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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 h Read More

It’s been happening for some time, but business changes, accelerated by the recent pandemic, have highlighted the need for all of us to review our positions, image, and satisfaction at work. As a business consultant, I see and hear all around me people questioning their current and future career in Read More

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. There are no “overrides” – for example, businesses don’t thrive just because they offer the latest technology, or because ever Read More

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. They rarely highlight their marketing and relationship skills, even though, in my experience, these are more often the key to success in business than product sk Read More

Business success is all about having the best team, yet the average entrepreneur has little prior experience with hiring people and building top-notch teams. It’s no wonder that 45 percent fail in the first five years, and an even smaller percentage ever see a return for their years of effort. Most Read More

In my role as an angel investor to startups, I’m struck by the broad variety of advisor strategies I see in investor presentations and business plans that cross my desk. Some entrepreneurs are “lone rangers,” never mentioning any outside guidance, while others tout dozens of advisors. In my experie Read More

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. They don’t realize that according to many experts, more than 90 percent of satisfied entrepreneurs use bootst Read More

After many years working in business and investing in startups, I’m convinced that the primary reason for new business and career failures is NOT a lack of skill or money, but people giving up too quickly on their dreams and goals. Great businesses and great leaders never give up, especially as piv Read More

One of the complaints I often hear from engaged business professionals is that their new ideas, innovations, and change recommendations are unfairly criticized or dismissed without analysis. The result is fewer and fewer new ideas are volunteered by prospective leaders and key team members, and the Read More

Most startup ideas begin in the mind of an individual, but an idea is not a business. It takes a team, with effective leadership, to build a business. Many aspiring entrepreneurs default to team leadership by domination and control. Yet in my experience, the best entrepreneurs quickly learn the art Read More