Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2017

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. Chain emails leading to a windfall. I’d much rather see your entrepreneur resources and energy focused on real opportunities to improve the world we live in.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence Entrepreneur 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2017

My plea to entrepreneurs is to recognize these concerns as an opportunity, to make people’s life better, rather than stoke the fires. Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, without the costs, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address.

Technical Review 136

Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Network Software Review 136

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Too many entrepreneurs try to talk their way through all of these. Some struggling entrepreneurs are totally event driven. Here are a few: Business networking.

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Startup Software Review Retention 333

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

As an angel investor and a mentor to entrepreneurs I still see this every day. Every entrepreneur needs to start by setting a major purpose for embarking down a specific business path. Successful entrepreneurs do what they need to do without being told how to do it. Results are still the only true measure of success in business.

Technical Review 297

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 297

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. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2023

There is no skill more vital to an entrepreneur than effective networking. This was illustrated well in the classic book, “ Hopping Over The Rabbit Hole ,” by Anthony Scaramucci, a well-known entrepreneur, financier, and television co-host of Wall Street Week. Exchange connection info and follow up within two days.

Entrepreneur 225

Entrepreneur Networking Hosting Restful 225

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Too many entrepreneurs try to talk their way through all of these. Some struggling entrepreneurs are totally event driven. Here are a few: Business networking.

Entrepreneur 237

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 237

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2021

There are other social networks in the list of 300 “major sites” recognized by Wikipedia that entrepreneurs use for networking, depending on where you are in the world, like Viadeo, Ryze, and Sina Weibo, but talking to friends on Facebook probably won’t help you. Volunteer to help out with entrepreneur activities at your local university.

Accredited Investor 357

Accredited Investor Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur SEC 357

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Yet I can assure you that people who are paranoid, or want to avoid all risks, won’t be happy as entrepreneurs, so it’s all about balancing the risk-reward scale.

Non-disclosure Agreement 399

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 399

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. I hope all this seems obvious to you, but I still get a good number of notes from “entrepreneurs” who have been busy inventing things all their life, but can’t find a partner to start their first business, and others trying to find an executive, an investor, or a lawyer.

Elevator Pitch 351

Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur Social Network Networking 351

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. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Others send investors email and business plans in all uppercase or no punctuation.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2010

My plea to entrepreneurs and startups is to recognize it as an opportunity, and go the extra mile to make people comfortable rather than paranoid. Here are a few specifics on how to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem: Put a personal face and address on your site; don’t hide behind an “info” email address.

Technical Review 212

Technical Review Entrepreneur Internet Social Network 212

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2015

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. Hang out where entrepreneurs meet. Explore investor websites and conferences.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Entrepreneur Stock Options Due Diligence 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Too many entrepreneurs think that expert external advisors are suspect, or will slow them down.

Entrepreneur 328

Entrepreneur Startup Dividend Flash 328

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2010

Like it or not, email is still a major business and personal communication vehicle, just like telephone calls. Your business and your integrity are being judged every day by your responsiveness to emails, and no one likes to do business with a dead-letter box. Unresponsive people and businesses lose friends and customers quickly.

Email 230

Email Entrepreneur Reputation Management 230

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

As an angel investor and a mentor to entrepreneurs I still see this every day. Every entrepreneur needs to start by setting a major purpose for embarking down a specific business path. Successful entrepreneurs do what they need to do without being told how to do it. Results are still the only true measure of success in business.

Technical Review 315

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 315

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I believe that the sooner every entrepreneur and brand builder adapts to this emerging trend, the sooner they will find success.

Customer 433

Customer B2C Technical Review Social Media 433

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2019

Image via Flickr by ivanpw Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. Chain emails leading to a windfall. But people are still begging for more technology or laws, often to protect them from themselves.

Technical Review 228

Technical Review Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence Term Sheet 228

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2022

My recommendation to entrepreneurs is to recognize these concerns as an opportunity to make people’s life better, rather than worry and dodge the risk. Make your company visible, reachable and responsive through social networks. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it.

Technical Review 342

Technical Review Customer Social Network Software Review 342

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2022

Every entrepreneur and business leader waits too long before really working on the legacy that he wants to leave to society and his family. They realize too late that they don’t really want to be remembered for how many hours they spent on airplanes, how many emails they produced, or even how much money they made for the business.

