Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

Maintaining your team’s passion and freedom to focus first on innovating for customers are only a couple of the reasons for thinking hard before you seek money from crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capital organizations, or attempt to qualify for a public stock offering. Explaining actions to investors takes time you don’t have.

Bootstrapping 310

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Venture Capital Startup 310

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2013

Obviously, a key factor is always the state of the economy and the mood of the venture capital community. According to the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index® for the First Quarter 2013, the Q1 increase marks three consecutive quarters of positive sentiment among Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Massachusetts California 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

These authors speak from their own wealth of experience in creating and growing technology startups, marketing, and fundraising. Here are the key elements of the strengths framework they have developed, with my own insights and experience added for your consideration: Money: the capital you have, or can easily raise.

Silicon Valley 325

Silicon Valley Angel Investor Technical Review Boston 325

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2022

Build positive psychological capital to sustain your business. In any business, you need hope, confidence, resilience, and optimism to weather the daily challenges of customers, market changes, and competitors. Without a store of this psychological capital, your performance and leadership will wane, and your satisfaction will dwindle.

Leadership 285

Leadership Reputation Venture Capital Global 285

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

First of all, I will admit that there is some risk involved with talking to any potential investors, even with an agreement, just as there is risk in all the elements of your plan, product and market opportunity. Here are the key considerations from my perspective: Dealing with known or trusted investors and advisors.

Non-disclosure Agreement 399

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 399

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The bad news is that the valley’s depth before real revenue, considering the high costs of marketing, manufacturing, and sales, can still add up to $500K, on up to $1 million or more, before you will be attractive to angel investors or venture capital.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2020

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. Conduct your own customized market research. Modern libraries are still worth a visit.

Business Plan 393

Business Plan Marketing SBA Venture Capital 393

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. A strategy of learning and willingness to pivot, based on market feedback, is a great survival skill and attitude, cherished by investors. Expert in your chosen domain.

Intellectual Property 316

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 316

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2011

All the marketing they could do. And as they sit and dream, most entrepreneurs think about venture capitalists. Venture capitalists, or VCs, are the folks with millions upon millions of dollars to invest in companies such as theirs. Below are the three core things they do: They go after venture capital at the right time.

Venture Capital 234

Venture Capital Angel Investor Cofounder Entrepreneur 234

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active. So what can you do to get to the head of the venture capital investment queue? Overall, investors put $7.5 That represents a $1.5

Venture Capital 233

Venture Capital Revenue Elevator Pitch Silicon Valley 233

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

According to a Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with 90% of new ventures that don't attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2010

But until now, I’ve never seen a study of exactly how that plays out for startup founders for current venture-backed companies, specifically: race, age, experience and the number of founders per company. California (Silicon Valley), New York (NYC), and Massachusetts (Boston) are the places to be in the US for venture capital attention.

Venture Capital 221

Venture Capital Massachusetts California New York 221

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

According to a Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don''t attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2010

Last week at an angel investor forum I was privileged to meet Stephanie Spong, who is a Principal with EPIC Ventures, an increasingly rare early stage VC firm. Stephanie: I am a venture capitalist currently based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, with EPIC Ventures. Stephanie: I love building companies. Marty Zwilling.

Venture Capital 164

Venture Capital New Mexico Mexico Early Stage 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. According to a recent Motly Fool report, the challenge is very real, since around half of all businesses fail in the first five years.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

The bad news is that the valley’s depth before real revenue, considering the high costs of marketing, manufacturing, and sales, can still add up to $500K, on up to $1 million or more, before you will be attractive to angel investors or venture capital.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

The resulting delays can give your competitors an edge, or the market requirements can change before you get the funding you need. Phase III is all about helping you take your innovation to market, or commercialize it. Experts are available to help, but fees are high.

Early Stage 225

Early Stage SBIR Technical Review Seed Stage 225

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. Use the minimum viable product concept to get revenue early, and allow market and product pivots at minimal cost.

