Up and Running

OCTOBER 23, 2014

Plenty of well-known businesses have started with simple home-based roots. For example, in 1994 Jeff Bezos founded Amazon from his garage in Washington, and Harley-Davidson started out of a home—and a shed—in Wisconsin. entrepreneurs start their business at home. Do I have what it takes to run a home-based business?

Wisconsin 119

Wisconsin SBA Business Plan Government 119

Tim Keane

JANUARY 11, 2013

.  Sales goals have to involve first hand knowledge of the possible (how often people will buy, how much, what the demand is, why, etc.)  coupled with an ongoing creativity about solving customer problems to win the order. Wisconsin Angel Network Find Information about all of the networks in Wisconsin here!

Wisconsin 89

Wisconsin Angel Investor Startup Bootstrapping 89

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 8, 2012

.  The company prepared, as I recall, several million labels for their big customer (really their only customer) a major retailer based in the midwest.   What RTMS missed was that instead of the boolean logic selecting the top 2MM customers , it had selected a random 2MM customers.

Wisconsin 68

Wisconsin Entrepreneur Illinois Startup 68

Tim Keane

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

(OVP Venture Partners) My own take on this is that a business plan with a bottom up forecast demonstrates an understanding of the potential market that investors love.  It welcomes feedback from potential customers and experts, reduces the cost and risk of the startup and can potentially drive success quickly. 

Marketing 116

Marketing Wisconsin Startup Angel Investor 116

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

All of us like leaders of ventures who:  Have a passion for the customer, and a deep understanding of the customer's business.     At the same time, understand their own business and its key achievements required for success. Sell first - even in developmental companies. Resources for startups.

Ireland 60

Ireland Wisconsin Angel Groups Bootstrapping 60

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 4, 2010

If your business sells to a quantifiable and identifiable group of business customers who are in the tens of thousands, or less, there's really no reason not to individually identify every one of them and track all of your contacts with them.  Any former customers from other places now working there?

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Marketing Angel Investor Startup 60

Tim Keane

MARCH 24, 2008

You (the entrepreneur and founder of this "company") hire a call center to take calls from customers who want an inexpensive medical diagnosis. Of course, in the interest of being a low cost provider, your call center is staffed by folks with a good customer service orientation, but no medical training. Ridiculous?

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Startup 60

Tim Keane

JUNE 8, 2009

  In my case, in the first company, it was early customer selling that provided the startup cash.  These companies find capital primarily by finding customers and understanding trade-offs.    They get a purchase order, open for business, begin working on projects to generate cash, or in a thousand other ways.  

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Bootstrapping Angel Investor Startup 60

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 3, 2012

.  That is, when we think a company primarily has "execution risk," do we mean that they're facing scientific and technical hurdles to achieve results, or do we mean that they are facing the risk of selling to their market, or of delivering a product to customers who've bought? Resources for startups. Google Ads.

Technology 74

Technology Marketing Intellectual Property Montana 74

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 2, 2007

However, it should be relatively straightforward to build a business model that reveals how the business plans to make money. Are we planning for the lowest customer acquisition cost the industry has ever seen? Are we planning for the lowest customer acquisition cost the industry has ever seen?

Business Model 60

Business Model Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 60

Campus Entrepreneurship

OCTOBER 21, 2011

Moreover, this semester, one of my undergraduate student teams is working on a business plan for an organic dog food truck! His company’s customers are now “younger, hipper” entrepreneurs, he says, many with culinary school degrees and a strong grasp of social media. simpler, no cooking on the truck and less regulation!).

Maryland 44

Maryland Wisconsin Florida DC 44

Tim Keane

JANUARY 14, 2009

" In some ways this is analogous to bootstrapping, where the first principle really is "go ask the potential customer if they like what you want to do."  " In some ways this is analogous to bootstrapping, where the first principle really is "go ask the potential customer if they like what you want to do." 

Advisory Board 60

Advisory Board Wisconsin Bootstrapping Angel Investor 60

Tim Keane

APRIL 14, 2008

Can we quantify success in terms of calls, visits, customer sizes, and so forth? Can we produce a market map to track what our customers want, and from whom they are getting it? Can we quantify success in terms of calls, visits, customer sizes, and so forth? Resources for startups. Angel Capital Association website. Google Ads.

Ireland 60

Ireland Wisconsin Forecast Sales Cycle 60

Tim Keane

JULY 20, 2007

The most important person in the business is the customer. Everything starts with solving a problem the customer has, and solving it in a way that is valuable - in other words, that the customer will pay for. The inventor is critical to the business, whether he works in the business or not. Google Ads.

Italy 60

Italy Angel Investor Wisconsin Harvest 60

Tim Keane

JULY 16, 2008

Use your business model to build an early warning system. A business model reveals how the business plans to make money. It incorporates all of the assumptions you are making about your business. The sustainable longterm source of cash is the customer, of course. What your operating expenses are; e.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Startup Angel Investor Business Model 60

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 11, 2006

  Telling a customer you are busy--when you aren't 2.    Telling a potential business partner you are close to signing with his competitor -- when you aren't 5.    Being busy and prioritizing work based on customer criteria -- and raising prices 2.  Google Ads.

