Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal. Some entrepreneurs do very little to prepare for due diligence, assuming all the talking has already been done, and the business plan and results to-date tell the right story. Visit reference customers, partners, and vendors.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. By going on sales calls you pick up directly the feedback of what customers want and also what they’re telling you about competition.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. I think you’ll really enjoy this video , but as always I have summary notes for those with less time. West Coast”).

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. This overview (executive summary) needs to include: Product and Business What is the product? Who's the customer? What Is This?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Few investors these days have the time or patience to read a full business plan, so a better way to catch their eye is with a tightly written and well formatted two-page executive summary. I see too many executive summaries that are simply heavy-duty customer pitches, or lightweight visions of the future.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. This overview (executive summary) needs to include: Product and Business What is the product? Who's the customer? What Is This?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

A closer analysis often indicates the cause to be a lack of diligence in handling common business finances. I found a good summary of the most common mistakes in a classic book by Kelly Clifford, “ Profit Rocket ,” written primarily to help you on the other side of the equation – skyrocket your profits. In startups, cash is king.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Summary Pricing 151

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. If you had huge customer growth but just didn’t focus on revenue that’s a different story. If you spent the 3 years perfecting some hugely differentiated technology IP that may also be different.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

The functions of an early-stage board are pretty obvious and well understood: Providing introductions to customers, biz dev partners, recruits, the press, other investors, etc. Reviewing financial & operational performance. Ramping up sales teams too quickly and eroding quality & trust in your customer base. Mentorship.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

We’re here for Greycroft’s CEO Summit – a gathering of the CEO’s of their portfolio companies with guest speakers covering topics including how to build your team, PR, customer development, etc. It is the key to “customer development” that Steve Blank talks about. The Greycroft event was a 10 out of 10 so I’ve diligently taken notes.

Startup 279

Startup Venture Capital Tips Custom Development 279

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Or, as always, summary notes available below. My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2012

A closer analysis often indicates the cause to be a lack of diligence in handling common business finances. I found a good summary of the most common mistakes in a new book by Kelly Clifford, “ Profit Rocket ,” written primarily to help you on the other side of the equation – skyrocket your profits. In startups, cash is king.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Summary 109

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. There is nothing more pure than building a product, putting it out in the world and seeing paying customers using your product and in some cases loving it.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

Even when you do sign-up initial customers it’s still not clear that your company will be a success and you’re still likely paying yourself under market rates. He or she has worked at some very successful big technology or media companies and went to a great school. If you can and if you want to – you should.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

A closer analysis often indicates the cause to be a lack of diligence in handling common business finances. I found a good summary of the most common mistakes in a recent book by Kelly Clifford, “ Profit Rocket ,” written primarily to help you on the other side of the equation – skyrocket your profits. In startups, cash is king.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Entrepreneur Summary Pricing 100

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. Challenge yourself to delivering a technical innovation.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Coach Mentor Customer 143

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This is a long post, so I put an executive summary here if you want to get the point without reading all the detail. If you plan to read the post you can skip the summary if you want. I want to know how many people, their level of tech sophistication, their age and their interests.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. Link has a summary of his argument plus a great video). While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. It’s worth a quick read.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Customer retention. Investor negotiations. Time management.

Activity 133

Activity Startup Ideas Technical Review 133

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

are eliminated during due diligence. Build an investor presentation and summary. Investors expect a one or two-page executive summary sheet for the initial screening, backed up by a ten-slide Powerpoint investor presentation. Remember to aim the content of both of these at investors, not customers.

Invest 99

Invest Angel Technical Review Summary 99

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2013

For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Customer retention. Investor negotiations. Time management.

Ideas 110

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 110

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2012

Every serious investor, on the other hand, has a stack of these in their in-basket (email or real plastic) awaiting review, and is looking for the flaw or less-capable entrepreneur in each that predicts failure, allowing them to discard it like another piece of junk mail. Send the plan without a summary. You lose in either case.

Summary 97

Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Every serious investor, on the other hand, has a stack of these in their in-basket (email or real plastic) awaiting review, and is looking for the flaw or less-capable entrepreneur in each that predicts failure, allowing them to discard it like another piece of junk mail. Send the plan without a summary. You lose in either case.

Summary 97

Summary Technical Review .Net Ideas 97

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

are eliminated during due diligence. Build an investor presentation and summary. Investors expect a one or two-page executive summary sheet for the initial screening, backed up by a ten-slide Powerpoint investor presentation. Remember to aim the content of both of these at investors, not customers.

Angel 89

Angel Funding Technical Review Startup 89

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2022

To set the stage for all the cultural issues and timing, the authors start with a summary that I agree with of the five lifecycle phases every company is likely to experience over the long-term or short-term, regardless of culture: Innovation. This business phase is where every entrepreneur starts. Product-line expansion.

Startup 142

Startup Web 2.0 IBM IBM 142

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

People said this about Ring (which went from startup to selling to Amazon > $1 billion in around 5 years), Facebook, YouTube, Airbnb, Uber, Twitter, Instagram and many other great behemoths of the technology industry. Ah, but Bird doesn’t have network effects! There is nothing viral! Anybody can launch a scooter service! Not really.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Smart potential customers only visit and buy from credible and memorable websites. No name, picture, address, or business history only convinces customers that you are hiding, located in an un-trustable country, or don’t have a clue. Highlight interviews and reviews from recognized industry sources, and news sources.

Web 117

Web Search Engine Optimization eBook Advertising 117

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Customer retention. Investor negotiations. Time management.

Ideas 95

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

He’s a natural leader, appropriately competitive, very customer focused and a pleasure to work with. But I believe it’s a very comprehensive solution and our due diligence with large app developers confirmed as much. Optimization technology is not new. He knows the ad management and ad network businesses.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Companies Company 282

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

If you want to watch the show click the image above or this link , but if you want a quick read – here’s a summary: 1. People buy companies for 3 primary reasons: 1) they want the management team / talent 2) they want the technology or 3) they want the market traction (revenue, customer base, profits, etc).

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2013

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Focus means starting with a problem that is painful, rather than a technology, and showing how you can solve that problem better than anyone else. Solve one problem really well.

Startup 103

Startup Competition Technical Review Oracle 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2014

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Focus means starting with a problem that is painful, rather than a technology, and showing how you can solve that problem better than anyone else. Solve one problem really well.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Competition Technical Review Oracle 103