A while back, when a startup founder mentioned to me that he wasn’t sure he had the personality to be an entrepreneur, I realized how important that insight was. My first thought is that if you are more annoyed than energized by expert advice, team suggestions, and customer input, then you should p
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Martinzwilling voted on the following stories on BizSugar
Do You Have the Mentality to Manage a Startup?
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4622 days ago
8 Key Questions to Break Thru Entrepreneur Hype
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4623 days ago
If you really want to impress a startup founder as a potential employee, or you want to be a smart investor, you need to know the right questions to ask. These are the questions that get past the hype of a founder “vision to change the world,” and into the realm of real business strengths, weakness
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It Takes a Customer Sale to Prove a Business Model
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4624 days ago
“Will the dogs eat the dog food?” This rather crude expression weighs heavily on the mind of all good startup founders, no matter how confident they appear. We all know the products they give away, and the ones purchased by family and friends don’t count. The real milestone, proving the business mo
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7 Startup Co-Founders That Can Lead to Conflict
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4625 days ago
Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest. This would be a mistake, and cou
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How You Talk About Competitors Speaks Volumes
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4626 days ago
Made Hot by: HomeBusinessMedia on September 5, 2011 3:41 am
Every entrepreneur should spend plenty of time thinking about competitors, and how they relate to your business, but you need to be very careful what you say out loud about them to your team, your investors, and your customers. What you say speaks volumes about how you think about your startup, how
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How to Score on the Entrepreneur Likability Scale
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4627 days ago
You don’t have to be likeable to everyone to be a great entrepreneur, just to the people who count. Of course, we can all point to apparent exceptions, like Ted Turner or Larry Ellison, who are sometimes seen as lions, downright predators, or even jerks. Yet I’m told that even these guys are consid
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How Much is Your Million Dollar Idea Really Worth?
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4629 days ago
A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen, with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” The initial monologue usually ends with the question “How much money do you think this is worth?” In my humble opinion, ideas are a commodity,
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10 Funding Quotes Every Entrepreneur Should Skip
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4630 days ago
In previous articles, I have occasionally mentioned “red flags” which every potential investor unconsciously listens for. Other writers, like Guy Kawasaki, have irreverently called some of these “entrepreneur lies,” but I prefer to think of them as innocent over-enthusiasm or over-confidence that c
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Every Entrepreneur Needs to Embrace Team Conflict
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4631 days ago
Many entrepreneurs are not prepared for conflict, or actively avoid it. Their vision, passion, and focus are so strong that they can’t imagine someone disagreeing, much less fighting them to the death. But the reality is that startups are composed of smart people, with emotions as well as intellect
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10 Simple Ways to Maximize Business Plan Impact
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 4632 days ago
If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or the back of a napkin. Keep the wording and formatting straightforward, and keep the plan short. For minimum content, see my a
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“Rachel: Great to hear! Thanks for your kind words! :)
All the Best,
Martin...”
“Thank you, Martin. That's a fantastic motto... and I couldn't agree more!...”
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“For sure, I know I did years ago when I was working for others....”
“Lisa: I wonder if they potential employee is doing a background check on...”