Startups Archives - Page 8 of 36

Developing Austin’s Startup Ecosystem

Tuesday, 28 February 2023 by Paul O'Brien

Regional culture, history, and infrastructure are the qualities of a region of the world that drives innovation, jobs, and economic development because technology is ultimately about people and their potential. A really a wonderful article about Austin in The New Yorker sparked a series of wonderful discussions of the past and present of the Austin

Published in Industry, Startup Ecosystems, Startups, Texas Startups

19 Comments

I’m Afraid VCs Will Take Over

Tuesday, 17 January 2023 by Paul O'Brien

How do startup founders protect their company from investors in the shareholders’ agreement? Should they? Protect from what?? Seriously, think about it for a moment. The startup community is flooded with people who ‘don’t want VC,’ think, ‘investors will take over,’ and fear the influence or control of investors. This paranoia is a problem in

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Published in Startups

18 Comments

Startup Valuations May Vary, Here’s Why and What You Need to Know

Monday, 05 December 2022 by Paul O'Brien

Businesses are valued based a multiple of earnings and profit. The variation stems from a few things associated with what that multiple might be (since earnings and profit are evident) Investor opinion about the capabilities of the executive team Investor awareness of competition, threats, and opportunities Investor knowledge about the market, trends, and potential regulation

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Published in Startups

9 Comments

A Startup Pitch is NOT a Sales Pitch!

Monday, 24 October 2022 by Paul O'Brien

More than half the pitches I heard this past week went like this, and I want to share this to stress how significantly you should understand how this is NOT a good pitch if you need investors: 1. This is our solution2. This is how it works and all our great features3. We’ve sold it

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Published in Raising Capital

72 Comments

Startups aren’t defined by Tech: How a Beverage Venture can Change the World

Sunday, 09 October 2022 by Paul O'Brien

Why is Coca-Cola a super successful company even though its main product does not solve any world problem? The question caught my attention for two reasons: Much of the world seems misled to perceive that startups and technology go hand in hand, as though something can’t be a startup unless it is in tech. Too

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Published in Advertising, Industry, Insights / Research, Startups

13 Comments

Sole Startup Founder? This is Why You’re Struggling

Wednesday, 28 September 2022 by Paul O'Brien

In the past few days alone, half of my office hours with startups have resulted in exactly the same feedback, in a critical but advisory way: I don’t care You’re telling me about the product, the solution I have no idea how to help you, stop selling me 8 different startups fixated on telling me

entrepreneurship

Published in Startups

45 Comments

Neither Your Product nor Your Idea is Fundable

Sunday, 14 August 2022 by Paul O'Brien

How do I sell a startup that has a validated solution yet neither users nor revenue? Among the primary FAQs within startup incubators and of advisors, is how do I get my product funded? You know the question through the variety of ways in which it emerges: How do I raise startup capital for my