Posts Tagged ‘Startup’
Pervasive Startup Myth: Don’t Work for Free
Startup myth: The one about founders having to work for free to impress angel investors. This supposedly shows passion. Don’t believe it. Investors want people committed to working their startups, and that usually takes getting them paid. I’ve been getting a lot of upvotes on my answer to this question in Quora: How do entrepreneurs…
Read MoreStartup Dilemma: Do It Yourself or Hire a Professional?
Startup budgets, especially in the early stages, are almost by definition extremely limited. A typical startup is usually just a handful of motivated people with a great idea and a vision of making it big. Not having the resources to hire people left and right means that multitasking has become an integral part of startup…
Read More10 Reliable Ways to Finance a Startup
The ability to secure funds for a startup is the first step in turning your business dream into a reality. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done especially when you have little or no collateral/security at hand. It’s not a completely hopeless situation, however, as there are a number of avenues to explore, but…
Read MoreDetermining a Pricing Strategy for Your Startup
One of the most often overlooked tasks of any startup is developing a viable and effective pricing strategy. Whether your business provides products or services, the price you charge for those can make or break your bottom line. There are a number of considerations you should take into account when determining a pricing strategy for…
Read More10 Common Mistakes with Startup Financial Projections
I was glad to be asked about common mistakes with financial projections. I read about 100 business plans a year for angel investment and business plan competitions. Most show unrealistic profitability. More people doing business plans should realize that most startups are unprofitable at the beginning; and that high growth correlates with losses, not profits.…
Read MoreRaising Your Total Startup Capital in 5 Steps
You’ve got the next billion-dollar idea and you are looking to make the big jump into the “fairytale” journey of an entrepreneur. You have read all the startup books and know everything about the great founders that became successful overnight. The startup journey is similar to a survivor’s journey, and the last person standing is…
Read MoreStart Small and Do This to Avoid New Startup Burnout
There are millions of small businesses out there. They all start with an idea. The problem is that sometimes these ideas are thin and the business owner expands and/or launches too quickly, spends way too much money right off the bat, and doesn’t focus on building a proper foundation. How do you take your new…
Read More8 Smart Tips to Soliciting Friends and Family Funding
It’s great to start with a big dream as you contemplate a new business, but finding the money you need takes more than dreaming. As an advisor to young entrepreneurs, I find that many are a bit naïve about how the investment process really works. For example, I just read an otherwise impressive business plan…
Read More5 Expert Tips for Trademarking Your Startup
“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?” – Steve Jobs A startup could be considered a simple belief—a belief that you have a new product or service that is going to revolutionize the market you’re entering. However, look in the dictionary and it’ll tell you that a startup is simply a “newly…
Read MorePlanning to Bootstrap Your Business? Follow These 7 Tips
When starting a tech company, it can be tempting to make venture capital a priority, but finding it shouldn’t be what drives your business decisions. I knew I wanted to bootstrap my business, BuySellAds, so that I could follow my own goals. By following these next few tips, I was able to achieve success for…
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