Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. You may have heard that venture capitalists in Silicon Valley no longer read business plans. For the rest of us, we need a business plan, as well as a product plan.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 3, 2021

Australian entrepreneur and consulting firm owner Luke Lazarus understands that launching a business is not easy. Operating a competitive business and turning a significant profit is even more challenging. Despite the odds against new business success, Lazarus started and operated four businesses by the time he was 25 years old.

United States 167

United States Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media 167

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 24, 2017

Subscription business models have been around for a pretty long time, but thanks to modern technology, this model has evolved from milk or newspapers delivery to a versatile eCommerce experience. As a starting entrepreneur, you might wonder: why on earth would I want to start a subscription (box) business?

Churn Rate 149

Churn Rate eCommerce Business Model Bootstrapping 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

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 always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

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. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Future unproven projections don’t set today’s valuation.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Steve Blank

MARCH 26, 2019

It’s hard to imagine, but only a decade ago, the capstone entrepreneurship class in most universities was how to write – or pitch- a business plan. As a serial entrepreneur turned educator, this didn’t make sense to me. In my experience, I saw that most business plans don’t survive first contact with customers. I-Corps @ NIH ).

Lean 254

Lean Business Model Balance Sheet Video 254

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 5, 2020

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners about the industries that are ripe for disruption and here are the response; #1- The hemp extraction. The global automakers and suppliers will be adapting their business models accordingly, forming new partnerships and investing in new technologies. 16- Coffee. 21- Fintech.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Entrepreneur China 157

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 4, 2019

At Wildcat, we recommend benchmarking your startup against the four core architectural pillars of the Traction Gap Framework: product , revenue , team and systems. Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. Revenue Architecture.

Framework 127

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Entrepreneur 310

Entrepreneur Architecture Business Plan Startup 310

YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2019

At Wildcat, we recommend benchmarking your startup against the four core architectural pillars of the Traction Gap Framework: product , revenue , team and systems. Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. Revenue Architecture.

Framework 113

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Implement a modern real business model. Measurements and business intelligence along the way also mitigate risk.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Hearpreneur

MARCH 13, 2020

No matter the tale, the background behind each and every business is what fuels each and brand. We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1- To build a community. So I started my business, not because I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but for survival purposes.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur LLC Technical Review Finder 132

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Implement a modern real business model. Measurements and business intelligence along the way also mitigate risk.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2020

Driven by the current pandemic, smart entrepreneurs of all ages are jumping into the fray with new ideas, new recovery strategies, and discarding outmoded business models. I see it most in the newest generation of entrepreneurs (Gen-Y), who were shocked out of entitlement into action by an economic downturn.

Viral 430

Viral Revenue Distribution Cloud 430

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 8, 2021

Every startup entrepreneur wants to see their company grow. They want to open new offices, generate more revenue, and ultimately, secure higher profitability. . So what are the biggest barriers startup entrepreneurs experience in their route to achieve long-term growth? And more importantly, how can you avoid or overcome them?

Startup 127

Startup Retention Acquisition Agile 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Business Plan 280

Business Plan Product Architecture Business Model 280

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Business Plan 120

Business Plan Product Architecture Startup 120

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

. × At Greylock , my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter whether an entrepreneur is in our portfolio, whether we’re considering an investment, or whether we’re casually meeting for the first time. Entrepreneurs often ask me for help with their pitch decks.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Revenue Viral Networking 111

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers? And without revenue how do we know if we achieved product/market fit to exit Customer Validation?” However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web.

Customer Development 227

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 227

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 5, 2022

So, that’s why we are excited about 2022 because there will be more and more entrepreneurs and businesses. Here’s the pivot other entrepreneurs are making next year: #1- Work four days a week. I’ve devised a sustainable business model where we will contribute to the ecological welfare of our environment.

Entrepreneur 114

Entrepreneur Affiliate Green Cloud 114

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 15, 2017

No matter the tale, the background behind each and every business is what fuels each entrepreneurship and brand. We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1- After the birth of my daughter. It was becoming a business model destined to fail. 14- A number of reasons.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Czech Republic Retention B2C 115

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

There are two reasons to raise money: You have a killer idea that is only partially validated, that you think can get to $50M+ of revenue in 5 years with 80%+ gross margins (if margins are lower, you need a lot more revenue)and you need money to get to product-market fit, or. Team, Product, Traction, Business Model and Market.

Cofounder 431

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 431

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Implement a modern real business model. Measurements and business intelligence along the way also mitigate risk.

Forecast 120

Forecast Startup Stock Options Technical Review 120

YoungUpstarts

JULY 17, 2013

I grew the business that I currently lead as CEO from a start-up to more than 60 million dollars in revenue in less than six years. Because of this, fellow entrepreneurs are always asking me the proverbial question that is woven into the media interview of every successful CEO, “So, what’s your secret?”.

Georgia 238

Georgia Sales Cycle Atlanta Business Model 238

ReadWriteStart

MAY 5, 2011

At the final roundtable, we worked with just two entrepreneurs and then spent the rest of the time on Q&A, which in itself was interesting. We can derive GeoInvenio's business model and pricing model based on that. You can select the business you like best through a poll on the 1M/1M Facebook page.

Costa Rica 115

Costa Rica Incubator Silicon Valley India 115

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2018

Innovative products and business models are the foundations of a promising startup. As an entrepreneur, you will face several challenges while seeking the funds, in part because you’ll have to convince others that your idea is a solid investment. Creating a scalable business model. Sure, it should be unique.

SBA 84

SBA Angel Investor Technical Review Startup 84

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. Future unproven projections don’t set today’s valuation.

Due Diligence 308

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Preferred Stock Startup 308

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years. The most successful of these businesses will still need venture capital to scale their businesses. Businesses are also one-click from advertising through Google and now Facebook.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan. Marty Zwilling.

Product 254

Product Entrepreneur Business Plan Architecture 254

Hearpreneur

JUNE 19, 2016

He was a big entrepreneur, he grew a farm from zero to 3000 hectares by himself in 20 years. I started my business to help these other women entrepreneurs achieve success and sell a product they believe in. Today, HourglassAngel.com is a 20+ person company with a 2015 revenue forecast of $12M.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur Software Review Michigan Chicago 48

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2012

Driven by the recent recession, smart entrepreneurs of all ages are jumping into the fray with new ideas, new recovery strategies, and discarding outmoded business models. I see it most in the newest generation of entrepreneurs (Gen-Y), who were shocked out of entitlement into action by the recession. Snap up top talent.

Entrepreneur 234

Entrepreneur Viral Revenue Distribution 234

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

The class was designed to teach educators (and the adjunct entrepreneurs that support them) the Lean LaunchPad approach (Business Model Design, Customer Development and Agile Engineering) for teaching entrepreneurship. Berkeley and NCIIA , Jerry Engel and I first offered the Lean LaunchPad Educators Class.

Delaware 302

Delaware Lean Entrepreneur Advisory Board 302

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is misunderstanding the role of venture capital investors. There’s lots of lore, emotion, and misconceptions of what VC’s do or don’t do for entrepreneurs. While there was an occasional bad apple, the public markets rewarded companies with revenue growth and sustainable profits.

Silicon Valley 233

Silicon Valley IPO Technical Review Venture Capital 233