Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2013

Most investors tell me that an A entrepreneur with a B idea is much more fundable than a B entrepreneur with an A idea. This entrepreneur gets out there and actively looks for people who can help make an idea into a business, including potential customers, suppliers, employees, investors, friends and peers.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Productive processes start with a plan, and end with metrics that measure value delivered. Waste means death.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Resource Training Product 115

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

In a funding round with 1 or 2 VCs and 15-20 angels or 4-6 seed funds if you gave every investor you financial information and performance metrics your proprietary information would increase in its probability of leaking out. We are doing what we do – writing larger checks and playing an active role at the company. You betcha.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. But the most important metric has been the deep and lasting relationships that have been built with startups and also between senior executives.

Venture Capital 287

Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Managing to specific goals, priorities, and a plan. Team building status and plan.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2013

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. As with many startup activities, you only have one chance for a great first impression. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different. Find the right tools to analyze the ROI.

Social Media 101

Social Media Media Entrepreneur Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2012

Most investors tell me that an A entrepreneur with a B idea is much more fundable than a B entrepreneur with an A idea. This entrepreneur gets out there and actively looks for people who can help make an idea into a business, including potential customers, suppliers, employees, investors, friends and peers.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. The most common proposals I hear are for yet another social networking site ( over 200 active ), or another dating site (now over 2500 in the US alone). An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

And there is so much money around being thrown at so many entrepreneurs that many firms don’t even care about board seats, governance rights or heaven forbid doing work with the company because that would eat into the VCs time needed to chase 5 more deals. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2020

One of the characteristics that every good investor looks for in an aspiring entrepreneur is resilience , or the ability to learn from and bounce back after a failure. With startups, almost every entrepreneur I know has failed at least once, often several times, but never gave up, and ultimately achieved their goal.

Startup 173

Startup Mentor Activity Entrepreneur 173

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

One of the attributes that I often recommend to the business professionals and entrepreneurs I mentor is to always be totally accountable for your actions and ideas. Setting your own metrics, and measuring yourself , will facilitate accountability. Lack of accountability can permeate an entire organization.

Activity 109

Activity Organization Mentor Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Productive processes start with a plan, and end with metrics that measure value delivered. Waste means death.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Here are ten of the key questions that apply equally well to the world of startups and entrepreneurs, as they do to large organizations.

Startup 155

Startup Resource Metrics Technical Review 155

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

These days that’s not the case and it’s a great outcome for entrepreneurs and for innovation. A: Only because it’s a nicer branding for entrepreneurs. I totally agree and have been arguing this to entrepreneurs for years. I always counsel young entrepreneurs to start on the local train.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308

Berkonomics

JANUARY 30, 2014

It seemed an ideal way to describe a scrappy, entrepreneurial activity. What happens to careful planning, sure-fire metrics, quality test scenarios, market research, a good business plan – all in place before pulling the trigger of a new opportunity. So why do so many business-book authors stress the opposite behavior?

Artificial Inteligence 189

Artificial Inteligence Startup Metrics Ideas 189

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2014

This is the ability to appropriately analyze problems, assess risks, and take responsibility for problem-dictated and market-dictated changes, while still sustaining the day-to-day business activities. Relevant skills include continuous improvement of existing methods, processes and devices against a set of quality metrics.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Startup Training Statistics 110

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Get attention and reach your audience.

Social Media 127

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 127

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. The cost of social media done well is low.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. prefer instead to divide it according to the mindset of users: whether or not they are actively looking to purchase something (i.e. In many of them I get asked similar questions, including the inevitable “what makes a great entrepreneur?” If you’re an entrepreneur, the glib answer is “no.”

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for that disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to Gallup. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales.

Search Engine Optimization 131

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2011

Many entrepreneurs are too focused on their dream to take notice of health warning signs, which leads them to ignore business health signs as well. Entrepreneurs can be so focused that they ignore the family, resulting in an unhealthy situation for everyone. These will help you unleash the creative side. Work and family balance.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Startup Metrics Demand 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

Almost every entrepreneur looking for outside investors has heard the annoying rejection, “You are just too early – come back when you have more traction.” That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? Continued activity drives momentum and growth. Use these metrics rather than hide them.

Metrics 57

Metrics Funding Startup Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

The recent pandemic was a strong signal for change, and I see most of you entrepreneurs and business owners responding to the business changes required and new opportunities presented. Establish and evaluate metrics at multiple levels. In addition to total sales, you need to look at categories and trends at lower levels.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2022

Instead of sizing up new opportunities and actively courting every new customer, you start worrying about cutting costs, repeatable processes , and overtaking known competitors. Internal metrics are great for fixing problems, but industry experts, influencers, and customers are better indicators of future change and trends.

Startup 154

Startup Artificial Inteligence Metrics Netflix 154

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

” This, too, is a must read for any entrepreneur. I have many investments with early traction and I the entrepreneurs I work with must tire of my constantly saying, “Are we really making a difference? Not vanity metrics. I am obsessed with a topic because it has literally become my job. Startup Lessons'

Product 150

Product Startup Metrics Technical Review 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2022

They randomly churn for hours a day on a couple of their favorite social media platforms, with little thought given to goals, objectives, or metrics; and ultimately give up and fall back to traditional marketing approaches. Create an action plan with metrics. You spend the months influencing the influencers.

Social Media 135

Social Media Framework Media Metrics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2023

In the same way, great entrepreneurs and company leaders should no longer rely on faceless and nameless processes to drive business strategy and innovation to stay competitive. Here is my adaptation of his engagement principles for all the aspiring entrepreneurs I advise: Learn to adopt an outsider’s perspective.

Customer 140

Customer Custom Social Media Metrics 140

socalTECH

APRIL 4, 2011

Landry is a serial entrepreneur, and active investor, having been co-founder of TagWorld. For today's interview, we caught up with Clark Landry , the chairman of GraphEffect (www.grapheffect.com), a Santa Monica company which is helping other companies to hone their advertising on Facebook. Thanks for the time today!

Advertising 198

Advertising Startup Santa Monica Social Network 198

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

If you’ve got the skills to be a strong entrepreneur then it shouldn’t be too difficult to find people who know a partner at a VC firm and if you can build relationship with them you can get introduced. Most entrepreneurs (and VCs raising from LPs) think this means progress. Entrepreneur : “Sure. Some people find this elitist?—?I

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2011

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. As with many startup activities, you only have one chance for a great first impression. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different. Find the right tools to analyze the ROI.

Social Media 93

Social Media Media Entrepreneur Platform 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2022

Based on my experience advising new businesses, all of the principles that he outlines, including the following subset which I generalize here, should be taken to heart by every entrepreneur: Give customers fewer things that matter more. Pick a single metric that is the focus for all growth. Less is more.

Startup 144

Startup Social Media Metrics Customer 144

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

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2014

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Here are ten of the key questions that apply equally well to the world of startups and entrepreneurs, as they do to large organizations. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 108

Startup Resource Metrics Technical Review 108

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2019

Shane Bernstein: We look at actionable data points and data metrics which are quantifiable across the web, and we qualify them and normalize that data, and sort them based on what they've done. We've built an artficial intelligence platform, which tells you who is more active than others, based on their behavior. How do you do that?

Sites 240

Sites Startup Tool CTO Hire 240

socalTECH

JANUARY 24, 2011

We have about 500 pretty active users, ranging from agencies to major record labels, to individual artists. In that market, there are literally no ROI metrics. The best metrics are estimated impressions. Matthias Galica: The first two verticals which correspond to our use case are in music and entertainment.

Startup 220

Startup West Hollywood Metrics Entertainment 220