Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Business risks are not just development risks. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply. No risk, no innovation. Value creation.

Intellectual Property 343

Intellectual Property Metrics .Net Social Network 343

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. It doesn’t prove your business model of pricing, distribution, and support. Register some intellectual property. Traction means forward progress.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2021

Being an entrepreneur seems to be one of the most popular lifestyle aspirations these days. In my view, this mismatch of motivation to your business model is the primary reason that 90 percent of startups ultimately fail, and a shockingly high 80 percent of employees are dissatisfied at work.

Intellectual Property 328

Intellectual Property Matching Business Model Cofounder 328

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. It doesn’t prove your business model of pricing, distribution, and support. Register some intellectual property. Traction means forward progress.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2021

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and occasional angel investor, I often see and hear innovative product pitches that sound exciting, but are missing one or more of the key business elements that investors deem critical for funding consideration. Free” is not an exciting business model for investor interest.

Intellectual Property 332

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Channel 332

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

JULY 25, 2020

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Business risks are not just development risks. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply. No risk, no innovation. Value creation.

Intellectual Property 360

Intellectual Property Social Network Metrics .Net 360

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. A business plan is for you first, not investors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. It doesn’t prove your business model of pricing, distribution, and support. Register some intellectual property. Traction means forward progress. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. A business plan is for you first, not investors.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2019

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.

Intellectual Property 250

Intellectual Property Business Model Angel Investor Channel 250

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. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Lack of intellectual property.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 308

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

I like the guy because he’s credited with coining the word entrepreneur. The first will be commodity businesses that are valued for their ability to execute their current business model. The second class will be firms with a demonstrated ability to continually innovate and reinvent their business models.

Private Equity 326

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 326

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

Write your business plan and develop your business model with this in mind so you can avoid these issues. . You can choose from a few different types of business plans depending on your needs. If you’re seeking investment, you need a traditional business plan. Distribution. Be specific.

Business Plan 154

Business Plan Technical Review Forecast Exit Strategy 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Business risks are not just development risks. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply. No risk, no innovation. Value creation.

Intellectual Property 160

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Metrics .Net 160

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 22, 2011

The 21 NSF teams had been out of the classroom for just 15 hours as they filed back in with their business model canvas presentations. Their assignment appeared (to them) to be deceptively simple: Write down their initial hypotheses for the 9 components of their company’s business model (who are the customers?

Business Model 236

Business Model Intellectual Property Lean Wiki 236

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Business risks are not just development risks. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply. No risk, no innovation. Value creation.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Metrics .Net 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

Many entrepreneurs seems to be convinced that the “crowd” of regular people using the Internet will somehow solve their startup funding needs, when they sense a lack of interest from accredited investors. The administration of legal conditions, signatures, disclosures, and distributions is a nightmare.

Non-disclosure Agreement 254

Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Equity 254

Up and Running

OCTOBER 13, 2014

In fact, innovation is a necessity for small [businesses]. Small business owners and serial entrepreneurs who understand the relationship between big business and innovation are able to exploit it to achieve some awesome financial success.

Intellectual Property 106

Intellectual Property Philadelphia Small Business California 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2016

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Business risks are not just development risks. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply. No risk, no innovation. Value creation.

Intellectual Property 161

Intellectual Property Metrics .Net Social Network 161

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2013

Many entrepreneurs seems to be convinced that the “crowd” of regular people using the Internet will somehow solve their startup funding needs, when they sense a lack of interest from accredited investors. The administration of legal conditions, signatures, disclosures, and distributions is a nightmare.

Non-disclosure Agreement 266

Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

As an occasional angel investor, I always ask for a business pitch to get me in the mood. I’m still amazed at how many technical entrepreneurs don’t have a business pitch, and offer me their product pitch or product spec instead. This implies high odds of a scalable business, simply needing an investment to lead to success.

Product 145

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Exit Strategy 145

Up and Running

MAY 1, 2014

The vast majority of business owners and entrepreneurs aren’t business experts. Just like you, they’re learning as they go and don’t have degrees in business. Writing a business plan may seem like a difficult hurdle, but it doesn’t have to be. If your business model (i.e., “how Distribution.

