Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

This is part of my ongoing posts on Startup Advice. The world has changed much since I started my first company in 1999. Tim started to change our processes. Tim encouraged us to set up a blog and start talking openly about what we were doing as a company and inviting comments. Back then it seemed foreign.

Organization 280

Organization Customer Custom Tips 280

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2021

Most entrepreneurs I know are individually very innovative, but a successful startup can’t be a one-man show (for long). In fact, some very innovative individuals, known as ‘idea people’ or inventors, often end up creating the most dysfunctional teams. Innovation is not all about coming up with new ideas.

Ideas 123

Ideas Framework Satisfaction Startup 123

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

One of the great joys of doing the web series This Week in VC every week is that I get to spend time with great people debating the issues of our day including how our industry is evolving as well as insights into how companies got started, got their initial traction and dealt with adversities. We then spoke about startups.

Startup 286

Startup Venture Capital Web Ideas 286

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

One of the complaints I often hear from engaged business professionals is that their new ideas, innovations, and change recommendations are unfairly criticized or dismissed without analysis. This argument is actually not attacking the idea, but shows a generalized resistance to change. Your idea has unpredictable negative side effects.

Ideas 116

Ideas Netflix Resource Customer 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 1, 2023

You’ve probably already made your resolutions for 2023, but if not, I suggest a renewed commitment to finding happiness and satisfaction in your chosen business lifestyle. The right reason to start a business is not the money, challenge, or the prestige, but the chance to follow your dream. Stay rooted in the present.

Satisfaction 119

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 119

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

There has long been a big debate about the best approach to starting a new business. Some argue the only way to start is to drop everything and jump in with both feet, while others recommend an overlapped approach to the lifestyle, including not quitting your day job until you have revenue and a proven business model.

Startup 128

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction News 128

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

A common request I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs is for an assessment of their latest idea. I don’t even try to assess things at the idea level, since I can’t read minds. Don’t pick a technology idea that someone else believes will make you rich and famous, or a business area you are not intimately familiar with.

Ideas 108

Ideas Satisfaction Entrepreneur Activity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2023

Hopefully, between the two of us, more of you with big business dreams will follow the leads and generate more successful business results: Start by getting your hands dirty. Never give up in the face of adversity. One of the biggest causes of startup failure is simply giving up too early. The time to get started is now.

Ideas 105

Ideas Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

If you are seriously looking to start the next billion-dollar startup, you need to get beyond the realm of enhancing a current solution. Rather than starting from a mindset of pushing the limits of technology, be determined to first find a customer need that can only be solved by the technology you know.

Startup 134

Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs I know are just waiting for that unique idea to strike them that will kickstart their new venture, put them in control of their lifestyle, achieve financial independence, and maybe even change the world. Timing is critical for every startup. Of course, if you wait for the perfect time, you may never start.

Startup 159

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Equity 159

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2014

I’ve always wondered who started the urban myth that the best way to start a company is to come up with a great idea, and then find some professional investors to give you a pot of money to build a company. Don’t give up a chunk of your company and control before you start.

Startup 110

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction Legalzoom 110

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, crowdfunding still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. The crowd gets the satisfaction of helping, with minimal risk, and no expectation of any high return.

Funding 141

Funding Startup Outsource Development Satisfaction 141

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2021

They keep asking people like me whether the time is right, and the truth is that there’s never an ideal time to start your own business. It’s like starting a personal relationship, if you wait for exactly the right time, you’ll never do it. This is a necessary, but not sufficient reason to start a business now.

Startup 168

Startup Ideas Satisfaction Entrepreneur 168

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2021

Everyone seems to espouse extrinsic motivations, such as getting rich, having power, and fulfilling parent dreams, when in fact a focus on satisfying internal interests and desires will likely lead to more success, as well as satisfaction. Satisfaction of doing something great. Find personal meaning from building a business.

Startup 144

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Patents 144

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

As an advisor to many startups today, I still see that most of you entrepreneurs see yourselves as the sole driver of your new solution, and the key driver of your new business. Satisfaction and commitment come from choosing a path to move forward, evaluation results and customer feedback, and learning from all their best efforts.

Startup 147

Startup Customer Custom Ideas 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2013

I’ve always wondered who started the urban myth that the best way to start a company is to come up with a great idea, and then find some professional investors to give you a pot of money to build a company. Don’t give up a chunk of your company and control before you start.

