Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. A business plan is for you first, not investors.

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Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2022

The challenge is what and how to highlight these to your advantage. Here is my list of key goodwill elements that investors consider, and how you can optimize them in your favor: Your image, reputation, and depth of experience. No matter how great your solution, or your own image, it takes a strong team to run a business.

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Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 368

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain.

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Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

You may think that passion and hard work are all you need, but I believe we all have unique strengths , and you need to recognize yours, and capitalize on them above all else, in order to get the advantage you need to win in business. In the business world, your ability to raise money is often paramount to your success.

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Silicon Valley Angel Investor Technical Review Boston 325

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. On the other hand, if the market is super-hot, many will be willing to jump in to make your case.

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Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2023

In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? Power, Frost & Sullivan, or others.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Internet 267

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

As examples, I present my list of ten of the most common ways entrepreneurs can be victimized by ignorance or greed, based on questions and stories I get from entrepreneurs and associates. No real investor or venture capital firm asks for money from the company they are intending to invest in. Phantom fund investors.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Non-disclosure Agreement Term Sheet 371

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2022

In my experience as an advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs in business, one of the biggest failures I see is a lack of self-leadership. I define self-leadership as the capacity to set direction and make decisions, to positively drive your own performance. Leadership in business starts with making good personal choices.

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Leadership Reputation Venture Capital Global 285

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

It’s the antithesis of how founders want to build a business. But entrepreneurs entering regulated markets need to understand how the game is played, how they can play it, what their VC’s should be doing to help them, and how to win. How do you know you’re in a regulated market? What Do I Need to Do?

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Washington Government Marketing Silicon Valley 271

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops to a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Before leaving government service one of my biggest challenges was to understand how my skill as a Case Officer would translate into a job in the commercial world. Here’s what I learned.

Government 212

Government Advisory Board Salary Sales Cycle 212

Brandanew

JANUARY 11, 2016

Ever wondered- can a blog make money ? If you’ve read our first post in our Blogging series about what is a blog and why you need one, you’re aware of how important blogs are for increasing traffic to your website and for gaining your potential customers’ trust. So… what can you do to make money from your blog?

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Every entrepreneur I know has their favorite excuse for a previous failure – an investor backed out, the economy took a downturn, or a supplier delivered bad quality. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time. A business plan is for you first, not investors.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Since they don’t know you (yet), their first integrity check on you as a person is whether your friends and family believe in you strongly enough to give you seed money for your new idea. If they won’t do it, they why would I as stranger invest in you? Don’t take money from family or friends who can’t afford to lose it.

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Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence Angel Investor 338

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure. I like marketing plans that come from both inside and outside the box, but have milestones and measurements. In reality, all risks are not the same.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. No matter how great your innovation, don’t count on word-of-mouth to save you. Make sure new solutions offered actually build your brand, rather than dilute it.

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Product Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Dividend 354

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Every aspiring entrepreneur I know is talking about the fact that there are over 2,000 billionaires in the world today, and how their innovative idea could make them one of the next ones. The big question is how you can beat these odds. Strive to make real customers your best advocates for the initial rollout.

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Merger Software Review Acquisition Social Media 386

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

First, think about your time as money! But first… There is a relationship between time and money that is more complex than most managers think. Fixed overhead for salaries, rent, equipment leases and more make up the majority of the “burn rate” (monthly expenses) for most companies. The financial pain of unplanned delays.

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Silicon Valley Burn Rate Angel Investor Down Round 118

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 18, 2024

Still, there are a lot of downsides to taking venture money—the push to grow at all costs, our desire to be all up in your business, literally, and sometimes, we’re kind of obnoxious. That’s why when you come upon someone outside the traditional ecosystem, there might be a lot of compelling reasons to take their money.

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.Net Cap Table Startup Technical Review 88

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

How are we doing? I previously wrote about startup benchmarks in the context of funding readiness, so it was time to give it a re-fresh. Year over year conversion trends according to Hubspot ( source ) Unlike 2021, when money was cheap and plentiful, the mantra for startups is no longer blitzscaling and growth at all costs.

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Retention Conversion Churn Rate B2C 109

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 1, 2023

Share your strategy about how you would deal with the recession and give your team a sense of purpose. We asked entrepreneurs to share how they will prepare for the bad economy and here is what they have to say. #1- 1- Make a budget. Photo Credit: Abdul Saboor. The ideal amount is about 6 months' worth of expenses.

