Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage angel investors. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

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Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2010

I recommend that every early-stage startup find three Advisory Board members. Once your company is past the startup stage, you do need a board of directors. What better candidates than your Advisory Board? The more experienced and blunt your board members are, the better. Let’s talk specifics.

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Advisory Board Technical Review Software Review Early Stage 125

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, October 26, 2009 A real Customer Advisory Board A reader recently asked on a previous post about the technique of having customers periodically produce a “state of the company&# progress report. Many companies seek to involve customers directly in the creation of their products.

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Advisory Board Customer San Francisco Lean 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage angel investors. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

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Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. I often hear entrepreneurs who seem to rely wholly on their own passion, and the view of a few friends.

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Customer Advisory Board Technical Review Angel Investor 144

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage Angel investors. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

Entrepreneur 266

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor 266

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Every entrepreneur and business owner I know has had more setbacks than they would like to admit, in this age of rapid change and constant surprises, like the current pandemic. Rather than get angry and upset, fall back to your initial process for evaluating markets, customer needs, and financial implications.

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Advisory Board Leadership Customer Developer 317

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2022

Some entrepreneurs are “lone rangers,” never mentioning any outside guidance, while others tout dozens of advisors. Few entrepreneurs, no matter what their background, have the breadth of experience and expertise to face all the challenges of a new startup without relying on some guidance from an engaged and committed advisor.

Advisory Board 308

Advisory Board Angel Investor Startup Later Stage 308

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Venture Capital Startup 310

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 5, 2015

From that experience, I have grown as an entrepreneur, but that “growth” came at a tremendous expense, so I thought I would share the 5 lessons I learned throughout that experience that every entrepreneur should know. Hindsight being 20/20, we should have treated these projects like any other customer.

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CTO Hire Fractional CTO Advisory Board Software Review 100

Hearpreneur

APRIL 12, 2019

Being in love with your business, when you’re an entrepreneur, is even better. Although there are days when tossing in your hat seems like a viable option, remembering how much you love your “job” can quickly snap an entrepreneur out of that mentality. We asked some entrepreneurs what they loved about “being their own boss.”. #1-

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Entrepreneur St. Louis Florida Colorado 128

www.instigatorblog.com

MARCH 2, 2010

The Importance of Advisory Boards for Startup CEOs Tweet When a startup receives financing it will need to setup a Board of Directors. The Board probably existed beforehand, but was made up only of the founders. Mark Macleod spells it out beautifully in his post on Advisory Boards. Why wouldn’t you?

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Advisory Board Startup Cofounder Equity 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2020

Many startup founders I know avoid establishing a formal advisory board or board of directors for as long as possible, with the excuse that this is just another burden, or it has more risk than value to the founder. If you expect that board members will always agree, or always support you, then you are destined for trouble.

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Advisory Board Startup IPO Government 336

Steve Blank

JUNE 6, 2016

How to make corporate innovation work and drive success in startups were the topics of discussion with the guests on today’s Entrepreneurs are Everywhere radio show. As an entrepreneur, and later as an investor, I came to see sometimes, by associations, and sometimes very directly, what a good team can do. ” We certainly did.

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Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Fractional CTO Analytics 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

Even with advantages that independent startups can never hope to match, including brand recognition, customers, financial capital, and distribution, I don’t often see the entrepreneurial passion for innovation, agility, and team perseverance exhibited by new startups. Make sure everyone comes with an entrepreneur mindset for real innovation.

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Advisory Board Incubator Dilution Agile 359

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2022

Some people, and some entrepreneurs, have that something extra that you can’t quite put your finger on, like the judges are searching for on American Idol. But the entrepreneurs that have it, including Elon Musk and Richard Branson, seem to be able to effortlessly get team members, investors, and customers to follow them anywhere.

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Advisory Board Bandwidth .Net Social Media 348

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

I was in New York last week with my class at Columbia University and several events made me realize that the Customer Development model needs to better describe its fit with web-based businesses. In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers?

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Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 19, 2009

While the last post was titled “ You Know You’re Getting Close to Your Customers When They Offer You a Job “, this post should probably be titled, “You Know You’re Getting Close to Your Customers When You Offer Them a Job.&#

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Engineer Silicon Valley Part-Time VPE Advisory Board 198

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2019

Elon Musk via Flickr by TED Conference To be successful as an entrepreneur, you don’t have to be a fabulous person, but it helps. Some people, and some entrepreneurs, have that something extra that you can’t quite put your finger on, like Ryan Seacrest is searching for on American Idol. Be delightfully authentic and honest.

