View from Seed

OCTOBER 11, 2023

By providing essential tools, Sincera aids businesses in enhancing their products, thereby creating a collaborative environment for advertisers, publishers, and ad technology platforms customers to thrive.

Metadata 177

Metadata Technical Review Advertising Angel Investor 177

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage angel investors. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

As a long-time business advisor and angel investor, I’m a believer that “two heads are better than one” in building a new business. The passion has to be in the business context – meaning results oriented, customer oriented, and sensitive to competition. Conflicting visions won’t work. Believe in similar values and goals.

Partner 385

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Cofounder 385

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. As an angel investor, I routinely toss business plans that focus too much on today, and don’t talk about tomorrow.

Customer 144

Customer Advisory Board Technical Review Angel Investor 144

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Today, most founders would be wary to try to raise a seed round at $40M pre with $1M in ARR, so they are opting to raise a pre-seed to build the MVP and ship it to first customers, reducing the burden of proof and valuation expectations. who’s talking to customers?)

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

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. Commit to a major customer. It’s the time when you create tremendous value out of nothing.

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

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. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point. Nail the solution. Nail the go-to-market strategy.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

Gust

JULY 23, 2014

I almost never invest in ideas or plans, so you’ll need to have a company and at least a product, if not customers. Invested Interests Power Pitches angel investor business David Rose entrepreneur meeting pitch startup' And that’s how to get a meeting with David S. original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *.

Angel Investor 153

Angel Investor Elevator Pitch Pre-Money Valuation Technical Review 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

You may feel good when that first burst of customers arrives, but don’t assume that “ word of mouth ” and those early adopters will grow your business to match your dreams of success. In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. They won’t find you.

Technical Review 355

Technical Review Social Media Channel Flash 355

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. The conundrum is that once you have really proven the business model, you no longer need the investor money you asked for to start the business. Marty Zwilling

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

Based on my own career as a business owner and angel investor, in this age of change, I still see key successes and growth from the same team member work qualities. It takes effort and homework to find productive relationship channels, such as industry conferences, connections to experts, and key customer relationships.

Flash 303

Flash Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 303

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. An obvious effort to keep talking after the time limit won’t save your day with investors.

Technical Review 369

Technical Review Elevator Pitch Angel Investor Matching 369

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. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2021

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for customers that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. Seek out customer trends before they become an avalanche. Don’t stop doing the in-depth communication with customers that brought you initial success.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Institutional Investors 417

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Many of these new entrepreneurs come to me looking for an angel investor or crowdfunding, which will never happen. Investors don’t fund entrepreneurs offering services, since these don’t scale, don’t have large margins, and need just a customer contract to start.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), probably won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Las Vegas 309

Las Vegas Silicon Valley Arizona Montana 309

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

As an angel investor and a mentor to entrepreneurs I still see this every day. For success these days, the purpose better focus on people, and solve a real problem for customers. Then you must extend these alliances to vendors, partners, customers, and even competitors (coopetition). Master-mind alliance. Imagination.

Technical Review 297

Technical Review Angel Investor Differentiation Business Model 297

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Here are the key considerations from my perspective: Dealing with known or trusted investors and advisors. If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive. Marty Zwilling

Non-disclosure Agreement 254

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 254

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

You need an investor, and want a document to mass-mail to everyone. Most VCs and Angel investors don’t read unsolicited proposals, unless they have met you first, or have a glowing recommendation from another investor or acquaintance. You need an investor, and want to solicit professionals online.

Business Plan 316

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence 316

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

As an angel investor, I quickly learned that luck has very little to do with it, and I now look for some personal characteristics and leadership styles that separate the potential winners from the losers. These differences are the reason that investors say that they invest in people, rather than ideas.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 269

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. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Message delivery must be customized for each investor.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. This is a good time for the CEO to present the final investor charts, and answer any questions from employees. Size of the market.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 380

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

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. Commit to a major customer. It’s the time when you create tremendous value out of nothing.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2022

In my experience as an angel investor to startups, goodwill disagreements are perhaps the most common reason that you will fail to close interested investors as an entrepreneur. Just be aware that building your customer base first requires deep pockets, or many investors.

Valuation 368

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 368

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you. That first burst of customers via word-of-mouth or a viral video won’t sustain your growth. Let me assure you that companies without marketing plans don’t get the attention of either investors or customers.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2020

Many of these new entrepreneurs come to me looking for an angel investor or crowdfunding, which will never happen. Investors don’t fund entrepreneurs offering services, since these don’t scale, don’t have large margins, and need just a customer contract to start.

Startup 410

Startup Angel Investor Social Media LLC 410

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

In my experience as an angel investor for new startups, I’m always surprised by how many entrepreneurs are looking for funding without outside advisors. The sooner you face these issues, the more success you will garner from investors and customers. Board members provide inexpensive expertise.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

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. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 22, 2019

The question of venture capitalist versus angel investor often arises. Venture capital and angel investments offer excellent options to startup businesses. They are less likely than angel investors to provide capital to companies that don’t have at least some proven success in their markets. Angel Investors.

Angel Investor 123

Angel Investor Venture Capital Accredited Investor Equity 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2021

I know from experience that my friends who are angel investors are looking for the same indications, although none of us has a scorecard , or even know exactly what we are looking for. Some entrepreneurs have an abundance of passion, but are short on the realities of customer needs, market trends, and financial constraints.

Entrepreneur 341

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Partner Software Developers 341

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2020

As an angel investor, you can bet I wasn’t convinced he would ever start his next proposal. The customer culture today responds best to a greater vision for improving society and the planet, which can easily sustain a constant stream of new products. Today the key is building momentum, customization, and continuous innovation.

Entrepreneur 329

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Stealth Angel Investor 329

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage angel investors. Manage customer service. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Excuse the typos and cleanup -- I’ve been too busy to finalize.”

Business Plan 273

Business Plan Technical Review Angel Investor Social Media 273

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

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.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

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. Commit to a major customer. It’s the time when you create tremendous value out of nothing.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2013

If your startup is looking for an Angel investor, does it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of Angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up? In reality, hitting large numbers of Angels in multiple locations with a generic pitch is one of the least productive approaches. Marty Zwilling.

Angel Investor 252

Angel Investor Accredited Investor Silicon Valley Venture Capital 252

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Here are the key considerations from my perspective: Dealing with known or trusted investors and advisors. If you are approaching a recognized venture capital group, or even an accredited angel investor, a non-disclosure agreement is counter-productive. Marty Zwilling.

Non-disclosure Agreement 399

Non-disclosure Agreement Technical Review Due Diligence Angel Investor 399