Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2022

Today more than ever, the evidence is clear that business people need to find and communicate a purpose that goes beyond making a profit, in order to ensure customer engagement, as well as your own, and drive results in the marketplace. As you grow, so will your team and customers. Driven to reduce personal hardship and suffering.

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Technical Review Coach Mentor Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

Others are really marketers out to make money fast, and believe that they can entice customers to any offering. A few years ago, I first saw an interesting step in that direction via the classic book “ Entrepreneurial DNA ,” by Joe Abraham , with his assessment web site. External forces (competitors and customers).

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

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. Waste in a startup is any activity that burns resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Then always measure customer results, not work.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain.

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Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. There are many free generalized tools, including Google Trends , which can be used to track customer behavior in looking for things that don’t exist yet.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Yet I find, as a mentor and outside consultant, that many of you focus only on working conditions and compensation as the key factors determining team engagement , health, and productivity. Thus I was pleased to see a much more complete and broader perspective of employee support recommendations in a new book, “ Employees First! ”

Technical Review 141

Technical Review Mentor Social Media Customer 141

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2023

In this context, I was impressed with the insights provided in a new book, “ Stay Sane In An Insane World ,” by peak performance coach Greg Harden. Listen to your team, mentors, and customers to recognize real successes and failures, and surround yourself with people who can fill in the gaps.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2023

I found many non-disruption recommendations in the new book, “ Beyond Disruption ,” by W. Both authors are recipients of numerous academic and management awards for leadership thinking, and I will summarize here their key strategy insights, combined with my own experiences: Lead with a focus on finding customer value.

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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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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

In her classic book on this subject, “ Who’s That Sitting at My Desk? ” Here are the key ones I have experienced, as paraphrased from her book: Acquaintanceship. Workship - Mentor. Unlike the mentor, who is a coach and teacher, the advocate inspires you to be the best that you can be. Workship - Advocate.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. Yet, as a business consultant, I still find many of you business leaders relying primarily on your technology, word-of-mouth , or location to attract necessary customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

As an entrepreneur mentor and startup investor, I see with sadness the 50 to 90 percent that fail. Actually, great new customer solutions lead to great platforms, not the other way around. Extrapolating you as the target customer. Never mix up what you like with what your customers will buy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. Test your innovation with at least a hundred customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

In fact, I have found from personal experience and mentoring that both of these are necessary, but not sufficient, for building a business. There is more and more evidence that a more human-centered or heart-centered leadership yields the best results with your team and with customers in the long run.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Subtraction leads to simplicity, better usability, and easier education of your customers. It allows them turn resource constraints into stunning new businesses.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

While these investors, and early customers, will always argue that they found you, I’m convinced that there is no substitute for aggressive networking on your part. Ability to relate aspirations to customer needs. You need to show insights to real customers and their needs, that get beyond your passions and projections.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2023

I recall a good summary of how to motivate and train a team to accomplish this in the classic book, “ The Business of Creativity: How to Build the Right Team for Success ,” by Keith Granet. A single marketing coordinator can accelerate your efforts by being the coach and mentoring key members of the team on soft marketing.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. In her book, Jan devotes a whole chapter to speaking to the media, as a key aspect of public speaking.

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Marketing Entrepreneur Customer Custom 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2022

In my experience as a mentor to entrepreneurs, I find that self-doubt and lack of confidence are the primary constraints people have to overcome to move ahead. I found the key ones to be outlined well in a new book, “ Hunting Discomfort ,” by Sterling Hawkins. The challenge is to recognize your problem and fix it.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2023

That’s why I’m impressed with the classic book, “ All Dreams on Deck: Charting the Course for Your Life and Work ,” by Jeremy Cage. In his book, he couches his guidance in a real-life metaphor of his sailing trip around the world. Ask for help from advisors and mentor your team. Make your dreams the shared dreams of everyone.