Sweat Equity 274

Sweat Equity Elevator Pitch Startup Equity 274

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

Build positive psychological capital to sustain your business. In any business, you need hope, confidence, resilience, and optimism to weather the daily challenges of customers, market changes, and competitors. Without a store of this psychological capital, your performance and leadership will wane, and your satisfaction will dwindle.

Leadership 176

Leadership Reputation Venture Capital Global 176

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs the last couple of years is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. This is not a get-rich-quick vehicle for consumers. Good-cause crowd funding. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 247

Intellectual Property SEC Venture Capital Equity 247

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. Conduct your own customized market research. Modern libraries are still worth a visit.

Marketing 219

Marketing SBA Venture Capital Business Plan 219

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2023

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. Conduct your own customized market research. Modern libraries are still worth a visit.

SBA 300

SBA Venture Capital Business Plan Social Media 300

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2023

That would be almost any bank that provides checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts to businesses, and also makes loans to businesses. 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.

Early Stage 182

Early Stage Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering 182

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2012

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs these days is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. Crowd funding is exciting new territory, but I don’t see it replacing Angel and venture capital investors any time soon.

Intellectual Property 242

Intellectual Property Venture Capital Angel Investor Equity 242

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2020

That would be almost any bank that provides checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts to businesses, and also makes loans to businesses. 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.

Silicon Valley 362

Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering Term Sheet 362

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

Finally I realized that Venture Capital and Angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. A strategy of learning and willingness to pivot, based on market feedback, is a great survival skill and attitude, cherished by investors. Expert in your chosen domain.

Angel Investor 268

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Early Stage 268

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Project based on your market size how many widgets you will sell in every channel. 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 sales-volume expectations. Quantify overhead costs.

Forecast 290

Forecast Burn Rate Widget Business Plan 290

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Once you have some traction, you can approach venture capital organizations , with funding amounts of $1-10 million for the real rollout, often referred to as the “A-round,” or first institutional funding. Companies at this stage must have a large market, good traction, and be focused on scaling infrastructure and market adoption.

Incubator 305

Incubator Startup Exit Strategy Institutional Investors 305

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

According to a classic Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don't attract investors failing within the first three years. My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Even if your product is a technological marvel, I look for balanced strength on the team in finance, marketing and operations. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Software Review 152

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

People can build great ecommerce sites with free tools, smartphone apps in their spare time and use crowdfunding to bypass the dreaded angel funding and venture capital penalties. In today’s rapidly changing market, perfection is a fleeting and impractical objective. There must be something deeper that slows people down.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Venture Capital eCommerce Cost 384

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2016

Maintaining your team’s passion and freedom to focus first on innovating for customers are only a couple of the reasons for thinking hard before you seek money from crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capital organizations, or attempt to qualify for a public stock offering. Explaining actions to investors takes time you don’t have.

Bootstrapping 120

Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup Venture Capital 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

The most common failures are solutions looking for a problem, lack of a defined market, or an inadequate revenue model. Target market. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Sales/Marketing. Market size, growth, and share.

Business Model 256

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 256

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The bad news is that the valley’s depth before real revenue, considering the high costs of marketing, manufacturing, and sales, can still add up to $500K, on up to $1 million or more, before you will be attractive to angel investors or venture capital.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

Build positive psychological capital to sustain your business. In any business, you need hope, confidence, resilience, and optimism to weather the daily challenges of customers, market changes, and competitors. Without a store of this psychological capital, your performance and leadership will wane, and your satisfaction will dwindle.

Leadership 149

Leadership Reputation Venture Capital Global 149

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive. I also recommend that you practice explaining your concept in marketing terms through social media, networking opportunities, and crowdfunding.

Non-disclosure Agreement 153

Non-disclosure Agreement NDA Technical Review Due Diligence 153

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2014

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market-research data. Conduct your own customized market research. Modern libraries are still worth a visit.

Entrepreneur 244

Entrepreneur Marketing SBA Venture Capital 244