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping 60

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 18, 2006

In a lot of startups (especially good ones) the founder/CEO/leader is a customer-oriented sales person. Because of the virtuous feedback loop right at the center of the company, innovations for customer benefit come more rapidly. Even with bumps along the way, the major customer facing components add up to more and more success.

Harvest 60

Harvest LBO Investment Bankers Wisconsin 60

Tim Keane

MAY 2, 2006

The company cannot get the pulse of the market into the product cycle and make the rapid, instinctive changes and improvements that come from customer contact if the customer contact is relegated to a “function” on the team. Wisconsin Angel Network Find Information about all of the networks in Wisconsin here! Google Ads.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Early Stage 60

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 30, 2007

In entrepreneurial businesses, especially new ventures, investors often focus on these broad, strategic themes. They would like businesses solving “big hairy problems” of real value to the customer. We used that information for a lot of our customers. We used that information for a lot of our customers.

Wisconsin 68

Wisconsin Architecture Startup IP 68

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 13, 2006

They understand their customers and the market the customers live in. They get the idea of value creation, of delivering more for the customer than they promise. Sometimes the leader caves in to the customer. This is easy to do when the customer is big and you are small and knows you are starting out.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Distribution 60

Tim Keane

JUNE 22, 2006

If lowered risk translates into higher valuations when the business either attracts investors or is sold, then lowering risk for the lowest possible dollars creates very high returns. For instance, if a business plan with a sound idea is interesting, it may be valued at or below $1MM. Resources for startups. Google Ads.

Valuation 60

Valuation Wisconsin Angel Investor Startup 60

Tim Keane

MAY 9, 2006

The entrepreneur has the opportunity to master the intricacies of his business process; his customers minute but important expectations; venture financing; people management. John Mullins: The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (Financial Times Series).

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Startup 60

Tim Keane

OCTOBER 3, 2007

The faster you can see repeatability from customers on the scale you estimated, the better. You may find that while your initial cost/per is higher than planned, it is OK if your repetitiveness is more frequent than you had thought. The faster you can see repeatability from customers on the scale you estimated, the better.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Marketing Business Model IP 60

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

.   (“If we can close 35% of all opportunities, and can get an opportunity by making x contacts, and there are 300 opportunities per month, then we should be able to sell 100 customers per month if we have the capital ($35 per contact) to cover the market every month.”   This results in a five-year projection of XYZ.). Google Ads.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Tim Keane

MAY 8, 2006

" Possible answers might be prototypes, market tests, potential customer testimonials, or some combination of these and other factors. " Possible answers might be prototypes, market tests, potential customer testimonials, or some combination of these and other factors. Resources for startups. Google Ads.

Angel Investor 60

Angel Investor Wisconsin Bootstrapping Startup 60

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 26, 2019

And, once you’ve decided which overall business structure is the right fit for you, it’s time to get more specific. We recommend that you write a business plan. This should outline your goals and how you plan to achieve them. Click here to see their complete guide to writing a business plan.

Small Business Administration 94

Small Business Administration Distribution LLC Small Business 94

Tim Keane

APRIL 24, 2006

Last night, Bob Zieserl, Venture Capitalist, and general partner at Stratus Ventures, was the keynote speaker at the Marquette University Business Plan Competition. Create a culture in your company that is focused on the customer, rather than on the technology. Lessons Learned: A Successful VC Reflects on his Experience.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Venture Capital 60

Tim Keane

JUNE 13, 2006

Then, on the expense side, I’d like to begin to understand how the growth in the business will drive costs as complexity increases. Growth involves, in many businesses, more customer service, product development, support, marketing and so forth – in addition to more R&D. This takes a lot of risk out of the business process.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Entrepreneur Startup Angel Investor 60

Tim Keane

MAY 18, 2006

« Anticipating The Customers Needs | Main. John Mullins: The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (Financial Times Series). Wisconsin Angel Network Find Information about all of the networks in Wisconsin here! Tips for talking to investors.

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Startup Bootstrapping 60

Tim Keane

APRIL 12, 2006

Are you able to explain why your product is a compelling purchase for the customer, and how the customer will make buying decisions? What development stage is your primary business focus? Are you able to explain why your product is a compelling purchase for the customer, and how the customer will make buying decisions?

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Valuation Sweat Equity Common Stock 60

Tim Keane

MAY 27, 2010

.   We had a customer and a value proposition.   We were fortunate enough to have customers like Boston Store, Carson’s, Penney’s, Sears, GNC – and they loved our exceptional customer service and ability to deliver a better value to their customers – and more sales and customer satisfaction to them.

Bootstrapping 60

Bootstrapping Startup America Employee 60

Tim Keane

SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

 They take risks, create opportunities, satisfy customers - the list goes on.  They take risks, create opportunities, satisfy customers - the list goes on. John Mullins: The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan (Financial Times Series).

Wisconsin 60

Wisconsin Angel Investor Bootstrapping Startup 60