Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology.

Product Development 120

Product Development Developer Product Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Only one-third make it past their tenth anniversary.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. Seed capital is a component of the initial investments made in young businesses. During the pre-seed fundraising stage, investors need a viable business plan to base their investments on.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 124

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

Picking the right attorney in your startup is as important as picking the right business partner. You can’t underestimate the importance of selecting an attorney who “gets” your business model, your market opportunity, and most importantly, your fundraising and exit strategy. The deal we made with him was he’d get 33.3%

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

You may think this question is just an artifact of good television, but let me assure you that in my experience as an angel investor, it’s a standard “make or break” inquiry posed to every entrepreneur. They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development.

Elevator Pitch 228

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 228

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. Assume passion level defines business opportunity.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. Assume passion level defines business opportunity.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2020

You may think this question is just an artifact of good television, but let me assure you that in my experience as an angel investor, it’s a standard “make or break” inquiry posed to every entrepreneur. They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development.

Elevator Pitch 336

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 336

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). But there’s only one reason your company got funded.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Startup 268

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 268

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2014

You may think this question is just an artifact of good television, but let me assure you that in my experience as an angel investor, it’s a standard “make or break” inquiry posed to every entrepreneur. They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development.

Elevator Pitch 285

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 285

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 6, 2022

How do you put together an investor deck? You know, could you look at my business plan? See if the business model works, all these questions. We called them founder space, round tables, and we'd meet, I'd introduce 'em to angel investors and marketing experts and lawyers, and really try to help them get off the ground.

San Francisco 97

San Francisco Technical Review Incubator Silicon Valley 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2018

You may think this question is just an artifact of good television, but let me assure you that in my experience as an angel investor, it’s a standard “make or break” inquiry posed to every entrepreneur. They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development.

Elevator Pitch 139

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 139

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

The application of agile development methodologies which dramatically reduce waste and unlock creativity in product development. See Customer Development Engineering for my first stab at articulating the theory involved) Ferocious customer-centric rapid iteration, as exemplified by the Customer Development process.

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2013

Sites like KickStarter have for years offered rewards and pre-sales for crowd investments, but real equity won’t be legalized until sometime this year for people other than accredited investors. Super-angels. Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Osmosis marketing.

Entrepreneur 274

Entrepreneur Accredited Investor Silicon Valley Angel Investor 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Institutional Investors 230

Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping Database 230

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

What founders need to approach Pre-Seed VCs with confidence As a pre-seed investor I can share how we evaluate the attractiveness of investment opportunities we evaluate: Founding team – while the product, business model and market may all change with time, the founding team is the core of the company.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

The Startup Magazine

JULY 16, 2018

Earlier this year at the FUND Conference in Austin, Texas, over 100 startups presented their early-stage companies in front of hundreds of investors and industry leaders. FUND is a national connector of entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors, and industry experts with a focus on deal flow and making connections.

Startup 75

Startup Texas Angel Investor Mobile 75

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Startup 255

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 255

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2016

You may think this question is just an artifact of good television, but let me assure you that in my experience as an angel investor, it’s a standard “make or break” inquiry posed to every entrepreneur. They are willing to cover marketing, inventory and scaling, but not product development.

Elevator Pitch 120

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Startup 239

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 239

www.informationarbitrage.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Selecting value-added angel investors and advisors can also help with the camaraderie issue, as they can provide advice and counsel during the solitary period of hard-core coding and product development. A full-time business partner is definitely not required at this point in the company's life.

CTO Hire 40

CTO Hire Founder Cap Table Vesting 40

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

Your first year or two in business is where your dreams merge with reality and take a new form to guide your future efforts. Many entrepreneurs end up taking their company in a different direction after some time spent testing your initial business model. Series B is the round that follows series A in early stage financing.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2015

Image via Flickr by Side Wages Some entrepreneurs forget that they need an innovative business model along with an innovative solution to have a successful startup. Inventors alone, or business gurus alone, generally fail. Technologists forget that investors are buying a chunk of the business, not the product.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Startup Angel Investor Social Media 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Chasing funding versus chasing customers and a repeatable and scalable business model, is one reason startups fail. Is there a profitable business model? The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions.

Customer Development 262

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 262

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. Its amazing how fast this happens, especially in companies with short product development cycles in non-medical industries. Angel Capital Association website. » September 18, 2006.

Harvest 60

Harvest LBO Investment Bankers Wisconsin 60

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

few years ago I also started following Alexander Osterwalder in his blog about his Business Model Generation -mantra. Today, brands are hiring social media specialists for customer support, crowdsourced product development, promotions and even leads generation. Your First Iteration of an Idea Will Be Wrong.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Although this post is about what I look for, every investor (incl pre-seed investors) looks for this. 2) What is the business model and the potential unit economics? This one is pretty investor-specific. Certain investors tend to gravitate towards certain business models.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Although this post is about what I look for, every investor (incl pre-seed investors) looks for this. 2) What is the business model and the potential unit economics? This one is pretty investor-specific. Certain investors tend to gravitate towards certain business models.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Tim Keane

JUNE 13, 2006

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. « How do you present your venture to an investor? When you get to the point in the discussion where projections are relevant, there is a drill-down method here used by virtually every investor.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor 60

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

The one-page pitch format is also more suitable for SaaS businesses that are constantly testing new ideas. Your pitch is going to cover your strategy (what you’re going to do), your tactics (how you’re going to do it), your business model (how you will make money), and your schedule (who is doing what and when). Funding Guide.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Women Entrepreneurs Can

MARCH 18, 2023

They Provide Financial Support If you want to start a business, you have several different funding options. You can use money from your savings, angel investors or crowdfunding platforms. They may help with product development, market research, or even setting up a management team.

Artificial Inteligence 52

Artificial Inteligence Startup Early Stage Syndicate 52

Tim Keane

APRIL 24, 2006

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC. Last night, Bob Zieserl, Venture Capitalist, and general partner at Stratus Ventures, was the keynote speaker at the Marquette University Business Plan Competition. (A If it does not work, get out.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Venture Capital 60

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JULY 19, 2010

What if someone copies your awesome business idea? About twenty people on Answers OnStartups have asked this question in one form or another: When I meet an angel investor, he may ask: "What if a big company copies your idea and develops the same website as yours after your website goes public?".

Software Review 325

Software Review Technical Review Development Team Review Bolivia 325

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

what are the most crucial steps to be taken by a new tech startup when outsourcing major part of the tech to IT firms or outsourcing “product development” eg new social media website project? Near shoring development with your team (ex: your team is based in Canada / India) is cool, but not outsourcing.

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Programmers feel exploited when they build out a product that is successful but are reluctant to admit they wouldn’t have been able to design the product themselves. Nosake From nothing to losing money every month with no business model in sight. Hopefully your idea of business model isn’t “ad revenue based”.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84