Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. In my view, savvy “super angel” investors such as Mike Maples, Jr. ,

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2010

Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition | For Entrepreneurs , February 2, 2010 Looks at the critical equation around customer acquisition cost vs. customer lifetime value similar to what I discussed in Startup Metrics but in more depth. This relates to another great post Freemium Founders: Start Charging for Things Today!

Acquisition 150

Acquisition Cofounder Technical Cofounder Cost 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Things will cost more than you expect. Always add 20 percent to your best estimate of funding requirements when approaching investors. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2019

Too many startups have experienced early financial losses and technical glitches, like Uber and the Zynga IPO a while back, which antagonized individual investors and startup executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that IPO rewards only go to insiders. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

IPO 210

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 210

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

JANUARY 18, 2014

For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. In my view, savvy “super angel” investors such as Mike Maples, Jr., Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2017

For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. In my view, savvy “super angel” investors such as Mike Maples, Jr. ,

Startup 161

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 161

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” That’s why this item is so important, and is probably the biggest stumbling block I see in getting through the initial angel screening. Build an investor presentation and summary.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Founders almost never have a real strategy. Founders explain failures with things like “our two main competitors did [thing] to us” or “customers didn’t understand [our point of view].” The 10,000th biggest company in the world is a very successful company, as is the two-person company where the founders each take home $300k/year.

Restful 202

Restful Founder Revenue Acquisition 202

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” That’s why this item is so important, and is probably the biggest stumbling block I see in getting through the initial angel screening. Build an investor presentation and summary.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Too many startups have experienced early financial losses and technical glitches, like Groupon and the Zynga IPO a while back, which antagonized individual investors and startup executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that IPO rewards only go to insiders. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

IPO 218

IPO SEC Prospectus Technical Review 218

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

The good news is that everyone expects entrepreneurs to make mistakes, since founders explore uncharted territory. In fact, investors recognize that founders usually learn more from mistakes than from success, so a well-explained startup failure can improve their odds of funding the next time around.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. In my view, savvy “super angel” investors such as Mike Maples, Jr. ,

Startup 296

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 296

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

The primary source of your funds should be your paying customers, i.e., your business should generate enough revenues and profits to fund the growth and expansion. It is going to cost a lot of money just to get the initial batch of products to test the market and would definitely require external funding. Equity investors.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Things will cost more than you expect. Always add 20 percent to your best estimate of funding requirements when approaching investors. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

There is no perfect answer to the competitive advantage question, but investors are looking for how your offering will keep ahead of competition, not just at this moment, but throughout the life of their three to five-year investment. First mover advantages are only sustainable by large companies, or founders with deep pockets.

Intellectual Property 334

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Matching Founder 334

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect. Don’t forget a viable financial model of costs, margins, customer acquisition, and break-even. In my view, savvy “super angel” investors such as Mike Maples, Jr. ,

Startup 286

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 286

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. Remember the old adage that “investors fund people, not ideas.” Build an investor presentation and summary. Get your Internet domain name and website.

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 179

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 15, 2017

TribeHR co-founder and CEO Joseph Fung said : “Ask any startup CEO to rank their greatest challenges, and inevitably human resources makes the list. Of course, as a founder you’ll probably be thinking of ideas and directions for the company as a whole, so putting energy and time into the boring stuff sounds like a drain on time and resources.

Software Review 124

Software Review Angel Investor Cofounder Early Stage 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2012

Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Angel investors. If you are looking for $25,000 to $1 million, the next step is to tap into a local angel network.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 257

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2017

Starting a new business is a long, hard process, and I can’t blame any founder for looking for shortcuts. As a new business advisor and angel investor, I have assembled my own favorite list of shortcuts to avoid, in the hope of saving you from learning these lessons the hard way: Be satisfied with verbal or handshake partner agreements.

Cost 180

Cost Advisory Board Entrepreneur Angel Investor 180

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

There is an old saying in the startup investor community, “Smart investors invest in the team, not the idea.” As an angel investor, I’ve learned to believe in this approach, since I have seen great ideas go astray, due to poor execution and I have seen apparently marginal ideas make millions, managed by a savvy entrepreneur.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

In a seed or friends and family round, tough questions, in the eyes of many founders, signal an investor that will either a) never get to the writing a check part or b) be such a pain in the ass afterwards that it might not be worth taking their money. Something isn''t going to go your way--product development, hiring, revenues.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor Venture Capital 118

Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

Tim Berry , Founder, Palo Alto Software. Martin Zwilling , Founder and CEO, Startup Professionals. But in the real world, when you get to business numbers, sales are not accounts receivable and revenue isn’t income and people who read financial projections need to know that an apple is an apple, and not an orange. .

Startup 180

Startup Forecast Angel Investor Software 180

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Due to the economy as well, traditional individual angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap. It’s higher risk, but higher return, to pick the big winners early, before angels have set unreasonable valuations and restrictive terms. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

ReadWriteStart

MAY 22, 2012

When it comes to financing a brand-new startup, most founders find themselves stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. While some lucky startups attract angel investors or have access to money from friends and family, the vast majority are on their own, at least at first. Don’t Forget to Pay Off Your Cards.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Software Review Angel Investor Startup 118

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2011

Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Angel investors. If you are looking for $25,000 to $1 million, the next step is to tap into a local angel network.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2017

What most managers miss is that every month cut from the time it takes to perform such tasks cuts the cost by the value of a month’s worth of fixed overhead or burn. Ignoring cost of product for a moment to make a point, saving a month’s fixed overhead by making processes more efficient, could easily double profits for the year.

Silicon Valley 97

Silicon Valley Burn Rate Angel Investor Down Round 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2012

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Now, with open source software components, and low-cost development tools, the same job can be done by one good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

Cost 255

Cost Burn Rate SEM Startup 255

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

There is no perfect answer to the competitive advantage question, but investors are looking for how your offering will keep ahead of competition, not just at this moment, but throughout the life of their three to five-year investment. First mover advantages are only sustainable by large companies, or founders with deep pockets.

Intellectual Property 301

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Matching Founder 301

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2020

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 308

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

It turns out that to build a successful company you ultimately need this strange thing called “revenue” that people don’t just hand you: You need to earn it. And there’s this other thing called “gross margin,” which shows the quality of your revenue. How much ad revenue does TripAdvisor make?

Startup 150

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

Too many startups have experienced early financial losses and technical glitches, like Uber and the Zynga IPO a while back, which antagonized individual investors and startup executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that IPO rewards only go to insiders. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

IPO 245

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 245

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Yet, I find that startup founders often fixate on one or two sources, often to the detriment of their business. Just don’t quit your day job before your new company is producing revenue. Angel investors. If you are looking for $25,000 to $1 million, the next step is to tap into a local angel network.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Too many startups have experienced early financial losses and technical glitches, like King Digital Entertainment and the Facebook IPO a while back, which antagonized individual investors and startup executives as well. In addition, most ordinary investors are convinced that IPO rewards only go to insiders.

IPO 120

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2015

Most new entrepreneurs assume that great investors will find their startups based on the compelling solution the founders have created. Others spend money on mailing lists and investor contacts and “cold calling” a few thousand people, hoping to find someone willing to take a risk on an unknown company.

Cost 120

Cost Angel Groups Due Diligence Silicon Valley 120