Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. The most effective new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity. Use crowd funding.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. The hottest new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity (coming soon).

Entrepreneur 283

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 283

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. A hard look will be taken at the technology maturity, the current development progress, and customer satisfaction with early product shipments.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

David Teten

APRIL 1, 2021

I’ve recently advised a number of emerging private equity and VC funds who are wrestling with the question: What are the highest impact steps they can take to support their portfolio companies? . Almost every private equity and venture capital investor now advertises that they have a platform to support their portfolio companies.

Private Equity 78

Private Equity Venture Capital Portfolio Equity 78

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Reading how she moved in 2021 from CIA ops to a quantum technology company offered insightful career transition advice for those leaving her agency. Entrepreneur : A successful CIA case officer must be able to operate amid ambiguity and make judgment calls that require strong second- and third-order thinking. Read part one here.

Government 234

Government Advisory Board Salary Sales Cycle 234

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Entrepreneur 266

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor 266

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2013

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Bootstrapping 252

Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Technical Review 252

Hearpreneur

MARCH 4, 2022

Being in love with your business, when you’re an entrepreneur, is even better. Although there are days when tossing in your hat seems like a viable option, remembering how much you love your “job” can quickly snap an entrepreneur out of that mentality. When you're an entrepreneur, you have to make a lot of compromises.

Entrepreneur 127

Entrepreneur Technical Review Restful Colorado 127

ReadWriteStart

DECEMBER 15, 2022

But I recommend entrepreneurs and prospective business builders consider the Agency Builder model. So an entrepreneur forming a startup studio benefits from having experience in the industry sector they hope to serve. Following the digital agency model for a startup, studio offers significant advantages to entrepreneurs.

Incubator 188

Incubator Startup Software Developers Software Development 188

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I was in it for the love of working with entrepreneurs on business problems and marveling at technology they had built. I told my colleagues at our annual holiday party this past week that 2022 has been my most fulfilling as a VC and I’ve been doing this for > 15 years and nearly 10 more as an entrepreneur. It’s just not me.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Investors talk to each other and they love warm introductions to up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Sweat Equity 152

Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Startup 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. The hottest new way of funding startups is to use online sites, like Kickstarter , to request donations, pre-order, get a reward, or even give equity. Use crowd funding.

Intellectual Property 219

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 219

Hearpreneur

JULY 24, 2020

Every waking day, we are having tremendous changes in regulations and technology which greatly affects the way businesses operate. Some entrepreneurs will say the future is definitely bright and the number of entrepreneurs will increase but others argue these changes are meant to work against budding or would-be entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 135

Entrepreneur Technical Review Security Demand 135

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Most entrepreneurs never forget for a moment that having investors means owing money, even if they can legally argue that equity is not debt.

Cost 267

Cost Bootstrapping Advisory Board Startup 267

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. A hard look will be taken at the technology maturity, the current development progress, and customer satisfaction with early product shipments.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Are you an emerging entrepreneur with an underfunded venture? Then, the unveiling of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed equity crowdfunding rules reveals a panacea for growing your business’s coffers. Equity crowdfunding vs. donation crowdfunding. Could your business flourish with a gush of money and hype?

Equity 125

Equity SEC Technical Review Security 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. It’s what separates the true entrepreneurs from the wannabes. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 120

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

– Build out low-cost force multipliers such as scouts , Advisors, Entrepreneurs in Residence, Venture Partners, and so on. Sophisticated VC and private equity funds have a wide array of options for leveraging outside operating executives. – Create a franchise and license access to it , e.g., the Draper Venture Network.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. This usually means not taking money from equity investors, since investors want fast growth, high profits, and an exit event, to allow investments to be recouped. Non-equity funding has to come from personal sources, or government grants, or bank loans.

Entrepreneur 371

Entrepreneur Equity Dilution LLC 371

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

We interviewed Mr. Abraham Gin, an entrepreneur, business coach, and CEO of Gin Consulting Group , which provides unique leadership development and training platforms. Overall eliminating the high overhead costs that are caused by brick and mortar companies, and still providing highly effective means of communication using technology.

Leadership 167

Leadership Founder Technical Review Entrepreneur 167

Hearpreneur

JUNE 4, 2021

We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1- Express thoughtfulness and kindness. 3- I’ve always been an entrepreneur. For me, I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. I decided to decline that job offer and start my new career as a real estate entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur B2B Database Technical Review 134

Hearpreneur

MAY 24, 2023

In this article, entrepreneurs reveal the key to employee satisfaction, what workers truly want from their organizations. #1- Furthermore, utilize technology to provide learning opportunities even to employees working away from the office. To do this, companies need to understand what employees expect from them.

Employee 112

Employee Entrepreneur Security Technical Review 112

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. VCs tout themselves as frontier technology investors, but most are using the same infrastructure tools they have used for the past 20+ years: Excel and recent college grads searching Google.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 14, 2011

But those same words could easily be applied to the Singapore-based technology entrepreneurs present at Techventure 2011. Plans for more Singapore-based technology incubators. Talent, as well as technology, is flowing in this direction. Singapore Innovation. ” The flow is not limited to money as well.

Singapore 198

Singapore Technical Review Technology Incubator 198

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Sweat Equity 255

Sweat Equity Technical Review Entrepreneur Bootstrapping 255

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

(In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Entrepreneurs make fast decisions and move forward knowing that at best 70% of their decisions are going to be right. This paralyzes most people.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Fractional CTO Technical Review CTO Hire 414

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The industry veteran.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Gust

DECEMBER 15, 2013

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Bootstrapping 183

Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Entrepreneur Technical Review 183

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. On the top line, angel investors look to invest in entrepreneurs that have an almost unwavering passion and sense of urgency. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Intellectual Property Angel Investor Elevator Pitch 294

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Arizona 276

Arizona Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Entrepreneur 276

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2016

A Startup Lab invests guidance, strategy, and takes equity in a carefully selected collection of early and seed stage startups. Led by a powerful team of entrepreneurs that takes a major role in the entire lifespan of the seed stage startup, a Startup Lab provides the backbone for its startups by building and developing a strong foundation.

Seed Stage 100

Seed Stage Silicon Valley Incubator Asia 100

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 10, 2020

But to others, the future of a “new economy” in the post-COVID world is bright, opening doors for entrepreneurs, working professionals and small-to-medium business owners. They can make a generational jump by stepping up and embracing technology, and by understanding in the rubble and chaos what kernels of business are sprouting up.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Private Equity Equity Employee 279

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

The “venture capital” model is the only option they know, where they feel they get no mercy, giving up equity and control. Some investors are all about making money, while others care more about changing the world, advancing technology, or curing a disease that has ravaged their family.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 220

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

You need to find the skills or experience you don’t have in business, technology or money. The first question I usually get is what percent of the company or equity is that person worth? Just because it was your idea doesn’t mean you “deserve” 90 percent of the equity. Amount of venture funding provided.

Cofounder 261

Cofounder Stock Founder Technical Cofounder 261