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Martin Zwilling Articles

Written by: Martin Zwilling

Five Elements of a Credible Startup Marketing Plan - Click To Read Article
It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Investor Presentation - You Need 10 Slides - Click To Read Article
As a member of the local Angel group Selection Committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! A perfect round number is ten slides, with the right content, that can be covered in fifteen minutes.

Universities Love Startups - Click To Read Article
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.

Startups: Top 10 Funding Sources - Click To Read Article
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:

Startup Principles for Success - Click To Read Article
Behind most great entrepreneur 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 failures, I’ve tried to extract a list of principles that embody the successes.

Software Patents: Time for a Change - Click To Read Article
I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. I don’t have much conviction that it really does stop competitors, but I do know the rule of thumb that every patent will add $1M to your startup valuation for investors, or for M&A exits (merger and acquisition). Yet the software patent process is a mess. I say this with conviction even after I survived the process, and have a software patent pending.

Success with Angels: Ten Top Action Items - Click To Read Article
Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an Angel investor. Yet according to the latest data from AngelSoft, only about 1 out of 100 companies who initiate the formal request process actually get funded. If you follow these action items, you could be the next one.

Software Startups: Live or Die With Globalization - Click To Read Article
If you are a software startup, and you listen to the media, you are probably wondering if there is life after outsourcing and the recession. Can you compete against low cost third-world alternatives, or is this the time to look for a new business? Before you decide, there are several key elements you should consider:

Seven Deadly Sins of Startups - Click To Read Article
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.

How to Give your Startup Idea a Reality Check - Click To Read Article
I’m sure you all realize that there could be quite a distance between a great idea and a great startup. But many people don’t have a clue on how to bridge the gap. So, trying carefully not to rain on his parade, I suggested to my friend that he consider the following steps as a reality check before spending his life savings (and mine) to roll out a solution:

Every Startup Needs an Advisory Board - Click To Read Article
Every startup faces a myriad of challenges that are well beyond the scope of any founder, so you need a few guiding lights to illuminate the road ahead. These should be carefully selected, with a proven track record, and completely trustworthy.





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