Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2010

Every time I see a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a couple of years ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth.

Viral 141

Viral Cost Marketing SEM 141

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2010

A few years ago I was intimately involved with a promising startup that ultimately failed, in my opinion due to a clear case of Founder’s Syndrome. I’ll be short on specifics here, to protect the guilty, but I hope you get the idea. It’s not a disease, but it can kill your startup You can find a more complete discussion of Founder’s Syndrome on Wikipedia , but here are a few of the “symptoms” I observed in the Founder and CEO in this case: Reacts defensively and talks constantly.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Startup Founder Demand 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2010

I’m sure you have all been frustrated at least once at not being able to get the Internet domain name you want for your company. Who owns all of these names, and should you ever buy one for a premium? The simple answer is that if you want to be found and remembered on the Web, a great domain name will be well worth several thousand dollars. Snagging an unclaimed great one is almost impossible these days because domain "squatters" gobbled up a lot of the catchy real estate years ago.

Naming 122

Naming Cameroon Niger Oman 122

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 24, 2010

You are an aspiring entrepreneur, eager to dump the corporate grind, and work to the beat of your own drummer, but you can’t come up with that killer idea to save the world. What are the alternatives that will give you the independence you crave, and challenge your business acumen? Technically, I believe an entrepreneur is anyone who manages his own profit and loss, and doesn’t meet the government tax definition of an employee.

Business Model 120

Business Model Government Employee Revenue 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2010

Many entrepreneurs actually refuse to do financial projections beyond the first year, insisting that no one can predict the future. They need to realize that investors ask for projections, not merely as predictions, but more as commitments from the founder and his team. In reality, you need to set these projections as goals for your own use, to convince employees as well as investors that you have a business which is challenging, but achievable.

Forecast 151

Forecast Startup Burn Rate .Net 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2010

People are always asking me for an inside tip on Internet sites that will be “the next big thing.” Those are hard, since someone has to invent something innovative, but I do have some views on other ideas whose time has come and gone. In some cases, these are concepts that have already been done too many times, and the space is crowded. In others, the concept has been tried too many times, and no one has yet succeeded in making any money.

Startup 175

Startup Aggregator Social Network Engineer 175

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2010

New entrepreneurs often seem to confuse viability with fundability. Certainly a non-viable business should be not fundable, but many viable businesses are also not fundable. Thus when an investor declines your funding request, you need to curb your anger and understand the real reason for this outcome. In my experience, here are the most common issues that cause funding requests for viable businesses to be rejected, in priority order: Inadequate business plan.

Intellectual Property 123

Intellectual Property Venture Capital Angel Investor Startup 123