Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

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. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer. Use crowd funding.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs. If you want U.S.

New York City 315

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 315

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

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. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2020

I have to explain that if you really want to exercise total control of a new venture, they you need to do it without external investors, bootstrapping your way with your own resources. Sure, this may limit the type and scope of your startup, but it’s the only way to get the control and freedom you want.

Bootstrapping 313

Bootstrapping Employee Metrics Demand 313

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Many myths surround the subject of startup funding. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. You must have seen a lot of startups giving out promotions, discounts, and incentives at the early phase of their business. Bootstrapping.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

The Startup Magazine recently featured two of the FUND Conference Top 3 Exhibitor winners, Happenstance , and Digs. The top startup at this year’s FUND Conference in Chicago, Illinois was Balodana , a fashion purchasing platform disrupting the women’s e-commerce fashion industry. We’ve saved the best for last.

Technical Review 153

Technical Review Software Review Illinois Due Diligence 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

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. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs. If you want U.S.

New York City 246

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 246

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

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. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer. Use crowd funding.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

YoungUpstarts

MAY 17, 2017

“You need three things to create a successful startup: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible.” – Paul Graham. Have you ever considered working for yourself; ergo, opening your own startup? What is a startup? Funding your startup.

San Diego 138

San Diego Venture Capital Startup Bootstrapping 138

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Take little to no net profit.

Bootstrapping 278

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 278

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. 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. Customer support is more than handling exceptions.

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 19, 2019

Legal startups are upsetting the legal industry in a good way. The company functions as an online market-place, allowing for custom-quotes through text-message. Businesses bootstrapping their approach to progress will discover this service lucrative for: Incorporating. Making wills. The package offers: Invoices. Case management.

United Kingdom 113

United Kingdom Startup Software Review Bootstrapping 113

SiliconHills

OCTOBER 25, 2019

Instead of seeking venture capital, Joyce Durst, Co-Founder, and CEO of Growth Acceleration Partners decided to bootstrap the software development company. Before co-founding GAP, Durst served as CEO of venture-backed startup Pinion Software, a security software company. At that company, she raised […].

Software Developers 81

Software Developers Software Development Partner Software 81

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Instead, knowing how to bootstrap your startup might be a better option. How to Bootstrap Your Startup. When you bootstrap your startup, you retain full control of the new business. If bootstrapping is right for your small business, the following tips can help you through the process.

Bootstrapping 145

Bootstrapping Startup Cofounder Angel Investor 145

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 24, 2015

With the key themes of freedom and value at its core, “ The $100 Startup ” is a brilliant blueprint assisting “wannapreneurs” keen to heed the rallying call of the microbusiness revolution. Dig deeper to uncover hidden needs, latch onto popular hobbies or passions, make our customers heroes, and sell what they’ll buy.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Software Review South Carolina Startup 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2016

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Bootstrapping gives you the flexibility to explore creative alternatives.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup Venture Capital 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2014

In my experience, that’s actually the worst way to start, for reasons I will outline here, and also the least common way, according to an authoritative survey of new startups. At least wait until later, when you ready to scale, and have some “leverage” based on a proven business model, some real customers, and real revenue.

Bootstrapping 276

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 276

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. It’s equally easy to go online and incorporate your new entity, register some intellectual property and have some fun with social media for marketing and interacting with customers. Practice living on a shoestring budget.

Equity 349

Equity Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity 349

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. Tiny bootstrapped teams usually don’t have a business plan, and probably don’t need one. Writing it down promotes both understanding and commitment.

Business Plan 316

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

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. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer. Use crowd funding.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Customize your website using one of the tools above, selecting one of the standard templates for design and layout. Obviously, commercial e-commerce sites handling thousands of products and back-office functions are more expensive, and usually require professional help to do the custom programming and special site navigation features.

Startup 252

Startup eCommerce Hosting Bootstrapping 252

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

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. Join a startup incubator. Commit to a major customer. Use crowd funding.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2011

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 233

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Venture Capital 233

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 9, 2019

Profitability is an extremely important goal for any startup — but profitability doesn’t just happen. There are many reasons to treat your startup like a profitable business from day one. All tech startups begin as a concept. Tech startups are, in contrast, focused on rapid growth, potential, and top-end revenue.

Technical Review 81

Technical Review Bootstrapping Startup Finance 81

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

They forget that adapting their company and themselves as their customers evolve is the key to long-term survival. Think of Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us , both of whom missed customer changes and the move to online. Create an overt strategy to react to emerging customer trends. Remember when you were a startup?

Customer 359

Customer Institutional Investors Channel Acquisition 359

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

by Arsalan Sajid, startup community manager at Cloudways. Life is not a box of chocolates and startups are not always easy to start. There is a complete process that governs the startup lifecycle including inception to exit. This startup stage starts from the day you decide to work on a startup idea. Early Stage.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Take little to no net profit.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2010

Here are some recent great posts that I’ve come across that generally fall in the intersection of startups and CTOs. Of course, one of the best ideas around this is to have Negative Customer Acquisition Costs. Of course, one of the best ideas around this is to have Negative Customer Acquisition Costs. Great stuff.

Acquisition 150

Acquisition Cofounder Technical Cofounder Cost 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. Identify customer executives who need your solution. The right investor also changes as you move through the different startup stages.

Stealth 434

Stealth Startup Angel Investor Bootstrapping 434

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

In general, this won’t happen for a new startup unless you have a good credit history, or existing assets that you are willing to put at-risk for collateral. Trade equity or services for startup help. Negotiate an advance from a strategic partner or customer. Join a startup incubator or accelerator.

Equity 266

Equity Startup Small Business Administration SBA 266

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. It’s equally easy to go online and incorporate your new entity, register some intellectual property and have some fun with social media for marketing and interacting with customers. Practice living on a shoestring budget.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

But have you ever had the opportunity to pick the brains of founders who created amazingly successful startups and companies like Envato , Backblaze , Simple , or Treehouse ? From a narrow niche of IT professionals who were our early target market, we now have a wide variety of customers.”. Find your niche(s). Nothing is impossible.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Founder Startup Bootstrapping 164

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2016

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Here is my perspective on the highest risk elements, from my years of working with investors and watching startups come and go: All the co-founders are first-time entrepreneurs. If you want U.S.

New York City 120

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 120

Gust

APRIL 27, 2014

Even when your startup is a one-man show and lots of fun, a “business” needs some discipline and controls to keep it from being defined as a hobby by investors, and assure some financial return. Here are eight key business tasks that relate to almost every startup, generally prioritized by criticality. Customer service and support.

Startup 187

Startup Institutional Investors Angel Investor Bootstrapping 187

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

To refresh your memory, angel investors are typically high net worth individuals, accredited by the SEC and willing to invest their own money in a high-potential startup for a share of the ownership. If your target customer is a business, rather than a consumer, I recommend you skip crowdfunding as poorly applicable.

Non-disclosure Agreement 299

Non-disclosure Agreement Angel Investor Bootstrapping SEC 299