Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2012

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. It works, but in all cases, to be a successful mentor, there are some key things you have to do: Be available always. The mentor assumes a role of a facilitator.

Mentor 91

Mentor Product High Tech Coach 91

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

We've defined an accelerator program as a class-based, limited-time program which ties mentors, educational events, and often, seed funding, to help ideas become startups, and to help get startups to the point where they are fund-able.

Southern California 246

Southern California Incubator Guide Startup 246

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

As a partially-retired baby-boomer in business, I’ve spent much of the last few years mentoring aspiring millennial entrepreneurs, and I’m always looking for more insights into how to help them. Business leaders and mentors must highlight their own focus on positive leadership actions, instead of defensive reactions.

Mentor 134

Mentor Coach Guide Startup 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2017

Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating.

Mentor 61

Mentor Technical Review Entrepreneur Guide 61

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2011

Every first-time entrepreneur, or even an experienced founder stepping into a new business area, needs a mentor. A mentor is a confidant who has been there and done that, and is willing to guide your steps. Later, the great Warren Buffet became his mentor on many corporate matters. Mentors are not like lovers.

Mentor 94

Mentor Entrepreneur Guide Research 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2010

I believe you can be much more productive, as well as a more effective leader, if you approach most meetings as mentoring opportunities, and limit them to five minutes. With the mentoring approach, the mentee asks for your support in their decision, or asks for your insight on the considerations for them making a future decision.

Mentor 88

Mentor High Tech Coach Guide 88

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

As a partially-retired baby-boomer in business, I’ve spent much of the last few years mentoring aspiring millennial entrepreneurs, and I’m always looking for more insights into how to help them. Business leaders and mentors must highlight their own focus on positive leadership actions, instead of defensive reactions.

Tips 127

Tips Mentor Coach Guide 127

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 24, 2015

The founders are lifelong friends and lifelong learners from Chicago who have had successful careers in tech before joining forces to create the ultimate free social online learning destination that takes the best teachers on the web and curates their content into MentorMob learning Guides. Including one on kiteboarding. How does it work?

Guide 40

Guide CTO Coach Education Content 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

One of the things I’ve learned over my years as a business mentor and investor is that life isn’t fair when it comes to succeeding in business. Use friends and mentors with extensive experience to gauge both. The key is to keep learning, from mentors, books, and online. Fortunately, you can develop this skill.

Help 130

Help Mentor Paramount Technical Review 130

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2017

Based on my years of experience mentoring and advising entrepreneurs, you need to attack problems and challenges with a mindset of success, or it is unlikely that you or your business will survive. I found that view confirmed for a wide range of leadership situations in a new book, “ The Mindset of Success ,” by Jo Owen.

Guide 60

Guide Entrepreneur Help Mentor 60

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested. Just as Yves mentored me when I became his co-managing partner in 2011, he didn’t seek to ride off into the sunset either. So What Does All This Mean?

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2022

I add my insights here to her guide to uncovering your own unique value proposition, building a positioning strategy, and becoming a valuable brand: Assess whether your career path is on trend. You need to step out of your comfort zone to socialize, meet new people, and collaborate with peers, company leaders, and mentors.

Social Media 125

Social Media Summary Startup Mentor 125

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

In my own business career, many years as a business advisor, and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I have validated the following strategies to practice and guide you. Even the best business professionals and leaders must concentrate on learning something new each day, through mentors, Internet resources, and studying competitors.

Satisfaction 152

Satisfaction Mentor Study Startup 152

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2011

The new effort, led by Caltech's Resnick Institute, is hoping to tap into OnGreen's network to find mentors to guide student groups and clean energy projects. Department of Energy to help foster student entrepreneurs via a business plan competition run by the group called First Look West.

CalTech 165

CalTech UCLA Southern California Pasadena 165

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2022

In my role as a business mentor and advisor, I now always look for a culture and recommend team roles that nurture collaboration rather than contention, communities rather than silos , and transparent communication at all levels. Feedback is so critical for any business leader, both in how to give and receive it.

Organization 105

Organization Mentor Startup Training 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2010

The best survival guides tell you how to be proactive and avoid the probabilities of ending up in a worse case scenario. Several whole books have been written on this subject, such as “ The Worst-Case Scenario Business Survival Guide ” by David Borgenicht and Mark Joyner, so you should consider this article a simple introduction.

Guide 50

Guide Startup Resource Entrepreneur 50

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2020

In our business lives we’re having to deal with decisions that could have lasting impacts on our companies without any compass to guide us in the direction we’re heading . It feels a bit like choosing a fork in the road amidst dense fog and with nobody to guide us what to do. I imagine many of you are, too.

Demand 215

Demand Guide Customer Custom 215

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Boomer investors are much more likely to get in the game with a high focus on mentoring and give-back, as well as the financial return potential. Every startup needs two or three key advisors who have the domain experience, connections, and complementary skills to guide the founders through those early crises.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur Report 147

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

To learn more about how women are looking to change the investment climate--and get involved in investing themselves--we caught up with one of the Pipeline Fellowship''s local mentors, the CEO of Beyond Capital Fund (www.beyondcapitalfund.org), Eva Helene Yazhari , who is here in Los Angeles. What is the Pipeline Fellowship?

