Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

A well-designed service delivery process will make you easy to do business with. Companies with great service routinely spend 3% to 5% of salaries training team members – experienced as well as new. Make your service deliver process “happy.” If service employees are not happy, the process isn’t working yet.

Customer 230

Customer Technical Review Startup Salary 230

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2022

Check your business network for a great co-founder or a great designer. If you are an entrepreneur at heart, don’t be doomed to a life of trudging through jobs, depending on someone else for salary and bonuses and health care and retirement, a life's work without ownership or upside. Low cost infrastructure. Make them an offer.

Startup 258

Startup Cofounder Salary Advertising 258

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2010

Creative products, like chip design programs, architectural rendering, or consumer games are not easily outsourced. The typical software startup these days is a one or two person operation, founder and co-founder, who do the work themselves on the first product with no salary. Outsourcing for services needs to be carefully managed.

Software 129

Software Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Non-Compete 129

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2019

Check your business network for a great co-founder or a great designer. If you are an entrepreneur at heart, don’t be doomed to a life of trudging through jobs, depending on someone else for salary and bonuses and health care and retirement, a life's work without ownership or upside. Low cost infrastructure. Make them an offer.

Cofounder 200

Cofounder Washington Salary Advertising 200

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2016

Celebrate the ability to pay yourself a salary. Having enough revenue to finally give yourself a salary is an inspiring event, and one that you should savor. Re-live that moment of inspiration that resulted in an innovative design and implementation for your product, and is now providing you with a sustainable competitive advantage.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Salary Startup Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2015

Celebrate the ability to pay yourself a salary. Having enough revenue to finally give yourself a salary is an inspiring event, and one that you should savor. Re-live that moment of inspiration that resulted in an innovative design and implementation for your product, and is now providing you with a sustainable competitive advantage.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Salary Viral Leadership 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2013

Taking that first salary after a long dry spell is an inspiring moment, and a great celebration with friends. Working on that unique design, or completing the breakthrough for an innovative patent, are moments of inspiration that you will never forget, especially if they become your competitive edge.

Sweat Equity 251

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Startup Viral 251

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2012

Taking that first salary after a long dry spell is an inspiring moment, and a great celebration with friends. Working on that unique design, or completing the breakthrough for an innovative patent, are moments of inspiration that you will never forget, especially if they become your competitive edge.

Sweat Equity 256

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Viral 256

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2013

Check your business network for a great co-founder or a great designer. If you are an entrepreneur at heart, don’t be doomed to a life of trudging through jobs, depending on someone else for salary and bonuses and health care and retirement, a life''s work without ownership or upside. Low cost infrastructure. Make them an offer.

Cofounder 248

Cofounder Salary Advertising Social Network 248

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2017

Check your business network for a great co-founder or a great designer. If you are an entrepreneur at heart, don’t be doomed to a life of trudging through jobs, depending on someone else for salary and bonuses and health care and retirement, a life's work without ownership or upside. Low cost infrastructure. Make them an offer.

Startup 120

Startup Cofounder Salary Advertising 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2010

Taking that first salary after a long dry spell is an inspiring moment, and a great celebration with friends. Working on that unique design, or completing the breakthrough for an innovative patent, are moments of inspiration that you will never forget, especially if they become your competitive edge.

Sweat Equity 222

Sweat Equity Intellectual Property Viral Salary 222

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2010

Check your business network for a great co-founder or a great designer. If you are an entrepreneur at heart, don’t be doomed to a life of trudging through jobs, depending on someone else for salary and bonuses and health care and retirement, a life's work without ownership or upside. Low cost infrastructure. Make them an offer.

Startup 234

Startup Cofounder Salary Social Network 234

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

You no longer need to travel to China or hire an expensive prototyping expert to mock up your new design. I believe we are in the midst of a fundamental shift towards the entrepreneurial lifestyle, and away from the unsatisfying, highly specialized and highly focused hourly and salaried jobs. Building the prototype can be fun.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property LLC Social Media China 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

The founders now need a $1M Angel investment to do the marketing for a national NewCo rollout, build a team to manage the rollout, and maybe even pay themselves a salary. How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? NewCo doesn’t have any of these yet. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Valuation 270

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 270

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

The founders now need a $1M Angel investment to do the marketing for a national NewCo rollout, build a team to manage the rollout, and maybe even pay themselves a salary. How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? NewCo doesn’t have any of these yet. Early customers and contracts in progress add value.

Pre-Money Valuation 246

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation NPV Intellectual Property 246

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

The founders now need a $1M Angel investment to do the marketing for a national NewCo rollout, build a team to manage blogs and other resources, and maybe even pay themselves a salary. How much is NewCo worth to investors at this point (pre-money valuation)? NewCo doesn’t have any of these yet.

Valuation 234

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation NPV Startup 234

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2013

Startups can rarely afford or even attract the young superstar C-level executives they covet – these people want big salaries, big staffs, and big budgets – who are also known to push founders out of the way. Boomer angels won’t squeeze you for every dollar; they want to see your joy in success. Interim executive.

Advisory Board 247

Advisory Board Angel Investor Startup Equity 247

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2011

Startups can rarely afford or even attract the young superstar C-level executives they covet – these people want big salaries, big staffs, and big budgets – who are also known to push founders out of the way. Boomer angels won’t squeeze you for every dollar; they want to see your joy in success. Interim Executive.

Advisory Board 268

Advisory Board Angel Investor Entrepreneur Equity 268

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2010

Startups can rarely afford or even attract the young superstar C-level executives they covet – these people want big salaries, big staffs, and big budgets – who are also known to push founders out of the way. Boomer angels won’t squeeze you for every dollar; they want to see your joy in success. Interim Executive.

Advisory Board 189

Advisory Board Angel Investor Equity Salary 189