YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 16, 2013

There was a time before terms like “social network,” “iPhone,” and “Google it” were used. Rarely is employee turnover talked about in business schools — and you won’t see it as a line item on a business plan, either — but it has the potential to be one of the biggest costs for your business.

Business Plan 174

Business Plan Employee Entrepreneur Customer 174

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. They must amplify your “elevator pitch” to investors, as well as key points from the business plan and the financial model. Prepare an investment-grade business plan. This is called “validating the business model.” Free trials don’t count.

Intellectual Property 249

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Technical Review Elevator Pitch 249

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2021

Use networking, the Internet, and personal contacts to really understand the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind related success stories. Don’t be afraid to contact insiders directly, reach out through social networking, and reserve some time each day to expand your insight until you understand their story. Find your level of passion early.

Entrepreneur 339

Entrepreneur Stealth Social Network Business Plan 339

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2021

Almost anyone can handle this without professional help, and the cost is less than $100 in many states. Practice developing a business plan. Pick a startup business that you can do for minimal cost, like a services business with the skills you have. Use social networking and blogging to get your message out.

Startup 390

Startup LLC Social Network Naming 390

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Blog About Log in Register Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition In the many thousands of articles advising entrepreneurs on what they have to focus on to build successful startups, much has been written about three key factors: team, product and market, with particular focus on the importance of product/market fit.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2012

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Now, with open source software components, and low-cost development tools, the same job can be done by one good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

Cost 255

Cost Burn Rate SEM Startup 255

Steve Blank

MARCH 8, 2011

We were positing that 20 years of teaching “how to write a business plan” might be obsolete. Startups, are not about executing a plan where the product, customers, channel are known. Startups are in fact only temporary organizations, organized to search –not execute–for a scalable and repeatable business model.

Lean 300

Lean Business Model Customer Development Guinea 300

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

People ask me if they really need ANY business plan, unless they are looking for an outside investor. In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. This is how you will make money, who pays you, and gross margins.

Business Plan 283

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 283

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. It’s hard to build a business without a plan, just like it’s hard to build a house without a blueprint. If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient.

Intellectual Property 281

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Sweat Equity CTO Hire 281

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

People ask me if they really need ANY business plan, unless they are looking for an outside investor. In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. This is how you will make money, who pays you, and gross margins.

Business Plan 290

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 290

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. They must amplify your “elevator pitch” to investors, as well as key points from the business plan and the financial model. Prepare an investment-grade business plan. This is called “validating the business model.” Free trials don’t count.

Angel Investor 224

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Technical Review Elevator Pitch 224

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 22, 2016

What’s the hottest trend in business right now? Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter? Leveraging network effects. Network effects are the phenomenon whereby a good or service becomes more valuable when more people use it, so there is a relentless focus on building as large a network as possible.

Japan 100

Japan Global Asia API 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. It’s hard to build a business without a plan, just like it’s hard to build a house without a blueprint. If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient.

Intellectual Property 260

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

Here are some tips which will signal traction and fundability to investors, as well as to your team: Document your business plan. It’s hard to build a business without a plan, just like it’s hard to build a house without a blueprint. If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient.

Intellectual Property 253

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 253

Gust

AUGUST 5, 2012

People ask me if they really need ANY business plan, unless they are looking for an outside investor. In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. This is how you will make money, who pays you, and gross margins.

Business Plan 182

Business Plan Sweat Equity Exit Strategy Intellectual Property 182

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 18, 2020

For an example of a business with a less tangible solution, think about Facebook. When Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea for a social network, it started by offering a way for college students to date and get to know each other without having to socialize in real life. Step Three: Find Your Support Network.

Angel Investor 90

Angel Investor Social Network Networking Business Plan 90

Gust

JUNE 10, 2012

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Now, with open source software components, and low-cost development tools, the same job can be done by one good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

Cost 139

Cost Burn Rate SEM Startup 139

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

People ask me if they really need ANY business plan, unless they are looking for an outside investor. In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. This is how you will make money, who pays you, and gross margins.

Business Plan 186

Business Plan Exit Strategy Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 186

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

In addition, we consult visionaries achieve clarity by creating vision, mission values, 5-year and 10-year business plans, processes and operational manuals and implement them even on a remote level. However, we help guide our clients with loans and stimulus plans to ensure their growth and development as a company.

Leadership 165

Leadership Founder Technical Review Entrepreneur 165

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2010

Here are some tips which will signal traction to investors, as well as your team: Document your business plan. It’s hard to build a business without a plan, just like it’s hard to build a house without a blueprint. If you have a product description, that’s necessary, but not sufficient. Become a visible expert.

