The 411 On Startups ™

Follow @theStartup411

  • ANGELS 411
    • Angel Investing Statistics
    • Angel Primers
    • Common Deal Mistakes
    • Expected Returns
    • Founder Salaries
    • How Groups Work
    • Net Worth Allocation
    • Tax Incentives
  • ENTREPRENEURS 411
    • Common Mistakes
    • Dilution Through Exit
    • Employee Option Grants
    • Executive Summaries
    • Exit Strategy
    • Finding Angels
    • Founders Syndrome
    • Fundraising
    • General Primers
    • Gust / Angelsoft
    • Hiring The Team
    • Investor Presentations
    • Milestones/$$ to Raise
    • Money Finders
    • Pitching
    • Stealthy or Not
    • Technology Transfer
    • Type of Investors
    • Types of Entrepreneur
  • FUNDING SOURCES
    • Angel Groups
    • Angels
    • Bank Loans
    • Family and Friends
    • Funding Sources Overview
    • Grants
    • Revenue Based Financing
    • SBA Loans
    • Strategic Investors
    • Super Angels
    • Venture Capital
    • Venture Leasing
    • Web/Micro Loans & Crowdfunding
  • LEGAL/CORPORATE STUFF
    • Advisory Board
    • Board Of Directors
    • Founder Agreements
    • Get the Right Attorney
    • Legal Stuff Primers
    • License Agreements
    • LLC or C or S Corp?
    • Non-Disclosure Agreements
    • Patents and IP
    • Restricted Stock
    • Selling Stock — SEC Rules
    • Stock Options
    • Stock Terminology
  • NON-PROFIT CATALYSTS
    • Creating A Startup Culture
    • Economic Development
    • Incubators / Accelerators
    • Organizations
    • Venture Forums
  • OTHER
    • GOOGLE GENERIC SEARCHES
    • LIST OF LISTS
    • TOPICAL
  • PLANNING
    • Business Models
    • Business Planning Software
    • Business Plans
    • Financial Plans
    • Financing Plans
    • Marketing Plans
  • STARTUP MEDIA
    • Blogs
    • Books
    • Podcasts
    • Presentations
    • Videos
  • TAKING THE MONEY
    • Capitalization Tables
    • Convertible Notes
    • Due Diligence
    • Funding Documents
    • Preferred Stock
    • Private Placement Memorandum PPM
    • Term Sheets
    • Valuation
  • Uncategorized
  1.  
  2. ENTREPRENEURS 411
  3. Common Mistakes
1 2 Next »

6 Common Mistakes Founders Make That Ultimately Destroy Their Startups

Aug

29

2019

All too often, founder leadership issues are more the cause of new venture Read about these topics: 1. Autocratic leader who sets arbitrary goals with no input. 2. Co-founder and advisors are picked from loyal associates. 3. Founder minimizes the focus on formal plans and reviews. 4. Weekly staff meetings become working crisis sessions. 5. Founder ...
read more →

Common Mistakes

Business Name Mistakes That Investors Hate to See

Jul

2

2015

Just as with names of people, there isn’t any ultimate right or wrong, and every name has unique implications in different cultures, economies and markets. Names can imply strength, value, connection or friendliness, or they can set opposite tones. As you search for that perfect name, it pays to avoid the key mistakes that we investors and ...
read more →

Common Mistakes

To Clean Up Your Startup’s B.S., Bring Sales Into The Leadership Team | TechCrunch

Jun

2

2015

“Coin-operated idiots”. Even if no one says it out loud about sales people anymore, they might still think it. It’s the perception some startup CEOs have when it comes to their sales force (unless the founders have come from sales themselves). Just load ‘em up and watch them do their mindless best … like at ...
read more →

Common Mistakes · Marketing Plans

startup sales

5 ‘IP’ Mistakes Start-ups Should Avoid

May

10

2012

Venture capitalists, angel investors and start-up lawyers these days tend to be obsessed with “intellectual property,” or IP. And for good reason: In the information economy, the core assets of a new venture are likely to be talented people, the IP they create, and little else. To maximize future value, founders should try to lay ...
read more →

Common Mistakes · Patents and IP

Five lessons experienced entrepreneurs have learned

Oct

2

2011

There’s certainly no shortage of successful young entrepreneurs in business today. We hear daily of fast growing startups from New York City to Silicon Valley, headed by CEOs such as Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Mason and Tim O’Shaughnessy. These creative minds have demonstrated the power of youthful tenacity and innovation, combined with a sharp eye for ...
read more →

Common Mistakes

advice · lessons

8 ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor

Sep

26

2011

I’ve started three companies, and now I’m an angel investor. So I’ve been on both sides of the table. There are lots of good articles out there about pitching, and surely everyone who pitches me has read some of them. Still, a few problems appear over and over again. If you’ve ever had to sort ...
read more →

Common Mistakes

angel investing · mistakes

10 lessons from a failed startup — VentureBeat

Apr

30

2009

A year and a half ago, my co-founder Dev Nag and I started an internet TV network for games called PlayCafe. Our ambitious plan was to run highly interactive game shows in which everyone was a contestant. Players could watch our hosts, answer questions, win prizes, form teams, call our studio, live chat, and run ...
read more →

Common Mistakes

mistakes · startup

We’re All Entrepreneurs

Sep

29

2008

My advice for young people from the West who are just entering the workforce is simple:* It is tough out there, and it’s only going to get tougher.* Forget about security.* Like it or not, even if you start out with a large corporation, you are going to be an entrepreneur.* Make peace with this ...
read more →

Common Mistakes

advice · competition · entrepreneur

7 Teeth-Gnashing Mistakes I Made as an Entrepreneur

Sep

4

2008

Like many new young entrepreneurs, three years ago I thought I was pretty hot stuff. I had a few employees, raised some angel money… and then proceeded to make huge mistake after huge mistake. Of all my business blunders, these 7 are the ones that still make me gnash my teeth.
read more →

Common Mistakes

fundraising · startup

Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs — HBS Working Knowledge

Aug

22

2008

To prepare current students for the Harvard Business School Business Plan Contest, associate professor Connie Bagley gives a seminar in which she shares these war stories with the prospective entrepreneurs, in the form of a list of “top ten” legal mistakes often made by the unsuspecting. In addition, Bagley teaches the second year elective course, ...
read more →

Common Mistakes

legal · mistakes

1 2 Next »

Popular Posts

  • Milestones – Biotech Startup Milestones – Venture Capital Deliverables
  • Spreadsheet for creating a startup financial plan
  • BizPlanIt Virtual Business Plan
  • Writing an Effective Business Plan — Deloitte & Touche LLP.
  • Discount or cap? A spreadsheet that shows what happens when a note converts.

© 2023 The 411 On Startups ™ — All Rights Reserved.