Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. The best entrepreneurs manage cash flow ruthlessly and never delegate decisions about spending money. They understand startup realities.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. The best entrepreneurs manage cashflow ruthlessly and never delegate decisions about spending money. They understand startup realities.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. The best entrepreneurs manage cash flow ruthlessly and never delegate decisions about spending money. They understand startup realities.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2013

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can.

Technical Review 275

Technical Review Startup Software Review Database 275

View from Seed

DECEMBER 6, 2018

Another full-stack short-term rentals startup ? It seems as though in many categories, especially in consumer internet space, a handful of startups pursuing quite similar or even apparently identical ideas launch within months of each other. Another d2c gourmet pet food company ? Another affinity-based co-working space?

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Startup Cofounder Stealth 120

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 10, 2023

It's your persuasive pitch to potential investors, outlining your startup's objectives and profitability strategy. We asked entrepreneurs and CEOs about having a business plan and here is what they had to say. #1- Take inspiration from other successful entrepreneurs, and look for opportunities to receive mentorship.

Business Plan 125

Business Plan Jordan Entrepreneur Florida 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2013

Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. I can think of several related aspects of starting and running a business where follow-up, or lack of it, can make or break your startup. For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Product development.

Entrepreneur 275

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 275

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

In the last decade, SaaS (Software as a Service) has become a very popular model for new software product development. The largest cost component of establishing a SaaS company is product development costs. This includes the design, development, launch, and enhancement of the SaaS application. .

Cost 158

Cost Developer Azure Cloud 158

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

by Nick Frandsen, co-founder and managing partner at Dovetail. You envision your business as the next Uber or Spotify, yourself as the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, reaching that prestigious ‘unicorn’ startup status in record time. Notably, this occurs prior to building the Minimum Viable Product , or ‘MVP’. It’s genius!

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

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. We asked some entrepreneurs what they loved about “being their own boss.”. #1-

Entrepreneur 140

Entrepreneur Jordan Technical Review Green 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

The good news is that everyone expects entrepreneurs to make mistakes, since founders explore uncharted territory. In fact, investors recognize that founders usually learn more from mistakes than from success, so a well-explained startup failure can improve their odds of funding the next time around.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

by Zain Jaffer, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Zain Ventures. This is especially true for startups, which operate on the basis of customer traction to solidify expectations with investors or lending institutions. When the time comes, the following actions can help entrepreneurs get back on their feet: 1.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

by Gaurav Gupta , Founder of Square Boat. Startups are all the rage these days with innovative minds coming up with novel ideas and transforming them into reality. But wanting to materialize a product or service and sustaining its operations are two different things. But that’s where we come in! Why not make a tool do it?

Software Review 113

Software Review Startup Azure SEO 113

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

This post originally appeared in TechCrunch back in 2015, written by our co-founder and managing partner Erik Rannala. Some entrepreneurs think that (more) money will solve all their company’s problems. As an investor, I root for startups. Before you indulge in marketing, sales and blinged-out offices, find product-market fit.

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 26, 2011

I have often said that what separates real entrepreneurs from pundits and bystanders is a bias towards getting things done versus over analyzing things. That doesn’t work in a startup. There’s a certain cadence that you can feel when you spend time hanging any well-run startup company. 3 months is a lifetime in a startup.

Hiring 335

Hiring Technical Review Startup Framework 335

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 21, 2013

Creators of new products in environments of extreme uncertainty, startups face enormous risks. As a startup owner, what can you do to improve your chances? Through rapid experimentation, short product development cycles, and rigorous measurements of the right metrics, they can ascertain what customers really want.

Lean 193

Lean Technical Review North America Startup 193

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. The best entrepreneurs manage cash flow ruthlessly and never delegate decisions about spending money. They understand startup realities.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. In that context, I offer you my latest collection of popular investor-to-entrepreneur terms and concepts. Could your startup be the next one? Sweat equity.

Software Review 120

Software Review Sweat Equity Accredited Investor Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. I can think of several related aspects of starting and running a business where follow-up, or lack of it, can make or break your startup. For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Product development.

Entrepreneur 237

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 237

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how dramatically your own role has to evolve as you develop a solution, start a business, and expect it to scale into a successful self-managed company. At this stage, I typically find a solo entrepreneur who creates, manages projects, directs, and oversees every step in the process.

Leadership 248

Leadership Technical Review Cofounder Social Media 248

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

These investments are a tremendous help to your startup because they will serve as a stepping stone to reach your target eventually. It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. Hence they will miss the finish line.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2011

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. I challenge any startup to show me they have avoided all of these: One of the founders isn’t delivering. I challenge any startup to show me they have avoided all of these: One of the founders isn’t delivering.

Startup 245

Startup Software Developers Software Development Business Model 245

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, April 26, 2009 Product development leverage Leverage has once again become a dirty word in the world of finance, and rightly so. But I want to talk about a different kind of leverage, the kind that you can get in product development. Its a key lean startup concept.

Product Development 88

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 88

YoungUpstarts

MAY 16, 2016

One of the first and most important decisions any CEO, founder, or startup is going to make is what to name the company. And for years, entrepreneurs struggled between their desire for the perfect name and a rapidly diminishing supply of.COM domains. By Taryn Naidu, CEO of Rightside.

Naming 124

Naming Startup Social Media Operations 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2018

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that their idea and passion are so great that failure is not a possibility. As a startup advisor and angel investor, I tend to focus on the much longer list of ways your startup can fail, based on my own experience and inside knowledge from peers who you will never see highlighted on the Internet.

Angel Investor 249

Angel Investor Cofounder Finance Operations 249

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2011

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can.

Technical Review 241

Technical Review Startup Software Review Database 241

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can.

Technical Review 187

Technical Review Startup Software Review Database 187

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

When you see startups like SpaceX and Pinterest grow from a low valuation to a billion dollars in just a few years, it’s easy to assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, you can get there as well. In fact, it’s highly unlikely that you as the Founder will survive. Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

There are many reasons to found a startup. There are many reasons to work at a startup. To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. What does this mean for startup founders? ——-.

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development.

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

by Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund. In the startup world, opportunities are fleeting, and obstacles are ubiquitous. Poor founder dynamics or a focus on small or shrinking markets can also sink your chances. I knew no one, which meant I had to spend a lot of time meeting people and developing relationships.

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Due Diligence Early Stage Differentiation 140

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. Well obviously that’s meaningless if your startup idea sucks. They spot opportunities that aren’t being met and the design products to meet these needs.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Burn Rate Cofounder Sales 306

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

.” Below are our favorite pieces from the past few years, divided in to a few key categories: fundraising, company building, product development, industry trends, and the life of a VC. Free Template for Great Startup Pitch Decks, Direct from VCs. ’ like all startups have to, but also “why invest now?'”

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

This post describes how following the traditional product development can lead to a “startup death spiral.&# In the next posts that follow, I’ll describe how this model’s failures led to the Customer Development Model – offering a new way to approach startup sales and marketing activities.

Customer Development 224

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 224

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

If you’re interested in recruiting sales people, I wrote on the topic of startup sales people: who to hire & when – understanding the roles of Journeymen, Mavericks & Superstars. Evangelical sales – Understanding startup sales people and process. This only works if you’re not a crocodile sales person.

Hiring 346

Hiring Sales Startup Early Stage 346