Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Evidence of adaptability and flexibility.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

In this world of constant change, new technologies, and a thousand cultures, it’s evident and somehow comforting to me that the basic rules for business prosperity really haven’t changed in the last hundred years. Business success is still more about the people than the technology or idea involved. Master-mind alliance.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 315

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

According to my experience and this Motley Fool article from a few years ago, the challenge is very real, with around half of all new businesses no longer existing after five years. Apply for contests and business grants. Get a loan or line-of-credit. It’s the time when you create tremendous value out of nothing.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service.

Business Plan 273

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 273

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 338

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 14, 2022

And with the technology available these days, it is convenient to invest in emerging startups. Of late, with the advent of new technology and the spread of the internet to nearly all corners of the country, Indians have taken up a new kind of shop! It is here that the groundwork is laid and the business model developed.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Due Diligence India Startup 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Evidence of adaptability and flexibility.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

According to a well-researched Motly Fool report, the challenge is very real, since around half of all businesses fail in the first five years. 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.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that Venture Capital and Angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Evidence of adaptability and flexibility.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 3, 2021

Lazarus has developed a reputation in the Melbourne and Sydney business communities as a consultant who is brutally honest yet caring and highly effective at the same time. People also use voice recognition in their cars, on their home computers, and with their portable devices. Luke Lazarus’ Social Media Presence.

United States 167

United States Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media 167

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

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. Technology pilots.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Dino Vendetti a VC at Bay Partners, moved up to Bend, Oregon on a mission to engineer Bend into a regional technology cluster. Today with every city, state and country trying to build out a technology cluster, following Dino’s progress can provide others with a roadmap of what’s worked and what has not.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 29, 2024

Designing Your Business Model Crafting a business model is like building a blueprint for your venture. Revenue streams are another critical component of your business model. Will you opt for direct sales, subscriptions, or a freemium model? However, do so with caution and strategic planning.

Intellectual Property 132

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Bootstrapping 132

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. Most of these investors are members of Angel groups that have a rigorous filtering and screening process, to select the top 3% and most fundable proposals. Build an investor presentation and summary.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

According to my experience and a this Motley Fool article, the challenge is very real, with around half of all new businesses no longer existing after five years. Apply for contests and business grants. Get a loan or line-of-credit. It’s the time when you create tremendous value out of nothing.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Everyone must be part of the sales process.

Business Model 414

Business Model Angel Investor Bootstrapping Revenue 414

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2017

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 161

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 161

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2014

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Entrepreneur 257

Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor China 257

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 4, 2020

Though the trend in the startup world seems to be relocating to Silicon Valley (a choice that some angel investors and ven­ture capitalists now call mandatory) and knocking on the doors of venture capital, this path doesn’t make sense for all businesses, and it’s not acces­sible to many entrepreneurs because of their life circumstances.

Entrepreneur 205

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Silicon Valley Bandwidth 205

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 296

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

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. Technology pilots.

Early Stage 412

Early Stage Angel Investor Incubator Government 412

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

A critical stage for most first-time entrepreneurs is getting their idea developed into at least a prototype to validate their technology. This process costs money, which professional investors are not willing to contribute, since their interest is in scaling a proven product and business model into a growth business.

Early Stage 225

Early Stage SBIR Technical Review Seed Stage 225

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 31, 2020

Qualification #3: You understand a specific complex technology that is a current or emerging investment theme for the firm. All of these areas require real understanding of core underlying technology, not just pattern matching against a business model applied to a vertical. Synthetic bio. Blockchain.

North Carolina 90

North Carolina Hiring Angel Investor Technical Review 90

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

In this world of constant change, new technologies, and a thousand cultures, it’s evident and somehow comforting to me that the basic rules for business prosperity really haven’t changed in the last hundred years. Business success is still more about the people than the technology or idea involved. Master-mind alliance.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 134

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2013

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Startup 257

Startup Technical Review Angel Investor China 257

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how Angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas. That means you need to lead with your credentials, rather than your disruptive technology.

Angel Investor 120

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Venture Capital Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” In fact, NISI recommends starting with the minimum focused set of features and technology that will drive a customer purchase. Nail the business model. It’s time for a new startup model. Nail the solution.

Startup 286

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 286

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas. That means you need to lead with your credentials, rather than your disruptive technology.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2017

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. An effective tool I see used more and more, as a prelude to a more detailed business plan, is the Business Model Canvas , first introduced by Alexander Osterwalder back in 2008.

Business Model 143

Business Model Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor 143

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an Angel investor. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Entrepreneur Business Plan Angel Investor 299

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. Finalize your financial model.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2022

New technologies and the power of the Internet can change things almost overnight, so do your homework from scratch on every initiative. As an angel investor, I expected startups to have a passion for their solution, but also to have done the market research and customer validation to size the real opportunity.

Artificial Inteligence 362

Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media 362

Gust

DECEMBER 16, 2012

ABC Shark Tank Angels via Elite Daily. Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. Build an investor presentation and summary. Finalize your financial model. This is called “validating the business model.”.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. Finalize your financial model.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249