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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer. Marty Zwilling.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Teasing or spamming an investor is not the way to his pocketbook.

Business Plan 273

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 273

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 3, 2021

Australian entrepreneur and consulting firm owner Luke Lazarus understands that launching a business is not easy. Operating a competitive business and turning a significant profit is even more challenging. Despite the odds against new business success, Lazarus started and operated four businesses by the time he was 25 years old.

United States 167

United States Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media 167

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

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. Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model.

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Steve Blank via Flickr by jdlasica 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. Nail the business model. These areas include market, process, and team transitions.

Startup 245

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 245

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

If you have been working 20 hours a day, and spent your last dollar, but have no results to show, investors will be sympathetic, but will probably tell you that your dream doesn’t have wheels. I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2014

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 257

Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor China 257

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. Funding might be a need in some cases — but it’s not an absolute necessity. ? The business should be self-sustainable. Equity investors. Pre-Requisites of Funding.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Teasing or spamming an investor is not the way to his pocketbook. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 299

Technical Review Entrepreneur Business Plan Angel Investor 299

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Teasing or spamming an investor is not the way to his pocketbook.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

According to most definitions, an entrepreneur is one who envisions a new and different business, meaning one that is not a copy of an existing business model. Many entrepreneurs have a passion and an idea, or even invent a new product, but are never able to execute to the point of creating a startup.

Matching 270

Matching Entrepreneur Startup Seed Stage 270

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. Undefined business model or very low gross margins. Ask only for the money you can justify.

Due Diligence 271

Due Diligence Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Preferred Stock 271

Steve Blank

JANUARY 22, 2014

Part 1: Bend, Oregon Ecosystem and Entrepreneurs. Few entrepreneurs find this scalable and repeatable business model because it’s not easy. Few entrepreneurs find this scalable and repeatable business model because it’s not easy. Part 2: Early-stage Regional Venture Funds. ——-.

Early Stage 286

Early Stage Silicon Valley Oregon Technical Review 286

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 313

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 313

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer. Marty Zwilling.

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2017

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. Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model.

Startup 161

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 161

Gust

AUGUST 17, 2014

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Entrepreneur 182

Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor China 182

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 309

Intellectual Property Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

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. Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model.

Startup 296

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Plan for a real revenue model.

Business Model 414

Business Model Angel Investor Bootstrapping Revenue 414

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. It always reduces risk to plan your business first. Commit to a major customer. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2019

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company.

IPO 210

IPO SEC Prospectus Startup 210

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded early by one of the 318,000 active Angel investors in the USA alone. Most of these investors are members of Angel groups that have a rigorous filtering and screening process, to select the top 3% and most fundable proposals. Prepare an investment-grade business plan.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 260

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

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. Nail the business model. Leverage your customer conversations to predict and validate your business model.

Startup 286

Startup Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator 286

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

This suggests the firm should have a list of paying customers, consistent sales cycles, a clear value proposition, and a developing revenue pipeline in the ideal situation. During the pre-seed fundraising stage, investors need a viable business plan to base their investments on.

Seed Stage 126

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 126

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 26, 2021

If you run out of capital prematurely, the business can’t sustain itself—no matter how good the business model is. This is usually a problem with businesses that are self-funded or those that are utilizing a minimalistic approach. Good businesses tend to get a lot of attention. No Real Business Model.

Startup 180

Startup Angel Investor Business Model Demand 180

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which In the U.S. Most share expertise as well as money.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Accredited Investor Syndicate Syndication 265

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2012

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). Proving the business model requires a different approach than proving the technical concept. So how do you go about proving the business model? Prove the technical concept.

Business Model 248

Business Model Advisory Board Entrepreneur Angel Investor 248

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Congratulations!

Angel Investor 370

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Investment Bankers Private Equity 370

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company.

IPO 218

IPO SEC Prospectus Technical Review 218

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2017

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. An effective tool I see used more and more, as a prelude to a more detailed business plan, is the Business Model Canvas , first introduced by Alexander Osterwalder back in 2008.

Business Model 143

Business Model Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2013

Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 257

Startup Technical Review Angel Investor China 257

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. Finalize your financial model.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. A conundrum for many frustrated entrepreneurs is that they need money from investors to design and build a prototype product, yet most angel investors expect to see at least a prototype before they invest. Finalize your financial model.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249