Tim Berry

Tim Berry is co-founder of Have Presence, founder and Chairman of Palo Alto Software, founder of bplans.com, and a co-founder of Borland International. He is author of books and software including LivePlan and Business Plan Pro, The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, and Lean Business Planning, published by Motivational Press in 2015. He has a Stanford MBA degree and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. He taught starting a business at the University of Oregon for 11 years.

Latest

CEOs Change the Deeper Meaning of the Ultimate Bottom Line

As I read this morning about the Business Roundtable changing this fundamental principle, I was really glad to see it. It’s about time. Several hundred influential CEOs got together and agreed to revise priorities. The…

7 Crazy Startup Ideas That Worked

I believe many people put way too much stock in the startup idea. Doing the business, doing the work, getting things done, and execution are all more important. Obviously a bad idea can make a…

What Do I Need to Do to Become an Entrepreneur?

Q: What do I need to do to become an entrepreneur? Being an entrepreneur is simply somebody who has launched a business. It’s not a set of traits or qualities, a state of being, or…

3 Critical Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Business

Starting a business? Thinking about starting a business? Here are my suggestions for three quick questions you should ask yourself first: What are the chances that the business I want to start will be able…

3 Business Plan Critical Factors

What matters most for a business plan? When somebody asked on Quora what are the critical factors of a business plan, I came up with these three business plan critical factors: Does it achieve its business…

10 Good Reasons Not to Seek Investors for Your Startup

Before you buy into the myths about startup investors, first consider whether you actually want startup investors for your new business at all. No, I’m not bitter … I had VC money in Palo Alto…

Q&A: How to Be an Entrepreneur

Question: How to be an entrepreneur? My Answer: First, if you have the option and haven’t already, get a good education. Focus on whatever interests you, not necessarily business. Entrepreneurs without formal education are at a…

Avoid Meaningless Words

From Seth Godin’s post Meaningless, published January 7… There are words that now have no meaning at all… ‘Well’ and ‘so’ have been doing this work for a long time, but add to that the more…

You Have to Know When to Quit

I recommend you read Nat Eliason‘s piece No More Struggle Porn. He’s attacking one of the more pervasive startup myths around, the idea that the struggle itself, the overwhelming and overpowering struggle that pushes everything else out…

6 Common Misconceptions About Angel Investors

The question on Quora was “What do investors ‘get’ that other people don’t?” I answered that question from the point of view of angel investors, specifically … not just investors. 1. Some of the healthiest…