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10 Entrepreneur Milestones That Make Funding Easy

Startup Professionals Musings

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Register some intellectual property. milestones entrepreneur startup funding business' Traction means forward progress. Become a visible expert. Marty Zwilling.

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10 Keys To Real Innovation In Your Next New Business

Startup Professionals Musings

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. The most common proposals I hear are for yet another social networking site ( 200 on Wikipedia ), or another dating site/app ( over 1500 in the USA ). An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate.

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Someone Stole My Startup Idea – Part 3: The Best Defense is a Good IP Strategy

Steve Blank

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.

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10 Keys to Startup Traction That Investors Look For

Startup Professionals Musings

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Register some intellectual property. Traction means forward progress. Without revenue, your investors are largely limited to friends, family and fools. Become a visible expert.

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6 Hard Questions That Every Entrepreneur Must Answer

Startup Professionals Musings

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I challenge them to think beyond what I call linear extensions to a current trend, such as another “easier-to-use” app for smartphones, a new dating site for pets, or another niche social network. Great social entrepreneurs are rare.

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10 Preparation Steps to Win an Angel Investment

Startup Professionals Musings

Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. Define some intellectual property. File a patent and trademarks to show real intellectual property. Every entrepreneur needs a professional business plan for their own use, whether they intend to seek investor funding or not.

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8 Key Startup Drivers Bring Pleasure As Well As Sweat

Startup Professionals Musings

Aspiring entrepreneurs ask me why their great idea hasn’t sold; they talk about it endlessly, and they expect others to do the development, finance, and marketing work for them. Of course, never forget those ongoing perspiration items that seem to haunt you every day: Create intellectual property. Marketing is top priority.