Angel 276

Angel Invest Mentor Technical Review 276

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2022

Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating.

Technical Review 137

Technical Review Entrepreneur Guide Mentor 137

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

You can review all the specifics of this approach in the classic book by Nathan Furr and Paul Ahlstrom, appropriately titled “ Nail It then Scale It: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Creating and Managing Breakthrough Innovation ,” but I will net it out here.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2022

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m often asked what it takes to get satisfaction from this lifestyle. Fear is a dangerous emotion with which to guide your actions. Only 13 percent of workers are fully engaged in their job. The sad part is that it seems to be getting worse, rather than better. Be prepared to experiment.

Satisfaction 153

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Writing Startup 153

Tech.Co

JANUARY 29, 2018

With the help of CTA, startup teams have access to insight information in their respective verticals that could guide critical decisions. Add Mentors to Your Roster. Regardless of one’s stage, mentors are a must have for any founder. The answers might not even be consistent from one mentor to another,” Gindin said. “I

Startup 87

Startup Mentor Artificial Inteligence Research 87

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2010

Every startup mentor has his favorite list of basic strategies to avoid pitfalls, and I’m no exception. Unfortunately, for every success story you see, there is an even longer list of failure stories with mistakes that you don’t see.

Guide 92

Guide Startup Social Network Patents 92

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Unfortunately, many aspiring leaders I mentor are not aware of the signals people are looking for, or are not attuned to the subtleties of their own actions. Show humility while acting as a mentor and coach. High-trust leaders see themselves as stewards, rather than owners, guiding people, assets, and decision making.

Mentor 98

Mentor News Summary Coach 98

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2013

How to find a startup mentor. It's a new year and it's time to get back to work. TapIt Media acquired for $23M by Phunware. In our features section: Interview with Blair Harrison of Frequency. 9 Ways socalTECH Can Help You With Your New Year's Resolutions. Southern California's Most Popular Tech Stories.

Southern California 168

Southern California Technical Review SoCal San Diego 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2022

A common request I get while mentoring entrepreneurs is for a copy of the startup checklist they need to follow, in order to build a successful new business. Kerr, “ The Executive Checklist: A Guide for Setting Direction and Managing Change.” I wish it was that easy.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2021

That means accepting coaching and seeking mentoring, as well as giving it. Strive to evolve from guru to guide, coaching others to find their own answers. Just as your business needs feedback from customers, you need regular feedback from those around you on how to do better. Espouse a higher purpose than profit or recognition.

Coach 162

Coach Startup Resource Competition 162

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2022

The experts define emotional intelligence as a leader's ability to recognize individual and team emotions, to understand their effect, and manage your own to guide your next move. Mentors and coaches are always willing to help you find creative ways around roadblocks, even ones you don’t even see.

Coach 140

Coach Guide Startup Mentor 140

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. In addition, you can reduce to soft costs of mentoring, relationship building, and socializing.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. Almost any startup can start with Excel, and move to open-source data analysis tools, including Python or RStudio.

Tool 121

Tool Statistics Entrepreneur Metrics 121

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2021

When I started mentoring entrepreneurs and startups a few years ago, I anticipated that I would get mostly tough technical questions, but instead I more often hear things like “Where do I start?” Entrepreneurs are ultimately responsible for guiding their business through this life cycle, rather than getting suck in any one stage.

Entrepreneur 138

Entrepreneur Activity Guide Patents 138

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2022

In my role as a mentor to entrepreneurs and an angel investor, I find that too many are stuck in this myth that a good pitch, and good marketing content, should consist of more product features, and more hype on customer benefits.

Startup 117

Startup Social Media Guide Content 117

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2023

As a business consultant and mentor to many young entrepreneurs, I often get questions about leadership challenges , and what you can do to solidify your leadership position and impact. It seems that today’s worker generation is more demanding, and less willing to accept guidance and direction from anyone with a leadership title.

Demand 112

Demand Guide Startup Mentor 112

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 1, 2019

Defy , the early-stage venture investment firm founded by Neil Sequeira and Trae Vassallo, is putting a new twist on the venture partner model as it brings Brian Lee and Sujal Patel on board to help out with investing and guiding companies in the firm’s portfolio. Just don’t call them venture partners.

Invest 109

Invest Legalzoom Los Angeles Blogging 109

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2023

I found some guidance in the classic book, “ Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results ,” by Victor Prince and Mike Figliuolo, two top thought leaders in the field of leadership development. At the least, other members need to see you holding this person accountable. Square pegs.

Resource 107

Resource Entrepreneur Startup Guide 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2021

Then set about the task of guiding each person on your team toward the goal of becoming a top-notch problem solver during this crucial period. Mentor your employees, encourage them, make partners out of them, and your organization is sure to benefit. Post a sign above your office door that reads, "Don't Bring Me Problems.

Organization 137

Organization Guide Mentor Training 137