Look. Thinking through your business start-up is essential. But there are some steps you should take before you sit down to write your business plan. And in some (many?) cases the business planning process just interferes with the essential “real-world-proof-of-concept” step.
From Tim Berry’s free “Plan as You Go” book and website.
Validating the idea and understanding the business model are pretty important steps that should come before writing a business plan. That’s hardly a novel idea.
Still, novel idea or not, successful entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa spells out the early stages very well in a BusinessWeek special report published in early 2008, “Before You Write a Business Plan.”
He starts with a short list for validating the idea:
- Write down your thoughts on the product you want to build and the needs you want to solve. You’ll be detailing your hypotheses.
- Validate these hypotheses with as many potential customers as you can. Ask them if they will buy your product or service if you build it. Learn about what features they need and what they will pay for, ask them for more ideas, and be sure that there is a large enough market.
- Build a prototype of your product or offer a test run of your service and again ask potential customers what they think about it. You’ll find that customers usually provide much better input when they can actually try out a product.
Then Wadhwa also suggests a slightly longer list for developing the business model, by answering s a series of questions. …
To read the entire article click
here
Categories: Before you write a business plan · Business Planning · Business Start-ups
From Venture Hacks 2/3/10
by Nivi
Yesterday, we launched AngelList, a curated list of angel investors, representing $80M going into early-stage startups this year.
Today, we’re launching a cool new way to get intros to these angels: StartupList. It’s a weekly email we send to AngelList, with 3 high-quality startups who want intros. Here’s how it works: you send us your pitch, we review it and, every Monday, we email the best 3 startups of the week to AngelList.
Startups: How to get on StartupList
If you’re a startup, apply for StartupList here. We look for the same things that early stage investors look for: traction, social proof, and team. You don’t need all 3 to get on StartupList but you need to kick ass in at least one of these dimensions.
Before you apply to StartupList, build a minimum viable product and learn something about your customers by putting the product in front of them. If you can’t get this far on your own, go find some idea investors instead. (The exception is if you’re an entrepreneur who has made money for investors in the past — your team alone is probably good enough.) Then, write an amazing 150-word elevator pitch and apply to StartupList.
If you’re not one of the 3 startups we highlight on StartupList each week, we may include you in the runners-up of the week. Investors have asked for intros to the runners-up, so it’s also a good place to be.
Apply for StartupList and please help us spread the word! I’m looking forward to discussing your feedback in the comments.
Categories: Venture Capital
by Nivi on February 2nd, 2010
Posted on Venture Hacks
I’m psyched to announce AngelList, a curated list of super high-quality angel investors. And how to reach them.
Investors like Jeff Clavier, Dave McClure, Rob Hayes, Aaron Patzer, Brad Feld, and 50 other investors have already joined. I want to thank all of the angels for taking the time to fill out these extensive profiles.
And it’s not fair for me to list just a few of the investors here — they’re all awesome. You should click and browse the entire AngelList. Together, they represent $80M that will be invested in early-stage startups this year.
Startups: How to contact the angels
Read an angel’s profile before you try to get in touch with him. All the angels have listed how many investments they expect to make this year, their typical investment amount, the markets they invest in, how to get intros, and lots more information you can’t find anywhere else.
Some of the investors let you contact them directly. But, before you do, build a minimum viable product and learn something about your customers by putting it in front of them. If you can’t get that far on your own, go find some idea investors instead. Then send the angels an amazing 150-word elevator pitch.
Don’t send them nonsense. Angels talk to each other and they talk to me. Your reputation is all you’ve got — so please follow our suggestions in the previous paragraph.
And — stay tuned — we’re announcing a sweet new way to reach AngelList soon.
Get AngelList updates
Get notified about new angels on AngelList via RSS.
Categories: Uncategorized
In a recent New York Times opinion piece, Thomas Friedman argued that “Obama should make the centerpiece of his presidency mobilizing a million new start-up companies that won’t just give us temporary highway jobs, but lasting good jobs that keep America on the cutting edge.”
