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The Company as the Product
Serving two masters – but they are compatible. The first master is the customer who buys your product, and the second master is the one who buys your company.
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Nobody Buys Technology – They Buy Solutions
Entrepreneurs love to talk about their technology. Endlessly. Ad nauseam. And when it’s time to raise money or sell the company[1], they make the same mistake: they lead with the tech.
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Build Your Company Backwards: How to Align With Angel and VC Expectations
When you’re raising outside capital — especially from angels or venture funds — you’re not just pitching your company. You’re implicitly making a promise: that their investment will turn into a significant return, typically a 10x outcome over five to seven years.
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When Your Capital Strategy Kills Your Commercial Value
Let’s walk through the math that every angel investor does.
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A License is NOT Selling Your Technology – It is Selling Exclusivity
I recently heard a pitch from a startup with remarkable technology – a genetically modified seed that signaled when it’s under stress. Instead of waiting for crops to wilt, farmers could respond early, boosting yields. The data was strong. The science worked.
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What Angel Investors Want to Hear vs What is Best for the Startup?
We looked at a company who had been more or less steady-state for several years but wanted an infusion of cash. They were operating in two smaller markets without fully capturing either of the two smaller, midwest cities, but were coming to investors asking for additional funds.
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Bad Advice – Non-publication Requests for Patents
Occasionally, I run into patents where the patent attorney talks the client into a non-publication request.
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Bad Behavior By Angel Groups -“Due Diligence”
Due diligence is supposed to help investors and the entrepreneurs, but many times it is a charade.
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Gullible Angel Investors and Provisional Patent Applications
Last time, we discussed the provisional patent application hoax perpetuated by patent attorneys. In this post, we look at the scam from the inventor/entrepreneur side.
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The Provisional Patent Hoax
One of the greatest hoaxes in our industry is the notion that provisional patent applications are a good thing. They are not.