, cost overruns, and loss of market share.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2020

Others pivoted quickly based on customer need changes, rather than just spending more money on advertising and charging ahead. Smart entrepreneurs continually test their perceptions against those of customers, outside leaders, and experts. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 04/22/2020.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

For some reason, too many aspiring entrepreneurs I know seem to focus on “actions” rather than “results.” These are not the entrepreneurs that I want to support, since I’m well aware that running a startup is far more complex, albeit more satisfying, than most conventional roles in established enterprises.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. Direct customer-facing non-technical roles should be the last ones outsourced.

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TechCrunch LA

APRIL 7, 2020

” For its part, Silicon Valley Bank said it was working around the clock to make sure its customers were able to access the federal money. — Mark Suster (@msuster) April 7, 2020. Meanwhile startup entrepreneurs are left holding the bag. Really bad for startups.” There will be money.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. In addition, creating a business requires leading and interacting with other people, including partners, investors, and customers. You must also learn from your customers.

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