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Some analysts argue that revenue drives growth, while others say user growth drives revenue. Both have worked. Google reached $1B in revenue within five years of incorporation, and now has a market capitalization of over $400B. Twitter showed no focus on revenue in the first five years, but was abl Read More

Almost every entrepreneur looking for outside investors has heard the annoying rejection, “You are just too early – come back when you have more traction.” That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? If it’s so important to investors, perhaps you should be using traction Read More

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attr Read More

Technical entrepreneurs love their technology, and often are driven to launch a startup on the assumption that everyone will buy any solution which highlights this technology. Instead, they need to validate a customer problem and real market need first. Don’t create solutions looking for a problem, Read More

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. In reality, I’m one of the majority of investors who believe that startup success is more about the Read More

For too many small businesses, customer service is still seen as a “burden.” Entrepreneurs don’t realize that this burden is actually costing them over $200 billion in repeat sales, according to a recent study by the W. P. Carey School of Business. The report also indicates that customer problem ex Read More

Too many entrepreneurs still believe that “if we build it, they will come.” With today’s overload of information from digital as well as conventional sources, even the best new solutions and services won’t get traction without real marketing. Digital marketing is the cost-effective place to start, Read More

It’s very fashionable these days to declare yourself a social entrepreneur, working for the good of society, the environment and a better life. Most social entrepreneurs don’t like to talk about making money, but often they still ask for help finding investors. As an adviser, I have to tell them th Read More

Most entrepreneurs spend far too much time thinking negatively about competitors, and can’t resist making derogatory statements to their own team, to investors, and even to customers. This approach only makes these important constituents question your integrity, intelligence, and your understanding Read More

As an advisor to entrepreneurs and active angel investor, I often get questions about the realism of the Shark Tank TV series, compared to professional investor negotiations. The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. Yet Read More