Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

This technology is not only spawning a new generation of entrepreneurs, but is also changing the educational landscape, all the way down to early grade school. In my view as an advisor to new ventures, the Maker Movement is an integral part of a new age of the entrepreneur. Provides networking with cofounders and strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 153

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Wiki Cofounder 153

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

The entrepreneur who founded and grew the largest startup in the world to $10 billion in revenue and got fired is someone you have probably never heard of. If you’re following Tesla, you might be interested to know that Sloan wasn’t the founder of GM. The founder of what became General Motors was William (Billy) Durant.

Michigan 291

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 291

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. The criteria change after a company reaches the growth stage when it is deemed to have attained product market fit. After that, the money is used to maintain the company’s expansion.

Seed Stage 148

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 148

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 7, 2022

By establishing a company dedicated to inventive and speedy product development, I am able to use cutting-edge technologies and consistently innovate faster than competitors. I started Pi Tech because I enjoy launching and iterating software products. Historically, lighting equipment advanced at a glacial pace.

Entrepreneur 118

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Non-Compete 118

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Thus entrepreneurs were able to build prototypes and design new products without the traditional huge prototyping cost. The movement has long since spread across the country and across the globe, spawning innovative products such as the MakerBot Digitizer and all the things you can access from Thingiverse.com.

Startup 397

Startup Cofounder Incubator Early Stage 397

Hearpreneur

JULY 10, 2017

We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1 – Personal Quest. After seeing the negative effects of dehydration, both me and my co-founder, Ming, decided that we want to spread knowledge about hydration and create a product that could help with this problem.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Hungary Software Review Cofounder 102

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. They spot opportunities that aren’t being met and the design products to meet these needs. We couldn’t cut product development (we had 23 people!)

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Burn Rate Cofounder Sales 306

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

If you have a technical background and you are focused on product development, consider a co-founder with a sales and marketing background that can focus on selling your world class product. Don’t make everyone a founder. Having too many co-founders will only lead to your eventual dilution.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Thus it’s a waste of time for most entrepreneurs to be looking for investors until they have a product and some customer revenue. Most founders bootstrap product development.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve seen a range of options for supporting entrepreneurs, which I can rank from least to most involvement in companies by investors: financier VCs, e.g., Correlation Ventures. The question is: how should they be compensated when cofounding a company?

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

When it comes to this topic, I’ve sought counsel from mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, and numerous resources available online. As an entrepreneur raised in the era of analytics, I want to find metrics for everything. As an entrepreneur raised in the era of analytics, I want to find metrics for everything. Why did I think that?

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 30, 2011

Blackbox , founded by entrepreneurs Bjoern Lasse Herrmann and Max Marmer, in June released its first Startup Genome Report — a 67-page in depth analysis on what makes Silicon Valley startups successful based on profiling over 650 startups. 93% of startups that scale prematurely never break the $100k revenue per month threshold.

Silicon Valley 189

Silicon Valley Software Review Startup Cofounder 189

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

One of the big decisions every aspiring entrepreneur has to make is when to quit your current job to devote yourself fulltime to your new startup. Others wait until the new business starts to generate revenue and profit before making the move. Break-even and profit may not happen for a couple of years after that.

Salary 383

Salary Cofounder Lean Revenue 383

Steve Blank

MAY 9, 2017

The second thing that’s changed is that we’re now Compressing the Product Development Cycle. In the 20 th century startups I was part of, the time to build a first product release was measured in years as we turned out the founder’s vision of what customers wanted. Today startups build products differently.

Restful 238

Restful Silicon Valley Puerto Rico San Jose 238

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

These people exist and they are called ‘Serial entrepreneurs.’. Serial entrepreneurs are those who understand the complete concept of a startup lifecycle and benefit from that. They make money by starting a product from scratch and then selling it in thousands of dollars. Product development. How are they doing it?

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

On the other side of the equation, there are a growing number of design, development, and digital media shops who are hungry to expand, or swap focus, to building a company that’s more than just a service shop. So, on one side — you’re the budding entrepreneur with a great idea and the hustle to out-execute anyone with a similar idea.

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Developer 60

The Next Web

MARCH 6, 2014

Here’s a problem I bet every non-technical founder has experienced: the communication gap between what the biz dev team wants and what the tech team thinks they want, and vice versa. It’s disruptive, and for founders, very frustrating to watch. Kelsey Meyer , Influence & Co. Young Entrepreneur Council'

Technical Review 129

Technical Review Development Team Review Developer Agile 129

The Startup Magazine

MAY 8, 2024

Instead of calling yet another “ideation session” with your product team, use the following tips to instantly innovate for increased revenues with the least amount of effort and wrong turns: 1. This strategy puts the customer at the heart of innovation, allowing them to guide your product development.

