Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Many entrepreneurs think that diversity on their team just makes their job harder, since startups are all about making fast decisions, and executing efficiently. Often they assume that this is only a big-company issue, having more to do with the legalities of equal opportunity, hiring minorities, and moral imperatives. In reality, diversity in a startup can be your big competitive advantage.

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Advisory Board Silicon Valley Startup United States 228

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2013

The entrepreneur’s challenge is to effectively communicate their value proposition, not only to customers, but also to vendors, partners, investors, and their own team. Especially for technical founders, this is normally all about presenting impressive facts. But in reality facts only go so far. Stories often work better, because humans don’t always make rational decisions.

Entrepreneur 295

Entrepreneur Chad Audience Founder 295

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2013

First things first – your startup needs a name! This may seem a silly and frivolous task, but it may be the most important decision you make. The name of your business has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you, and in today’s small world, it’s a world-wide decision. Please don’t send me any more business plans with TBD or NewCo in the title position.

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Naming Startup Cofounder Algorithm 262

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2013

When I heard a friend make the statement “Your startup can’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt it as their mantra. Pivoting or dealing a new hand is not quitting. If we all repeat this mantra, perhaps we can improve the statistic that over half of new startups fail within five years. Nothing is more discouraging to future entrepreneurs than a failed startup.

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Turkey Startup Bootstrapping Differentiation 252

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return. Like it or not, you are now entering the dreaded realm of specifying and documenting “formal business processes.” The right question is “What is the minimum that I need?

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Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping Database 230

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2013

In the world of entrepreneurs and startups, high level relationships are everything. You can’t start a business alone. You need partners, team members, investors, vendors, and customers. But people don’t realize that all relationships are not the same. There are people you only recognize on the street, business friends, and then close friends whom you can always count on to help.

Entrepreneur 230

Entrepreneur Distribution Networking Advertising 230

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 28, 2013

Since the days of Henry Ford, mass production has been the Holy Grail of business, rather than build-to-order. Too many businesses haven’t noticed that we have come full-circle, where mass customization is required now to win. Customers have come to expect immediate and tailor-made responses to their needs, and the businesses that fail to deliver quickly fall behind.

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Startup Social Media Cloud Customer 222