Startups Aren’t For Lone Rangers
You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. That doesn’t mean you…
Business Basics Posts
How Do You Know When Your Startup Achieves Critical Mass?
Every entrepreneur dreams of that sweet spot in the life of their business when it will reach critical mass, and they can focus more on scaling it than finding another…
A Turnaround Might Be Easier than Bankruptcy
If you are just plain tired of working so hard, or your startup is not getting the traction you expected, should you shut down cleanly, or just file for bankruptcy…
The Symbiotic Relationship of Entrepreneurs and Inventors
In my experience, inventors aren’t interested or aren’t very good at building a business, and entrepreneurs aren’t usually good scientists. These people need to find each other, and can jointly…
Inventions Don’t Always Translate to Opportunity
I’m often approached by people who claim to have invented the next big thing and ask me how much it’s worth or who complain that they can’t find an investor…
The Prototype is a Vital Step in the Startup Process
It’s a long way from an entrepreneur’s “idea” to a working product with a real market and paying customers. A necessary intermediate step for proof of concept, credibility with potential…
Don’t Let Unconventional Job Titles Send the Wrong Message
It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of how potential investors and peers might perceive it. VCs and angel investors like…
Ten Awesome Customer Service Upgrades
I wrote recently about the importance of a “sustainable competitive advantage,” in which I outlined the value of a business plan and the limitations of patents and competitor feature comparisons. Once…
Entrepreneurs and Gold Prospectors Both Need Perseverance
Startups are tough. For every entrepreneur and every gold prospector, there are more opportunities to fail than to succeed. Yet experts say that quitting too soon is a prime cause…
The Nuts and Bolts of Founder’s Stock
In reality, so-called “founder’s” shares are simply common stock, issued at the time of startup incorporation, for a very low price, and normally allocated to the multiple initial players commensurate…