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10 Startup Mistakes You Can't Afford To Make Again

Startup Professionals Musings

Forecast revenue growth that defies business principles. Forecasts that exceed 10 percent of a large opportunity in the first five years rarely happen and will likely disappoint you and your investors. Dismiss the need to register any intellectual property. You need patents and trademarks as a barrier to entry.

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Post-Crisis Digital Trends That Will Reshape Your Business in 2020

Up and Running

Cutting costs , revisiting forecasts , and stabilizing your business. In 2020, data breaches are among the greatest cybersecurity concerns, with health records, corporate intellectual property, smart cars, and connected devices being the most vulnerable targets. Revisit your business plan , forecasts, and company goals.

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7 Team Attributes That Can Make Any Idea Come Alive

Startup Professionals Musings

Who would have forecast that entrepreneur Gary Ross Dahl would make millions by starting a “ pet rock ” business way back in 1975? Even social entrepreneurs need milestones, quantifiable results, and revenue to sustain their value. Investors like to see new intellectual property as a barrier to entry.

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How to Write a Business Plan for a Cannabis Company

Up and Running

Set time aside to sit down and revise the plan , comparing forecasts to actuals and revising as necessary. . Financial Summary: Explain your business model, startup costs, revenues, and liabilities to the company. Sales forecast : Projections of what you think you will sell in a given timeframe (1 to 3 years). Be specific.

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All About Patents: An Entrepreneur’s Guide

YoungUpstarts

Master the Art of Trend Forecasting (or Onboard Someone to Do it For You). Staying ahead of market trends in your industry, and forecasting what will be in demand in the coming five to ten years is a non-negotiable skill. A patent provides a means to protect your intellectual property.

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Valuations 101: The Dave Berkus Method

Gust

We recently started a series of posts on establishing the pre-money valuation of pre-revenue startup companies for purposes of investment by seed and startup investors. For example, some investors would not fund a company without at least a minimum of customer feedback or intellectual property.

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Track the Ten Elements of Value for Your Venture

Startup Professionals Musings

That’s because a company’s value is a composite of all of the quantitative and qualitative factors that comprise a company: revenues, expenses, risks, growth prospects, quality of the management team, competitive advantages, strength of the intellectual property, and so forth. Detail isn’t important; tracking your progress is.