A Holistic Approach to Launching a Bootstrapped Startup
We outline the process of launching a bootstrapped startup, from creating an idea, to forming a team, to proving viability.
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Startup Stages
A Practical Introduction to Social Capital for Entrepreneurs
This is a practical overview of social capital, an essential concept for entrepreneurs despite being hard to measure. I offer suggestions for growing your business network, and enhancing your reputation, explaining why increasing social capital creates value for your startup.
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Basics of Intellectual Property for Bootstrappers
This post explains the basics of intellectual property in practical terms for bootstrappers: trademarks, patents, copyright and trade secrets. An hour or two with an attorney can save you much trouble later on.
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A Practical Introduction to Intellectual Capital For Bootstrappers
An exploration of the practical meaning of intellectual capital for entrepreneurs, including how to curate your experience and know-how.
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Interview with Patricia Watkins on Managing Sales In a Downturn
This is a ten minute interview (audio and edited transcript) I did with Patricia Watkins on July 24-2020. Patrica is an experienced salesperson and sales executive who’s been helping companies drive sales for more than two decades. We discuss some of the challenges you need to manage during a major economic disruption. We look back
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Your Pricing Model is a Key Lever for Profitability
There is a natural tendency for technical founders to base their pricing model on an engineering oriented value proposition. Looking at the full impact on business can enable higher prices, which in turn means more profit and faster growth. Wojciech Bulaty of Traffic Parrot describes the mental shift Sean Murphy helped him make to transition
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A Practical Introduction to Financial Capital for Bootstrappers
This post explores meaning of financial capital for bootstrappers. It addresses the real costs of market exploration and product validation and verification.
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William Eleazar Barton: The Parable of the Icebergs and the Fog
There are several insights for bootstrappers in William Eleazar Barton’s “The Icebergs and the Fog.” It’s a “Safed the Sage” parable published in 1925
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How to Leverage Current Business Assets For Growth
We describe a process to evaluate and leverage current business assets for growth. We also address how to rework or re-configure existing assets to meet new customer requirements and those of potential prospects.
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New Startups Form in Private Conversations
New startups form in private conversations: here are some ways to make it easy for potential cofounders to find you based on the problem you are working on or customer need you plan to address.
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Taking Stock of Your Business Assets
Here is a simple method for taking stock of the business assets you rely on to attract prospects, differentiate your offerings, and deliver value. You should also assess where you need to renew or upgrade an asset.
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A Primer on Business Assets for High Technology Startups
Are you looking to build a business? No matter the stage you’re at, there are three kinds of business assets you will need to be successful in the long run.
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40 Tips for B2B Customer Development Interviews
This post on B2B customer development interviews builds on one of my most popular. If you would like help preparing for customer development interviews or reviewing results from recent interviews, contact us. Here are my lessons learned from taking part in interviews where the startup planned to offer a product or service to a business.
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Mary Sorber: Raw Pasta is Not Enough
It’s easy for the product team to fixate on the core technology that enables a product and lose sight of what’s needed for the “whole product.” This article is the result of an ongoing collaboration with Mary Sorber that started with her metaphor that raw pasta is not enough to create a successful Italian restaurant.
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Building WordPress Websites
Three reasons I like building WordPress websites: they are cost effective, they are scalable, and they easily support search engine optimization.
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A Self-Assessment: Are You Working on the Right Risks?
Take our self-assessment to verify that your team is working on the right risks. Identify the capabilities you need to develop next.
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Competitive Intelligence for Bootstrapping Startups
A summary of my personal experience and our firm’s perspective on what practical steps early stage startups should take for competitive intelligence.
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Benefits of SKMurphy Mastermind for Entrepreneurs
An SKMurphy Mastermind Group is an ongoing series of facilitated conversations among serious entrepreneurs. It enables collaboration on problems and opportunities and fosters joint accountability around effective ongoing action.
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Mastering The Skill of Entrepreneurship
Expertise in a complex skill, like the skill of entrepreneurship, requires mastery of a constellation of techniques and methods. I use an essay by Ursula K. Le Guin “Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?” as a point of departure to explore the “continuous cultivation of a disposition, leading to skill in performance.”
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Serge Toarca Offers Three Reasons To Bootstrap In a Small Market
Serge Toarca offers three good reasons to consider starting in a smaller market in “Why the hell am I building a product with a tiny market?” I offer another ten.
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