Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2023

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Ideas have to be implemented well to change a market, or the world. Make your business model your competitive differentiation, like Fred Smith with Federal Express, or Ingvar Kamprad with IKEA.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. I find that startups looking for funding often never even think of asking strategic partners, rather than just venture capitalists.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Non-credible funding request or unreasonable valuation. Naïve expectations on funding terms and process. Marketing programs and distribution channels are required for even the best solutions, with an appropriate and viable rollout and growth strategy. Investors expect a good value proposition in every pitch.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. They are also seeking to find out how you handle one of the many tough questions that a new founder will get in today’s market.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Ideas have to be implemented well to change a market, or the world. Make your business model your competitive differentiation, like Fred Smith with Federal Express, or Ingvar Kamprad with IKEA.

Startup 171

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. They are also seeking to find out how you handle one of the many tough questions that a new founder will get in today’s market.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2011

No investor wants to wait that long for his return, or fund the years of waiting. Gartner says our market will be $50 billion in 2015.” It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Microsoft is too big/slow to be a threat.”

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Funding Innocal Competition 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2023

Will the solution give you an “unfair competitive advantage,” meaning no competitor already has it, or can replicate your solution without your skills or intellectual property. A smaller market sizing may make a good family business, if you have the funding. Is there an educated marketplace waiting?

Startup 96

Startup Education Ideas Customer 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Registered patents and other intellectual property. From an investor perspective, understanding and acting early to establish a sustainable competitive advantage, and barrier to entry, is the best assurance of a financial return. Contrary to popular belief, most investors are not looking for entrepreneurs who are desperate for funding.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Here are the major elements of the best product plans: Market requirements section. This first section of every product plan defines the market, sizes the opportunity, and discusses individual needs and requirements that will be provided by your product and service. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. If you have neither, and choose to approach an investor, you will get no attention, and probably never again get a shot at funding with that investor. Now investors will pay attention, since scale-up funding is less risky and has a time frame.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections. Only a great team, and listening to customers, will allow you to adjust as you learn more, or the market changes.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. I think this is a combination of being realists as venture capitalists that outsized returns in our funds must come from taking on bigger, more impactful projects that can move markets.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

These are your candidates, because they are companies already absorbing much or all the marketing expense necessary to make sales of your invention. They will be more willing to pay a royalty fee if your product gets them to market earlier or is protected by patent to create a barrier to their competition.

IP 136

IP Product Equity Tool 136

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2018

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. They are also seeking to find out how you handle one of the many tough questions that a new founder will get in today’s market.

Competition 51

Competition Patents Resource Entrepreneur 51

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2016

Secret sauce' or competitive advantage is not clear. They know that showing market traction will attract big companies, like Apple or Google, who can easily overrun the best startup. It costs very little to file a provisional patent to begin your protection. Market is new or unproven, or your solution is 'disruptive.'

Funding 57

Funding Social Media Startup Patents 57

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Will the solution give you an “unfair competitive advantage,” meaning no competitor already has it, or can replicate your solution without your skills or intellectual property. A smaller market sizing may make a good family business, if you have the funding. Is there an educated marketplace waiting?

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 20, 2018

These are your candidates, because they are companies already absorbing much or all the marketing expense necessary to make sales of your invention. They will be more willing to pay a royalty fee if your product gets them to market earlier or is protected by patent to create a barrier to their competition.

IP 120

IP Product Equity Tool 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Two founders have spent $200K of personal and family funds over a one year period to start the company, get a prototype site up and running, and have already generated some “buzz” in the Internet community. The value of patents and trademarks is not certifiable, especially if you are only at the provisional stage.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Patents Outsource Development 98

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. These are the ultimate chess players in the game of business, always looking to be two or three moves ahead of the competition. Anyone who works with entrepreneurs will tell you that all are different. Opportunist.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Framework Mentor Web 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Registered patents and other intellectual property. From an investor perspective, understanding and acting early to establish a sustainable competitive advantage, and barrier to entry, is the best assurance of a financial return. Contrary to popular belief, most investors are not looking for entrepreneurs who are desperate for funding.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2009

Fantastic post by Christian Gammill - Startup Delta Force… From a competitive perspective (e.g. all the other folks out there that will try to enter the same market) the barriers have been dropping over the last few years. How’s that for duality. Business - how are you actually going to make money? many more (please comment below)

Startup 150

Startup SEM IP SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

For example, “I just patented a new cell-phone technology that will double battery life for half the cost. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. The market scope for your solution should be quantified in non-technical terms, with data sourced from professionals in the industry, rather than your own opinion.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

No VC Fit - Match your venture with appropriate funding source. Clearly define the addressable market for your pain reliever, which is a subset of the total number of people who are feeling the pain; the total market size is not relevant. Patents and Trademarks. Competition. Distribution and Sales. Management Team.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

socalTECH

APRIL 29, 2014

A number of teams have recently been looking to turn that vision into reality, as a result of the Qualcomm Tricorder Prize , a $10M competition being run by the X Prize Foundation to create a real life Tricorder. That''s essentially how the Tricoder competition was formed--it''s time for this to happen. Mann implantable device area.

Startup 262

Startup Competition Software Review UCLA 262

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Investors are looking for a concise description of your product or service without technical jargon or fuzzy marketing terms with value quantified in customer terms. This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. What are your specific marketing and sales plans?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts. Now get real (cook it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2018

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Ideas have to be implemented well to change a market, or the world. Make your business model your competitive differentiation, like Fred Smith with Federal Express, or Ingvar Kamprad with IKEA.

Guide 95

Guide Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Describe your technology patents and “secret sauce”. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Yet according to the latest data from AngelSoft , only about 3 out of 100 companies who initiate the formal request process actually get funded. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” Line up an experienced team.

Angel 89

Angel Funding Technical Review Startup 89

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

The bad news is that many are already doing it, with competition growing, so the longer you wait, the less chance you have of getting there first. Create a business plan online, but don’t wait for funding. Trademarks, copyrights and even patents can be completed online by anyone through the U.S. Both are wrong.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Outsource Development 108

socalTECH

JULY 31, 2013

In the world of mobile app and Internet startups, it''s not that often that you see companies who touch the hardware side of the world get funding nowadays. One of the companies that has recently is On Ramp Wireless (www.onrampwireless.com), a San Diego company in the M2M market headed by Kevin Hell.

Technical Review 213

Technical Review Software Review Networking Technology 213

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2016

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Ideas have to be implemented well to change a market, or the world. Make your business model your competitive differentiation, like Fred Smith with Federal Express, or Ingvar Kamprad with IKEA.

Startup 103

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 103

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Barry Lieberman: My backgruond is about 35 years in technology, business development, and sales and marketing. I built my own company around marketing services, and have been around business development, marketing, custom service, and sales, and also on the consumer side of technology, a little bit a mix of the two.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100