Entrepreneur 257

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Bandwidth .Net 257

Up and Running

MAY 10, 2012

But sometimes circumstances align and a budding entrepreneur just knows that the time is right to make the leap. Any organization can visit our site and launch a one-off campaign,” he explains, or subscribe to WeDidIt for unlimited campaigns and premium features like consultation and customized software.

Small Business 142

Small Business Advisory Board Employee Entrepreneur 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2022

The challenge for each of you is to get it handled quickly and effectively, without losing the trust of constituents , as well as customers. I saw these summarized clearly in a new book, “ BUILD ,” by a well-known entrepreneur and technologist from Silicon Valley, Tony Fadell. Over-communicate and really listen to feedback.

Leadership 345

Leadership Advisory Board Developer Silicon Valley 345

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 25, 2017

Entrepreneurs who’ve overcome the proof-of-concept phase of their startups want to take their businesses to the next level. They identify and support high impact startups that need access to customers, mentors, training, and capital. They keenly focus on the leadership potential of the entrepreneurs.

Miami 61

Miami Technical Review Software Review Artificial Inteligence 61

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2012

The challenges stem from the simple fact that every entrepreneur is starting something new, where things are predictably unpredictable. There are unknowns at every turn, leading product development, attracting customers, managing cash, and dealing with human resources and office politics.

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Advisory Board Forecast Early Stage Product Development 240

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 4, 2019

Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. A well-developed product architecture helps a startup to achieve rapid market/product fit by successfully appealing to customers (users). This is quite the balancing act.

Framework 127

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2022

Thus, over the years of my mentoring and consulting efforts with entrepreneurs, I have a key list of practices that I recommend to everyone starting and growing a business. You may think it’s great that demand exceeds your supply chain, but customers only remember it as a loss of your credibility, and will tell others.

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Advisory Board Due Diligence Demand Partner 336

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

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. Your startup, for example, will more likely see and understand sooner the needs and wants of a larger and more diverse customer base.

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Advisory Board Silicon Valley Startup United States 228

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2016

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup Venture Capital 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2017

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often preach the need for resilience, but I’m not sure how to recognize it before-hand. I’m also not sure what to tell aspiring entrepreneurs to practice or learn, to improve their ability with this attribute. Resilience requires humility, in concert with perseverance.

Advisory Board 120

Advisory Board Social Media Cofounder Technical Review 120

YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2019

Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. A well-developed product architecture helps a startup to achieve rapid market/product fit by successfully appealing to customers (users). This is quite the balancing act.

Framework 113

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 113

The Next Web

OCTOBER 17, 2012

HubSpot , the company behind HubSpot 3, a “powerful, comprehensive, and tightly-integrated” all-in-one marketing software system, announced that serial entrepreneur and acclaimed author, Eric Ries , is joining the company’s Advisory Board. Image credit: Jared Goralnick/Flickr.

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Advisory Board Lean Houston Marketing 117

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2016

Some entrepreneurs are “lone rangers,” never mentioning any outside guidance, while others tout dozens of advisors. Few entrepreneurs, no matter what their background, have the breadth of experience and expertise to face all the challenges of a new startup without relying on some guidance from an engaged and committed advisor.

Advisory Board 151

Advisory Board Angel Investor Later Stage Stock 151

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2011

The challenges stem from the simple fact that every entrepreneur is starting something new, where things are predictably unpredictable. There are unknowns at every turn, leading product development, attracting customers, managing cash, and dealing with human resources and office politics.

Advisory Board 232

Advisory Board Startup Forecast Early Stage 232

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Build qualified advisory board. If you can convince a couple of domain experts, or a couple of experienced executives to join your board and be your advocate, that’s traction.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 17, 2013

What makes an entrepreneur tick? Perhaps the better question is – what kind of leader makes the best entrepreneur? Conduct customer interviews. Build an advisory board. Others entrepreneur infographic leadership startup' Here’s a look at what a founder should be able to do: Development.

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Advisory Board Balance Sheet Term Sheet Entrepreneur 279