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Using Data To Give Startup Founders Fundraising Feedback C67879e52099d1977ba2188d008855e0d1726b32e2152ce52f46411826e900a6

What are the downsides of communicating a key differentiation in your name?

One reason is that because of rapidly changing nature of business, today’s competitive advantage can easily become tomorrow’s disadvantage…or at least irrelevancy. Think about how useful the name Tote.com would be for a shopping site developing a social-sharing universal shopping bag/cart. Pretty cool, huh? But what happens when that doesn’t work particularly well so they pivot to […]
David S. Rose
David S. Rose , Founder and CEO , GUST INC.
1 Nov 2012
Scaling up? Here’s when an option plan can help

Great Startup Teams Foster a Culture of Likability

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 considered quite likable by […]
Martin Zwilling
Martin Zwilling , Founder and CEO , Startup Professionals
28 Oct 2012

Convertible Notes have a clause that the investor can ask for the money back. How often is this used?

The question should be “used for what?” Because convertible notes are designed to give investors an equity interest in a company that will eventually be worth much more than their investment, the intention on their part is always to convert into equity (after all, if they were just after the interest on a loan, they […]
David S. Rose
David S. Rose , Founder and CEO , GUST INC.
25 Oct 2012
Startup Strategies: The Strategic and Financial Significance of Intellectual Property

Startup Execution Transcends the Idea From Day One

A startup begins with a great idea, but all too often, that’s where it ends. Ideas have to be implemented well to get the desired results. Good implementation requires a plan, and a good plan and good operational decisions come from good people. That’s why investors invest in entrepreneurs, rather than ideas. People and operational […]
Martin Zwilling
Martin Zwilling , Founder and CEO , Startup Professionals
21 Oct 2012

Why aren’t venture capitalists lean and scrappy like the startups they fund?

This isn’t a question of hypocrisy, because the two roles aren’t at all analogous. Plato’s definition of beauty was “fitness to the end in view”, and the skills and characteristics that make for a great VC are quite different from those that make for a great entrepreneur. Think of it as the difference between the […]
David S. Rose
David S. Rose , Founder and CEO , GUST INC.
18 Oct 2012
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