Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2016

As a small business and startup advisor, I find that entrepreneurs often love to talk about their latest idea, but not their execution. Like most investors, I’m convinced that success in business is more about the plan and the person than the idea. Sets goals and milestones, with metrics to track progress.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Metrics Ideas 106

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.” Your favorite investor told you this was a bad idea.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 6, 2014

Creating a gerat company in a relative vacuum is an exercise in complete trust that the entrepreneur knows what’s best for the customer, perhaps even without interaction with such a customer. So, I’ve developed the three step dance in order to help form a repeatable method of how to create a great company from an early idea.

Company 229

Company Companies Startup Custom 229

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2018

Many experts will tell you that you can’t succeed as a part-time entrepreneur, as any good startup will require a 100 percent commitment of your time and energy. Thus I often recommend that entrepreneurs keep their day job until the startup is producing revenue. Select a business idea that has a longer runway. Marty Zwilling.

Ideas 102

Ideas Entrepreneur Tips Startup 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2012

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Social media is the realm of public opinion and customer conversations.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Startup 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2021

The entrepreneurs I see are always talking about “disruptive innovation” ideas, but the plans I read are more often linear extensions of a current hot offering, like one more social network with the best of Facebook and Twitter, one more dating site dimension, or another “must-have” accessory for smartphones.

Ideas 117

Ideas Entrepreneur Netflix IBM 117

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. On the one hand, an entrepreneur should not be overly paranoid and should know the ropes that VCs and other professional investors generally will not sign NDAs to see the concept or a prototype--and even if they did, it would not provide much protection.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2013

After the idea, it’s all about execution. In fact, it’s not clear that even the idea is all that important. Most investors tell me that an A entrepreneur with a B idea is much more fundable than a B entrepreneur with an A idea. Proactively sets metrics and track goals.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 103

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2019

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that the strength of their initial idea somehow defines them as a leader, as well as the success potential of their derivative business. It takes leadership ability, as well as a good idea, to make a successful entrepreneur, and great leaders evolve from key leadership decisions along the way.

Entrepreneur 122

Entrepreneur Ideas Framework Press 122

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

However, to be a great VC you have to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time. They might be ideas they hatch internally (via a Foundry) or a founder who just left SpaceX and raises money to search for an idea. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way. two founders in a garage?—?(HP

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

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. A hobby may take your idea to a product, but a startup has to take the idea to a business.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I challenge them to think beyond what I call linear extensions to a current trend, such as another “easier-to-use” app for smartphones, a new dating site for pets, or another niche social network. Great social entrepreneurs are rare. What will you do if you get no traction on this idea?

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Examples 126

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I have often thought that creative endeavors where one has a quick turn-around between idea and realization of one’s work as one of the more fulfilling experiences in life. And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Greathouse: Your collective experiences have clearly made bootstrapping a viable option for you, more so than might be the case for a typical, younger entrepreneur who needs more direction, doesn’t have cash discipline, etc. Greathouse: How did you come up with the idea for ProductPlan? Semick: It wasn’t our first idea.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2012

A startup begins with a great idea, but all too often, that’s where it ends. Ideas have to be implemented well to get the desired results. That’s why investors invest in entrepreneurs, rather than ideas. Metrics are required for ensuring the return to a known good baseline. Measure value flow and performance.

Ideas 94

Ideas Startup Summary Competition 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2014

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that the strength of their initial idea somehow defines them as a leader, as well as the success potential of their derivative business. It takes leadership ability, as well as a good idea, to make a successful entrepreneur, and great leaders evolve from key leadership decisions along the way.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Ideas Framework Press 111

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

These days, with the many Internet articles and new courses available, most new entrepreneurs readily cross the gap from lack of business knowledge to knowing, but many never make it over the knowing versus doing gap. The first challenge is to overcome the natural human tendency to equate talking about an idea with actually taking action.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 104

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2010

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Social media is the realm of public opinion and customer conversations.