Intellectual Property 222

Intellectual Property Sweat Equity CTO Hire Fractional CTO 222

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2013

Entry cost is very high. This business suffers from what Paul Graham calls the ‘chicken and the egg problem‘ – no one wants to use a dating site with only a few users. So sites have to invest heavily in viral marketing to achieve critical mass, which competes with current social networks, while users expect to join both for free.

Intellectual Property 215

Intellectual Property Social Network Matching Viral 215

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2014

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 257

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 257

View from Seed

APRIL 21, 2015

million raised, per CrunchBase): It was January of second semester of my second year, and Michelle [Zatlyn, Matt’s co-founder] and I were brainstorming different ideas to enter into the business plan competition. Prince: Business History. Clark: Competing through Social Networks. Tom Eisenmann.

Founder 120

Founder Las Vegas Entrepreneur Cofounder 120

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

I talked also about 409a valuations and why common stock purchases cost less than preferred stock purchases. First advice – don’t respond to a VC website that says “submit your business plan here&# – if it’s read at all it will be read by an intern and likely be filtered before it reaches a decision maker.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But, most of use raise capital and source deals the same way people looked for dates 20 years ago: by networking at conferences (or bars). . But in business, you want a lot of partners. This is a great example of why data businesses have substantial moats. That’s why 40 million Americans use online dating sites.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 7, 2017

At the time, most startups were from the internet’s dot com side of businesses, as the outlook was bullish then. Unfortunately, a number of them had an early exit from the business scene due to ineffective business plans and/or unsustained revenue for their investment. Angel Networks. Crowdfunding Sites.

Private Equity 159

Private Equity Startup Incubator Social Network 159

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Now, with open source software components, and low-cost development tools, the same job can be done by one good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

Entrepreneur 235

Entrepreneur Burn Rate SEM Social Network 235

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2013

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 265

Marketing Viral SEM Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2011

Entry cost is very high. This business suffers from what Paul Graham calls the ‘chicken and the egg problem‘ – no one wants to use a dating site with only a few users. So sites have to invest heavily in viral marketing to achieve critical mass, which competes with current social networks, while users expect to join both for free.

Intellectual Property 229

Intellectual Property Social Network Matching Viral 229

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Write a business plan. After you’ve come up with answers concerning your future company and product, it’s high time to map out the business in a concrete and viable way. A business plan is a must for every startup. If you’ve never written anything like that, browse the Net for business plan samples and templates.

Startup 160

Startup Social Media Forecast Early Stage 160

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2013

A business plan I saw a while back to combine all the good features of several popular social networks on one site does not do it. Meantime, small competitors will appear and seize your business opportunities and steal your targeted customers. Keep infrastructure costs low.

Bandwidth 256

Bandwidth Startup Dilution Leadership 256

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2012

But many entrepreneurs don’t realize that Angels are also extremely discerning in the projects that they will invest in, rejecting approximately 97% of the proposals submitted to them, according to the California Investment Network. Reserve the company name on social networks to protect it. Define some intellectual property.

Angel Investor 260

Angel Investor Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Angel Groups 260

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2017

Almost anyone can handle this without professional help, and the cost is less than $100 in many states. Practice developing a business plan. Pick a startup business that you can do for minimal cost, like a services business with the skills you have. Use social networking and blogging to get your message out.

LLC 141

LLC Social Network Naming Search 141

YoungUpstarts

MAY 15, 2013

When it comes to thinking about what kind of business you should start, job titles are too limiting. How could they be transitioned into a low-cost business? For example, before starting my business, I was a nurse in a hospital. Writing out your business plan is the best way to think through everything.

Lean 145

Lean America Social Media Networking 145

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2013

Here I’m talking about both the experience and track record of the founders in starting a business, as well as their experience and knowledge of the business domain. Like most professionals, when I get a business plan, I flip first to the founders section to see if it is a balanced team who has been there and done that.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Mexico Startup China 261

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

plus it's faster and costs half as much ), it ranks first in the world for number of blogs per Internet user, and has a formidable market of Internet consumers who spent €5.5 Startups can submit their projects to Fing, which provides support to over 200 projects a year through events, programs, and access to a large network of resources.

France 163

France Technical Review Incubator Early Stage 163

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

The hard part is the business execution. For example, the concept of an online platform for social networking is a simple one, and has been attempted by thousands of entrepreneurs past and present. Building a specific business requires a roadmap or business plan, much like programmers needs specifications to keep them on track.

Social Network 120

Social Network Dilution Acquisition Metrics 120