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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

In my role as mentor to many of you aspiring entrepreneurs, I often find you convinced that all you need to start is a unique innovation or idea, and now you are ready to jump in with both feet and enjoy the ride. Unfortunately, from my own experience, it’s not that simple, and not doing some prepa Read More

As I have learned through my career in business, as well as years of business consulting, team trust in each other, as well as management, is critical to the long-term success of every venture. It is key to employee engagement, a positive culture, and the productivity necessary to survive and thriv Read More

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. They argue that the color of the money is the same from either source. They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different Read More

Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. They have enough confidence in their ability to deliver that they don’t worry about someone stealing the idea to get there first, and they don’t forget to listen carefully to critical feedb Read More

During my many years in business, both as a professional and an entrepreneur, I always wished I knew the secret to success. Although I was never able to pinpoint any single one, I have gathered some insights which I’m certain are key. In more recent years as a mentor and angel investor, I’ve been e Read More

One of the keys to your success as a business professional and leader is your ability to nurture relationships and select associates who have the attributes to help you build your career or lead a team, rather than people who will never challenge you or may be looking out only for themselves. I hav Read More

The recent world-wide health pandemic has highlighted again how fast things can and do change in the environment today, and it’s up to you to make sure your business can survive and thrive in this new world. As the current supply chain problems illustrate, we are all interconnected, and can no long Read More

Aspiring entrepreneurs who rely only on traditional learning vehicles (teachers, classrooms, and risk-free practice) are doomed to failure in anticipating change today. Either they are never really ready to commit, study an opportunity until it has passed, or fail with tools and techniques from a b Read More

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. All the great ideas in the world won’t make a business, if the ideas never get implemented. Only rare Read More