Posted by Antone Johnson on May 3rd, 2012
Entrepreneurs tend to focus on opportunity rather than risk, and rightly so. As Steve Blank has written, at its core, a startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. In the lexicon of the lean startup movement, once “product-market fit” has been achieved, the focus shifts to scale and execution as the startup matures
Posted by Bill Payne on February 6th, 2012
Entrepreneurs are often surprised when investors refuse to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or confidentiality agreement when offered an opportunity to read the entrepreneurs’ new business plans. After all, every new startup features secret ideas, partnerships, intellectual property and/or technology.
Posted by Tim Berry on January 11th, 2012
One of the questions I hear most frequently is how to find consultants to help with developing a business plan for investors. Often it seems as if people are thinking that the right prose and formatting could make the difference between investor interest or lack of it.
Posted by Bob Rice on November 18th, 2011
Perhaps the most misunderstood topic in the world of startup investing is the question of who the competition is and isn’t. And angels get this wrong just as often as entrepreneurs do.
Of course, we’re all familiar with the inevitable pitch slide on the topic, which features some sort of grid or circle image with – how fortunate! – a
Posted by Martin Zwilling on November 7th, 2011
If your startup can’t be bothered with social media, or has no plan to take advantage of it, then you are definitely at risk these days. But simply jumping in is not enough. Before you start spending money and time being a user, you need to understand how it can help you and your business. Using it randomly or incorrectly
Posted by Martin Zwilling on October 24th, 2011
In the world of business, you only get one chance for a great first impression. The stakes are high – you are asking an investor for money, a customer for an order, or another executive for a partnership. Badly written letters, long rambling or emotional emails, or an obvious lack of spell checking will brand you as a poor business
