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Startup Business Development Strategies – How To Avoid Unproductive Deals

Startup business development includes strategic marketing partnerships, sales channel development, and distribution agreements, generally with larger firms in the space. It can be a highly effective way for startups to grow rapidly; indeed, a business development deal can become a "company maker" for a young start-up. However, building a successful deal takes a significant amount of time and effort. Further, the process is often fraught with risks, such as management distraction and intellectual property theft. To be effective, and to mitigate risks, startups should put each contemplated business development deal through a rigorous screening process before embarking on the negotiation path. We call this "finding the WIIFT-- what's in it for them" and in this article, we discuss how to go about it.

Top 10 Dumbest Web Site Decisions

Having worked with web sites for the past eleven years, I've seen a LOT of errors, poor judgement and embarrassing gaffs on the web. Sometimes they are the fault of the client, the web designer, the IT Manager, or the SEO, but human error is always to blame. The saddest thing is that the problems are usually preventable. Here is a list of what I consider to be the Top 10 dumbest web site decisions ever, in reverse order, David Letterman style...

Four Types of Highly Effective Business Plans

Business plans are not just for start-ups raising capital. Writing a business plan-- or more accurately, the process of strategic planning, using the business plan as a framework-- has many applications for both early stage companies just starting out, as well as for mature firms who are seeking to grow, improve, or diversify their businesses. In this article, we talk about four powerful types of business plans: the Feasibility Plan, Operating Plan, Expansion Plan, and Joint Venture Plan, and we delve into the key characteristics and uses of each.

7 Reasons Your Startup Will Fail (And Lessons Learned From Those Who Succeed)

Whether a startup succeeds or fails is often the result of internal traits found in a company's culture. In this article, we have identified the most common elements or "predictors" of failure, as well as the contrasting traits found in startups who succeed. Topics include: Culture of Urgency vs. Culture of Slow, Aiming for Perfection, Paranoia, 'Build It And They Will Come', Planning vs. Action, and Genetic Makeup of Team.

Is Your Start-up Company Truly Ready for Business Development?

Business development-- defined as strategic partnerships, sales channel and reseller relationships, and other joint marketing and sales efforts-- can be an excellent way for start-ups and other small companies to grow their business faster and more efficiently. However, along with the benefits of doing a business development deal come many changes and trade-offs. In this article, we look at two key criteria for business development success: we argue that start-ups must be both 'operationally' and 'organizationally' capable of executing on a deal for the partnership to be a success.

Startup Valuation: 3 Tips For Putting A Price On Your Company

When raising angel or venture capital, startup founders are often concerned with questions about the valuation of their company. Putting a value on an early stage company-- especially one with very little or no revenue and negative cash flow-- is difficult to do, since most traditional valuation methods do not work well for startups. In this article, we discuss how startup companies are valued by investors and how you should set a valuation range when dealing with seed, angel, or VC investors.

Business Plan Outline for Startups: A Simple, Time-Tested Format For Strategic Planning and Raising Capital

Business plans are more than just a written document-- they are a way of capturing and honing your business strategy, eliminating risks, and understanding the market and competition. This is an example of a business plan outline used at VentureArchetypes. This format has been used by startups raising venture capital, angel capital, and bank loans. It is a simple and adaptable business plan outline that covers the key areas.

Low Cost Marketing and PR Ideas to Promote Your Business

As President of Westwind Communications a PR and Marketing Firm. I work with entrepreneurs, start-ups as well as doctors, lawyers and authors. I am often called upon in the early stages of a company’s existence to get them “on the radar.” Sometimes however, the best ideas can be low cost or free. Of course the best "free" marketing idea is good old fashioned "word of mouth" or as it’s called today "WOM." Here are just a few low-cost marketing ideas you can use to get new business for your new business.

Points to Ponder for Growing Your Business
Strategies and structures to expand the success of your business.

5 Rules on Planning Your Startup Website

Too many clients rush to buy a domain name, and in a fever, develop it at the lowest bid they can find, only to discover later that 1) their domain name is not branded well for the web, and 2) their site will need massive revision in order to accommodate organic search marketing needs, while 3) the design and usability of the cheapo site itself is showing...big time. Here is advice from a web marketing planner on how to avoid serious pitfalls when planning a new website.

