Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. These are things that can cost very little money, but go a long ways in convincing someone that you are making progress. That means skip the jargon and include explanations and examples.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2017

Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.’

Partner 149

Partner Cofounder Sweat Equity Startup 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. These are things that can cost very little money, but go a long ways in convincing someone that you are making progress. That means skip the jargon and include explanations and examples.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Make sure your plan answers every relevant question that you could possibly imagine from your business partners, spouse, and potential investors. These are things that can cost very little money, but go a long ways in convincing someone that you are making progress. That means skip the jargon and include explanations and examples.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Web Startup Lessons Advice from a CTO and Entrepreneur Home About Finding a Technical Partner for Your Startup Today I received an inquiry from a student at an Ivy League university who wants to launch a web startup. How can I go about looking for a (very) good programmer willing to do this as sweat equity?

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Fractional CTO Partner CTO Hire 40

socialmatchbox.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

If you have a friend who is a recruiter then ask them to tell you what they recommend that will not cost anything. This means considering what the opportunity cost for working on a high risk venture is relative to other things they can spend their time on. If they own a Mac Book Pro that may cost around $1,800 bucks (new).

Part-Time VPE 41

Part-Time VPE Sweat Equity DC Washington 41

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

We tried, and opted out of, potentials for pivots; we pitched for game-changing partners and acquisitions that did not ultimately convert. I recruited a top-flight engineer and serial entrepreneur to build our MVP, on equity?—?and We pitched everyone from Angels to partners at Andreessen Horowitz on Sand Hill Road. We pitched.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.’

Cofounder 240

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Startup 240

YoungUpstarts

MAY 16, 2018

There are literally dozens of low-cost business ideas available to entrepreneurs with a modicum of talent and ingenuity — reasonably low-hanging fruit that you can turn up in a matter of days or weeks. Follow these six tips and best practices to control your startup costs and stay on schedule. Take on Silent Partners.

Sweat Equity 124

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Equity Hosting 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2016

It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down. With one of the new free tools and a dose of sweat equity, you can create a website for almost nothing -- and you are on your way to success with ecommerce, your latest invention or personal services.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Hockey Stick Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.’

Cofounder 244

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Partner 244

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.’

Cofounder 239

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Startup 239

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

The business model has to clearly define who is your customer, market penetration expected, how much customers pay versus total costs and the investment required to sustain cash flow. You need to identify pricing details, sales channels, strategic partners and a customized marketing plan consistent with your industry and target segment.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Advisory Board Liquidity Event Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Marketing, sales, and partners. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Competing with IBM, Microsoft, and other large companies should never be minimized.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2010

Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup. If you think about it, you should realize that not everyone is ‘ideal partner material.’

Cofounder 207

Cofounder Founder Sweat Equity Startup 207

Up and Running

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Sweat Equity. “I This way your biggest cost is just your personal time. I did this by budgeting for my expenses in order to cover the costs I needed. Additionally, I found some trusted partners who had solid backgrounds to join me. When I first started my business, I partially self-funded it.

Finance 92

Finance Sweat Equity Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 92

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 10, 2016

Depending on what business you aspire to own, the capital costs can be anywhere between virtually nothing to as much as a million dollars or more. To get started, visit your local REIA meetings to meet investors who you may partner with and work out a commission for successfully flipping properties.

Sweat Equity 100

Sweat Equity Lead Generation Demand SEO 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Marketing, sales, and partners. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Competing with IBM, Microsoft, and other large companies should never be minimized.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Up and Running

JUNE 23, 2015

Maternova is an online marketplace for low-cost but vital obstetric tools; you might think of it as something like Amazon for childbirth-related medical supplies. “It took an enormous investment of sweat equity on both our parts,” Allyson admits. Make smart agreements with strategic partners. We can do better.

Cofounder 60

Cofounder Sweat Equity Social Media Business Model 60

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Investors want to hear about your first customers, other investments put into the company (including your own sweat equity), key media placement, signed letters of intent (LOI) to purchase/partner, product and customer milestones , key hires, and so on. is our customer acquisition cost (CAC). 5 percent monthly churn rate.

Sweat Equity 122

Sweat Equity Churn Rate Elevator Pitch Forecast 122

grasshopperherder.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2011

If you’re negotiating my equity percentage by nickels and dimes, I probably don’t want to work with you. If you offer me 1% of the equity, I’ll do 1% of the work. As always, be wise in choosing your business partners. [.] Problem is the practicality, cost and hassle of the microtransaction.

Cofounder 47

Cofounder NDA Founder Sweat Equity 47

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Instead of hearing from your long lost third-cousin, you will be inundated with an avalanche of ‘congratulatory’ emails, calls and letters from people who want to relieve you of the burden of your hard-earned equity round. Many such ‘congratulations’ will come from consultants. Performance-based deals are healthy for all parties.

