Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2021

Career survival today requires thinking and acting like an entrepreneur starting a business, staying nimble and resilient, willing to pivot, and supersensitive to the market realities of supply and demand. Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn, helped me crystallize these similarities with his classic book “ The Start-up of You.”

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Startup Entrepreneur Demand Competition 143

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2022

The long-standing rule of thumb that companies have ten years between significant disruptions was reset a few years ago to five years, according to experts Larry Downes and Paul Nunes. Check out the classic book, “ Advancing Innovation: Galvanizing, Enabling & Measuring for Innovation Value! ” by Patrick J.

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Metrics Startup Organization Demand 102

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2020

I remember the classic book, “ Driven to Delight ,” by Joseph A. Michelli, with inspiring stories on how one well-known company, Mercedes-Benz, made the transition and is profiting as a result. Your competition is global, so today’s customers are demanding world-class service. Then let them apply their own input.

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Customer Custom Services Startup 168

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

I’m convinced that you can’t stay competitive that way with today’s customers, and today’s employees. I saw strong validation for this approach in the classic book, “ Sense & Respond ,” by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden. Don’t demand or assume immediate and certain answers. Marty Zwilling.

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Competition Organization Customer Custom 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2022

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. The company's market is the same. Lewis, author of the timeless book “ Why Flip A Coin? This is a problem with many product-based companies. It's difficult to create a high-demand product by guessing.

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Ideas Entrepreneur Research Demand 155

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Chip Bell and Ron Zemke, who are experts in this area, provide some of the best specific insights I’ve seen, in the classic book “ Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service.” It must be understandable, written down, and verifiable, with regular measurements and metrics to make it real, benchmarked against the competition.

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Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2020

The long-standing rule of thumb that companies have ten years between significant disruptions was reset a few years ago to five years, according to experts Larry Downes and Paul Nunes. Check out the classic book, “ Advancing Innovation: Galvanizing, Enabling & Measuring for Innovation Value! ” by Patrick J.

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Startup Organization Demand Customer 138

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Implicit in effective marketing of yourself and your solution are a set of skills that every professional needs and can develop over time in business, whether their focus is on career advancement, or starting your own company. Relationships are key to finding opportunities, building trust, and continuous learning.

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Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2023

I recognized this as I was reading the classic book, ” The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need ,” by Anthony Iannarino, who is an international sales leader and expert on optimizing results. They need to ask customers the difficult questions, and really understand costs versus benefits, as well as competitive alternatives.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

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Customer Custom Design Product 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. There are many good books and Internet articles describing each of these sections, so I won’t cover the details here.

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Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

After many years in business, working in large companies as well as startups, I’m no longer surprised at why mature and successful companies struggle with introducing innovative new ventures as the market and environment changes. Make sure everyone comes with an entrepreneur mindset for real innovation.

Incubator 143

Incubator Seed Funding Metrics Customer 143

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

It’s building a product that is substantially differentiated, and, as Bill Gross, one of the most prolific tech entrepreneurs of our era says, “ It needs to be 10x better than the competition ” (because if you shoot for that then in competitive markets you might achieve 3x. Look at Viddy & SocialCast.

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Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. I found many of these in the classic book “ Great From The Start: How Conscious Corporations Attract Success ,” by John B.

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Education Customer Custom Sales 151

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2022

You will be pivoting your business in your lifetime, whether you are a new startup, or a mature company like Motorola or IBM. It happens on the front end for startups to get traction, and then again later for every company as the economy, competition, and culture changes around them. Reinvent the vision for change.

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Course IBM IBM Social Media 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2022

found in polling more than 700 professionals at companies nationwide, that 58 percent had participated in an office romance, and almost three-quarters of those who’ve had relationships said they’d be willing to engage in another one. One source I like is the classic book “ Who’s That Sitting At My Desk? Can be a competitive advantage.

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Startup Course Competition Social Media 119

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Every company needs this focus to attract the best minds and loyalty in both categories. Evidence is growing that consumers are willing to pay at least a small premium for sustainability, and have started to demand a discount for “un-sustainability.” Customer loyalty and trust go up for companies with a purpose culture.

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Organization Startup Pricing Customer 128

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2022

The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. I also recommend the app development strategies outlined in the classic book, “ Vaporized: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World ,” by Robert Tercek, who has lived on the digital edge for many years.

Develop 138

Develop Development Platform Mobile 138

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). BuildOnline (the company I founded) has just announcement plans to be more aggressive in growing in the US. Let me not bury the lede.

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CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. That’s why I was pleased to see the balance on people versus process in a classic book on how to fix your organization, “ The Diamond Process ,” by Mike Diamond and Christopher Harding.

