Martin Zwilling
Martin Zwilling is the founder and chief executive officer of Startup Professionals, a company that provides products and services to startup founders and small business owners. Check out his daily blog, follow him on Twitter @StartupPro or email him directly at marty@startupprofessionals.com.
5 Pitfalls When Jumping from Corporate to Startup
Many people, especially those who have spent years struggling up the corporate ladder, dream of jumping ship and becoming an entrepreneur. But every job move is fraught with risk, and the move from employee to entrepreneur is on the high …
How to Approach Someone You Know for Startup Funding
Most entrepreneurs have learned that it's almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors "require" that you already have some investment from friends and …
Learn the Etiquette of Business Networking Today
I often recommend business networking as the most effective way for a startup founder to find investors, advisors, and even key executive candidates. But what if you are an introvert, or new to this game, and don't know where or …
How to do Due Diligence on Investors Before Funding
Due diligence should always be a two-way street. A while back, I published an article on "Understanding the Dreaded Investor Due Diligence," describing what investors do to validate your startup before they invest. Here is the inverse, sometimes called reverse …
Investors Love Founders with These Attributes
I've noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. The reality is that angel investors are humans, and personal traits often make or break the relationship, even …
Social Media Missteps May Be Worse Than No Steps
If your startup can't be bothered with social media, or has no plan to take advantage of it, then you are definitely at risk these days. But simply jumping in is not enough. Before you start spending money and time …
Ten Risks Every Entrepreneur Faces
You have probably heard plenty of times that being an entrepreneur is a risky business, and investors talk all the time about reducing the risk. Yet everyone seems to have their own view of key risk sources for startups, and …
Ten Quotes from Entrepreneurs Looking to Fail
Every entrepreneur needs to be honest about their strengths and weaknesses, and realistic about their reasons for choosing the startup route. For any entrepreneur, even the best business opportunities, if entered for the wrong reasons, will likely fail. Some of …
A Few Surprises on Which Entrepreneurs Succeed
We can all dream about what it takes to make our startup a success. From recent survey feedback, it seems evident that the urban legends leading to success are wrong. The average entrepreneur is not the one who dumped a …
Get Answers to these 8 Questions Before You Join a Startup
If you really want to impress a startup founder as a potential employee, or you want to be a smart investor, you need to know the right questions to ask. These are the questions that get past the hype of …
5 Ways to Focus on Business Momentum, Not Motion
Too many entrepreneurs confuse motion with momentum. We all know someone who repeatedly tells us how "busy" they are, when it's hard to see what they get done. Momentum is moving things forward (mass x velocity). Founders or employees in …
Operating a Startup in Stealth Mode is Very Risky
Every time I hear about a new startup that is in stealth mode, I wonder what problem they are hiding from whom. Of course they pretend that they are trying to avoid alerting competitors prior to launch, but too often …
8 Failure Avoidance Strategies for Every Startup
Behind most great startup success stories is a long list of mistakes! Unfortunately, for every success story you see, there is an even longer list of failure stories with mistakes that you don't see. But rather than dwell on the …
What Consultants Must Do To Get Hired by Startups
Let's face it, consultants have a bad image. Startups need experienced people who are willing to get their hands dirty, rather than experts who give presentations, make recommendations, and disappear. Even consultants don't like their job, since they don't often …
8 Ways to Sabotage Your Own Funding Efforts
A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn't find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn't available anymore. After exchanging a couple …
Ten Strategic Risks to Embrace for Every Startup
Many entrepreneurs think that risk is just an "occupational hazard" that can be minimized or eliminated by a smart businessman. That way of thinking is simplistic and wrong. In reality, some risks are good and should be embraced for growth …
What's a Fair Amount of Stock to Expect from a Startup?
Wouldn't you like to be one of the lucky people who joined Google and Microsoft when these were startups, and now be a multi-millionaire? So people ask me "How many shares should I ask for when I join a startup …
8 Keys to Sizing Your Startup Funding Requirements
Startups ask me "How much money should I ask for?" The simple answer is the absolute minimum amount you need to make your plan work. Some entrepreneurs try to start with a huge number, hoping they can negotiate and close …
Too Busy for Social Media is Not Good Business
I have a friend who runs a nationwide "traditional" business, and business is down, like it has been for most people. I suggested that he add some social network marketing initiatives, and his answer was he is "too busy." According …
Leading Edge Becomes Bleeding Edge with Feature Creep
This insidious disease kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. "Feature creep" (or scope creep) refers to the penchant to add just one …
Ten Tips for Business Traction to Attract Investors
Every investor expects to see some traction, both before and after a funding event. If you have been working 20 hours a day, and spent your last dollar, but have no results to show, investors will be sympathetic, but will …
Ten Top Funding Sources for Startups
Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. Don't believe the urban myth that you can sketch your idea on a napkin, and people will throw money at you. In reality, there are multiple more …
Ten Common Arrogance Traps for Startups to Avoid
Lack of confidence in your self, your product, and your startup is a surefire recipe for disaster. At the other extreme, too much confidence or arrogance can kill you just as fast. It's always painful when a startup fails, but …
Make Sure Your Angel Investors are Good Angels
A few angel investors have slipped or fallen from their lofty perch, so entrepreneurs must take great care to validate the character and reputation of every prospective investor. The entrepreneur's tendency to be in a huge hurry to obtain the …
Understanding the Dreaded Investor Due Diligence
After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. This is …
