These are heady days to be an aspiring entrepreneur in the U.S. Even the risk-averse with an idea might want to consider jumping into the small startup business arena today. Despite the historical odds against small business longevity, things have definitely been looking up in recent years! From 2005 through 2015, roughly half of startup […]
Startups
Most Surprising Hidden Costs of Opening a Business
If you’ve ever started a business, you know it involves some clear-cut costs. Office space or storefront rentals, equipment, initial inventory, license fees, legal advice – all of these are initial expenses you might expect to pay just to get up and running. There are a number of less obvious expenditures, however, that might surprise […]
3 Habits of Highly Successful Startup Founders
Starting a business is never easy. You are often the only person in the company, which means that you will have to wear multiple hats. Customer service problem? It’s up to you to fix it. Supply chain problem? You again. Complaints being posted on your social media sites? Yep, that’s you too. It can often […]
Why Taking Risk is the Ultimate New Venture Advantage
Outside of dreams, there is no real business opportunity without risk. Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. My conclusion either way is that they have […]
22 Good Reasons to Write a Business Plan
Question: What are some of the main arguments for writing a business plan? Here are 20 good reasons to write a business plan. Please note, however, that a business plan is not necessarily a traditional formal business plan. It ought to be a LEAN BUSINESS PLAN that gets reviewed and revised often. It ought not to be […]
7 Reasons Why Investors Won’t Back Your Startup
No, no, no! Toddlers expect to hear that, but when you’re a grown adult with an idea for “the next big thing” and investor after investor tells you no, it’s not only painful, it can ruin your life plans. With my background in investing and knowing many in the field, let me give you a […]
Are You Ready to Take on an Office Lease?
Rent your first office with caution. Several years ago, I became involved with a Southeast Asian company looking to expand into the United States. During the discussions with the CEO about hiring North American managers, he made it clear that he wanted us to find a first-class office facility from which to start the search process, […]
Good Data Debunking Popular Startup Myths
Contrary to popular startup myths and misunderstanding, tech founders aren’t mainly younger than 30. They are generally well educated, not dropouts. They tend to start up where they are, instead of moving to Silicon Valley or other tech hubs. Here’s a summary of data published by the Kauffman Foundation: We observed that, like immigrant tech founders, U.S.-born engineering […]
Careful About Equity and Options in Early Stage Businesses
This post is longer than usual. For those negotiating equity allocations it covers some of the most complex issues to address in the process. I just couldn’t reduce it to far fewer words… Dave Here is the warning: The execution of partnership equity allocations and of a good incentive program using equity is often mismanaged, damaging […]
Startup Marketing Should Skip Traditional Advertising
The power and influence of paid media advertising, including print ads, TV commercials, radio, and even online digital campaigns is waning, in favor of unpaid earned and owned messaging from your website, social media, key market influencers, and existing customer word-of-mouth. But startups need to remember that even zero paid media doesn’t mean that marketing […]