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Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2019

From meager beginnings selling books online back in 1994, Amazon is currently the largest e-commerce retailer and cloud computing platform in the world, and now dominates even the giant Walmart. Recently, I saw some help in that regard in a new book, “ Think Like Amazon ,” by John Rossman, a former top executive at Amazon.

Commerce 89

Commerce Artificial Inteligence Cloud Computing Platform 89

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. Board members in constant conflict can kill your company more quickly than any market forces. It’s a complex competitive world out there, and learning is a full-time role.

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Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

He went on to start many successful companies, including General Electric. I recently found a wealth of practical guidance on how to build a perseverance mindset and use it to overcome adversity, break through barriers, and keep moving forward to success, in a new book, “ Win When They Say You Won’t ,” by Daphne Jones.

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Startup Satisfaction Summary Coach 122

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. There are many good books and Internet articles describing each of these sections, so I won’t cover the details here.

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Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Unlike most university programs that are over architected and underfunded, the TMP evolved organically, based on the demands of its students and input from the local community. The company quickly pivoted to create a SaaS solution and in less than two years later, it was acquired by Intuit for $30 million. Organic Academia.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2020

I just finished a new book, “ Experimentation Works ,” by Stefan H. The pace of change to stay competitive in business today continues to increase. Brick-and-mortar companies don’t have enough transactions. We do so few changes, we don’t need formal testing tools. Now is the time to update your processes and tools.

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Sample Customer Custom Tool 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

I just finished a new book for entrepreneurs, “ Secrets to a Successful Startup ,” by Trevor Blake, which makes the same points, based on his own real-life experience with three successful startups. He outlines well the following benefits of outsourcing and freelancing, and I agree: Serving your business well is a competitive priority.

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Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021

Most entrepreneurs start their company with the highest of ideals, and wouldn’t dream of building one with a culture of indifference or downright unethical behavior. Yet all too many succumb to the pressures of survival, driven by demanding investors or a cutthroat competitive environment.

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Startup Social Media Organization Entrepreneur 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2019

For example, I recently picked up my phone to call a well-advertised local company for a TV repair. If you are in that category, you should take a hard look at a new book, “ Nincompoopery: Why Your Customers Hate You--and How to Fix It ” by John R Brandt, who has some real insight on this problem.

Customer 83

Customer Custom Demand Examples 83

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

One of the most influential books of my career is The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clay Christensen. Many people bandy about the definitions of “disruptive technology&# or “the innovator’s dilemma&# without ever having read the book and almost universally misunderstand the concepts.

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Startup Framework Marketing Customer 376

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

Success in any business these days requires a constant flow of new and innovative solutions, to keep up with changes in the market, competition, and to attract new customers. I saw some good insights on the most common mistakes that crush creativity, in the classic book, “ Lateral Thinking Skills ,” by Paul Sloane.

Ideas 111

Ideas Framework Summary Organization 111

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2022

Indeed, there are many self-assessment tools available online, but I was more impressed with insights provided in a classic book “ What Motivates Me: Put Your Passions to Work ,” by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. People see you as great for demanding customers and team bonding. This often happens when a Level A company goes public.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Organization Customer Custom 110

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2018

The question is how we develop our future role and potential, while satisfying all the business and personal demands on our time today. I saw some good insights on this challenge in a new book, “ The Expertise Economy ,” by Kelly Palmer and David Blake. Keeping your priority on learning is a mindset that we all need to build.

Examples 85

Examples Social Media Competition Guide 85

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

I recognized this as I was reading the classic book, ” The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need ,” by Anthony Iannarino, who is an international sales leader and expert on optimizing results. They need to ask customers the difficult questions, and really understand costs versus benefits, as well as competitive alternatives.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Startup Sales Customer 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In a larger public company, it’s all about making your quarterly numbers, versus investing in strategic growth alternatives that may not pay off until several quarters later. It’s your job as a leader to be the model high performer, quantify the team view with metrics, and expand awareness to the best outside competition and new tools.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2019

I’m convinced that you can’t stay competitive that way with today’s customers, and today’s employees. I saw strong validation for this approach in the classic book, “ Sense & Respond ,” by Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden. Don’t demand or assume immediate and certain answers. Marty Zwilling.

Competition 73

Competition Organization Customer Custom 73

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

Alibaba, today the counterpart in China to Amazon, Ebay, and Google here, has demonstrated leadership in this area, and provides guidance for all of us to learn from in a new book, “ Smart Business ,” by Ming Zeng. No human or paper tracking systems are a competitive alternative. The efficiency gain is tremendous.

Artificial Inteligence 84

Artificial Inteligence Metrics Commerce Software 84