PR the Start-up
Launching a start-up company to the news media today presents a number of tough public relations challenges. With thousands of start-ups vying for media attention, the job of promotion is even tougher when the activities surrounding PR are not inherent to the founder.

Apr 14 2010 Making Opportunities And Not Waiting Is One Step Close To Your Startup

When it comes to startups it is important that you have a killer idea to get the word going. Now, you just can't spring up and yell I can create a device that will take you to Andromeda and vanish. It might trigger a few enthusiasts but your disappearance and no methodology to put this to practice would have people call you stupid. Seriously, you don't have to doubt that at all. I have many ideas to talk about, many that can be implemented and yet putting them to practice can be difficult for many reasons and the major one is a business model...

How To Publicize A Start-Up Business
If you are starting a new business, regardless of whether you are selling a product or service, getting publicity may seem like a daunting endeavor. It doesn't have to be. By using the right strategies and mindset, you can get exposure for your start-up and look as experienced and established as competitors that have been around for decades.

Three Reasons Start-ups Fail
This article describes some common reasons that new businesses fail and offers ideas on how entrepreneurs can be successful with regard to planning and funding.

Freelancing Lawyers and Accountants Are the Start-Up’s Friend
Often time people feel intimidated by the idea of starting up their own business, whether it’s online or otherwise. When I lost everything back in 2007 and had to start over, it would have been easy to just “throw in the towel.” However, I fortunately turned to making money on the Internet.

Tips to Get More Visibility for Your Company
These easy tips can help any company gain more visibility just by maximizing their content. Just a few, simple changes to wording and presentation can make a big difference in being found by more potential customers.

Lesson #3: Do It Because You Love It
“I’m a geek,” says Cuban. “I love technology. I would be online working with technology regardless of what my day job is.”

A Little Colonel Of Truth: How Sanders Turned KFC Into A Global Success

“Life as I have known it has been Finger Lickin’ Good.” That was the title of Sanders’ autobiography. Indeed, for this entrepreneur who started off on the brink of poverty, life seemed to have gotten a whole lot better for him. After numerous failed startups, Kentucky Fried Chicken would be the one to finally stick. Today, the company has one of the most recognizable brands in the world. How did Sanders turn a little service station into the international fast-food franchising success it is now?

Lesson #3: Localize Your Content For The Global Market
“We’re never arrogant, we're always looking at the competition,” says DeWolfe. “But they have not been successful for a couple of reasons. The intent to socialize on a site like Yahoo! isn't really there because the brand doesn't necessarily stand for anything and there's no real voice to it.”

Lesson #1: “If you get knocked down, get back up again”
“I have a number of famous quotes, and one of them is, if you get knocked down, get back up again,” says Hawkins. “I don’t really feel like I want to let anything ultimately defeat me.”

How Franchisee Start-ups Can Accelerate Sales Growth
A critical time in starting up a new franchise is the first 90 days. Franchisees that get off to a fast start increase their probability for success and faster sales growth. Here are five tips for getting your new franchise off to a fast start.

The Art of Distribution

One of the important insights that the Startups 2006 panel hammered home was the importance of distribution for consumer-facing startups. (By the way, an astounding 13,000 people watched this video during the first week.) Many people use the word “distribution” as if it were a tactic when in fact it is a goal. Any bozo can say the word as if it’s a magic bullet; the test is the ability to achieve distribution. Here are my thoughts.

The Art of Projections in a Dotcom 2.0 World

The world is running amok with entrepreneurs pitching every sort of Web 2.0, social networking, user-generated-content startup. It’s the attack of the bull-shiitake startup projections, so I’m losing my hearing; there’s a ringing in my head, and I get dizzy every once in a while. Before the world implodes (again), here is a top-tenish list of ways to create realistic projections in this Dotcom 2.0 world.