Startup 105

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Legalzoom 105

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2020

It may not be as sexy, but starting a new business which builds on an existing technology or business model is usually less risky than introducing that ultimate new disruptive technology. There are many levels of innovation that go beyond copying someone else’s idea, but stop short of pushing the leading edge (bleeding edge).

Startup 157

Startup Social Media Study Research 157

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

A common request I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs is for an assessment of their latest idea. I don’t even try to assess things at the idea level, since I can’t read minds. Don’t pick a technology idea that someone else believes will make you rich and famous, or a business area you are not intimately familiar with.

Ideas 78

Ideas Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 78

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Everyone knows that startups are risky, but they also expect that the job will be exciting and potentially very lucrative (think early employees at Facebook and Google). The truly indispensable person in a startup is a problem solver, because every startup has plenty of problems. Educate yourself one notch up.

Startup 125

Startup Journal Outsource Tips 125

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup. Even fewer are able to grow the startup into a viable business. Here is a summary of the key stages along the way: Idea and seed stage. Startup and development stage.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

That’s why all those so-called million dollar ideas I hear about as an investor don’t get me excited, and entrepreneurs find that working twenty hours a day often generates nothing more than sweat, instead of the desired sweat equity. In my experience, both are always required in heavy doses.

Startup 118

Startup Satisfaction Customer Custom 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2020

As a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always surprised by the fact that some never seem to be able to that first startup going, while many others never seem to stop, starting their second or third initiative before the first one is fully hatched. You can’t win a race that you never start.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2020

That’s why all those so-called million dollar ideas I hear about as an investor don’t get me excited, and entrepreneurs find that working twenty hours a day often generates nothing more than sweat, instead of the desired sweat equity. In my experience, both are always required in heavy doses.

Satisfaction 174

Satisfaction Customer Custom Outsource 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2013

They keep asking people like me whether the time is right, and the truth is that there’s never an ideal time to start your own business. It’s like starting a personal relationship, if you wait for exactly the right time, you’ll never do it. This is a necessary, but not sufficient reason to start a business now.

Startup 103

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Satisfaction 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2020

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. Otherwise, in my experience, the startup will fail. If you are not, your team will see right through it and you will be worse off than if you stayed locked up in your office.

Technical Review 130

Technical Review Startup Development Team Review Activity 130

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2021

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs probably have long searched for that special idea that will catapult you and your startup to success. Yet, my experience as a business advisor and investor has convinced me that the magic is not the idea, but you and the execution. With innovative startups, every new one is a new challenge.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Ideas Examples Satisfaction 171

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2021

They know there is nothing wrong with having passion for a new idea, but they don’t let it influence business decisions. Don’t look to customers for breakthrough ideas. At some stage of your education, you realize that you can learn faster, and get more satisfaction, in the real world than in a academic environment.

Entrepreneur 171

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Demand Customer 171

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2019

Many experts have tried to clearly lay out the criteria for survival in a way that allows you to judge your own situation and your own temperament, and make a rational decision before starting down this path. Rather than finding a new idea first, try finding a problem first. In other words, make sure your solution will scale up.

Satisfaction 78

Satisfaction Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2021

As I work with aspiring you new venture leaders, I always wish I had a definitive checklist of all the right attributes that I could share with you, encourage you to develop and highlight in your efforts with potential investors, and guide your own actions in starting the next billion dollar company.

Funding 152

Funding Startup Ideas Resource 152

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

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ,” but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup. Startups need to show real traction before attempting to cross the chasm.

Startup 150

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Ironically, as a startup investor and mentor, I have seen too many failures caused by just the opposite – too much money spent too soon, taking time to get product perfection, and assuming customers will wait. How many times have you actually made up work to keep an idle person busy? Build entirely new business models and systems.

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2017

You don’t like it, millennials won’t put up with it, and current productivity levels at work continue to decline. She has lived and worked in five countries, and consulted with major corporations, as well as startups, in transforming their workplaces to be more productive as well as more satisfying. Sophie Wade.

Satisfaction 67

Satisfaction Coach Startup Organization 67

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2010

According to Reitzin, Customer Satisfaction Rep Brett Hopkins has taken advantage of the $1,000 bonus the company pays for any logo, tattooing a logo on his leg. The whole idea for the tattoo bounty at the Los Angeles firm came in March, when Reitzin got his own tattoo on his ankle of the firm's logo. READ MORE>>.

Culver City 154

Culver City Los Angeles Satisfaction Ideas 154