Gust

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Forget Presidential Politics: Here’s How We Create Jobs — And How You Can Help

Gust

As a business lawyer working with startups in technology and digital media every day, I’m fortunate to have a front-row seat as entrepreneurs create value out of thin air. Political candidates can give all the stump speeches they want, but ultimately, the prescription is simple (though not easy): Entrepreneurial innovation.

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Intellectual Property for Startups in the Real World

Gust

Most investors will assume that if the business plan is solid and a large market opportunity exists, there will be vigorous competition from other players. Sales and marketing plans , lists of prospects, supplier and subcontractor relationships, pricing data, media buying plans and strategies, etc. trade secret).

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Crowd-Funding Success Usually Brings New Challenges

Gust

But from my perspective in really helping entrepreneurs, both fall short on several counts: Focus too much on the product, not enough on the business model. The key success factors of the business model (how a business survives and grows), management expertise, and financial projections will likely get overlooked.

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10 Common Startup Flaws Leading To An Early Demise

Gust

The discipline of writing down a plan is the best way to make sure you actually understand how to transform your idea into a business. Business model doesn’t make money. Viral marketing and word-of-mouth are not enough these days to make your product and brand visible in the relentless onslaught of new media out there today.

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“AirB&E” and Disaster Response for Consumer Startups

Gust

The primary answer, in my view, lies in the vastly divergent cultures of startups vs. established businesses. A startup is in the business of creating value from nothing – or, as Steve Blank describes it, “searching for a repeatable and scalable business model.”

Startup 98
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Entrepreneurship Is All About Taking Smart Risks

Gust

Implement a new business model. Software as a service (SaaS) has now pretty much replaced the old licensing model, but offering it was a strategic risk for SalesForce.com. It’s a bad risk to count only on word-of-mouth and viral social network buzz for marketing, as I see in many business plans today.

Forecast 188