Having scored hundreds of startup opportunities as an angel investor, VC, and mentor, I thought I would share my scorecard template. It’s how I determine the merits of a new business opportunity. I score startups on five dimensions: Product – how good/unique is the product or service? Market – are they targeting the right market segment? Team – does the team have relevant […]
On the Main Menu Above, click on the down arrow next to Stepping Stones to access each step, or download to your Kindle from Amazon.com. After 30+ years of starting businesses and helping thousands of other aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their businesses, I’ve learned three critical things: First, startup success does not happen in leaps and bounds. It happens in […]
You may have heard that the most important criteria of investors is the founder and team. They bet on the jockey, not on the horse. Startup success is more about execution, less about great new products and untapped markets. What happens when investors like your venture but are leery about investing in YOU? I’ve been there. I was told by a […]
So much has to go right for a startup to survive and thrive, it’s wise to know the most common, avoidable mistakes, made by first-time founders. Many first-time founders don’t know what they don’t know. Others are told, but they just don’t want to hear it and fumble. They lack the good sense needed to build a product people will […]
The startup founder imperative is to decisively act on what’s most important and most immediate each week. What’s important and what’s immediate are two very different things. These two decision-drivers also change dramatically at each stage of the venture’s life cycle. For example, what’s most important and most immediate in the conception stage (finding Product-Market Fit while avoiding confirmation bias), is very different than […]
Early on in my career I was sent on an important sales call alongside two senior sales people. Tom was very confident to the point of cockiness. He had deep sales training learned at Xerox. He carried himself with authority. Rick was an “aw shucks” kind of guy raised in the hills of Northern Virginia. He had no formal sales […]
Startup businesses are the life blood of every region they operate in. They create new jobs. They replenish jobs lost to technological and economical changes, and to the retiring work force. They attract talent into the region. They keep youth from leaving the region and provide opportunities for them to return to it. Startups are the instrument of innovation and […]
In this Podcast I share the most traumatic and defining moment of my life as an entrepreneur, employer, friend and father. Hadn’t thought about it in many years, but it came out in this interview and I thought it was worth sharing with you. Some other tips as well for all of you aspiring entrepreneurs. “Weave your work into the […]
Most aspiring entrepreneurs start with an idea – hopefully, a BIG idea. They first set out to do a Proof of Concept. This can take many forms, from simple sketches to a rough prototype. Some join a startup accelerator, where they learn how to validate their ideas using methodologies like Lean Launch Pad, and tools like the Business Model Canvas. The dedicated ones […]
