Entrepreneurship Tips

Top Startup Mistake #2 - War Stories From A Seasoned CEO 

Posted by Robert Norton on

Top Startup Mistake #2 - War Stories From A Seasoned CEO 

Understanding Capital Expenditures and Their Real Cost During my first week at a company I had just joined as President, I was asked to approve the purchase of a $250,000 piece of hardware. The operations people, all from larger companies, were desensitized to the cost of capital and its accessibility. They wanted to buy this $250,000 piece of hardware to be ready for the flood of customers "coming soon."  The CFO had been convinced by the technical staff that the world would fall apart without this equipment, and we could never serve any customers "correctly."  The logic was that they...

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Top Startup Mistake #1 - War Stories From A Seasoned CEO

Posted by Robert Norton on

Top Startup Mistake #1 - War Stories From A Seasoned CEO

It always amazes me how much waste there can be in a big company because people do not consider it their own money.  I have worked in several large and many small companies, but I always tried to ask myself "would I pay this personally" before I signed a check or a P.O. for the company.  Once I was acting as President at a small startup that was spending money at a rate of over $350K per month when I arrived and did not yet have any sales, marketing, or operations staff.  Virtually everything was going towards product development, with...

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Are You Cut out to Be an Entrepreneur?

Posted by Robert Norton on

Are You Cut out to Be an Entrepreneur?

This article will list the many skills that are required to launch an entrepreneurial venture that can be at least profitable, and hopefully scalable.  And it will help you decide if you are ready to take on that challenge.  Be advised that years of preparation and learning are usually necessary to be truly prepared to launch any company, even one that is not new and innovative.  And if you lack the skills listed herein, you need to plan to recruit people that bring these skills if you want a company to be successful.  The skills required to build a company...

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Defining True Entrepreneurship

Posted by Robert Norton on

Defining True Entrepreneurship

Let me first define Entrepreneurship in the way I think about it, which is not how most laymen might define it.  Entrepreneurship is creating a business that does something new and different.  It is not starting a restaurant, launching a franchise, or a dry-cleaning business.  And certainly not selling your time as a freelancer.  This is not to say these things are not valuable, or risky, they are all noble professions when done well.  However, they are not creating something new for a society that creates new value, jobs, and hopefully even helps raise the standard of living for all in...

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What Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Raising Capital Today

Posted by Robert Norton on

What Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Raising Capital Today

Because of the low yield today in bonds and other investment classes, and competition for deals, valuations of early-stage ventures have been creeping up. Many would say that is long overdue, but investors need compensation for the high risk of these ventures too. And frankly almost no one can pick mostly winners due to the many inherent unknowns at the early stage of any venture. This article is an introduction to the financing of any early-stage company across the stages from seed to Series B. The financing landscape today has changed radically with many more options. Some financing is easier...

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