Technical Review 316

Technical Review Leadership Conversion Developer 316

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2015

Every entrepreneur and business leader waits too long before really working on the legacy that he wants to leave to society and his family. They realize too late that they don’t really want to be remembered for how many hours they spent on airplanes, how many emails they produced, or even how much money they made for the business.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Technical Review Leadership Conversion 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2012

Be consistent is their application, and provide contact information for both phone and email access. Offer support assistance and guarantee. Publish the terms of your support, return, and replacement policies. Follow-up for customer satisfaction. Professional user-friendly site design.

Entrepreneur 241

Entrepreneur Affiliate Advertising Technical Review 241

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Every entrepreneur and business leader I know realizes that it takes a dedicated team to build and run a successful business, and nurturing that team is one of your most important priorities. The recent pandemic and remote team members have made the focus on social even more critical. Spiritual connections.

Technical Review 353

Technical Review Cofounder Employee Global 353

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2019

Elon Musk via Flickr by TED Conference To be successful as an entrepreneur, you don’t have to be a fabulous person, but it helps. Some people, and some entrepreneurs, have that something extra that you can’t quite put your finger on, like Ryan Seacrest is searching for on American Idol. Be delightfully authentic and honest.

Entrepreneur 257

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Bandwidth .Net 257

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2019

There are other social networks in the list of 200 “major sites” recognized by Wikipedia that entrepreneurs use for networking, depending on where you are in the world, like Orkut, Viadeo, and Sina Weibo, but talking to friends on Facebook probably won’t help you. Volunteer to help out with entrepreneur activities at your local university.

Networking 227

Networking Accredited Investor Elevator Pitch Entrepreneur 227

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2019

Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. These days the media formats range from email, phone, radio, television, to social media. Why do many entrepreneurs think they can “wing it” and get the same results? Handling different media formats.

Entrepreneur 240

Entrepreneur Social Media Media Social Network 240

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

Every entrepreneur and most professionals wish there were more hours in a day to get their work done. Yet there is more and more evidence that jumping tasks on every alert for a new email, text, or phone call actually decreases overall productivity. I concur, based on my own extended career in business and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Social Media 242

Social Media Email Product Entrepreneur 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2019

My recommendation to entrepreneurs is to recognize these concerns as an opportunity to make people’s life better, rather than worry and dodge the risk. Make your company visible, reachable and responsive through social networks. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it.

Security 195

Security Technical Review Social Network Software Review 195

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2011

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. A simple inquiry or response to one of these emails will get you permanently tagged as a prime scam candidate, meaning a flood of new deals. Chain emails.

Technical Review 228

Technical Review Internet Startup Email 228

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2023

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Nurturing stage email performance. Don’t just use these in isolation.

Demand 256

Demand Metrics NPV Net Present Value 256

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. Hang out where entrepreneurs meet. business entrepreneur lifestyle startup'

Technical Review 250

Technical Review Stock Options Due Diligence Silicon Valley 250

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2019

Don’t let the current focus on emails, procedures, and message exchanges convince you that work is a mechanical process. I often recommend to technical entrepreneurs (logical) that they team with a cofounder who has a business perspective (emotional customer appeal). Don’t assume others are intentionally being difficult.

Technical Cofounder 244

Technical Cofounder Technical Review Cofounder Cloud 244

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2014

Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. This early in the game, any coverage and peer review is better than just being another unknown entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs who wait to be found are destined to spend a lot of time alone. Capitalize on yourself early.

Elevator Pitch 257

Elevator Pitch Public Relations Entrepreneur Social Media 257

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2019

Conventional business wisdom tells us that entrepreneurs are today’s main source of innovation. In fact, a Wharton Business School study in this decade of the “Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years,” concluded that only eight were first conceived by entrepreneurs, and twenty-two were conceived by employees.

Employee 133

Employee Java Architecture Technical Review 133

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2012

Many entrepreneurs waste too much time on low-priority administrative tasks, procrastinating on higher priority but tougher tasks, resulting in last minute crises, and failure to complete the critical work that people are really expecting of them. For entrepreneurs, after the idea, success is all about execution.

Product 294

Product Entrepreneur Database Email 294

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. Yet, I’m still frustrated by the number of business owners that haven’t updated their business-as-usual practices.

Technical Review 211

Technical Review Channel Social Media Metrics 211

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2020

Every entrepreneur and most professionals wish there were more hours in a day to get their work done. Yet there is more and more evidence that jumping tasks on every alert for a new email, text, or phone call actually decreases overall productivity. I concur, based on my own extended career in business and mentoring entrepreneurs.

Social Media 425

Social Media Email Entrepreneur Product 425