Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2012

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?” I find that the basics are actually the hardest to answer, just like your parents found out when they first tried to fill you in on the “facts of life” a long time ago.

Intellectual Property 276

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Leadership Viral 276

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2012

I have met several young people in business recently who believe that they are natural born entrepreneurs, and actually seem to feel that traditional training and experience may be a detriment to their success in this new world. I concede that natural born components do exist, but more often I tend to agree with Peter Drucker , who said “It’s not magic, it’s not mysterious, and it has nothing to do with genes.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2012

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or the back of a napkin. Keep the wording and formatting straightforward, and keep the plan short. For minimum content, see my article “ These 10 Key Elements Make a Business Plan Fundable.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2012

In working with entrepreneurs and other business people over the years, I often hear stories of entrepreneurs who were so close to success, but somehow let it slip through their fingers. They could always give a rational excuse, like the market changed, but somehow it seemed that they were actually afraid of success, so they subtly undermined their own efforts.

Entrepreneur 254

Entrepreneur Internet Startup Cost 254

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2012

Every time I hear about a new startup that is in stealth mode, I wonder what problem they are hiding from whom. Of course they pretend that they are trying to avoid alerting competitors prior to launch, but too often it becomes an excuse to move slowly in a world that’s all about getting to market fast. I believe stealth makes sense for large companies who can be sued for “pre-announcing” a new product to stall the market or kill a competitor.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2012

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designe

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2012

I’m not much of a television person, but my family loves one of the popular “reality” shows, called “ So You Think You Can Dance ,” so I’m sort of forced to watch it every week on Fox. Over time, I’ve concluded that even startup entrepreneurs can learn a few things from this one. Of course, you must ignore the pomp and circumstance of the TV staging.

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Technical Review Startup Angel Groups Audience 223