Category: Startup Advice
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Do what you love and you won’t work a day?
I’m re-posting this because I got a lot of feedback. The majority agreed but some people wanted to modify my premise. One said maybe you should lower your expectations and “do what you like”. Do a job that’s “sort of satisfying”? I don’t think so–not my style. I believe everybody is good at, and has a…
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The Seven Steps of Customer Investigation
When aspiring entrepreneurs finally realize they have to spend more time developing the customer than developing the product in the early days, they are faced with a dilemma: “You mean I have to actually TALK to people?” Steve Blank and Eric Ries would answer the same way: yes. You can’t build a product around who you…
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Does Self Assessment Really Come First?
I spend a lot of ink on self assessment in my book. I always thought that you have to figure out what you’re capable of and can do and are good at and passionate about before you can make a wise choice to be an entrepreneur. In my analytical, architectural mind, that makes sense: build…
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Testing Assumptions with Customers
When you are testing the assumptions you generate in the Assessment stage of the ACE Methodology, you have to first define and verify them through research in the Confirmation stage. This means asking a lot of prospective customers the three critical questions: 1) do they really have the problem you think they do?, 2) do…
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I need to be an entrepreneur. Now what?
I cross paths with a lot of people, especially older job seekers, who say “I need to start my own business, but I don’t know what it will be”. Wanting to be an entrepreneur and independent is the first step along a path of millions of steps, each one carrying the virus of failure. If…
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Pitching to Investors is a Sales Process
When entrepreneurs try to raise money at any level, it involves a “pitch”. Pitching to investors can be defined within the context of a sales process where you and your idea is the product and the investor is the customer. There are some rules, but first, don’t pitch until you are ready. Before the pitch, entrepreneurs have to understand…
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Sculpting an Entrepreneurial Elephant
In a college art class (a long time ago) we were told to sculpt a “successful elephant” with a lump of clay. The puzzled guy next to me asked how to start making a successful elephant. Consistent with my smart-ass nature, I said, “remove everything that doesn’t look like an elephant”. I meet a young…
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Three Critical Questions for Entrepreneurs
Whether you’re a consultant, an app creator, or creating a product for sale, you are providing a solution to a problem. On one hand, if there is no problem, then nobody needs a solution and you don’t have a product. On the other, if everyone has the problem, you have a great position to start…
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After an entrepreneur STARTS a business
The dream of every entrepreneur is to start and run a business that will provide a rewarding, challenging, and fruitful life. Or maybe it’s reaching that pot of gold in three to five years—or someday. Most founders I know see overcoming the challenges as the fun part, where the journey is as—or more—important as creating…
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ACE Methodology – Personal Assessment 1
The concept behind the ACE Methodology for Startups applies itself well to most endeavors intended to create success. The Startup Assembly Manual uses it to lay out a road map for entrepreneurs and people with an idea but no clue what to do with it. ACE is Assessment, Confirmation, and Execution. The Assessment stage leads…