startup
How To Set up Demand Generation Processes For Your Startup
By Martin at October 23, 2015 | 12:40 pm | 0 Comment
Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Even those things that worked yesterday may not work tomorrow, as the market matures, the culture changes, and competitors appear with new solutions. Business more...
Planning To Invest In Startup? Then Ask Right Questions
By Martin at April 9, 2015 | 11:12 am | 0 Comment
Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Yet if you are on the other side of the table, there are some other key questions that you need to ask, which will tell you more about the real success prospects for this more...
Why Entrepreneurs Need Smarter People For Their Startup
By Martin at November 26, 2014 | 10:53 am | 0 Comment
Helpers do what you say, while good help does what you need, without you saying anything. People who can help you the most are actually smarter than you, at least in their domain.Top entrepreneurs spend more time putting the right team in place to accomplish their objectives than they spend on any other components of their job. Some entrepreneurs are so in love more...
The Art Of War For Startup
By VisionwizTeam at June 16, 2014 | 8:34 am | 0 Comment
Winning customers as an entrepreneur in a startup has many parallels to a young army trying to penetrate some formidable new and unfamiliar territory. You need a strategy as well as a goal, and you need to pick your battles well. Even in this age of purpose before profits, a business won’t survive by pretending there are no competitors out there to worry about. I had more...
Why Entrepreneurs Should Study Current Corporate Models
By Martin at December 4, 2013 | 10:15 am | 0 Comment
Startups are the corporations of the future, so I have long believed that entrepreneurs who study existing corporate models, rather than ignoring them with disdain, will likely profit from the exercise. In today’s fast-paced world, that means recognizing early and capitalizing on the changes that are bringing many big companies to their knees, before that company is more...
Find Out If Non Disclosure Agreement is Good or Bad For Startup
By Martin at July 30, 2013 | 8:06 am | 0 Comment
Entrepreneurs often get the advice from their lawyers and friends to always get a Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA or CDA) signed before disclosing anything about their new venture. Most investors and startup advisors I know hate them, and refuse to sign them. Who is right? Let me try to put this question in perspective. If you are totally risk-averse, then push to more...
7 Tips To Increase Your Startup’s Sales Growth
By Martin at July 23, 2013 | 8:12 am | 0 Comment
“If you build it, they will come.” It's a line from an old movie "Field of Dreams" which is still leading to the demise of too many startups, led by entrepreneurs who really started their business to build an exciting new product or service. Most struggle with the idea and practice of marketing and sales, and see these as a necessary evil, if even required. Of more...
How To Do Balance Between Startup & Your Family
By Martin at July 5, 2013 | 8:04 am | 0 Comment
I know some entrepreneurs with successful businesses, and others who seem to have a great relationship with their family, but I can’t think of many who have both. Some people would argue that these two successes are mutually exclusive, but I’m not convinced. Individually, they both take focus, commitment, and a variety of skills, all the strengths of a good more...
Five Rules Of Relevancy For Your Startup
By Martin at July 1, 2013 | 8:07 am | 0 Comment
Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision. In the last couple of years, perhaps in reaction more...
What Type Of Startup Get Funded By Venture Capitalists?
By Martin at April 25, 2013 | 8:27 am | 0 Comment
I’m a strong believer that investors invest in people, before they invest in a business plan, or an idea. But I continue to learn that there are a host of other factors, maybe not even related to you or your business, that could keep you from getting the funding that you need. You may not have control over many of these, but it helps to know, for planning purposes, what more...
7 Ways To Make Other People Feel Important In Your Startup
By admin at April 11, 2013 | 8:19 am | 0 Comment
Investors invest in people, not ideas. Customers buy from people, not companies. Employees rally for a great leader. As an entrepreneur, you need relationships to succeed. That means relationships with team members, investors, customers, and vendors. One of the best ways to build a good relationship with anyone is to make them feel important. One of my favorite more...
What Job Titles Should You Give To People In Your Startup?
By Martin at February 23, 2013 | 9:07 am | 0 Comment
It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. VCs and Angel investors like to see a startup that is running lean and mean, with no more than three or four of the conventional C-level or VP titles. More executives, or other more creative titles are seen as a big red flag. In reality, more...
Pros & Cons Of Early Adopters(First Customers) Of Your Startup
By Martin at February 19, 2013 | 8:36 am | 0 Comment
For most new high-tech products, the first customers are always “early adopters.” The conventional wisdom is that early adopters are the ideal target for new products, to get business rolling. I see two pitfalls with any concerted focus on early adopters; first, the size of this group may not be as large as you think, and secondly, their feedback may lead you directly more...
How To: Find & Connect With The Celebrity You Want For Startup
By Martin at December 29, 2012 | 9:09 am | 0 Comment
Most startups dream of attracting a celebrity endorsement, and assume that it will take their startup to the stars. There have been some “famous” successes in this regard, such as Charlie Sheen using Twitter last year to promote Internships.com, as well as some failures, including Airtime, launched early this year as a star studded affair, without the star studded more...
Why Job Seekers Should Try To Run Their Own Business
By Martin at December 20, 2012 | 8:37 am | 0 Comment
If you are one of the many people still searching for that job lost during the recent depression, or about to dump the loser of a job you have now, you should be working on starting your own business, in parallel with looking for that ideal job. Let me explain why this is a win-win deal, no matter what the outcome. You have probably secretly always wanted to run your more...
The Power of Convergence
By Martin at October 30, 2012 | 8:38 am | 0 Comment
A startup begins with a great idea, but all too often, that’s where it ends. Ideas have to be implemented well to get the desired results. Good implementation requires a plan, and a good plan and good operational decisions come from good people. That’s why investors invest in entrepreneurs, rather than ideas. People and operational excellence have to converge in more...
Tips to Maximizing Personal Gain From a Startup
By Martin at August 18, 2012 | 8:27 am | 0 Comment
Tips to Maximizing Personal Gain From a Startup Everyone knows that that startups are risky, but they also expect that the job will be exciting and potentially very lucrative (think early employees at Facebook and Google). Yet we have all heard stories about the high turnover, unstructured work environment, lower base pay, and unpredictable expectations from the more...
How To Create A Startup That Have Sustainable Competitive Advantage
By Martin at August 15, 2012 | 10:12 am | 0 Comment
How To Create A Startup That Have Sustainable Competitive Advantage One of the toughest and yet most important questions you will be asked by savvy potential startup investors is “What is your sustainable competitive advantage?” Yet many entrepreneurs, maybe in their passion for their new product, gloss over this one, or even announce that they have no more...
5 Mantra Of Innovation For Your Startup
By Martin at August 8, 2012 | 8:48 am | 0 Comment
5 Mantra Of Innovation For Your Startup It seems to be an accepted fact these days that big companies normally innovate by buying a startup with innovative products, rather than focusing on in-house innovations. This is a good thing for entrepreneurs and investors, who can win big, but it’s not a given. I see many startups who seem satisfied with a “me too” more...
Five Legal Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Startup
By Martin at July 11, 2012 | 8:25 am | 1 Comments
Five Legal Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Startup Although every startup is unique, there are certain common avoidable mistakes that can lead to legal complications which jeopardize the long-term success of the business. I’m not suggesting that every startup needs a lawyer, but you should definitely pay attention, and not be afraid to consult legal counsel if any of more...
