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. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

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. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. Today people over 55 are almost twice as likely to create successful startups as Gen-Y, age 20 to 34. Yet credible reports on current trends tell us just the opposite.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

One of the biggest myths in the business world is that startups are no place for Baby Boomers, that aging generation born between 1945 and 1964. Today people over 55 are almost twice as likely to create successful startups as Gen-Y, age 20 to 34. Yet credible reports on current trends tell us just the opposite.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a cofounder or two. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. Now comes the reality check.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Investors often say that successfully navigating the early stages of a startup requires lots of street smarts, guts, and luck. Several years ago, John Hamm published some early work on this subject in " Why Entrepreneurs Don''t Scale " in the Harvard Business Review. Absolute control. Individual loyalty.

Early Stage 235

Early Stage Startup Founder Entrepreneur 235

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

If you are new to the entrepreneurial world of startups, you are likely confused by the terminology of seed-stage, lean startups, micro-VCs, and Super Angels. The good news is that he is all about helping early-stage startups. Early-stage startup. Every startup is early-stage to someone.

Early Stage 253

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 253

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2014

Mid-level or even top executives who “grew up” in large companies often look with envy at startups, and dream of how easy it must be running a small organization, where you can see the whole picture and it appears you have total control. This transfers well to startups, and should give you an advantage. Never cover your a$$.

Startup 258

Startup Early Stage Technical Review .Net 258

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2011

If you are new to the entrepreneurial world of startups, you are likely confused by the terminology of seed-stage, lean startups, micro-VCs, and Super Angels. The good news is that he is all about helping early-stage startups, the hard part for entrepreneurs is figuring out what it takes to play.

Early Stage 231

Early Stage Seed Stage Angel Investor Silicon Valley 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2023

None normally work for or provide funds for early-stage startups. Startups looking for an angel investor, or a Venture Capital investment usually realize that neither of these sources of funds normally has any connection with a bank. Many investment banks even call themselves “boutiques.”

Early Stage 182

Early Stage Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering 182

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2013

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. In every startup, as well as in mature companies, there is no substitute for constantly maintaining a pipeline of alternatives. External scanning for resources. Marty Zwilling.

Merger 221

Merger Acquisition CTO Hire Fractional CTO 221

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. My advice is to start your networking early with potential investors, to establish a relationship before they see you as an entrepreneur asking for money.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2020

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, it still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

Accredited Investor 324

Accredited Investor Entrepreneur SEC Equity 324

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. For startups, the entrepreneur and founder is almost always the face of the company.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. In every startup, as well as in mature companies, there is no substitute for constantly maintaining a pipeline of alternatives. External scanning for resources.

CTO Hire 229

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2012

Every startup faces a myriad of challenges that are well beyond the scope of any founder, so you need a few guiding lights to illuminate the road ahead. I recommend that every early-stage startup find three Advisory Board members. Once your company is past the startup stage, you do need a board of directors.

Advisory Board 239

Advisory Board Technical Review Startup Software Review 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2014

If you think you are the perfect fit for the entrepreneur lifestyle, but you’re not yet sure if you’re ready to start your own, then I recommend that you take a job with an existing startup first to validate the culture realities against your dream. Running or working for a startup is more of a lifestyle than a career choice.

Technical Review 250

Technical Review Stock Options Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Thus I often recommend that before you kick off your own business, you join another startup or existing business to see how things really work. Planning for the future must be a regular activity, not just an early-stage or once-a-year event. Even the best college degree is not a substitute. Survival requires regular updates.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2011

Mid-level or even top executives who “grew up” in large companies often look with envy at startups, and dream of how easy it must be running a small organization, where you can see the whole picture and it appears you have total control. This transfers well to startups, and should give you an advantage. Never cover your a$$.

Startup 263

Startup Early Stage Technical Review .Net 263

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Every early-stage startup should explore this new funding alternative. Venture capital dispensed quarterly to startups continues to decline, down to about $3 billion in the first quarter, which is the lowest level since 1997. New “up-and-comer” VCs focus on early-stage companies. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 215

Technical Review Early Stage Venture Capital Startup 215

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2016

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. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. Now comes the reality check.

Equity 120

Equity Cofounder Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. My advice is to start your networking early with potential investors, to establish a relationship before they see you as an entrepreneur asking for money.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

I believe the Maker Movement and hardware startups with limited resources are made for each other. They come at the early stage while a startup has no revenue or valuation, so professional investors are hard to find. Countless startup teams have already been spawned from these.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator Early Stage 397

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

Don’t waste time talking to VCs for requests less than $1M, or very early stage, and don’t expect professional investors to jump in if you have no “skin in the game.” angels entrepreneur funding gaps process startup' Not doing due diligence on the funding source. Use them and win. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 265

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2023

It’s still popular these days for startup founders to operate in stealth mode, meaning no details about the idea or progress are shared with anyone until the big reveal and rollout. Pivots and corrections are inevitable for startups in this age of rapid change, and the earlier you make them, the quicker you get to success.

Stealth 263

Stealth Marketing Startup Early Stage 263

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2011

Every startup faces a myriad of challenges that are well beyond the scope of any founder, so you need a few guiding lights to illuminate the road ahead. I recommend that every early-stage startup find three Advisory Board members. Once your company is past the startup stage, you do need a board of directors.

Advisory Board 239

Advisory Board Technical Review Software Review Startup 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. In any case, your startup is now part of some investor’s portfolio, so you need to treat the situation like reporting to a new boss, and not like a new freedom.

Term Sheet 433

Term Sheet Advisory Board Liquidation Preference Startup 433

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. Join a startup incubator. Use crowd funding. Get a loan or line-of-credit.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 10, 2012

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Startup 254

Startup Technical Review Dilution Early Stage 254

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2021

New entrepreneurs routinely jump into a startup with a full charge of passion and energy, but often find themselves drained of both after a few months by the workload and challenges. As a result, burnout and loss of passion are consistently listed among the top causes of startup failure, according to many experts. Don’t wait.

Entrepreneur 435

Entrepreneur Startup Early Stage Business Model 435