Friedman doesn’t say how the President would do this, but instead writes “Obama should bring together the country’s leading innovators and ask them: “’What legislation, what tax incentives, do we need right now to replicate you all a million times over’ — and make that his No. 1 priority. Inspiring, reviving and empowering Start-up America is his moon shot.”
…To generate one million start-up companies that are around five years from now, we need to start 2.22 million companies today because only 45 percent of new businesses live five years.
… Every year about 14 million Americans get involved in the firm start-up process. So Friedman, Obama, or America’s leading innovators (or policy makers) could almost achieve Friedman’s goal if they could figure out how triple the number of Americans starting businesses every year for the remainder of the President’s first term.
While Friedman’s idea of creating one million start-up companies that create lasting good jobs is a noble goal, it’s a lot easier to say than to achieve. As anyone who has started a company knows, it is not easy to create businesses that have employees and pay them more than the average wage in this country five years after being founded.
Scott Shane is A. Malachi Mixon III, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of nine books, including Fool’s Gold: The Truth Behind Angel Investing in America ; Illusions of Entrepreneurship: and The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By.
Categories: Business Start-ups · Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial activity is increasing among older Americans and falling among younger generations. Scott Shane examines the data
By Scott Shane
If you want to find America’s entrepreneurs, should you be searching places frequented by senior citizens? The answer, from several data sources, appears to be yes.
Contrary to the popular perception that entrepreneurship is a young person’s game, seniors are more likely than young people to operate their own businesses.
According to a June 2009 report by Dane Stangler of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: “In every single year from 1996 to 2007, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 had a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those aged 20 to 34.” (more)
Categories: Uncategorized
Jan. 8, 2010, 3:00 p.m. EST
By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -U.S. consumers sharply reduced their debt in November, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. Total seasonally adjusted consumer debt fell $17.49 billion, or at a 8.5% annual rate, in November to $2.46 trillion. This is the record tenth straight monthly drop in consumer credit. Consumers have retrenched since the financial crisis hit in full force in September 2008. Credit has fallen in every month except January 2009. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected consumer credit to decline by $3.9 billion. In the subcategories, credit-card debt fell $13.7 billion, or 18.5%, to $874.0 billion. This is the record 14th straight monthly drop in credit card debt. Non-revolving credit, such as auto loans, personal loans and student loans fell $3.8 billion or 2.9% to $1.59 trillion.
Categories: Business Start-ups · Personal Finance
“The New Super Hero of the Modern World”
This is my first post regarding venture capital (AKA ‘Vulture Capital’). I’ll be reading and reviewing VC blogs from time to time and share my thoughts under the category Venture Capital.
The first VC blog I’ll be reading is:
www.venturehacks.com
Stay tuned for a review in a week or so.
Categories: Business Start-ups · Entrepreneurship · Venture Capital
The Danger of Entrepreneurial Passion
5:34 PM Wednesday January 6, 2010
by Daniel Isenberg
Passion is up there with innovation in what people think entrepreneurs need in order to succeed. I doubt it. My experience as entrepreneur, entrepreneur educator, and venture capitalist tells me that the more scarce and valuable commodity is cold-shower-self-honesty. Sure, it takes huge commitment, energy, and stamina to get a new venture off the ground. And of course you have to believe, sometimes with little data, that you can succeed against the odds. But passion is an emotion that blinds you.
Mixing the oil of self-belief with the water of dispassionate assessment is probably the entrepreneur’s toughest task. Here are some guidelines: (more)
Categories: Business Start-ups · Entrepreneurship · Uncategorized
Here’s a good definition of ‘entrepreneurship’ from Howard Stevenson at Harvard University:
“Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control.”
Managers manage assets, entrepreneurs manage opportunity, and instead of taking risk, they manage it. Opportunity arises out of a change in the competitive environment, whether it is due to legal, social, regulatory, or other influences.
Categories: Entrepreneurship
As a blogger, I spend most of my time writing. But it’s time spent reading that’s most satisfying. Here’s a short (and by no means a complete) list of 10 articles that encapsulate the art of the startup. Most were published during 2009, and I found them educational and full of practical tips that we’ve applied to our business. They’ve also helped me think differently about startups and entrepreneurship. Hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did. (more)
Categories: Business Start-ups · Entrepreneurship