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder Technical Review 40

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Marketing, sales, and partners. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Competing with IBM, Microsoft, and other large companies should never be minimized.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

www.virtuosimedia.com

MARCH 8, 2012

Your product must solve an actual need, have a profitable market size, differentiate itself from the competition, generate sufficient interest from your target market, be cost-effective to produce in a timely manner, and have a clear marketing path. Research the cost of advertising your product. Red Flags Galore.

Technical Cofounder 41

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Technical Review NDA 41

Up and Running

APRIL 10, 2019

I know this from personal experience because my business partner and I did just that with our company, Louder.Online. When building a digital marketing agency without outside funding, you need to make sure you have a plan in place to be able to train people as and when they join you without incurring additional cost to the business.

Marketing 79

Marketing Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Harvest 79

Up and Running

JANUARY 24, 2014

Investors want to hear about your first customers, other investments put into the company (including your own sweat equity), key media placement, signed letters of intent (LOI) to purchase/partner, product and customer milestones, key hires, etc. is our customer acquisition cost (CAC). 1,000 new leads captured per month.

Sweat Equity 138

Sweat Equity Churn Rate Forecast Business Model 138

techcrunch.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Researchers polled experts in lending, mezzanine capital, private equity, venture capital and private businesses themselves. The cost of money is steep, and only works in certain verticals, of which software is NOT one. It’s a saturated market, with high costs and lack of innovation. A lot of the stats weren’t surprising.

Venture Capital 62

Venture Capital Technical Review Sweat Equity Valuation 62

Gust

AUGUST 7, 2012

For example, I saw a founder tell investors, during a pitch session, that some investors screwed him and his previous partners were dishonest. Sweat equity can be a problem. And getting too aggressive too quickly is a problem. They assume a single significant lie is a tip of an iceberg. Stupid profitability.

Business Plan 172

Business Plan Sweat Equity Salary Founder 172

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Explain in terms your mother could understand, and quantify the “cost-of-pain” in dollars or time. Marketing, sales, and partners. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Competing with IBM, Microsoft, and other large companies should never be minimized.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

An entrepreneur starts a company in classic " bootstrap " fashion - with a combination of sweat equity and their own financial resources. Technical progress and market traction are much slower and cost a lot more than anticipated. The typical wisdom regarding the appropriate financing course for a new company goes as follows: 1.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

The negativity either impacted investment funding (venture capital fell off a cliff in 2009) or the customers they were targeted as was the case for Untitled Partners who were building a platform for fractional art ownership. We were obviously wrong about Untitled Partners’ ability to grow through the subsequent downturn. #19

Cofounder 89

Cofounder Startup Technical Cofounder CTO Hire 89

Up and Running

JUNE 26, 2017

Mark Cuban has famously said, “Sweat equity is the best startup capital.” Should you have a partner or outside investors? But a business partner can bring an (often necessary) skill set and perspective to the business. Who do you know that can help you? Nearly everyone wants to help and add value where they can.

Sweat Equity 145

Sweat Equity Business Plan Naming eCommerce 145

Women Entrepreneurs Can

MAY 9, 2019

During the early days, these are your key contributors and they must be willing to put as much sweat equity into the organization as you are. Scaling will increase the cost it takes to do business and it often does it before you’re able to generate additional revenue in the traditional way your company acquires sales.

Programming 40

Programming Sweat Equity Startup Private Equity 40

www.chubbybrain.com

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

created a vastly higher cost structure; I had 80 people mostly on base salaries under $100,000 and was bringing in revenue at the rate of $20 million annually. Contributing to the high cost structure was the new culture of working 9-5 Monday through Friday. Post-Mortem Title : Untitled Partners Post-Mortem. Accel Partners.

Software Review 79

Software Review Startup Technical Review Vesting 79

Ben's Blog

FEBRUARY 23, 2011

The best companies invest time, money, and sweat equity into becoming world-class recruiting machines. There are two relevant categories: Important business partners. For this discussion, friends and important business partners are roughly the same. When will it cost you a friend? Will you still be friends?

Hiring 78

Hiring Sweat Equity Employee Engineer 78

sivers.org

JUNE 25, 2010

Youll estimate time and cost better. But what I think was hard, and it was something he couldnt consider was that it would be harder to find a *maintaining* programmer, and how much it would cost to run the software, because of technical details he didnt understand. Thinking of your project in milestones makes all the difference.

CTO Hire 84

CTO Hire Hiring Software Review Technical Review 84

Small Business Force

OCTOBER 14, 2016

Professional investors, be they angels, venture capital or private equity firms are always looking at far more deals than they could invest in. For a startup, how much “skin-in-game” do you and your team have, either in sweat equity or real cash invested. So, at the end of the day, you are selling.

Sweat Equity 20

Sweat Equity Private Equity Valuation Equity 20