Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Years ago, it cost a million dollars for a new e-commerce site, one that you can now create for almost nothing with current tools and technology. Early customer feedback will position your solution, and help you make pivots before critical time and money are lost.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Your idea is not intellectual property yet, so it has no inherent value.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Message delivery must be customized for each investor. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors. Registered patents and other intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes. Check for intellectual property barriers in your way. For example, the Segway personal vehicle was proven technology 20 years ago, but is still constrained by right-of-way laws, liability issues, and charging stations.

Technical Review 267

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 267

Gust

JANUARY 4, 2012

Last month we covered the basics of intellectual property (IP) for startups, including a simple taxonomy, some common issues and related documents for entrepreneurs to use when forming a new startup. I’m proud to contribute to the effort and always enjoy reading what the other authors have to say. Is there anything we can do about it?

Intellectual Property 143

Intellectual Property IP Startup United States 143

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

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. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Years ago, it cost a million dollars for a new e-commerce site, one that you can now create for almost nothing with current tools and technology. Early customer feedback will position your solution, and help you make pivots before critical time and money are lost.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Is there a real customer willing to give a testimonial? Are any lawsuits and challenges to intellectual property pending?

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Your idea is not intellectual property yet, so it has no inherent value.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Is there a real customer willing to give a testimonial? Are any lawsuits and challenges to intellectual property pending?

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2020

Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes. Check for intellectual property barriers in your way. For example, the Segway personal vehicle was proven technology 15 years ago, but is still constrained by right-of-way laws, liability issues, and charging stations.

Technical Review 434

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 434

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

You may dream of developing a new silicon chip technology, but a bit of research should tell you that most disruptive solutions take billions in investment, and more time than you can afford for acceptance. You need intellectual property , such as a patent, trade secret, or process expertise that will be a barrier that you can defend.

Founder 262

Founder Intellectual Property Social Media Business Plan 262

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 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. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

Recently, Ive seen a lot of discussion about bringing the work back home, since costs have gone up in less-developed countries, there are issues with intellectual property, and time zone and language differences make management difficult. Keep intellectual property keys in-house. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 238

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Software Review Offshore 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Message delivery must be customized for each investor. It takes more than one person to build a business, so the lone entrepreneur, without support from any visible team, advisors, partners, or potential customers, will not attract investors. Registered patents and other intellectual property.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2012

Intellectual property content. Some country cultures have little appreciation for software as intellectual property. Protect your intellectual property. Technology level. Technology level. Once product software is written, it doesn’t take much effort to deliver it to customers.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Non-Compete Vietnam 222

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 10, 2009

Early on in my career I took a “we’re moving too fast to deal with lawyers” attitude to patents and Intellectual Property (IP.) At one of my entrepreneurship classes at Stanford, Dan Dorosin , of Fenwick & West LLP guest lectures about startups and Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property.

Intellectual Property 233

Intellectual Property IP Software Review Non-disclosure Agreement 233

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 7, 2016

Understanding the four main types of intellectual property is a preliminary step to intellectual property acumen as patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights each have their own legal protections. Does my company own its intellectual property? Under What Conditions Can I Discuss My Technology?

Intellectual Property 100

Intellectual Property NDA IP Early Stage 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2016

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of discussion about bringing the work back home, since costs have gone up in less-developed countries, there are issues with intellectual property, and time zone and language differences make management difficult. Keep intellectual property keys in-house. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Software Review Technical Review 120

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Billion in investments across a range of industries, including technology, sustainability, traditional and alternative energy, mining, construction services, transportation, and healthcare. This could involve leasing out unused space, selling off non-core assets, or finding innovative ways to monetize intellectual property or data.

Technical Review 154

Technical Review Due Diligence Bankruptcy Intellectual Property 154

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2011

Intellectual property content. Some country cultures have little appreciation for software as intellectual property. Protect your intellectual property. Technology level. Technology level. Once product software is written, it doesn’t take much effort to deliver it to customers.

Intellectual Property 225

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Non-Compete Vietnam 225

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. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2014

If they decide to buy, large companies can: license/acquire intellectual property. A business model is all the parts of a strategy necessary to deliver a product to a customer and make money from it. They do it with a continual customer discovery process, iterating, pivoting and building incremental MVP’s.

Acquisition 333

Acquisition Intellectual Property Silicon Valley Startup 333

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

In my experience, the key steps I look for always include the following: Testing the idea against customers who have money to spend. Some dreams sound great, but may not yet be viable or proven with today’s technology. Prepare your marketing story for customers and investors. Even a non-profit needs income to operate.

Intellectual Property 235

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Harvest Technical Review 235

NZ Entrepreneur

APRIL 13, 2020

This article is the first of a three-part series by Dr Sudhanshu Ayyagari that focuses on the importance of intellectual property for startup companies. Here we examine the different types of intellectual property rights and their importance for a business. Why is intellectual property important? Protection.

Intellectual Property 52

Intellectual Property New Zealand Startup Security 52

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Social Media Business Model Employee 278

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology, or money. Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Your idea is not intellectual property yet, so it has no inherent value.

Equity 238

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 238

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. Intellectual property as barrier to entry. I look for entrepreneurs that can sell themselves and their offering to discerning customers.

Intellectual Property 334

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Matching Founder 334

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Protect your company’s customers, employees and intellectual property. In a nightmare scenario, an employee can start up a competing company, and leave with customers, employees and intellectual property, demolishing everything you’ve worked hard to build.

Partner 208

Partner Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence 208

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

On the other hand, everyone is doing it, so that means more competition, and the market and technology are changing faster than ever before. These days you can create a C-corp or LLC online quickly at a low cost, to serve you well in signing partners, intellectual property, investors, and revenue.

Technical Cofounder 184

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Silicon Valley LLC 184

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Social Media Business Model Employee 436

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

If your strength is technology, find a co-founder who has a comparable strength in business, finance or marketing. Register some intellectual property to provide a barrier to entry. A large portion of your competitive advantage and your potential value to investors is the size of your intellectual property portfolio.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock Stealth 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

This technology is not only spawning a new generation of entrepreneurs, but is also changing the educational landscape, all the way down to early grade school. Meeting the new consumer demand for customization. Customers today increasingly demand solutions that are customized just for them.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Set milestones and meet them. Ownership. Value creation.

Intellectual Property 343

Intellectual Property Metrics .Net Social Network 343

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

Don’t forget to consider customer alternatives, like trains versus airplanes. Check for intellectual property barriers in your way. For example, the Segway personal vehicle was proven technology 15 years ago, but is still constrained by right-of-way laws, liability issues, and charging stations.

Technical Review 208

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 208

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

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. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

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. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177