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Author Archives: Dave Berkus
Can you become a master negotiator?
Think you don’t use negotiation most every day of your life? From the time we learn to manipulate our parents from the crib to today, we learn to negotiate to obtain our wants and needs. As we grow, we negotiate … Continue reading
Posted in Growth!, Positioning
7 Comments
Non-competes, gray areas, and salvaging a failed purchase
Last week we introduced the subject of non-compete agreements. Let’s dive a little deeper and present some “gray area” scenarios to consider. Then we’ll address the success or failure of the buyer with your product… First the obvious case in … Continue reading
What about your previous company non-compete?
Entrepreneurs tend to remain in the business niche they know best. Usually that means one they once or recently spent time in as an employee or manager within a company where they had little or no ownership. Are you one … Continue reading
Posted in Protecting the business
1 Comment
What would you do if told to “fail fast?”
Here’s a question that should strike close to home. Professional investors like to quote this mantra to anyone who will listen. “Fail fast,” they say. But what if you believe so strongly in your budding enterprise that this seems to … Continue reading
Investors, your board, and you: Who controls strategy?
You’re building a company from your vision and a passion, and lots of people are going to tell you that you have this or that wrong, and that it just won’t work. Business plans rarely survive market contact The truth … Continue reading
Missed Expectations and The Eighty Percent Acquisition Rule
Eighty percent of all businesses purchased by another company or by a new investor-operator fail to meet the stated expectations of the buyer after one year. As with the fifty percent rule discussed last week (fifty percent of startups fail … Continue reading
Risk, insanity, and the 50% startup rule
Fifty percent of all businesses formed fail within the first two years. There are many variations of this number since there are a number of ways to measure failure. But the number is a startling reminder that creating a business … Continue reading
Posted in Ignition! Starting up
2 Comments
Should I license my IP, sell a royalty stream, or just produce products?
This week we contacted royalty licensing expert, the well-respected Arthur Lipper, asking the magic question. Why are you so strongly sold on royalty licensing as the most effective way to finance a tech-based early stage company? I asked him five … Continue reading
Posted in Raising money
7 Comments
Can a revolutionary concept be too late to market?
Too many startup businesses, especially in the technology world, are built upon brand new concepts that have not yet been proven in the field against products from other companies that already have revenues flowing. As a rule, creating a product … Continue reading
Can a “good-hearted” entrepreneur succeed in business?
People argue over whether an entrepreneur with a sense of fairness, a desire for collegiality, a want to share the profits can succeed in the long run within a business world full of lions and tigers that eat timid entrepreneurs … Continue reading