Former VCs Discover Entrepreneurship is Hard Work, and VCs are Assholes
Funny article in the SJ Merc about VCs turned entrepreneurs newly discovering that a) startups are hard work, and b) many VCs are clueless assholes. Nothing like being whacked in the head by reality to learn things that the rest of the startup world knew a long time ago.

Trimming Startups, One Inscrutable Position at a Time
From Lucy Kellaway in the FT, a rule that I'm going to apply at more startups:

The Entrepreneurial Spirit
Fred Karl, designer of the Viking range and owner of that company said, "I was a weird kid—I began designing towns when I was 12." We all know that "weird" can be good, if we don't judge others through our lens ... Being weird increases creativity if we allow it to flourish. Fred Karl, founder of Viking Range, let his weirdness flourish abundantly.

Entrepreneurship and the Money Myth
There are many myths in the venture business -- I alluded previously to the myth of U.S. VC value add -- but I was reminded of another one today. The myth? That access to money matters.

Founders at Work
This is a picture of my copy of Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days. It has broken my record for the “book with most stickies.” My system is that the stickies on the top edge are ideas for my next book, and the ones on the side are ideas for this blog. As you can see, it’s a gold mine for great stories about entrepreneurship. Here is a list of some of my favorites.

How to Write a Business Plan: Ten Questions with Tim Berry

I work in the surreal world of Silicon Valley where venture capitalists fund companies based on PowerPoint pitches and executive summaries. My friend Tim Berry rightfully pointed that business plans still serve an important role in "the rest of the world." He's right, and he should know because he's the president of Palo Alto Software, the principal creator of Business Plan Pro, and the author of a blog called Planning, Startups, Stories. He was recently named the US Association of Small Business & Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Corporate Entrepreneur of the Year for 2007.

On the Other Hand: The Flip Side of Entrepreneurship by Glenn Kelman
This is a guest posting by Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, a company that enables people to buy homes online. He offers a counterpoint to my posting about how easy it is to make millions of dollars with "user-generated, long-tail, Web 2.0, social-networking, open-source content."

Financial Models for Underachievers: Two Years of the Real Numbers of a Startup
My buddy at Redfin, Glenn Kelman, decided he wanted to bare his financial soul so that other entrepreneurs could get greater insight into the witchcraft called financial modeling. In this two-part posting, he reveals his numbers and his lessons. They are eye-opening for most entrepreneurs.

Recommendation: Get A Gmail Account
Every day I get emails from people working on new startups. I'm continually amazed at how many of them come from their existing corporate email address.

Venture Capital & Recessions
Lots of talk in the venture business, as everywhere else, about the impact of recessions on the business. In general, recession vintage venture funds have been among the better-performing funds. Here are some related points:

The Five Most Important Lessons of Entrepreneurship
Over at the Sun Microsystems blog I've posted my list of the five most important lessons I've learned as an entrepreneur. #1 is "Focus on cash flow."

The Ether and the Scrum

Every day I get emails from entrepreneurs that make me think. In this case, it’s from a friend who is on the fundraising trail. He started off the email with “I felt compelled to share this with you as someone who would appreciate it.” I thought it was dynamite and asked him if I could share it since – in its unedited form – it captured so nicely what I expect many entrepreneurs feel. And, just as importantly, it’s something I hope VC’s realize that entrepreneurs – even very experienced ones – feel.

Fred Wilson and the Venture Capital (Non-)Cartel
When a capitalist says that he is pleased to see profits increase as his competitors disappear and the remainder hold the line on price is that a cartel? How is it different from the CEO of, say, Honda, gloating about the elimination of other auto companies, and then asking the remaining companies to hold car prices?

Is your sales effort built on a house of cards?

Is your sales strategy and projected sales growth built on a house of cards? For many start-ups this is the case. Their initial sales growth often comes off the back of an entrepreneur’s ideas and the hard work of a dedicated few who pitch in, take on multiple roles and tasks all the while promoting and selling the idea to more and more people. This works well in the early days where the team is small, communication channels are direct, everyone knows what is going on and is committed to the fledgling business’ success. There’s lots of activity, lots of fun, lots of sleepless nights and a growing sales pipeline. The business has a life of its own until one day the owners/ directors realise that if they are to grow further they need more people...

