People frequently ask entrepreneurs how they come up with new ideas. This answer is not as straightforward as one might think. There are many ways that entrepreneurs and innovators come up with new ideas, products, and processes. Even once you have a list of idea-generating sources, it is only half the story. As it turns … Continue reading The Power of Crowdsourcing for Startups
Summary Via ChatGPT. This article discusses the importance of implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy in the early stages of a startup. The author argues that CRM is not just about capturing customer data during the sales process, but also about establishing a customer-centric mindset and managing all relevant stakeholder relationships. The article suggests … Continue reading CRM’s Essential Role in Early Venture Development
In a recent class, we discussed how startups should approach pricing. When you think about how important pricing is to customer acquisition, market perception of value, and venture profitability, it is surprising that founders commonly consider pricing strategies quite late in business model development. Yet, pricing is an integral part of the overall marketing strategy. … Continue reading Pricing Strategies for Startups
One of the significant decisions startups face is how to best position their product offering for market entry. The final decision is challenging even when you conduct extensive customer discovery and competitive analysis and speak with fellow entrepreneurs and industry experts. In this post, I will talk about the pieces of information that you gather … Continue reading Product Positioning for Startups
Entrepreneurs can quickly become overwhelmed by the many actions required to establish their new venture as a legal entity that meets all local and federal regulations. In many countries, the regulatory hurdles can be a barrier to entry in their own right. While there are several actions to take when starting a new company, I … Continue reading Selecting a Legal Structure for Your Startup
No idea or company attracts resources to help it grow unless the entrepreneur can communicate the opportunity clearly to potential stakeholders, whether they are investors, bank loan officers, corporate partners, acquirers, suppliers, or employees. Over the years, I have worked with thousands of startup founders and teams and have honed in on a suite of … Continue reading The Reading Deck: Early Business Plan Document
For startups, crowdfunding is exploding as a viable alternative to more conventional early funding sources. In 2021, the global crowdfunding market was valued at $13.64 billion and is expected to double by 2028, according to Statista. U.S. and Canadian markets accounted for the most significant volume of funds raised at 73.9 Billion. During this period, … Continue reading Startup Finance | Crowdfunding
As a new semester begins, I have a new wave of startups looking for guidance in many aspects of business model formation, strategic planning, and project execution. However, one area that causes founders a lot of anxiety is their venture's naming. The challenges typically fall into two categories; either the founder can't come up with … Continue reading Intellectual Property | Trademark Strategy for Startups
One of the core professional skills that all entrepreneurs and innovators need to develop is what I call venture knowledge management. When you think about creating a new venture, from opportunity recognition to launch, founders are inundated with information. This information comes from multiple sources: Market research Talking to customers Seeking advice from mentors Speaking … Continue reading The Role of Information Search in Opportunity Discovery
In the last post, I offered a brief survey of the traditional funding sources for early startups. As in our textbook, I like to separate non-equity from equity funding sources, as the latter tend to be more applicable to later-stage ventures. By focusing on these early, non-equity funding sources. In a sense, every dollar counts towards … Continue reading The Practice of Bootstrapping
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