Social Media 84

Social Media Metrics Media Satisfaction 84

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Too many entrepreneurs think that expert external advisors are suspect, or will slow them down.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2013

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. entrepreneur goals startup metrics social media'

Social Media 102

Social Media Media Entrepreneur Metrics 102

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2014

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Using data metrics alone for decisions, without seeking the root problem and alternative solutions, kills creativity. Low appetite for risk.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Metrics Demand Statistics 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2012

After the idea, it’s all about execution. In fact, it’s not clear that even the idea is all that important. Most investors tell me that an A entrepreneur with a B idea is much more fundable than a B entrepreneur with an A idea. Proactively sets metrics and track goals.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that the strength of their initial idea somehow defines them as a leader, as well as the success potential of their derivative business. It takes leadership ability, as well as a good idea, to make a successful entrepreneur, and great leaders evolve from key leadership decisions along the way.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Ideas Framework Press 103

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Jackson, CEO and co-founder of CapLinked (www.caplinked.com), which is developing tools to help entrepreneurs and investors connect. Eric is an experienced entrepreneur, and was a very, very early employee at PayPal, where he was recruited by Peter Thiel. Jackson: It's actually two audiences, both the entrepreneur and investor.

Southern California 243

Southern California Entrepreneur Software Review Yammer 243

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

In my role as advisor and mentor to many new entrepreneurs, I often find myself suggesting that they think bigger. We all are excited to hear real innovation, and struggle daily to increase every potential entrepreneur’s scope of thinking. For example, smart entrepreneurs look for recognizable patterns in disconnected domains.

Startup 162

Startup Metrics Ideas Entrepreneur 162

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

We talked about how business school historically hasn’t positioned entrepreneurs well for success. I wrote about that before in a post about “ whether MBAs are necessary for entrepreneurs. His class reading lists could be a primer for any entrepreneur, not just MBAs. He spoke about ROCE (return on capital employed).

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2010

Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition | For Entrepreneurs , February 2, 2010 Looks at the critical equation around customer acquisition cost vs. customer lifetime value similar to what I discussed in Startup Metrics but in more depth. Great stuff. This post looks at the implementation details of HTML 5 video.

Pricing 150

Pricing Acquisition Customer Custom 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2020

One obvious alternative is to become an entrepreneur. As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m often asked what it takes to switch and get real satisfaction from this lifestyle. In fact, Mehta focuses on a special class of entrepreneurs that he calls disruptors. Be prepared to experiment.

Entrepreneur 123

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Writing Startup 123

socalTECH

JUNE 13, 2011

Where did the idea come from? That allowed me to take a summer to develop the new idea, and transform it into a business. I developed the idea over the summer, articulated the vision, drew out the site, and then teamed up with other students at UCLA and started developing KarmaGoat. Jonathan Lehmann: I'm originally from Paris.

UCLA 256

UCLA Startup Ideas Help 256

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

As discussed in Hiring Entrepreneurs, the impact of each new hire during your startup’s early days is tremendous. As noted in Optimistically Pessimistic , successful entrepreneurs are indifferent as to the specific tactics they must employ to accomplish their fervently held strategic objectives.

Tips 279

Tips Startup Framework Custom 279

Berkonomics

JANUARY 30, 2014

What happens to careful planning, sure-fire metrics, quality test scenarios, market research, a good business plan – all in place before pulling the trigger of a new opportunity. They want to know that their money is not just being thrown at an idea that will become a trial by fire – literally. Ready, FIRE, aim. And who is right here?

Artificial Inteligence 189

Artificial Inteligence Startup Metrics Ideas 189

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Guide to Evaluating Startup Ideas - Tony Wright dot com , May 27, 2010 A great developer I once worked with was kvetching at lunch one day. He’d been working at a well-funded startup for about a year and had come to terms with the fact that the startup was really a pretty dumb idea. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. We get it!

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. While I’m a huge believer that sales bonuses should always be uncapped, I think capping PBW’s is a good idea.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2019

They can talk with passion about their innovative new idea, and ask lots of questions, but never seem to really get started. The challenge we all have as business founders is to move from the idea stage to a real business. Set target date milestones and metrics to gauge progress.

Ideas 99

Ideas Slides Writing Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that the strength of their initial idea somehow defines them as a leader, as well as the success potential of their derivative business. It takes leadership ability, as well as a good idea, to make a successful entrepreneur, and great leaders evolve from key leadership decisions along the way.

Startup 141

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Framework 141

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2020

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Using data metrics alone for decisions, without seeking the root problem and alternative solutions, kills creativity. Low appetite for risk.

Metrics 157

Metrics Demand Statistics Sales 157