3 Key Factors For Raising Capital
Raising venture capital is hard. Statistics show that only 2 to 5% of startups successfully get their business plans funded by VCs. One of the main reasons startups are not able to raise capital is because they approach investors before they are really ready-- i.e., before they are "venture worthy." This article discusses three key factors that will help improve your chances of getting funded.

Book Review: "No Time Marketing" Can Help Startups Start Their PR & Marketing Campaigns

No Time Marketing may be able to help startups that lack the budget and staff to conduct a shoe-string marketing campaign. Written by Alyssa Dver, a former chief marketing officer, No Time Marketing is a short book (just 115 pages) that does a great job of capturing the essentials of marketing for busy executives, providing tips and actionable questions that can help startups develop a marketing plan.

The Secret of Silicon Valley's Magic with Technology and Innovation
Silicon Valley is a special place. Why is it so entrepreneurial? Why do start-ups sprout like weeds? Many have tried to copy this cradle of innovation and its success, and yet no one has been able to duplicate it. What makes Silicon Valley different?

Are You Doing The Things That Can Potentially Ruin Your Start-Up Business?

Enthusiasm in the air, bone crushing energy, BIG dreams sketched out, and all these initial flurry of excitement goes off the hook if you are unaware or ill prepared to tackle some of the most common initial business blocks. In U.S., seven out of ten new employer firms last at least two years, and about half survive five years. At a time when new business survival rate is low, this article intends to make you aware and get you prepared to tackle these speed bumps.

FOOD CONCESSION
A newly released book helps frustrated job seekers find success through self-employment in the food concession business.

Starting An Online Marketing Business and Feeling Frustrated?
If you are "feeling the pain" of navigating your way through all the information to get your online marketing business up and running, you might appreciate reading about some of what I learned in that process.

Jack Dosey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams' Quotes
Jack Dosey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams' Quotes

Lesson #2: “So what if it’s just fun?”
“We were working at Odeo, but we weren’t as passionate about the podcasting service as we should have been,” recalls Stone. “We weren’t using it, and that was a problem. Twitter got started because Ev gave us some freedom to think along different lines.”

Dialogue Regarding CATA Post Demonstrates the Productive Power of Social Media

Dialogue Regarding CATA Post Demonstrates the Productive Power of Social Media "116 Campaign" in which I referred to the effort as being self-serving despite a just cause inspired an interesting discussion that demonstrates the power of social media to engage and expand upon a train of thought. In fact I enjoyed the exchange with Sue so much that I felt it warranted sharing with you. So here here the unabridged version:

Home Business Opportunities – First Know Your Goals – Then Look for Your Business
Even in today’s tough economic conditions online home business opportunities thrive. It is very easy to get carried away by the prospects of running your own business from home. It is for this reason that so many startups never make it to the next year. Do not let you be one of them! Tips for your success -

Online Business Tips For Success
These days, it seems everyone wants to start an online business - but how can you make sure you are successful, and not one of the many failed startups?

Spreading yourself too thin in Social Media

Many DIY's have utilized social networking sites and other forms of social media to broadcast their message and communicate with others; however you can fall into the trap of starting to use many different sites to the point you can't update each one nearly frequent enough. The social media world is littered with "dead" blogs, dead profile pages, etc. Every instance you appear online will lead to a perception drawn from the visitor; a poorly maintained Facebook page or perhaps a blog not updated in several months can lead to a perhaps false conclusion your company is out of business, or struggling. Being visible online in many different places is really only beneficial if you have the manpower to update and continually communicate on each site.

Mistakes Startups Should Avoid
Mistakes can be very costly. Averting those mistakes is the first step to success. Below is a list of typical mistakes startups & businesses make.

Why should entrepreneurs choose Franchising vis a vis starting their own business?

Starting up a new venture can be a risky affair. You can painstakingly explore and research your market, time the set up to perfection, open your business where demand is high, outdo the competition, offer the best range of products and services available, advertise in the right places and still your business can fail. In fact global Small Business Statistics indicate that one half of new businesses close within the first 3 years of trading. When describing exactly what a franchise is, the important thought is “the right to do business in a prescribed manner.”

