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. One example is having a real Customer Advisory Board.

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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.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation.

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Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Along the way I also learned yet another way entrepreneurs see the world differently from their investors. Advisory Board. At one of our initial board meetings we had agreed on the general principle of an advisory board and put together an overall stock budget to compensate advisors. Lessons Learned.

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Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 12, 2021

Business mentors are as old as the concept of entrepreneurs themselves. From Oprah and Maya Angelou to Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, famous mentorships have a powerful impact on the lives of entrepreneurs. We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about the role of a mentor in their business and here are the responses. #1-

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

I was happy to see a real focus on preparing for tomorrow highlighted in a new book, “ Start a Successful Business ,” by Colleen DeBaise, who has made a career of studying and writing about entrepreneur challenges. I often hear entrepreneurs who seem to rely wholly on their own passion, and the view of a few friends.

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Version One Ventures

JULY 24, 2019

These individuals can be entrepreneurs, engineers, PMs, data scientists, designers, creatives, writers, students, etc. The primary responsibility will be to help manage the day-to-day activities of the fund, including: Identifying new and interesting entrepreneurs and companies that align with our investment thesis on network effects.

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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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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. Some say that if we could only run a company without people, the entrepreneur’s job would be easy. Don’t wait until you are in crisis mode to think about doing something new.

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Steve Blank

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I would discover that there was a more effective alternative in building a marketing department than hiring traditional marketers with MBA’s. I set up an advisory board as a vehicle to get these industry experts engaged with the company and product. These hires were definitely not your standard marketing types.

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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.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happy to see a new book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. dream team entrepreneur startup technical'

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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. Hire the best, and provide necessary training and tools. Establish an advisory board of experienced peers. Don’t sell what you don’t have.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation.

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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. Some say that if we could only run a company without people, the entrepreneur’s job would be easy. Don’t wait until you are in crisis mode to think about doing something new.

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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. Whatever the product and business model, entrepreneurs must be prepared to build critical momentum. One of the biggest causes of startup failure is related to team dynamics.

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Version One Ventures

JULY 31, 2018

We’re hiring an associate for a two- to three-year role where he/she will learn about the business of venture capital and get the opportunity to work with some really interesting startups. Reporting for our investors, including writing quarterly updates and preparing LP advisory board meetings.

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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. Whatever the product and business model, entrepreneurs must be prepared to build critical momentum. One of the biggest causes of startup failure is related to team dynamics.

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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.

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Board Effect

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Your founders and board members won’t always have the necessary expertise you need in every area to be competitive and sustainable. An advisory board can be of great assistance to your startup by filling crucial gaps in your leadership talent. Let’s begin with the definition of the role of a startup advisory board member.

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YoungUpstarts

JUNE 17, 2013

What makes an entrepreneur tick? Perhaps the better question is – what kind of leader makes the best entrepreneur? Hire A Players. Build an advisory board. Command a board room. Others entrepreneur infographic leadership startup' Write Code. Build a server. Conduct customer interviews.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happy to see a recent book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation.

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Version One Ventures

JUNE 3, 2013

So it is time to get some help to manage the fund and I am excited to announce that Version One is hiring an analyst. Helping with reporting for our investors, including writing quarterly updates and preparing LP advisory board meetings. The post We’re hiring an analyst! Strong written and oral communication skills.

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Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 15, 2022

20:02] Could you talk a little bit more about this idea of being a sounding board and how that differs from an advisory board or an actual board? [21:22] And then one we like to call the sounding board, which is the small five to seven people. That's either your advisory board or their own advisory board.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2010

I meet with dozens of entrepreneurs a week. When I get funded,” the entrepreneur thinks, “I can build a prototype, hire a development team, go to market, scale more quickly, and beat my competition.” By Francine Hardaway, Ph.D. Taking other people’s money to fund your startup changes your life in ways you cannot predict.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2010

The challenges stem from the simple fact that every entrepreneur is starting something new, where things are predictably unpredictable. Some say that if we could only run a company without people, the entrepreneur’s job would be easy. Tags: entrepreneur startup worst case survival. Marty Zwilling.

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BeyondVC

JANUARY 3, 2019

We are purpose-built to not only invest pre-product but also to help accelerate your path to product-market fit with our decades of entrepreneurial and investing experience along with our active CXO advisory board. Many of the smartest entrepreneurs were leaving their companies to start a new blockchain or crypto company.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2017

Reduce stress by hiring people who don’t challenge you. The best strategy is to hire people who are smarter than you (in their domain), and allow you to learn from them, rather than the other way around. Too many business owners are convinced that listening to an advisory board or Board of Directors is a waste of time and money.

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thebarefootvc

AUGUST 13, 2013

Larger companies such as IBM and SAP that had enterprise-wide deployments would offer some solutions around these pain points, but entrepreneurs claimed that these were not sufficient, and that the emergence of the Web and server technology made some of the legacy software inefficient, inadequate and obsolete. – PEOPLE.

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YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2013

By Ingrid Vanderveldt, Dell’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence. With new crowdsourced fundraising operations like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , entrepreneurs are finding that they might be able to rely on the kindness of thousands of strangers who are willing to invest in their ideas. It’s the paradox of the modern startup.

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YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 3, 2015

The fourth is called an entrepreneur. The greatest exhilaration and reward in being an entrepreneur is clearly seeing things that others cannot see, and instinctively knowing how to accomplish your vision. This may be the most critical trait of any successful entrepreneur. Hire smart and committed people. Get used to it.

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crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

What are my expectations of being an entrepreneur? Toby Nwazor advocates for creating a business plan : Any experienced entrepreneur knows a company without a business plan is like a fish without water. Studies show that entrepreneurs who take the time to write a business plan are 2.5 Do I need outside capital? Find a niche.

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Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

If youre interested in being part of my "customer advisory board" for this presentation, please get in touch. Eric, if youre looking for any help as a "customer advisory board", Id love to do anything I can to help. I would love to be on your advisory board. And thats where the call for help comes in.

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Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 24, 2013

Even when putting together our Entrepreneur Advisory Board we looked for folks who built not just amazing businesses but strong cores. In a startup’s earliest days your hiring decisions are the most important ones in setting your culture. One which will make the successive hires and functioning of the team easier.

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crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

What are my expectations of being an entrepreneur? For example, in our definitive guide on how to start a successful clothing brand or clothing line , we suggest that aspiring apparel entrepreneurs choose their niche too. Studies show that entrepreneurs who take the time to write a business plan are 2.5 Find a niche.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2016

In my role as an advisory board member for several startups, I’m always excited to see that initial surge of revenue from a great rollout campaign. At the startup entry level, most entrepreneurs find little need for Profit and Loss statements and Income statements – they know all the key transactions.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 14, 2009

I wrote recently about the role of Advisory Boards in startups , which I expected to be a bit controversial. It’s just that many companies waste equity on advisory boards, pick the wrong advisers or set up advisory boards with the wrong expectations. What exactly is a board observer?

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