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…
How to Survive Investor Due Diligence
If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due…
Ten Pricing Models for Startups
All startups eventually confront the challenge of optimally pricing their product or service. Do you give it away, like Twitter, and hope to find a way to monetize later? Do…
The Art of Saying ‘No’
Entrepreneurs have to know when and how to say ‘no,’ and be good at delivering the message. All startup leaders are besieged with requests for their time, attention, talent, money,…
Build an Effective Advisory Board
If you are an entrepreneur for the first time or entering a new business area, it’s usually worth your time to assemble an Advisory Board of two or three executives…
Make Follow-Up a Habit
When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically assume that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course, there are people who are great at getting things done but…
How to Use Twitter to Boost Your Startup
It seems like only a short while ago that I wasn’t sure if Twitter was relevant to my business, or if it would wasting my time. Now I have almost 500,000…
How to Conduct Market Research on a Tight Budget
Most entrepreneurs know exactly what they want to design and build, and they are convinced that everyone will buy one. Yet they often fail to realize that their view is…
An Effective Business Plan is Essential for Startup Funding
Too many entrepreneurs still believe the urban legend that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and investors will throw money at you. Every investor I know is frustrated…
Business Plans Need a Credible Marketing Section
Sometimes I see a startup business plan with a credible “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, with a less than credible or trivial marketing budget in the…