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Ideas Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2021

In fact, as a mentor to entrepreneurs and an investor, I recommend that entrepreneurs avoid using the term disruptive with investors, since many see it as implying extra high risk, a long time for payback, and extensive marketing to build the new market. Look for sizable customer populations unattractive to incumbents.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2019

Based on my own mentoring and investing experience, the best entrepreneurs are pragmatic problem solvers. For example, I remember a classic book by Penina Rybak, “ The NICE Reboot ,” that does a great job of outlining problem solving steps, honed from working with special needs youngsters.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2022

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. So for those of you that love checklists, I saw some real value in the classic book by James M. I wish it was that easy. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Gamification.

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Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2022

In the classic book “ The Entrepreneur Mind ,” from serial entrepreneur Kevin D. Yet, based on my own years of experience “in the business”, mentoring many entrepreneurs, and following stalwarts like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, even these potentially controversial mindsets ring true to me: All risk isn’t risky. Fire your worst customers.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2020

In her classic book on this subject, “ Who’s That Sitting at My Desk? ” Here are the key ones I have experienced, as paraphrased from her book: Acquaintanceship. Workship - Mentor. Unlike the mentor, who is a coach and teacher, the advocate inspires you to be the best that you can be. Workship - Advocate.

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Mentor Competition Summary Activity 135

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 4, 2020

It’s with profound sadness we mourn the loss of a true visionary, author, mentor, thought-leader, investor, and friend, Tony Hsieh. Under Hsieh’s leadership, Zappos revolutionized the apparel industry, and e-commerce in general, by being one of the first to prioritize customer satisfaction and service. By Frank Gruber and Jen Consalvo.

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Commerce Statistics Customer Custom 198

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2022

I was pleased to see these personal branding messages highlighted and confirmed in a new book, “ The New Brand You ,” by branding guru Catherine Kaputa. You need to step out of your comfort zone to socialize, meet new people, and collaborate with peers, company leaders, and mentors. Seek expert mentors and always evaluate feedback.

Social Media 125

Social Media Summary Startup Mentor 125

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

I saw a good summary of the most effective ways to source prospective investors in a classic book, “ The Art of Startup Fundraising ,” by Alejandro Cremades, who has been there and done that, both as an entrepreneur and an investor. Identify customer executives who need your solution. Reach out to your biggest fans for investor leads.

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Statistics Entrepreneur Funding Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2023

Every business organization, large or small, has a variety of individual and team member types that factor into your ability to innovate and change the business to meet evolving customer needs and competition. Thus I was happy to see both addressed very well in a new book, “ Decision Sprint ,” by Atif Rafiq.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2023

In this age of interactive social media, your culture image quickly spreads to customers, and determines their loyalty. If you are looking for specifics, as well as the science behind it, you should take a look at the classic book, “ Trust Factor – The Science of Creating High-Performance Companies ,” by Paul J.

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Claremont Mentor Study Startup 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. That’s why the classic book, “ The Leader’s Mindset: How to Win In The Age Of Disruption ,” resonated strongly with me. Take a hard look at SpaceX or HyperLoop. Develop a learn-fast mindset to seek the latest and the future.

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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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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

As a mentor to many entrepreneurs, I also encourage an entrepreneur exit focus early, and I really like the specific steps outlined in the classic book, “ Exit Signs ,” by Pamela Dennis, who has helped companies through this critical transition for decades. Mature your business processes and customer base.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. Look for validation from your mainstream customers. Even non-profits need income to run a business.

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Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. What these people need is more relationships, not more experts, more blogs, or more books. Nominate someone as your mentor. You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. Cultivate existing allies.

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Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 140

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2020

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I often feel the frustration of someone trying to build a startup in the wrong place and time, and wrongly attributing their struggle to personal limitations. I saw these addressed well in a new book, “ The Startup Community Way ,” by Brad Feld and Ian Hathaway.

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Resource Startup Capital Mentor 131

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

I saw a good summary of the most effective ways to source prospective investors in a classic book, “ The Art of Startup Fundraising ,” by Alejandro Cremades, who has been there and done that, both as an entrepreneur and an investor. Identify customer executives who need your solution. Reach out to your biggest fans for investor leads.

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Funding Tips Startup Statistics 173