Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. As a mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, here are my best recommendations for keeping the burn rate low, planning ahead and maintaining credibility with investors: Manage cash flow personally every day. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.” Marty Zwilling.

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2013

Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Too many entrepreneurs try to talk their way through all of these. Product development. Some struggling entrepreneurs are totally event driven.

Entrepreneur 275

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 275

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

To succeed in today’s crowded market, you need to harmonize product marketing and brand marketing. In this article, you’ll learn the difference between brand marketing and product marketing, and how to balance both to stand out above the crowd. Brand vs product marketing: Friends or foe? They rely on each other for success.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

by Zain Jaffer, serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Zain Ventures. When the time comes, the following actions can help entrepreneurs get back on their feet: 1. sales to product development), the problems will continue to exist. Invest time and thought into your sales processes and structures.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2017

Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ,” but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Customer 191

Customer Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 191

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2013

Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ,” but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Entrepreneur 252

Entrepreneur Marketing Technical Review Dilution 252

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. We didnt think wed able to compete with that.

Product Development 88

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 88

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

A while back I wrote a bunch of posts on Sales & Marketing and have been meaning to get back to that theme for a while. Even if you don’t have “direct&# sales I would tell you that “everything is a sale&# including fund raising, hiring, getting press and doing business development.

Hiring 346

Hiring Sales Startup Early Stage 346

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

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Here’s what entrepreneurs had to say about the companies they admire for their innovation. #1- Tesla has always put a huge emphasis on product development and technological advancement. I have always admired and been amazed by successful entrepreneurs who don't have a university degree. Photo Credit: Aiden Cole.

Technical Review 139

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review SEO 139

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Too many entrepreneurs try to talk their way through all of these. Product development. Some struggling entrepreneurs are totally event driven.

Entrepreneur 237

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 237

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. As a mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, here are my best recommendations for keeping the burn rate low, planning ahead and maintaining credibility with investors: Manage cash flow personally every day. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 15, 2009

Steve Gilison worked as a market researcher and product manager at a startup where my company, TechEmpower , did the software / web development. I have about 11 years in the technology sector including roles doing market research, sales and product development. Most people think they can do product design.

Los Angeles 179

Los Angeles Southern California Management Product 179

Small Business Force

AUGUST 27, 2017

Selling, especially for technology products always looks way easier than it actually is. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of believing that their products are so good, they, literally, sell themselves. They were selling a new product, in a relatively new space, with little training. Not even close.

Sales 30

Sales Sales Cycle Product Technical Review 30

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 30, 2020

We asked some entrepreneurs and business owners, why they started their businesses: #1- From personal experience. 3- Create a unique product. My wife Erin and I started our business as we needed a product that did not exist. This helps them generate leads and sales. Photo credit: Ty Crandall. Photo credit: Nat Miletic.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review SEO 147

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2019

Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ,” but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Technical Review 255

Technical Review Dilution Early Stage Product Development 255

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 30, 2019

New product development is an essential part of the entrepreneurial landscape. Many people become entrepreneurs because they see a need or problem in the marketplace and have an idea to address it, improve the user experience or simply create a new efficiency. Without constant innovation, sales will be in danger of declining.

Product Development 113

Product Development Developer Product Demand 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

Moore titled “ Crossing the Chasm ” (1991), but most entrepreneurs have no idea how it relates to them. In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Marketing 238

Marketing Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 238

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. If you haven’t spent time over there you should.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Burn Rate Cofounder Sales 306

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. So what’s wrong the product development model?

Customer Development 246

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 246

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2013

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Maybe he was the only guy around who could design the product you envisioned, but delivering a scalable, quality product is another story. Besides, he is now more interested in designing the next product.

Founder 250

Founder Startup Software Developers Software Development 250

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.” Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. Of course, not every entrepreneur wants to tackle this challenge. There is no free lunch.

Mezzanine 368

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 368

Hearpreneur

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

We asked entrepreneurs and business owners what their side hustles are and here are the responses. #1- I blog about home and gardening topics and make money from product recommendations to my audience, mostly through Amazon associates program. 6- Men &Women unique product. They mainly sprout out of a simple idea or hobbies.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Technical Review SEO New York City 95

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

As a new entrepreneur or business owner, the most important thing you will do is hire talent. Hiring = Sales. A good recruitment process has many parallels with a sales funnel. As with sales, these core reasons need to be compelling to candidates, while being as unique to you (competitive differentiation) as possible.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. Others do far too little, assuming the viral effect and word-of-mouth will soon kick in, and sales will suddenly grow exponentially.

Startup 335

Startup Social Media Metrics Viral 335

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 21, 2013

Creators of new products in environments of extreme uncertainty, startups face enormous risks. Insufficient capital, over investment, and low sales are just some of the reasons leading to this sobering statistic. Validated learning should be the goal of all entrepreneurs. This reduces guesswork, time, money and effort.

Lean 193

Lean Technical Review North America Startup 193

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. 2) Provide corporate management with near real-time divisional sales reports and budgets that indicated when they deviated from plan. billion in sales in today’s dollars).

Michigan 301

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 301

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 233

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 233

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

As there was no venture capital, these early startups were funded by early sales to weapon systems prime contractors and subcontractors. While these activities shape and build culture, they don’t win wars, and rarely deliver shippable or deployable products. Startups dream in years, plan in months, evaluate in weeks, and ship in days.

Government 317

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 317

YoungUpstarts

JULY 16, 2019

Without producing physical goods, every entrepreneur now can succeed in selling other manufacturers’ products online. Have you developed any vision of a product development strategy? One of the simplest ways to construct a product like Etsy is to use WordPress Etsy themes. Is it difficult? Working hours.

eCommerce 113

eCommerce Software Developers Software Development Hosting 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2012

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. Maybe he was the only guy around who could design the product you envisioned, but delivering a scalable, quality product is another story. Besides, he is now more interested in designing the next product.

Software Developers 229

Software Developers Software Development Business Model Product Development 229

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 24, 2017

In the last few days of 2017, we took some time to ask a few entrepreneurs and business what their biggest business accomplishments were. #1- We’re very new to the industry, and while we’re passionate about the product, there have been obstacles every step of the way – production, shipping, distribution, etc.

Las Vegas 91

Las Vegas Entrepreneur Software Review Community 91

YoungUpstarts

MAY 3, 2017

Every entrepreneur knows this — at least in theory. From product development to market research, many startups are one-person operations in their early days. If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, I’m willing to bet you work longer hours than necessary trying to manage easily outsourced tasks. The result?

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Management Arizona Software Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Yet as a business advisor I am convinced that making the jump from a startup to a the next unicorn takes a different mindset, and actions most entrepreneurs are reluctant to face. In my experience, less than half of founding entrepreneurs even aspire to stay and scale their company. Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379