Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away.

Non-disclosure Agreement 254

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 254

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2017

As a long-time business advisor and angel investor, I’m a believer that “two heads are better than one” in building a new business. Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. Neither partner needs to be managed.

Partner 140

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 140

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. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 269

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

As an angel investor and a mentor to entrepreneurs I still see this every day. Every entrepreneur needs to start by setting a major purpose for embarking down a specific business path. For success these days, the purpose better focus on people, and solve a real problem for customers. Master-mind alliance.

Technical Review 297

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 297

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Most are founded and run by experienced entrepreneurs that have previously built companies and who understand the difference between theory and practice. The culmination of this bootcamp is a “demo day” where all startups in the cohort have a few minutes to pitch their companies to venture capitalists and angel investors. (In

Technical Cofounder 346

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 346

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. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away.

Non-disclosure Agreement 399

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 399

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

As a long-time business advisor and angel investor, I’m a believer that “two heads are better than one” in building a new business. Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. Neither partner needs to be managed.

Cofounder 221

Cofounder Software Review CTO Hire Founder 221

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

JANUARY 18, 2020

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage angel investors. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

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. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage Angel investors. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

Entrepreneur 266

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor 266

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 308

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2019

As an advisor to business owners, and an occasional angel investor, my job is to separate the actual challenges from the common misconceptions that distract many promising entrepreneurs while building the leadership team required for your solution, marketing, and finance success. Partner with experts who share the risk.

Bandwidth 246

Bandwidth Software Review Salary Angel Investor 246

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. The reality is that angel investors are humans, and personal traits often make or break the relationship, even before the investment is considered. Networked and connected.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 294

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

As an angel investor and a mentor to entrepreneurs I still see this every day. Every entrepreneur needs to start by setting a major purpose for embarking down a specific business path. For success these days, the purpose better focus on people, and solve a real problem for customers. Master-mind alliance.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 315

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. The conundrum is that once you have really proven the business model, you no longer need the investor money you asked for to start the business. Marty Zwilling

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

If you have been working 20 hours a day, and spent your last dollar, but have no results to show, investors will be sympathetic, but will probably tell you that your dream doesn’t have wheels. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Up and Running

AUGUST 30, 2021

The outdoor industry wasn’t helping itself, so he did what all entrepreneurs do: start a business to solve the problem. It’s difficult to be an entrepreneur — whether you’re a recent college graduate or have managed multiple companies. It’s why the average age of an entrepreneur is 42 years old. Solve the rest later.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Lean Colorado Engineer 132

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2014

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for others, that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. Negative advice on an unknown is easy and safe to give, so every entrepreneur hears it over and over. Seek out customer trends before they become an avalanche.

Technical Review 262

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Institutional Investors 262

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2012

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As an Angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers.

Technical Review 332

Technical Review Entrepreneur Kentucky Due Diligence 332

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2013

Did you ever wonder why some entrepreneurs always seem to have all the luck and success, while others never seem to catch a break? As an Angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers.

Technical Review 278

Technical Review Entrepreneur Kentucky Due Diligence 278

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 22, 2019

Most entrepreneurs are aware that securing investments in their companies could be essential to the short-term growth and long-term success of their venture. It can often be confusing to know which investment type might work best for an entrepreneur and business. The question of venture capitalist versus angel investor often arises.

Angel Investor 122

Angel Investor Venture Capital Accredited Investor Equity 122

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you, and demonstrating your readiness.

Elevator Pitch 390

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Due Diligence Angel Investor 390

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2023

As an angel investor and a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m always disappointed to see founders who seem stressed out most of the time, and more annoyed than energized by the abundance of challenges they see in building their startup. Investors and strategic partners look for entrepreneurs who can execute.

Entrepreneur 176

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Demand Partner 176

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. The reality is that angel investors are humans, and personal traits often make or break the relationship, even before the investment is considered. Networked and connected.

Technical Review 273

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 273

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

The event presenter, FUND, is a national connector of entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors, and industry experts with a focus on deal flow and making connections. The FUND Conference brings together over 100 startups to present their early-stage products and pitches in front of hundreds of investors and industry leaders.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Software Review Illinois Due Diligence 152

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Now is the time to be an entrepreneur and create a business from your passion. Even the homework is easier, with free and mobile access through the Internet to more business assistance sources, opportunity data, investors, and competitor details around the world. Validate your solution with a prototype and real customers.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

YoungUpstarts

JULY 21, 2019

Small businesses and young entrepreneurs are in a difficult position in the market. Capital can be hard to come by when you’re a starting young entrepreneur. If your partner is your roommate, you don’t even have to find a space (yet). Other young entrepreneurs will most likely be struggling with a limited budget, too.

Software Review 191

Software Review Entrepreneur Cost Cofounder 191

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2020

As an angel investor in startups, I’m a believer that smart investors invest more in you as the entrepreneur than the next billion dollar solution you are pitching. These days, customers expect to hear and see social and environmental value from a new business, rather than just a new technology or profit.

Entrepreneur 312

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Valuation Leadership 312

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. Part 1: Bend, Oregon Ecosystem and Entrepreneurs. Success depends on finding startups that have identified acute customer pains in large markets where conditions are ripe for a new entrant.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

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. The technology is now embodied in a solution that can be replicated to reliably solve a real customer problem. Thus the best entrepreneur strategy for funding is to build solutions, not technology.

Angel Investor 256

Angel Investor Early Stage Incubator Government 256

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 a document to mass-mail to everyone.

Business Plan 274

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 274

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2022

In my role as an angel investor to startups, I’m struck by the broad variety of advisor strategies I see in investor presentations and business plans that cross my desk. Some entrepreneurs are “lone rangers,” never mentioning any outside guidance, while others tout dozens of advisors. Advisors in name-only will hurt you.

Advisory Board 308

Advisory Board Angel Investor Startup Later Stage 308