100 Attributes of Successful Entrepreneurs, 1-10
Before starting out on your own entrepreneurial venture, read along as GL shares with you his learnings over his own 25+ year startup career. Here are the first ten learnings

Failure Is Not An Option
Many individuals are starting their first venture into the entrepreneurial world for the first time. Some have been at it for some time. Whether you just got started or have been around the block, you will be faced with similar issues from time to time. Realizing that startups have a high rate of business closures, especially in the first year, it is important to know the trigger points.

Which Business Plan Software is For Me
I received a call this afternoon from a guy out in the New England area asking which program works best for raising investment capital. After a fairly long conversation explaining the key differences between the programs I decided to recap them here for your use:

What Are Recourse and Non-Recourse Loans?
Understanding the difference between a "Recourse" and "Non-Recourse" loan is vital to every entrepreneur. Whether you are seeking financing or not, it is important to know what these terms mean and how they apply to you, the business owner. It is widely acknowledged that if you don't understand them, it can be very costly. This information just might come in handy in the future.

Fred's Five Rules for Product/Market Fit
Love this: Fred Wilson's five rules for product/market fit at startups. I can almost always spot the MBAs pitching me -- there's zero obsession.

Startups: Top 10 Funding Sources
Even in today’s stressed economy, there are multiple ways to keep your startup alive and moving forward. I find that many startup founders fixate on one or two, often at the expense of their business. Following is a prioritized larger list of sources, with some “rules of thumb” which may save you a lot of time and energy:

Startups and the Dilemma of the First Sales Hire
Who do you hire a VP or a Salesperson? The dilemma facing a startup attempting to build a salesforce.

Seven Deadly Sins of Startups
Everybody has his favorites for this list, so I thought I would share mine. It’s always painful when a startup fails, but as a mentor to founders I would hope that you can learn from these experiences and not stumble on the same issues.

Universities Love Startups
I'm continually impressed with the initiatives and resources I see from local universities to help startups. These definitely are not limited to students, since every university wants and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already have credibility in the marketplace.

The "Tilt" Thing and the Case for Journalist Entrepreneurs
People are all stirred up by my suggestion that the Valley is on "tilt". Lest anyone think otherwise, I'm not convinced it's entirely a bad thing. The Valley takes its biggest risks and does some of its wildest work when there is this "Everyone into the water" feeling about the place. More is more: More startups, more risk-taking, more experiments, more money -- more of more.

What’s so difficult about building a successful startup?
The article covers the most difficult aspect of building a successful startup.

Women Entrepreneurs Prove Its Not Just A Mans World
Women are increasingly more active in starting new businesses. Top growth of their businesses indicates skills that are noteworthy for other women and men.

Self Test: Small Business Marketing IQ
How much do you know about marketing your small business? Spend a few minutes with this quiz and see how much you know.

2 Key Start-up Steps to Take From Your iPhone
Starting a business in the year 2011 is exponentially easier than it was in 1911. Competing is a different story....

5 Things Business Owners Must Consider During Growth or Survival Periods
Growing a business in today’s market is all about survival of the fittest. Surviving through the uphill battles of being an entrepreneur is critical. Surviving through the growth stages of the business is just as vital as when your business is in a negative cash flow period or downhill mode.

Growing Your Small Business with Non-Traditional Financing
Small business owners are always seeking ways to grow their business. Whether you are going after business-to-business (B2B) clients, business-to-government (B2G) contracting opportunities, or business-to-consumer customers (B2C), growing your business is the foremost thing on your mind.

5 Reasons Why Your Website is Important to Financing Your Small Business
Today’s small business owners have so much to do when engaging their customers. Staying hyper-focused on bringing in new customers is important. It is also important when courting a financing source, whether traditional or nontraditional. When you are in need of financing, especially if you are a start-up or small business owner, your financing source will become a vital part of your business.

Lesson #2: Lease the Pencils
Lesson #2 of Chris Golis's talk 5000 Business plan, 50 deals, 25 write-offs lessons learnt from 25 years as a venture capitalist. Money talks but cash screams.