Business Plan 163

Business Plan Forecast Balance Sheet Distribution 163

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 13, 2019

If you can prove a business model, traction, and potential for a tremendous scale with the right backing, you could be a ripe target to be acquired. . Intellectual property is one of the most valuable assets acquirers seek in startups. Distribution & Customers. Yet, investors and analysts demand it.

Intellectual Property 102

Intellectual Property IP Acquisition Startup 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2015

Being an entrepreneur seems to be one of the most popular lifestyle aspirations these days. In my view, this mismatch of motivation to your business model is the primary reason that 70 percent or more of startups ultimately fail, and an even higher percentage of employees are dissatisfied at work.

Matching 120

Matching Intellectual Property Startup Business Model 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

When pitching to investors, entrepreneurs always seem to start with a customer pitch, then add a slide or two about the business. In reality, they need a separate pitch about the business, carrying over only a slide or two about the solution. Remember, investors are buying into the business, not the product.

Product 120

Product Intellectual Property Liquidity Event Burn Rate 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

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. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Lack of intellectual property.

Due Diligence 120

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Seed Stage 120

Gust

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Many entrepreneurs seems to be convinced that the “crowd” of regular people using the Internet will somehow solve their startup funding needs, when they sense a lack of interest from accredited investors. The administration of legal conditions, signatures, disclosures, and distributions is a nightmare.

Non-disclosure Agreement 160

Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Equity 160

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2011

Certainly both of these crowd-funding approaches provide the entrepreneur with an opportunity to hone his pitch, and get some real consumer feedback on the idea. But from my perspective representing investors, this approach falls short on several counts: Focus is on the product, not the business model.

Non-disclosure Agreement 230

Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Startup Social Media 230

Steve Blank

MARCH 11, 2010

Our goal is to teach students the key concepts of the startup process and help them understand that a startup is a search for a profitable business model. Students formed 5-person teams, came up with a business idea then got out of the building to validate their business model. What is a business model?

Intellectual Property 234

Intellectual Property Business Model Customer Development Distribution 234

The Next Web

OCTOBER 2, 2013

Distribution and cashflow pose challenges in China. That’s why the free business model is so popular in China. Furthermore, the steady cashflow in the Western market also comes about because of one key factor: the distribution model. The majority of users are relatively lower-end with lower educational background.

China 122

China Developer Intellectual Property Mobile 122

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2010

Certainly both of these crowd-funding approaches provide the entrepreneur with an opportunity to hone his pitch, and get some real consumer feedback on the idea. But from my perspective representing investors, this approach falls short on several counts: Focus is on the product, not the business model. Marty Zwilling.

Non-disclosure Agreement 149

Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Startup Social Media 149

Steve Blank

AUGUST 5, 2010

Fairchild Semiconductor became the progenitor of a flood of Silicon Valley chip companies and at the same time the adoption of the limited partnership as the model for Venture Firms gave VC’s their own profitable business model. But these VC’s aren’t Lean because they fund startups with web-based distribution models.

Lean 260

Lean Internet Silicon Valley Venture Capital 260

Business Plan Blog

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

First and foremost, venture capital firms want to see an entrepreneur with passion and vision. Every entrepreneur gets attached to their idea. They also show your ability to turn a business concept into a realistic, attractive business model. What You Need to Know About Obtaining Venture Funding. Stellar Idea.

Intellectual Property 53

Intellectual Property Venture Capital Equity Business Plan 53

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Small investment firms often have interns and entrepreneurs in residence passing through, each of which is a security risk. Chris Dixon, Partner, A16Z, observes , “Success in VC is probably 10% about picking, and 90% about sourcing the right deals and having entrepreneurs choose your firm as a partner”. 2) Market . 11) Exit .

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Small Business Success | Mondays and Thursdays. The Goods: Your Business Toolbox | Thursdays. Todays Small Business News | Daily. Entrepreneur news from reporter Eric Markowitz. Internet and Online Business. Business Software. Intellectual Property. Deluxe for Business. Tools & Research.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Please see later version of this post on May 16, 2010 Entrepreneurs are often not experts in the area of term-sheet negotiations and all of the surrounding issues.   Investors sometimes “present” the terms they’d like and expect the entrepreneurs to react. Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68