Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in non-profits. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. For a non-profit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. That’s a higher calling.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. Most of these scenarios involve attracting outside investors, strategic partners, or key team members: You are the team and you don’t need outside funding.

Business Plan 316

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. For a nonprofit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. That’s a higher calling.

Equity 235

Equity Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy 235

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. For a non-profit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. Individual and institutional donations.

Angel Investor 143

Angel Investor Technical Review Exit Strategy Equity 143

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

The Startup Magazine recently featured two of the FUND Conference Top 3 Exhibitor winners, Happenstance , and Digs. The top startup at this year’s FUND Conference in Chicago, Illinois was Balodana , a fashion purchasing platform disrupting the women’s e-commerce fashion industry. We’ve saved the best for last.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Software Review Illinois Due Diligence 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million-dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Incubator 305

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 305

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

On a regular basis, I am approached by entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. With bootstrapping, no business plan is expected by anyone.

Business Plan 250

Business Plan Technical Review Entrepreneur Angel Investor 250

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

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

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. Their only recourse is that first tier of investors, fondly called Friends, Family and Fools.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. Angel and venture capital money always comes with ownership and management implications, starting with the obvious ones outlined in the term sheet for the deal.

Term Sheet 433

Term Sheet Advisory Board Liquidation Preference Startup 433

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup.

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. In that context, I offer you my latest collection of popular investor-to-entrepreneur terms and concepts. Could your startup be the next one?

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2021

An entrepreneur lifestyle that continues to gain in popularity these days is being a “social entrepreneur.” Whether the objective is to generate profits or social capital, the common element for all entrepreneurs is the recognition that there is a problem which needs solving, or there is an opportunity to improve the status quo.

Entrepreneur 345

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Government Bootstrapping 345

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Business Plan 274

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup.

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2019

Small businesses and young entrepreneurs are in a difficult position in the market. Around half of all startups fail by their fifth year. Capital can be hard to come by when you’re a starting young entrepreneur. If you haven’t been able to save up for your capital, consider bootstrapping your business. Review Your Taxes.

Software Review 191

Software Review Entrepreneur Cost Cofounder 191

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

With the advent and popularity of crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , as a winning alternative for funding your new venture, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs are confused about the need to ever seek a professional angel investor. Crowdfunding is not the best platform here.

Non-disclosure Agreement 299

Non-disclosure Agreement Angel Investor Bootstrapping SEC 299

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

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. Here are eight key business tasks that relate to almost every startup, generally prioritized by criticality. Funding process.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

As I mentioned at the beginning of this series/ebook, over the years I’ve noticed that I tend to frequently share certain Lucky7 posts with entrepreneurs we’ve backed , team members at data.world, or other startup investors I know. Bootstrap Austin, started by Bijoy Goswami.

Bootstrapping 48

Bootstrapping Austin Equity Cofounder 48

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. Searching LinkedIn, for example, is a must for contemporary entrepreneurs. But don’t wait for them to contact you.

Stealth 434

Stealth Startup Angel Investor Bootstrapping 434

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Incubator 429

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 429

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Equity 266

Equity Startup Small Business Administration SBA 266

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

When starting a business, it’s typical to look for venture capital, angel investors, and even co-founders to help get the company up and running. Instead, knowing how to bootstrap your startup might be a better option. How to Bootstrap Your Startup. Get Creative With Startup Funds.

Bootstrapping 145

Bootstrapping Startup Cofounder Angel Investor 145

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. The right investors and right time dilemma. Otherwise exit and startup with another idea. Marty Zwilling.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. Searching LinkedIn, for example, is a must for contemporary entrepreneurs. But don’t wait for them to contact you.

Angel Investor 246

Angel Investor Stealth Bootstrapping Early Stage 246

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

I asked my coworkers at Palo Alto Software for book recommendations for entrepreneurs to read this upcoming fall. These five books make up a fall reading list for every entrepreneur this year. The Startup Checklist by David Rose. It’s an instant introduction to the high-end tech startup and angel investment scene.

Entrepreneur 65

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Virginia Oregon 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2022

A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen, with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” The best investor pitch, then, is to sell the vision with such conviction that people want to be a part of it, with their money, their skills, or whatever they can bring to the table.

Bootstrapping 374

Bootstrapping Angel Investor Differentiation Leadership 374

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. The simple reason is that it’s impossible to make money for investors when the goal of the company is to not make money. For a nonprofit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising. That’s a higher calling.

Angel Investor 132

Angel Investor Equity Technical Review Exit Strategy 132

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2020

One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. This is all about setting a credible current value on your startup -- not future value. If you ask for more money than your company is now worth, no investor will bite.

Startup 337

Startup Preferred Stock Exit Strategy Equity 337

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Not to mention the mental and emotional impact of being an entrepreneur. As you begin your startup journey—consider the following tips to set your business up for success. Download our free Startup Checklist and review the complete guide for starting a small business. Need help tracking your progress? Prepare a business plan.

Forecast 154

Forecast Software Review Bootstrapping Finance 154

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 26, 2018

Startups have to deal with starting costs and ongoing businesses have to finance growth and working capital. Are you a startup or ongoing business? For example, many ongoing businesses have access to standard business loans from a traditional bank that would not be available to startups. Myth #3: Business plans sell investors.

SBA 161

SBA Venture Capital Angel Investor Technical Review 161