Artificial Inteligence 88

Artificial Inteligence Cofounder Demand Lean 88

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Perhaps the team is working on a product that really isnt that great or useful. Or maybe the co-founders have a poisonous relationship that will hinder the companys growth. Maybe they never thought about product-market fit. Check out the tips below from founders, CEOs and investors alike. Hiring Poorly.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

Product marketing informs strategic positioning and ensures alignment across the company. It partners with sales to close more revenue, informs product teams to deliver better products, and in some cases, co-owns demand generation activities with marketing teams. Use product marketing to boost reach and sales.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2014

Thus entrepreneurs began building prototypes and designing new products without the traditional huge investment. The movement has spread across the country and across the globe, spawning innovative products such as the MakerBot Digitizer and all the things you can download from Thingiverse.com. Have you tried it yet?

Entrepreneur 246

Entrepreneur Detroit California Cofounder 246

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Validated learning about customers Would you rather have $30,000 or $1 million in revenues for your startup? All things being equal, of course, you’d rather have more revenue rather than less. And yet revenue alone is not a sufficient goal. More on that in a moment.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 15, 2010

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Friday, January 15, 2010 Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Harvard Business Review) The next part in the series I am writing for Harvard Business Review is online. This time, Im discussing the challenge for corporate CFOs and VCs alike in holding entrepreneurs accountable. Read the rest here.

Hockey Stick 105

Hockey Stick San Francisco Entrepreneur Lean 105

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

In fact, SaaS industry revenue is projected to grow from $49 billion in 2015 to $67 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of approximately eight percent. Noah has been a key figure in the making of LivePlan, our own SaaS product. At this stage, simply list your primary revenue streams and your key expenses.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. And I tried to evaluate the idea and figure out: What did the founder really need here? Was it a Startup Founder Developer Gap ?

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Technology Product CTO Hire 175

Up and Running

JUNE 14, 2017

Almost on a weekly basis, I meet new aspiring entrepreneurs looking to execute on their ideas. Some believe in the all-in approach to product development: build an advanced app. The best entrepreneurs are able to get at interviewees’ real intentions. Here’s what I learned from launching my first app, Recycle Spotter: 1.

Technical Review 96

Technical Review Distribution Redemption Demand 96

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

So far, I have found "lean startup" works better with the entrepreneurs Ive talked to than "agile startup" or even "extreme startup.") The application of agile development methodologies which dramatically reduce waste and unlock creativity in product development. What are the characteristics of a lean startup?

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Of the NextView-backed founders have have tried to raise this round, over 70% have done so (compared to a mean success rate in the industry of around 27%, according to some sources ). Higher founder salaries, which some investors view as a sign of being less hungry or aggressive, did not affect how quickly a startup raised its Series A.

Syndicate 333

Syndicate Syndication Seed Stage Startup 333

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

Welcome back to Smart Bear Live … the show were Jason speaks with entrepreneurs looking to improve their businesses. Listen to this episode if you want to hear about a founder who has a product and users and paying customers … and is trying to figure out how to take his company to the next level and grow faster.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

is an elegant way to model any service-oriented business: Acquisition Activation Retention Referral Revenue We used a very similar scheme at IMVU, although we werent lucky enough to have started with this framework, and so had to derive a lot of it ourselves via trial and error. Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Ha.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

This theory has become so influential that I have called it one of the three pillars of the lean startup - every bit as important as the changes in technology or the advent of agile development. You can learn about customer development, and quite a bit more, in Steves book The Four Steps to the Epiphany. Heres the catch.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Genuine VC

MARCH 24, 2014

And in seeing that process unfold numerous times, I’ve picked up that there are really four main distinct playbooks which a Founder/CEO can run in the subsequent 12-18 months following a Seed round in preparation for the next round of financing. Generate Real Revenue.

Seed Capital 212

Seed Capital Metrics Cofounder Revenue 212

techcrunch.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

It is the first in a series of posts he’s writing about the decisions a young entrepreneur needs to make when she/he is first starting a business. So for this first post, here’s the best advice I can give you: join an awesome founding team and get your product out the door ASAP. and Google.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Cofounder Technical Cofounder Software Review 84

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 10, 2009

In a lot of cases, thats just a fancy name for revenue or profit, but not always. This was an effective approach to discovering a business by using a sequence of product prototypes to get early customer feedback. It would be hard to argue against this product development strategy, in general. If it didnt, wed trash it.

Continuous Deployment 123

Continuous Deployment San Francisco Software Review Lean 123

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 7, 2010

In fact, the curse of product development is that sometimes small things make a huge difference and sometimes huge things make no difference. Our job as entrepreneurs is to invent the future, and any optimization technique – including split-testing, many design techniques, or even usability testing – can lead us astray.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Lean Metrics Design 154

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

If you’re an Entrepreneur, you can do it from any place in the world. Or should I launch products and a startup for each of them, focusing on only 1 product at a time? I would focus on one product and set a goal to generate $1M in yearly revenue from it. Whats is the best way to find a co-founder for your startup?

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MAY 1, 2012

Sacha demonstrated the benefits of selling many copies of an eBook at a low price, while Jarrod pointed out the advantages of higher prices, bringing in more revenue with 1/6th the number of units sold. This is a choice that every startup founder must make , so I’d like to dig in deeper. maximizing per-unit profitability).

Customer 320

Customer Revenue Acquisition Cofounder 320