Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2021

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. Many entrepreneurs are paranoid about the partnership approach, and think that M&A is only an alternative for large companies who are flush with cash.

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Organization CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 132

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Of course, as you work with contract players, explore the potential for a long-term relationship, and wait until your organization matures to pursue career positions. Focus on a very flat organization, with minimal hierarchy. The alternative, involving more remote workers, is already here.

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Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 15, 2010

Jason started the Open Angel Forum in response to his frustration that entrepreneurs were being charged by some angel organizations to present at their events. As a former entrepreneur, I’m a big supporter of Jason’s goals. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Pitching VCs Start-up Advice Startup Advice VC Industry.

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Angel Startup Tech Coast Angels MyShape 254

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I’m always inspired when I hear stories about innovation. It’s why my investment philosophy is called, “ the entrepreneur thesis.&#. He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving.

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Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

A continuing question I hear from young entrepreneurs is whether a university degree is important to startup success, or just a distraction in achieving their purpose in the world. Both provide entrepreneurial “head start” programs for aspiring entrepreneurs, free legal guidance, and access to experienced staff members.

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Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

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.

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Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing. Mike Napoli: Actually, we are seeing entrepreneurs. Mike Napoli: I think it was the entrepreneur. So, we're pretty accessible to talk to.

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Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

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. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive. Team building status and plan.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2020

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

I’d like to do a few posts on what life looks like on the way up and perhaps how to keep your head on straight and avoid drinking your own Kool Aid because as I often advise entrepreneurs on irrational exuberance, “ In a strong wind even turkeys can fly.” ROI studies were published. Surely there must be some benefit here??

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Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 7, 2017

Entrepreneurs will have a relative willing to devote time, a school friend with business experience, professionals who charge for the service, investors with a reason to promote your success and more. Business coaches come in all sizes and shapes. Photo courtesy IBM Business Coaching.

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Coach Organization Resource IBM 243

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

As an entrepreneur I never really knew what to make of VC return data. In short, the VC industry is very sharp-elbowed amongst some very competitive people who are used to winning and most deals don’t have enough space to share investment rounds so people were naturally pretty quick to judge A16Z. Do they win competitive deals?

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Venture Capital Invest Funding Competition 264

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Our mission is to organize all of the world''s real time location information. You can press a button, and it scans the social media chatter and organizes highlights aroundyou, of relevant conversations around a particular location and particular time. What is Tilofy about? Ali Khoshgozaran: Tilofy comes from location and unify.

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USC Southern California Organization UCLA 236

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2015

Many entrepreneurs still don’t understand that building a business culture today of doing good, like helping people (society) and planet (sustainability), is also a key to maximizing profit. They also tend to stay longer with the organization, reducing costs. Employees with a purpose actually are easier to recruit and retain.

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Entrepreneur Organization Startup Pricing 117

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

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.

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Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2022

Entrepreneurs are usually highly creative and innovative, but many innovative people are not entrepreneurs. The core message is that real innovation and competitive advantage are more people-based than product or process-based. They believe that questioning is of value and benefit to the organization. They often ask “Why?”

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Competition Mentor Ideas Organization 153

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2022

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Yet, for those with more realistic expectations and the right motivation, the entrepreneur lifestyle can be the dream life you envisioned.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Organization Customer Custom 110

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure. Many entrepreneurs think they can reduce and predict risk by emulating previous winners like Google and Twitter.

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Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Customer 129

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

We all like to think of startups as “non hierarchic&# organizations and to some extent that should be true. I never built a Google-sized business but I did build an organization from scratch that grew to 120 employees in 5 countries before we sold it. The organization gets used to it and adjusts. Skipping is insidious.

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Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

One of the realities of being an entrepreneur is that you have to keep learning and changing to survive. People in larger organizations move away from day-to-day contact with the end customer, and focus becomes company internal and isolated. Mature organizations forget that change is an opportunity, not a threat.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

This past December I spent a week in Boston to try to get to know some of the local VC’s and entrepreneurs a bit better. One of the meetings I had (organized by my good friend Jeff Yolen ) was with New Atlantic Ventures held the at the CIC, aka the Cambridge Innovation Center (no prizes for guessing where it’s located).

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Startup Venture Capital Incubator Entrepreneur 285

InfoChachkie

JULY 29, 2013

Entrepreneurs face a similar choice when deciding which market they should enter. A variety of dynamics, such the market''s rate of growth, competitiveness and maturation will impact your startup. Skilled entrepreneurs appropriately anticipate and leverage these exogenous factors to their advantage.

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Startup Course Entrepreneur Marketing 229

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine recently included UCSB in its Top 50 Schools For VC Backed Entrepreneurs at number 37. Organic Academia. Apeel Sciences - Founded in 2012, after winning $10,000 at UCSB’s New Venture Competition, the company closed $1.25M in funding during 2013.

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Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. I just figured they went a bit too far and were the latest hard-charging company trying to be supremely competitive and made a bad decision on where the line was.

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Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

More entrepreneurs want to be socially responsible these days, but fear a negative impact on profits, growth, and the ability to find an investor. Startups can use social responsibility as a competitive advantage. That’s a real competitive edge that you can use in your marketing and positioning.

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Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

Los Angeles-based XPRIZE , which runs a number of prize-based competitions for developing technology, has named eighteen teams for its $2 million, Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE , including two local teams. The groups will go on to submit their technology to affordably and accurately measure ocean acidification.

Thousand Oaks 138

Thousand Oaks Artificial Inteligence San Diego Research 138

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. The thing that fuels this success is the amazing organizations and people from around the world who align and support the mission to build businesses. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital.

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Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 137

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

MBA’s are an easy target for entrepreneurs’ scorn. I too have taken shots at MBA’s, describing why they are not typically well suited for startup life in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs. MBA’s are trained to design, organize and manage such large-scale, complicated operations. Ventures In Which An MBA Education Is A Plus.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Allegis Startup Competition 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. Outside of dreams, there is no real business opportunity without risk.

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Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2020

The reigning theory in business has long been that “alpha” leaders make the best entrepreneurs. Encourage team-members to play to their own strengths so that the entire team and organization leads the competition. Instead of knives-out competition, these companies thrive by building a successful community with shared values.

Organization 149

Organization Competition Entrepreneur Startup 149

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

It should help some entrepreneurs to better access early-stage capital and should allow some angel investors better access to deal flow. In Jason’s mind half of the VC industry will now disappear as entrepreneurs flock to him and to Dave Morin for their money. Helpful to Entrepreneurs – The most obvious.

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Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 23, 2012

Ignorance is not bliss in business, but it does allow entrepreneurs to face the unknown with a measure of confidence. No 19-year old understands business at the level of a seasoned, serial entrepreneur. However, it is important for young entrepreneurs to be adequately self-aware to know what they do not know.

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Startup Tips CTO Coach Technical Review 268

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Most entrepreneurs relish being their own boss, but find the transition to “ownership thinking” to be more difficult than anticipated. Incidentally, if you never thought of yourself as being an A-Player employee, you probably will struggle even more in the competitive entrepreneur world.

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Entrepreneur Customer Custom Competition 159

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. Another risk with taking capital is that we would grow the organization quickly and sales might lag behind expenses. I’ve been there.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

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.

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Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104