In my experience, consummate entrepreneurs tend come up with more startup ideas than they can ever implement, and some of the ideas may not even make business sense. But how does any entrepreneur know which ideas to implement, and which ones are best left behind? After all, most great breakthroughs, like a computer in every […]
Idea
Have it Made: The Basics of the Manufacturing Process
During a recent episode of Fashion Is Your Business, with Nora Levinson and Soyoung Park of Caeden, Pavan asked Nora to walk through the process of getting their headphones and/or their bracelet manufactured. Despite advances in manufacturing and companies like Maker’s Row helping businesses with the manufacturing, the process of making physical goods can still be opaque. Here are the steps that were discussed. We have fleshed […]
3 Reasons Your Idea is Not Taking Off and What to do About it
You have an idea and you think it is awesome. You get pretty psyched about it; maybe you mention it to a friend or 2. Maybe you even mention it to your mom. It feels like this could be “The One” — even though in the back of your mind, you know the “perfect idea” […]
Visionary Entrepreneurs are More Than Idea People
A popular approach for aspiring entrepreneurs these days seems to be to corner anyone who will listen with a pitch on their current “million dollar idea.” The initial monologue usually ends with the question, “How much money do you think this is worth?” In my humble opinion, ideas are a commodity and are really not […]
It’s All Been Done Before in the Startup World
Whenever I start a new project, it always starts with excitement. New ideas are always exciting because as ideas, they seem perfect and carry with them the promise of learning new things. That excitement lasts right up until I finish the first working prototype and have enjoyed the glow of having built something new. Then reality […]
Every Technical Startup Wishes For This Dream Team
In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. That’s why investors say they invest in people (bet on the jockey, not the horse), rather than the idea. Yet every entrepreneur […]
12 Qualities to Look for in an Advisory Board Member
What’s one quality you should look for in a potential advisory board member? Why? Coaching Ability “The best advisors don’t just tell you the answer. They know that they don’t know the answer, and the best way to help is to ask powerful questions that get a mentee to think differently and question his own […]
37 Ideas for Motivating Your Employees
A good job is hard to find, but every entrepreneur knows a good employee is even harder to keep. As an entrepreneur, one must ensure his or her company is staffed with people who look forward to coming to work every day for more than a paycheck. Through the years, I found that it was […]
Startup Ideation
Back in Lesson #1, we talked about determining whether or not you had a good business idea for your startup. I just assumed everyone reading already had a startup idea in mind. But, what if you don’t? What if you know you want to startup a business, but aren’t really clear on what business to start. If that […]