Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

The challenge is to recognize and recruit that ideal partner match early with minimal cost and risk. 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.

Cofounder 221

Cofounder Software Review CTO Hire Founder 221

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

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. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so I see no equity value in the idea alone.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

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. In fact, leaders are not remembered for their dreams, aspirations, or intentions – they are remembered because they achieved results.

Technical Cofounder 341

Technical Cofounder Founder Cofounder Mobile 341

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Additionally, research has revealed that the average age of the founders of technology companies in the United States is a surprisingly high 39 - with twice as many over age 50 as under age 25. One new incentive is the falling transaction costs and barriers to entry for entrepreneurs of every age.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Founder United States Technical Support 315

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Who would not want to join the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? He nails the current key startup parameters, including the following: Crafting a lean business plan as your road map.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2021

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. At any rate, “buzz-worthy” and “viral” are marketing illusions that cost big money to create, and these are only the beginning. That’s a double death wish. Marty Zwilling.

Viral 348

Viral Marketing SEM Campaign 348

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. Customer acquisition cost.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

In my experience as an angel investor for new startups, I’m always surprised by how many entrepreneurs are looking for funding without outside advisors. Especially if you are a first-time business owner, the payback for this initiative is well worth the effort and cost. The cost of a co-founder is usually fifty percent of your equity.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

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

AUGUST 4, 2014

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. The value in a startup is all about tangible results, so there is no equity value in the idea alone. Now comes the reality check.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

A startup is not just about the idea, it’s about testing and then implementing the idea. I was driving home from the BIO conference in San Diego last month and had lots of time for a phone call with Dave, an ex student and now a founder who wanted to update me on his Customer Discovery progress. In fact, it wasn’t even a startup.

Cofounder 336

Cofounder Founder Technical Cofounder Coder 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Who would not want to join the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? He nails the current key startup parameters, including the following: Crafting a lean business plan as your road map.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 14, 2023

Yet, we know tech startups will weather the storm. Likewise, this is a season of economic pain for businesses: High borrowing costs and reduced demand are compressing margins, and some industries face persistent labor shortages. Even after aggressive hikes from the Fed, overall unemployment in the U.S.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Ukraine Software Review ChatGPT 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

This alternative has been around for several decades, with the generally accepted advantage of reducing costs. Saving cost won’t help you if you can’t make the daily innovations required to stay competitive. Results on commodities, including mature software maintenance, adapt well to low-cost contracting.

Software Review 285

Software Review Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property 285

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

How do you figure out what’s the right mix of skills for the co-founders of your startup? I was having breakfast with Radhika, an ex-grad student of mine who wanted to share her Customer Discovery progress for her consumer hardware startup. Trying to figure out what the right set of co-founders isn’t so clear.

Cofounder 335

Cofounder Founder Intellectual Property Business Model 335

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

I can think of several related aspects of starting and running a business where follow-up, or lack of it, can make or break your startup. Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Here are a few: Business networking.

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Startup Software Review Retention 333

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? There was no money train.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. Outsourcing can give your startup a more mature image. Startups all need that flexibility.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Employee 308

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Smart founders and smart salesmen look for customers with a painful problem, rather than pushing a nice-to-have solution. Then every startup has to learn to pivot, because their first understanding of the real problem is usually not quite right. That mentality has to be part of the culture of every startup team member from the start.

Sales 348

Sales Startup Bootstrapping Technical Review 348

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Many of the business plans I see are built around a dream, with idealistic costs, margins, and customer demand. Test a prototype solution before you build a business plan. Successful businesses are built around solutions that work, have a market, and are scalable. Check your tolerance for risk, uncertainty, and change.

Founder 262

Founder Intellectual Property Social Media Business Plan 262

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2012

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends.

Viral 238

Viral Cost Marketing SEM 238

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2017

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends.

Campaign 167

Campaign Cost Viral Marketing 167

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 27, 2023

Startup founders have a seemingly never-ending list of things to do, whether it’s growing sales, hiring new team members, or marketing your latest product. But before purchasing a solution, it’s a good idea to review GPS tracking costs to make sure you are getting the most for your money.

Startup 105

Startup Technical Review Reputation Hiring 105

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 11, 2021

by Swapnil Shinde, Co-Founder and CEO of Zeni. If your accounting processes aren’t in order, you may not have a complete picture of your startup’s financial health and could be leaving money on the table. Do you categorize your revenue and costs using departments and classes? Not setting up their chart of accounts properly.

Small Business 208

Small Business Startup Cofounder Vertical 208

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Want to tap in to the best startup advice from entrepreneurs who are out there doing it? Welcome to ‘500 Founders’ where we ask innovators from around New Zealand for their top insights for first time startup founders. ” Marta Meszaros – Founder. ” Abbe Hyde – Founder. Never give up.”

Founder 101

Founder Cofounder New Zealand B2C 101

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 30, 2022

In this article, we will analyse the top 5 technological challenges your startup will face in 2023. . In the case of startups, this poses a number of major challenges including: . The first challenge is closely linked with the growth barriers experienced by most startup companies. Remote Work. Scaling Up. Software Choices.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Technology Software Review Startup 138

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Startup studios continue to grow in popularity as incubators for new businesses. Rather than simply launching one startup, the startup studio model creates an organization whose business is launching startups. These can then be repeated and improved on with each successive startup.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2019

In fact, according to the latest Index of Startup Activity by the Kauffman Foundation and recent press reports , these Baby Boomers are actually driving a new entrepreneurship boom. In the Kauffman Foundation Survey of nearly 5,000 companies that began in 2004, nearly two-thirds of the founders are now between the ages of 35 and 54.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review United States Startup America 299

The Next Web

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Here are their breakdowns of the costs and time investments to create 10 of the world’s hottest startups. This means — assuming you already have a laptop — the cost is almost nothing to build the next Twitter. 1) Twitter. But a good developer could make it quicker.”. 3) Facebook.

Cost 168

Cost San Francisco New York City Ruby 168

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Venture Capital Startup 310

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. 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.

New York City 315

New York City Silicon Valley Startup Bootstrapping 315

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2017

Launching your startup in a down economy doesn’t make it any less likely to last. Two conditions that do matter to your startup’s out-year viability are the cost and length of its product development cycle. Surprisingly, macroeconomic trends have minimal impact on long-term business survival rates. Stay Lean and Low.

Cost 100

Cost Developer Small Business Administration Marketing 100

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 21, 2020

Those in such tricky financial situations may be thinking of taking out a payday loan , however, while this is certainly tempting given the time of year, one startup founder urges consumers not to go down this path, as expensive forms of credit can end you up in more severe financial problems. households. households.

Cost 147

Cost Founder Startup Finance 147

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. Almost anyone can start a company today on a shoestring budget, following these cost-cutting recommendations: Establish a solid legal structure for your business.

Cost 405

Cost Entrepreneur Burn Rate Social Media 405

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2020

Based on my own experiences in startups, and many years of advising new business owners, I’m convinced that there are a few common frustrations that we all need to anticipate and prepare for, rather than let them be a surprise and a painful dent in your enthusiasm and personal satisfaction from living your dream.

Due Diligence 306

Due Diligence Entrepreneur Startup Acquisition 306

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. It’s the antithesis of the Lean Startup.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 18, 2020

As part of The Startup Magazine Female Founder series , we sat down with award-winning entrepreneur Elizabeth Colón. TSM: Are there particular characteristics you have and that you see in women business owners that particularly contribute to an ability to jump from a startup success to a scale up success? I could not agree more.

Founder 158

Founder Chicago LLC Leadership 158