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Hearpreneur

MARCH 15, 2023

They may want to make a positive impact on society, create jobs, or simply have the freedom to be their own boss. When I first got into this industry and started attending events and learning more about REI, I was astonished by the lack of women. But through it all, I continued to feel alone.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Finance Affiliate Social Media 104

Duct Tape Marketing

JULY 27, 2023

Why Agency Owners Should Invest In Other Businesses written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Marketing Podcast with Ben Young In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interview Ben Young. Questions I ask Ben Young: [02:26] What do you mean by investing in other businesses? [03:00] It was great to be here.

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Cofounder Artificial Inteligence New Zealand Analytics 57

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

And yet, such relationships properly used and never overused, can quickly and precisely help you cut through delays in government agencies, speed the process of product planning and ultimate release, aid in positioning in the market and help you avoid a myriad of mistakes that could prove costly in time and money.

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Balance Sheet Liquidity Event Technical Review Government 77

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Fortifying Profits: Strategies to Shield Your Business from Embezzlement written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Janstch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Todd Rammler, president and founder of Michigan CFO Associates. Todd, welcome to the show.

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Michigan CPA Small Business Hiring 73

VC Adventure

JUNE 14, 2022

Companies looking to raise money turn to venture capital for a variety of reasons. But how impactful is all of this according to the people who actually matter – venture-backed CEOs? Interestingly, and I suppose not all that surprisingly, VCs have a very different perspective on the value they’re bringing.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Portfolio Venture Capital 150

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 12, 2022

I would say, that there are a great number of examples of business people who have taken risks and gone on to achieve tremendous levels of success. Created by the famous comedian Jerry Seinfeld after giving someone advice on how to stay motivated, this method is highly effective and easy to maintain. Photo Credit: Adam Fard.

Entrepreneur 114

Entrepreneur Technical Review Silicon Valley Community 114

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 28, 2022

What I admire most about Gates is his ability to take risks and make bold decisions. He perfectly mastered personal branding, for which I sincerely admire him. He is probably quite rich in terms of money than most of us according to Wikipedia. However; the reason I consider him to be successful is that he is time-rich.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Green Cofounder Trinidad 113

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 18, 2024

Gain Freedom With The Hands Off CEO Blueprint written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Mandi Ellefson. 04:47] How does the Scale to Freedom framework differ from other types of processes? [08:20]

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Framework Sales Cycle Sales Hiring 64

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Although there are days when tossing in your hat seems like a viable option, remembering how much you love your “job” can quickly snap an entrepreneur out of that mentality. 2- Opportunity to make a difference Photo Credit: Bayu Prihandito What I love most is the profound opportunity to make a difference.

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Entrepreneur LLC Technical Review SEO 142

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 26, 2023

We also learned how privacy concerns and changing data retention practices have driven the need for this transition. Additionally, we talk about how businesses need to adapt and leverage data visualization tools for better insights since AI is playing an increasing role in data analysis. So Julian, welcome to the show.

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Analytics Software Review Channel Europe 78

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

Mastering SEO in the Age of AI written by Tosin Jerugba read more at Duct Tape Marketing  The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Stephan Spencer, an acclaimed SEO expert and founder of net Concepts, an interactive agency specializing in search engine optimization.

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SEO ChatGPT Technical Review Search 60

Duct Tape Marketing

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

How to Navigate the New Era of Customer Expectations written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Marketing Podcast with Jay Baer In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interview Jay Baer, a business growth and customer experience author, researcher, and advisor.

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Customer Indiana Framework Mexico 85

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2022

Actually, according to Paul Graham of Y-Combinator fame, “Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup. The hardest part is making something people want.” More startups may fail for that reason, but a close second is the difficulty of raising money. So how do you find those good angels?

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Angel Investor Advisory Board Database Institutional Investors 384

Steve Blank

APRIL 16, 2024

This can be the beginning of a profitable customer relationship or a disappointing sinkhole of wasted time, money, resources, and a demoralized engineering team. I was having coffee and pastries with Justin, an ex-student, listening to him to complain over the time he wasted with a potential customer. “We What did I do wrong?

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Founder Engineer Sales Conversion 331

Duct Tape Marketing

OCTOBER 11, 2023

Shattering The Mold: Unleashing the Creator Economy in B2B Marketing written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Christie Horsman In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interviewed Christie Horsman, who brings a decade of expertise in both B2B and B2C marketing within the SaaS arena.

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B2B Marketing B2C Community 80

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

In fact, there are a few key sites to help you find angels, including AngelList and Gust , but these don’t tell you very much about how angels work, and how to find the right ones for your startup. By definition, angels are accredited investors, who invest their own money for a percentage of the business.

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Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 28, 2022

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I’m doing a solo show where I’m covering a topic that is very high on a lot of business owners’ minds and that’s the idea of recruitment and retention of your internal customers — your employees. 1:29] Why I think it can be solved with a marketing solution. [2:01]

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Retention Employee Software Review Networking 71