Where did this pervasive sense of entitlement in our culture come from? I’ve written about this before, but I was surprised again recently at a conference for startups when a couple of entrepreneurs started berating investors for their low rate of funding for early-stage startups. It sounded a bit
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Martinzwilling voted on the following stories on BizSugar
Entrepreneurial Funding is Not an Entitlement
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5023 days ago
Entrepreneurs Need Fewer Hot Ideas and More Plans
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5024 days ago
Based on my own experience and feedback from friends, every investor is approached by at least ten entrepreneurs with a “hot idea” for a new business, for every one who has a real “plan” for a new business. That’s why I often say that ideas are worth nothing, until they are put in the context of a
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Eight Key Problems Every Startup Should Anticipate
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5025 days ago
Starting a business is a lot like starting a marriage. At first, all parties are in dreamland, with a vision of changing the world, having lots of fun, and raking in the profits. But all too soon, reality sets in. Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are
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Most Startups Still Treat Customers Like Outsiders
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5026 days ago
I deal often with early-stage startups, and many of these don’t have any customers yet (but wish they did), so it’s not surprising they still don’t think of customers as their friends. More disturbingly, others do have customers, but the customer service program consists of an informal focus on “pr
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Hire More Help and Fewer Helpers for Your Startup
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5027 days ago
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
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Ten Steps to Screen Your Fit for Entrepreneurship
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5028 days ago
Making the decision to become an entrepreneur is a major commitment, with huge implications for skills and lifestyle. Yet there is no standardized testing or certification required or available anywhere to help you decide if you are a good fit for entrepreneurship, or entrepreneurship is right for
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Downers on the Job – Recognize and Fix Yourself
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5029 days ago
A “downer” is defined here as someone who seems to dwell on the negatives of every business challenge, and loves to highlight bad news or potential problems. No matter how smart or experienced this person may otherwise be, things must change or they will kill your startup.
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Eight Entrepreneur Attributes You Can’t Fake
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5030 days ago
Business success begins in the mind of the startup founder and his team. A winning startup is a team of entrepreneurs who build and run the business as an extension of who they are, rather than some extrapolation of the Google or Facebook model.
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It’s a Great Idea, But How Does it Make Money?
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5031 days ago
For survival, the objective of every business should be to bring in revenues which exceed their costs. Even non-profits have to do this to cover overhead costs, unless they rely totally on donations. Yet I continue to see business plans, or even talk to founders, and can’t find the specifics of the
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Six Key Principles to Set Your Startup Culture
Posted by martinzwilling under StartupsFrom http://blog.startupprofessionals.com 5032 days ago
I’m seeing a renewed appreciation of culture and values in business these days. Maybe it’s just another example of nature abhorring a vacuum, but I prefer to think it’s a natural evolution of the pervasive social networking communities, where people relate to and expect to interact with businesses
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