Attracting the right customers is the key to success in business, whether you have a new startup or a mature enterprise. In my role as an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often see struggling businesses trying to be too many things for too many people, resulting in customer confusion, initiatives executed poorly, and high costs, few customers, and […]
9 Keys to Effective Networking, In Person or Virtual
Too many entrepreneurs I meet in my role as a business advisor still seem to believe networking is all about selling and convincing everyone that what you have will change the world. While selling is still key with customers, networking with peers and investors today is still about building relationships, listening to the needs of someone […]
10 Strategies For Attracting Investors That Will Fail
Knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do when it comes to raising investment for your startup.
6 Keys To Managing Funding From People Close To You
Too many entrepreneurs treat friends and family investments as “low-hanging” fruit, only to find out later, after a stumble, that the pain of lost relationships is greater than the loss of their beloved startup.
10 Personal Attributes That Indicate Real Potential
As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve met many aspiring entrepreneurs, and I often get asked the question, “I have a great idea for a startup – do you agree that it real potential?” They don’t know that most experts agree the person is more important than the idea, yet I’ve never been asked, “I […]
5 Forces That Kill Momentum for First-Movers
A look at how to counter the key organizational impediments to fast transformation even in businesses with top management committed to first-mover speed and agility.
8 Fundraising Red Flags That Every Startup Can Avoid
Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. At these stages, it’s all about you, and your ability to communicate and execute effectively. Here is my list of red flags that cause many investors to look elsewhere.
7 Keys for Moving a Startup to Sustainable Business
Management of a growing company is a learnable skill, and in my view, it starts with a focus on the following key principles.
10 Keys to Investor-Friendly Startup Financials
The “rules of thumb” that smart investors look for should be the same ones that you use to assess your own risks and set reasonable expectations for progress and success for your startup and its finances.
7 New Dimensions of Market Value in this Digital Age
As a startup advisor, I see too many entrepreneurs get distracted by technology or their favorite cause, and then wonder why they can’t find an investor, attract customers, or build a long-term business. Every startup needs to start with an honest assessment of how they provide customer value, and how that translates into a sustainable […]