Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

The cost of any new product these days must include education and rollout marketing, perhaps equal or greater than the development costs. Solution may require new category development time. This may require you selling exclusivity, doing channel development, or alliances with new partners.

Product 354

Product Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Dividend 354

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. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity. Building your public image and presence should start even before product development, through your website, logo, and blogging. The cost of social media done well is low.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there were over 20 million registered developers in 2018. We don’t hear about the remaining several million apps that are mostly free, and garnering only trivial revenue through advertising.

Mobile 317

Mobile Developer Advertising Social Media 317

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Often the Boomer is more willing to work for equity, and easily convinced to step aside when revenues reach that next threshold. Software and hardware development architects and designers. Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2022

In fact, they need an early focus on developing their moral compass, as well as setting the right ethical tone. One 11-year study of over 200 companies over a decade ago, detailed in the book “ Corporate Culture and Performance ,” found that those working on their culture improved revenue by 516%, and increased net income by 755%.

Software Review 291

Software Review Offshore Entrepreneur Leadership 291

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2021

Develop viral content. As a result of the rising popularity of viral campaigns, the cost of developing one has increased significantly, and the increased ‘viral clutter’ has made it more difficult to stand out from the crowd. In addition, special offers and competition prizes may be required. That’s a double death wish.

Viral 348

Viral Marketing SEM Campaign 348

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2017

Every business needs to develop a revenue model even before a product. The alternatives range from giving the product away for free (revenue from ads), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Revenue is a percentage of every transaction. Freemium model – people pay for upgrade.

Revenue 166

Revenue Affiliate Advertising Retention 166

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. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2023

Experiments on today’s revenue engine necessarily focus on short-term financial goals. Ensure your firm’s fitness to act on new opportunities, and develop an evolving sense of where the future lies. The trick is not to sweep everything aside, but to balance relevant aspects of now while making room for what is new.

Framework 240

Framework Engineer Leadership Revenue 240

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity. Building your public image and presence should start even before product development, through your website, logo, and blogging. The cost of social media done well is low.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Apple pulled ahead of other mobile phones in its early days largely because it cultivated an ecosystem of software developers who created iPhone apps to meet every consumer niche and need. Short-term earnings per share may be low, even as revenues and cash burned are high. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm Global IPO 355

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

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. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

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. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2014

The revenue model you select is basically the implementation of your business strategy, and the key to attaining your financial objectives. So what are some of the most common revenue models being used by startups today? This is a very costly development, testing, documentation, and support challenge. Razor blade model.

Revenue 287

Revenue Startup Business Model Retention 287

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Experiments on today’s revenue engine necessarily focus on short-term financial goals. Ensure your firm’s fitness to act on new opportunities, and develop an evolving sense of where the future lies. The trick is not to sweep everything aside, but to balance relevant aspects of now while making room for what is new.

Framework 402

Framework Engineer Leadership Revenue 402

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2019

Yet, in my daily role as an advisor to entrepreneurs and small business owners, struggling to boost revenues, profits, and earnings, I still see too many managers falling back on command-and-control, a focus on weaknesses, and not enough time for people. Team members want development plus satisfaction. Change is hard.

Management 239

Management Technical Review .Net Employee 239

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

A recurring expense was turned into a recurring revenue. With his obsession for detail, it took more than three years to develop the Macintosh. Openly acknowledge current challenges in your business. Business leaders who see problems only as a burden tend to hide them from the team, or actually ignore them until a crisis hits.

Social Media 330

Social Media Entrepreneur Revenue Internet 330

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. That keeps people from pushing themselves to develop the kind of new solutions that will permanently change the business for the better, versus short-term band-aids.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

Often the Boomer is more willing to work for equity, and easily convinced to step aside when revenues reach that next threshold. Software and hardware development architects and designers. Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

For example, Apple has been a master at this, developing products like the iPod and iPhone before customers even knew they needed them, creating Apple stores with a whole new shopping and support experience, and intuitive usage needing no manuals. Turn value creation (revenue) into value capture (profit).

Technical Review 218

Technical Review Revenue Analytics Metrics 218

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

You need a stable customer base with an automatically renewing revenue stream, such as the subscription model. Develop a product line and add alternate channels. Strive to make real customers your best advocates for the initial rollout. Minimize one-time sales in your business model.

Merger 386

Merger Software Review Acquisition Social Media 386

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

Typical incentives give percentages of quarterly revenues and contribution as rewards for success. Business leaders, and every member of their team, need to proactively use lateral thinking skills to develop and nurture creativity and innovation. Encourage an entrepreneurial culture. Provide bonuses for volumes, not milestones.

Stock Options 277

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 277

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

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. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

Develop viral content. As a result of the rising popularity of viral campaigns, the cost of developing one has increased significantly, and the increased ‘viral clutter’ has made it more difficult to stand out from the crowd. In addition, special offers and competition prizes may be required. That’s a double death wish.

Viral 268

Viral Marketing SEM Campaign 268

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2019

In fact, they need an early focus on developing their moral compass, as well as setting the right ethical tone. One 11-year classic study of over 200 companies, detailed in “ Corporate Culture and Performance ,” found that those working on their culture improved revenue by 516%, and increased net income by 755%.

Software Review 192

Software Review Offshore Leadership .Net 192

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2019

New customers are more expensive to acquire, and typically produce less revenue than would current, satisfied customers. Yet, when faced with declining revenues, most companies focus on finding new customers. Develop higher quality than just good enough. Revenue per location now averages double that of McDonalds.

Customer 136

Customer Indiana Technical Review Revenue 136

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Pay people with equity or future revenue. Another one to avoid cash burn for software development is a contract for percent of future revenue. This will equate to 2 working founders (taking no salary), hiring a 5-person development team for a year. Focus precious cash only on producing revenue for your startup business.

Burn Rate 232

Burn Rate Startup Salary Equity 232

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. To accelerate revenue and profit growth, you need innovative marketing strategies that go well beyond conventional advertising and distribution.

Marketing 333

Marketing Revenue Matching Viral 333

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2020

Then there are those pesky competitor responses, always driving down margins and forcing you to develop new features. The norm for entrepreneurs is to be optimistic on revenue projections, and miserly on funding needs.

Due Diligence 306

Due Diligence Entrepreneur Startup Acquisition 306

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Doubling revenue each year is a good target. You need 5 percent or more of revenue for marketing, maybe more for ongoing development, and people costs will double as you add benefits, insurance, training, IT and new processes.

Forecast 290

Forecast Burn Rate Widget Business Plan 290

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 28, 2011

Pay people with equity or future revenue. Another one to avoid cash burn for software development is a contract for percent of future revenue. This will equate to 2 working founders (taking no salary), hiring a 5-person development team for a year. Focus precious cash only on producing revenue for your startup business.

Burn Rate 231

Burn Rate Startup Salary Equity 231

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2017

In fact, they need an early focus on developing their moral compass, as well as setting the right ethical tone. One 11-year classic study of over 200 companies, detailed in “ Corporate Culture and Performance ,” found that those working on their culture improved revenue by 516%, and increased net income by 755%.

Software Review 166

Software Review Offshore Leadership .Net 166

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

After listening to hundreds of startup pitches, and reading even more business plans, most new venture investors develop their own favorite list of “red flags” that signal the beginning of the end of their interest. Declare a $10 million valuation with no revenue or customers. The average valuation for Angel investments is about $2.5

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Valuation Technical Review Equity 120