Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO.

Partner 385

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 385

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2022

Business partners can be co-founders in a startup, multiple owners of an existing business, or a joint venture. As a former startup investor, I was often involved with due diligence on founders, and I felt that founders should do the same on co-founders, as well as investors.

Technical Review 313

Technical Review Due Diligence Partner Cofounder 313

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2020

Thus, unless the visionary highlights a cofounder who can take the vision and execute, I assume the worst. My bottom-line recommendation and theirs is that every visionary entrepreneur needs to be matched with a cofounder or key team member who has the required execution attributes. Cause organizational whiplash.

Founder 329

Founder Cofounder Bandwidth Matching 329

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2023

Just like executive recruiters recognize the best executives, a technical expert in your business domain will recognize the right combination of skill, creativity, and experience you need for a cofounder or key team member. Start with existing cofounders, extend the request to advisors and investors, and finally to existing team members.

Technical Cofounder 260

Technical Cofounder Technology Management Entrepreneur 260

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 19, 2023

Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. The only real alternative is to find a cofounder who can build and lead the team, while you focus on the product. Make sure you’re treating all team members as you would want to be treated.

Leadership 318

Leadership Technical Review Technical Cofounder Development Team Review 318

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. Giving a co-founder a salary won’t get you the “fire in the belly” you want. Each co-founder should get equity for value, based on these key variables: Lived a key role in a previous startup.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2023

Thus, unless the visionary highlights a cofounder who can take the vision and execute, I assume the worst. My bottom-line recommendation and theirs is that every visionary entrepreneur needs to be matched with a cofounder or key team member who has the required execution attributes. Cause organizational whiplash.

Partner 206

Partner Cofounder Startup Bandwidth 206

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Entrepreneurs need to know every component of their business at a management level, or have a cofounder who does. Bored and unmotivated teams are never cost-effective. I’ll outsource software development, since I don’t understand it.” Relying totally on a virtual team implies they are managing your company, not you.

Cost 346

Cost Philippines Bandwidth Cofounder 346

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Supportive co-founder and executive positions. Every startup needs two or three key advisors who have the domain experience, connections, and complementary skills to guide the founders through those early crises. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

If you are a typical startup operation, consisting of an unpaid founder and co-founder, both working part-time, outsourcing is not likely the solution to your resource constraints. Overall, I believe the utility for outsourcing is going up, rather than going away.

Software Review 285

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property 285

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2023

In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often find founders who have such conviction and passion for their new idea, that they can’t believe anyone could challenge it. Bacharach, Cornell Professor and cofounder of the Bacharach Leadership Group.

Technical Cofounder 341

Technical Cofounder Founder Cofounder Mobile 341

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2013

In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest as a co-founder. First you have to be clear on who you are, and who you can co-exist with, what complementary skills and resources you need, and what decisions in the business you are willing to relegate. We both have the same vision.”

Cofounder 240

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Startup 240

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Unless you have a co-founder or two with the business skills to complement your technical ones, you need a friendly Advisory Board. The cost of a co-founder is usually fifty percent of your equity. Building and managing a business is a wholly different world from building an innovative solution.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2022

For example, I remember a classic book, “ The Best Team Wins: Build Your Business Through Predictive Hiring ,” by Adam Robinson, CEO and cofounder of Hireology, which details the how and why of hiring your most valuable assets today.

Hiring 337

Hiring Technical Cofounder Cofounder Retention 337

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest as a co-founder. First you have to be clear on who you are, and who you can co-exist with, what complementary skills and resources you need, and what decisions in the business you are willing to relegate. We both have the same vision.”

Cofounder 244

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Partner 244

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2020

Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. The only real alternative is to find a co-founder who can build and lead the team, while you focus on the product. Make sure you’re treating all team members as you would want to be treated.

Leadership 326

Leadership Technical Review Development Team Review Startup 326

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2023

Cash isn’t always the scarcest resource startups have to invest – more often it’s the leadership capital of under-experienced and over-stretched entrepreneurs and co-founders. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members.

Employee 267

Employee Leadership Cofounder Matching 267

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2017

In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO.

Partner 140

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 140

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

If you are a typical startup operation, consisting of an unpaid founder and co-founder, both working part-time, outsourcing is not likely the solution to your resource constraints. Overall, I believe the utility for outsourcing is going up, rather than going away.

Intellectual Property 306

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Software Review Technical Review 306

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One.” In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”

Partner 258

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Equity 258

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2016

Just like executive recruiters recognize the best executives, a technical expert in your business domain will recognize the right combination of skill, creativity, and experience you need for a co-founder or key team member. Don’t fall for a technical pitch you can’t fathom. Test them with problems outside their comfort zone.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Founder Non-Compete Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Thus I was happy to see a new book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

First you have to be clear on who you are, and who you can co-exist with, what complementary skills and resources you need, and what decisions in the business you are willing to relegate. Investors routinely decline to fund co-founders who are siblings, or in a romantic relationship. “We We both have the same vision.”

Cofounder 239

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Startup 239

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

Entrepreneurs need to know every component of their business at a management level, or have a cofounder who does. Bored and unmotivated teams are never cost-effective. I’ll outsource software development, since I don’t understand it.” Relying totally on a virtual team implies they are managing your company, not you.

Entrepreneur 303

Entrepreneur Philippines Bandwidth Cofounder 303

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

Supportive co-founder and executive positions. Every startup needs two or three key advisors who have the domain experience, connections, and complementary skills to guide the founders through those early crises. Member of the Advisory Board. Manage customer service.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2014

A while back I talked about how and where to find a co-founder in “ For a Startup, Two Heads are Always Better Than One ”. In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” In this context, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.”

Partner 269

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 269

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Thus I was happy to see a recent book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. It just means that the cofounders trust one of their own and are willing to follow. The industry veteran. The financial suit.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often find founders who have such conviction and passion for their new idea, that they can’t believe anyone could challenge it. Bacharach, Cornell Professor and cofounder of the Bacharach Leadership Group.

Technical Cofounder 315

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Mobile Differentiation 315

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

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. A strong team has one or more executives who have run a startup before in the current business domain.

New York City 246

New York City Silicon Valley Bootstrapping Technical Review 246

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Every person requires some level of positive human interaction with co-workers and others to be satisfied and productive. For example, Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes, set a higher purpose of donating a pair of shoes to the needy for every pair sold, driving a spiritual cause for employees and customers. Social interactions.

Technical Review 353

Technical Review Cofounder Employee Global 353

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2010

First you have to be clear on who you are, and who you can co-exist with, what complementary skills and resources you need, and what decisions in the business you are willing to relegate. Investors routinely decline to fund co-founders who are siblings, or in a romantic relationship. “We We both have the same vision.”

Cofounder 207

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Startup 207

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

In my experience as an advisor to entrepreneurs, business startup founders most often point to a shortage of funds as the primary cause of their startup failure. In fact, this problem is so common among business startups, that is has been tagged with the name “ founder’s syndrome ” or “ founderitis.”

Founder 223

Founder Technical Review Cofounder Demand 223

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2022

In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest as a co-founder. First you have to be clear on who you are, and who you can co-exist with, what complementary skills and resources you need, and what decisions in the business you are willing to relegate. It usually doesn’t work.

Partner 351

Partner Cofounder Sweat Equity Startup 351

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2020

Cash isn’t always the scarcest resource startups have to invest – more often it’s the leadership capital of under-experienced and over-stretched entrepreneurs and co-founders. Most new startup founders start out by assuming they need to spread their leadership efforts evenly across all team members.

Leadership 317

Leadership Entrepreneur Cofounder Matching 317