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Entrepreneurs Court New Super-Angel Investors

Startup Professionals Musings

I see now emerging a new wave of investors, popularly known as “super-Angels,” micro-VCs, or “super-seed” investors. Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. Due to the struggling economy as well, traditional individual Angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap.

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Early-stage Regional Venture Funds–part 2 of 3 of Bigger in Bend

Steve Blank

Part 1: Bend, Oregon Ecosystem and Entrepreneurs. Part 2: Early-stage Regional Venture Funds. Few entrepreneurs find this scalable and repeatable business model because it’s not easy. as a distribution channel have vastly reduced the amount of capital a startup needs at the early stage when the risk is greatest.

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Grant Applications Often Provide Early-Stage Funding

Startup Professionals Musings

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.

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6 Lessons Most Entrepreneurs Only Learn On The Street

Startup Professionals Musings

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Planning for the future must be a regular activity, not just an early-stage or once-a-year event. Survival requires regular updates.

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6 Sources of Help For Early Stage Concept Exploration

Startup Professionals Musings

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. If you need funding for these early stage activities, I have some suggestions on better strategies to follow. Product verification and clinical trials. Marty Zwilling.

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10 Keys To Surviving Startup Cash Flow Requirements

Startup Professionals Musings

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. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes. Are you ready to start?

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How Baby Boomers Fit In The Realm Of Entrepreneurship

Startup Professionals Musings

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. It’s time to think again that the domain of entrepreneurs is only for the under-35 crowd.