Entrepreneurs in India: Are they missing on creating differentiators?
The article focusses on how the Indian enterpreneurs need to differentiate or get differentiated to succeed! It covers examples of creADivity.com and how IIM A alumni differentiated themselves from the lot and have been able to build a more successful business plan. On the other hand how RedBus.in and Ticketwala.com are trying to differentiate to get each other's pie

Crunchless Credit
Think borrowing money from family and friends is risky business? Virgin Money acts as a middleman to ensure the safest transactions.

Four Stages of Startup Development
The Startup Genome project is a study of 650 startup companies in an attempt to understand why some startups suceed and others do not. The authors of the Startup Genome project aid significantly in understanding how and why startups develop and succeed or fail.

5 Green Businesses You Can Start
Many entrepreneurs are eager to go green, but unsure what type of business they can start. Here are five business opportunities for entrepreneurs from many backgrounds to make money and make a difference.

Stick to Your Guns and Understand That Failure is Natural
Stick to your guns. Outside advice should be welcomed but the vision should come from the entrepreneur and you should stick to your guns. Just because nobody has done it before doesn’t mean that you can’t; I urge entrepreneurs to maintain their vision, and the payoff will come.

Follow your passion and be the best in the world
Follow your passion. This is not a place to get rich quick and a lot of entrepreneurs go in thinking what’s the quickest path between me and a cash-out? Do what you’re passionate about. If you’re passionate about it and you do it right, the money will come but there are a lot easier ways to earn a pay check than to start a business.

How to present to Investors
The top 5 tips to make that investment presentation go well and increase the likely-hood of getting funding.

Africa at DEMO ‘08

I’ve been sitting on this little nugget of information for the last month, but am happy to finally announce that I’ll be going to the DEMO ‘08 conference in January. DEMO is the leading conference for new technologies to launch. It’s generally packed with a ton of VC’s, startups and some really interesting people. DEMO is one of the very best conferences in the tech space and one that I’ve always wanted to attend.

Peer-To-Peer Lending and Your Small Business

Before the internet, before computers, before the stock market, businesses still needed money. Terms like ‘Barter’, ‘Partner’, or even ‘Susu’ were a critical part of the financial vernacular. With the advent of the internet, so much has changed. Here is one such major change – “Peer-to-Peer Lending”. This form of financing has drastically changed and improved because of the internet. Due to its supercharged online growth, this is now a term you must know.

Small business financing - tapping into Ottawa\\\'s R&D tax incentive program

SRED is known as the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Credit program. According to the Canadian Revenue Agency - the SRED program is meant for the businesses that conduct research and development in Canada. It is the largest source of funds from the government in regards to R&D programs that supports industrial research. This article outlines the SRED eligibility requirements for small business.

Financing Your Startup: Some Essential Tips
Step-by-step hints from experts to assist you....

Financing Options for Start-ups
One of the biggest challenges for many start-ups is to find money to keep the company running. This article outlines some ways in which start-ups can acquire financing for their business.

Going Against the Social Crowd IS the Secret to Success
Don't try to be the next Facebook but only better. Be the leader that everyone else tries to mimic. To be a copycat is easy, it takes boldness to invent something that doesn't exist. Being in business sometimes means you forge your own trails instead of following the ones well traveled.

A Stuck Mind Can't Create a Successful Business
If creating a successful business was just about following strategies of other successful entrepreneurs everyone would be millionaires. There's millions of books on business and how to create successful ones so why aren't all businesses successful? It's a lot more about the business owner than just the business. How you think plays a bigger role in your success than you may believe.

Taking the Cus out of Customer Service: Why Ask Why?
Why ask why? It engages customers to think rather than wait. Like a rock laced with gold, raw feedback needs to be refined. We don't want to appease demanding customers…we want to figure them out. There's pain in work. We all have some symptoms. We all have some points. True customer service is a two-way road: discovering the problem together and working on a solution together.

Business Profile: dorothyduncan
dorothyduncan founders Mandy Duncan and Dorothy Ghettuba talk about what it took to start up their company and what advice they have for other African startups.

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