Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He was a life-long entrepreneur and the first business he created out of college (actually, he founded it while he was at Caltech) was a company that manufactured high quality audio speakers. He said it was better than the Yellow Pages because he would provide pricing transparency. Too many entrepreneurs focus on dilution.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Their primary intended reader is a “first-time entrepreneur”, but clearly other stakeholders within the startup universe can also benefit from the book’s hands-on advice. They are both former entrepreneurs and current Partners at Foundry Group , a highly successful, early stage venture firm. The Magicians Tells Their Secrets.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. Ask some potential customers to see if there is real interest, and start thinking about price versus cost. File at least a provisional patent and one or more trademarks. All the evidence says that over 99% fail to make that leap.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Most of the technologists I know inherently believe that the terms inventor and entrepreneur mean the same thing, so they are frustrated and surprised when they build their products and no business evolves. The term entrepreneur has always been defined as a person who builds a new business, which may or may not involve inventing a product.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Pricing Customer Custom 106

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand. At present, no world patents or international patent process exists, so you need to apply in every relevant country.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Offshore 97

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Agree to Bundling Without a Minimum Price.

Outsource Development 170

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 170

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

In the creation of a new enterprise, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business. And fifth: Competitive risk.

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2011

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand. At present, no world patents or international patent process exists, so you need to apply in every relevant country.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Patents Offshore Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2012

You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Here is my own priority list of key risk drivers that every entrepreneur and every investor should evaluate and minimize in starting a business: Team experience and depth risk. Financial risk.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Examples Social Network Marketing 108

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. A long-term advantage usually also requires intellectual property, such as a patent, trade secret, or trademark.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2012

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. You have figured out how to undercut your competitor’s price, and still hold your margin. Success is the right balance of both for fun and profit.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Ideas 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2011

Based on my own experience and feedback from friends, every investor is approached by at least ten entrepreneurs with a “hot idea” for a new business, for every one who has a real “plan” for a new business. In fact, you can find websites full of ideas, like these “ Free Innovative Ideas ,” by serial entrepreneur Kim E.

Ideas 104

Ideas Entrepreneur Summary Startup 104

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

Founded by Steve Poizner last year to accelerate the growth of a startup entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southern California, The Alliance is building a network of investors, entrepreneurs and universities to provide ballast in the south to the dominance of the Northern California tech industry.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2014

With the appearance of do-it-yourself services on the Internet, entrepreneur curriculums at every university, and a wealth of new books on the subject, the need for expensive consultants and business advisors has also been mitigated. The same is true for filing patents, registering trademarks, and filing copyrights. Martin Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Here are some of the key ones: Patent protection in place as a barrier to entry.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. You have figured out how to undercut your competitor’s price, and still hold your margin. Success is the right balance of both for fun and profit.

Startup 160

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 160

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. It’s important to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from someone else’s mistakes, without paying their high price in time lost, cost, and pain.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. It doesn’t prove your business model of pricing, distribution, and support. File a provisional patent, register a trademark, and reserve your company domain names. Marty Zwilling.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

InfoChachkie

MARCH 4, 2019

In addition to creating a franchise chain which exceeded 500 locations at its peak, Martha Harper was also one of the world’s first social entrepreneurs, helping thousands of middle-class women create their own businesses and control their destinies. Social Entrepreneuring (Before It Was Cool). Martha’s Legacy Lives On.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Class Template Patents 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Don’t bash the competition.

Competition 133

Competition Patents Resource Invest 133

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. They tell these entrepreneurs to sell themselves, execute well, and grow organically.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Agree to Bundling Without a Minimum Price.

Outsource Development 124

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 124

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Dave Compton: NetPlenish is the first price replenishment search engine. How NetPlenish is different from any other website for pricing, is let's say that with the dog food- Alpo dog food--it will pull up who is lowest. Tags: startup retail ecommerce netplenish entrepreneur compton dave. What is NetPlenish? Dave Compton: Right.

Compton 138

Compton Ventura Startup IP 138

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So, it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business. And fifth: Competitive risk. .

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

The only true outside board or advisory members are not family members, not current investors, but are experienced entrepreneurs with deep knowledge and connections in the relevant business area. Real customers are ones who have paid full price for the product, have it installed and in use, and are still satisfied.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Startup Invest Patents 95

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

In 1994, (I know a long time ago), I invested over a million dollars (two million six hundred thousand in today’s dollars) into a company whose entrepreneurs had a vision that I bought into for many reasons, not the least of which was that I had industry experience and understood the need. Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs immediately respond.

Competition 156

Competition Research Summary Pricing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2014

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. A long-term advantage usually also requires intellectual property, such as a patent, trade secret or trademark.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur 106

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2011

If you are an entrepreneur starting a business for the first time, I recommend that you find a product concept that is already accepted and improve on it, rather than tackling that ultimate disruptive technology. Of course, the first one gets the patent. Evidence of success using this approach is all around us.

Startup 91

Startup Patents Statistics Course 91

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Don’t bash the competition.

Competition 120

Competition Patents Resource Invest 120

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Helping entrepreneurs succeed. An on-line community for entrepreneurs. and international patent and trademark procurement - IP Litigation - IP Licenses and Agreements: distribution, development, joint venture - Intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Redpoint Ventures (www.redpoint.com). Startups Made Simple.

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. I like patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, so this answer is a better sustainable competitive advantage than the other five answers. Don’t bash the competition.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

InfoChachkie

MARCH 21, 2019

Ida wasn’t even the first modern-day entrepreneur to offer women brassieres. In 1917, Mary Phelps Jacobs was granted patent 1,115,674 , which states, “This invention relates to improvements in brassieres.” (sic). She was an entrepreneur at a time when entrepreneurial women were few and far between.”.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Design Customer Custom 100

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 24, 2011

There has recently been a common theme among the entrepreneurs I have interviewed and the conferences I have attended: despite the relatively weak state of the world economy, now is a great time to create a high-tech startup. As noted in Now Is Never Too Early , successful entrepreneurs are not inclined to wait. Christy was correct.

Company 257

Company Companies Startup Study 257

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2012

The honest answer is that ideas and new technologies are worth nothing, outside the context of a specific entrepreneur and a specific business plan that meets a market need for a fair price. What investors want is a proven entrepreneur, someone who can invent a product, find capital, and find a way of getting the product to market.

Patents 95

Patents Journal Ideas Competition 95

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2015

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. An international brand will command higher prices and additional customer demand. At present, no world patents or international patent process exists, so you need to apply in every relevant country.

Patents 106

Patents Startup Offshore Demand 106

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2013

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking. 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. Think the unthinkable.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Patents Training 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

A good answer might be “We have several patents on the base technology, which is so robust that we expect to roll out new products every year for the next ten years, always staying a step ahead of our competitors.” Undercutting competitors in price is always a good strategy, but free implies no real value. Our patent will protect us.”

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89