Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors know that startups with too much money fail just as often as those with not enough. In reality, all risks are not the same.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2015

If you think you are the perfect fit for the entrepreneur lifestyle, but you’re not yet sure if you’re ready to start your own, then I recommend that you take a job with an existing startup first to validate the culture realities against your dream. Running or working for a startup is more of a lifestyle than a career choice.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Entrepreneur Stock Options Due Diligence 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2015

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3% Marty Zwilling.

Stock Options 120

Stock Options Stock Advisory Board Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. I know that people have an allergy to lawyers out of fear of being screwed.

Southern California 318

Southern California Silicon Valley IP Stock Options 318

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Options are gravy - I lived through the first dot com era where we used stock options as a recruiting tool. We give out stock options. Do the harder work and convince them to join anyways – without the stock option bravado. ** Unless you really are Mark Pincus, Mark Zuckerberg, Ev Williams or similar.

Stock Options 294

Stock Options Stock Valuation Liquidation Preference 294

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 23, 2023

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. Most people believe case officers and entrepreneurs are big risk takers, when, in fact, they’re risk mitigators. A Board of Directors has a formal and legal role.

Government 217

Government Advisory Board Salary Sales Cycle 217

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

The best entrepreneurs, and the best executives in mature businesses, have learned how to foster both high efficiency and high creativity, in a balance that keeps their business ahead of the pack on both sides of the equation. An even better alternative could be stock options, linked to the long-term success of the company.

Stock Options 277

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 277

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network.

Founder 325

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors know that startups with too much money fail just as often as those with not enough. In reality, all risks are not the same.

Forecast 120

Forecast Startup Stock Options Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

Even though I’m a big proponent of becoming an entrepreneur, it is definitely not for everyone. Here are a few of my favorites sampling techniques that I have seen work out well over the years: Take a job for a while with an early-stage startup. Adopt the Silicon Valley entrepreneur family model.

Silicon Valley 315

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Stock Options Flash 315

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors know that startups with too much money fail just as often as those with not enough. In reality, all risks are not the same.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Sweat Equity Technical Review Accredited Investor 120

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Continuing my series of posts that I’ve been collecting that live at the intersection of Startups and being a Startup CTO : Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March here are the top posts from May 2010. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. It is to out friend. Enjoyed this post? Stay Tuned.

Fractional CTO 248

Fractional CTO Startup Venture Capital Cofounder 248

The Startup Magazine

MAY 19, 2020

For many entrepreneurs and startups, investing in stocks is a good option for building more capital. So knowing more about stocks and trading is critical. A stock, which can also be referred to as a share or equity, is a proof of ownership of a fraction or part of a business entity.

Stock 89

Stock Securities and Exchange Commission United Kingdom Technical Review 89

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. Thus if you want to change the world with your new business, you need to follow the example of startups like Zappos , which hires according to cultural fit first.

Stock Options 362

Stock Options Salary Leadership Stock 362

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

I recently sat down with Matt Coffin , the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.&#. Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet. Mark: 10% warrant coverage is like stock options.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Customer Warrant Term Sheet 304

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

According to the Angel Capital Association: Angels (private money) invest in 55,000 startups each year versus 1,500 companies by VC (venture capital) funding. Entrepreneurs need to find a way to get traction (sales) without funding. However, entrepreneurs still need to approach angel investors offline for larger amounts of capital.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2014

I have added my own insights, based on my experience advising and working with entrepreneurs and startups: Pay for results, rather than pay for work. Their reward is more free time for leisure, or more time for bonus objectives and stock options. Measuring results in itself is not new. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 261

Entrepreneur Startup Stock Options Social Media 261

crowdSPRING Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2014

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! The ROI of Blogging: What the Groove Blog is Worth to Our Startup – crowdspring.co/YUXa2r. The Ultimate Startup Marketing Strategy | by Venture Harbour – [link] crowdspring.co/1xxV8lb.

Social Media 97

Social Media Small Business Design Media 97

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

The best entrepreneurs, and the best executives in mature businesses, have learned how to foster both high efficiency and high creativity, in a balance that keeps their business ahead of the pack on both sides of the equation. An even better alternative could be stock options, linked to the long-term success of the company.

Stock Options 236

Stock Options Incubator Framework Stock 236

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

With the current volatile economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. This approach is thus not viable for entrepreneurs already out of money. Is your startup really ready to play in the corporate world? Marty Zwilling.

Merger 261

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 261

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Offer low cash early, with bonuses or stock options for milestones, to people in your personal network.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 8, 2020

Here’s how you too can use IV to your advantage, something all entrepreneur traders need. IV is based on how a stock is expected to perform over the course of a year. Standard deviation (SD) is the unit of measurement that represents the probability that the stock will reach the end of a specific price range in one year.

Stock Options 137

Stock Options Stock Merger Entrepreneur 137

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2022

I have added my own insights, based on my experience advising and working with entrepreneurs and startups: Pay for results, rather than pay for work. Their reward is more free time for leisure, or more time for bonus objectives and stock options. Measuring results in itself is not new.

Cost 313

Cost Stock Options Cloud Differentiation 313

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!” What did they actually do?

Stock Options 227

Stock Options Startup Dilution Venture Capital 227

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2015

We live today in a golden age of writing and resources for entrepreneurs. There are books on most (but not yet all) of the critical topics about startups, and of course a massive amount of information on blogs and Twitter. Even 10 or 15 years ago, when I first cut my teeth as an entrepreneur, there were very few things to read.

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur San Jose China Technical Review 60

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

We like to talk about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and various random stuff! Small Business and Startups: Customer Service Marketing Manifesto – crowdspring.co/1wYokDi. Running a Startup: What Life Is Really Like in the Early Days – crowdspring.co/1wNhIpk.

Social Media 99

Social Media Small Business Design Media 99

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

YoungUpstarts

MAY 7, 2017

Jonmichael Moy has a wealth of experience leading and engaging with startup organizations, and with guiding strategic initiatives at several digital ventures. Moy is eager to pass on his knowledge about tech startups to young entrepreneurs who are just as captivated by the field as he has always been.

Silicon Valley 148

Silicon Valley Technical Review Product Canada 148

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2019

With the current strong economy, as an active startup mentor, I’m seeing a new surge of entrepreneurs and startups, with the commensurate scramble for funding. This approach is thus not viable for entrepreneurs already out of money. Is your startup really ready to play in the corporate world? Marty Zwilling.

Merger 303

Merger OTC IPO Due Diligence 303

The Next Web

AUGUST 12, 2013

It’s part three of a series, cross-posted from his own blog , in which he draws on his experience to offer advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. If you want to be an entrepreneur, think like an athlete and define your own mission. But that’s the case for only tiny amount of startups.

Cofounder 119

Cofounder CTO Hire Startup Europe 119

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

Picking the right attorney in your startup is as important as picking the right business partner. My business partner and I made many mistakes in our first tech startup, and so many of them were the result of choosing a lawyer who was a terrible fit. Let me paint the picture for you: We were about two months into our startup idea.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2017

Wouldn’t you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Facebook when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire or better? So people ask me “How many shares should I ask for or expect when I join a startup today?” Thus, options don’t “pay the mortgage” today, so to speak. 7% Product Manager,2 -.3%

Stock 140

Stock Stock Options Advisory Board Startup 140