Sean Murphy answers your questions about starting or running your high-tech startup.
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Startup Advice Column
For years, Sean has been advising startups about customer development, lean methods, starting and scaling business. Below is some of the most popular postings.
- Q: I Am Afraid to Take a VacationThis is based on some emails and conversations with a… Read more: Q: I Am Afraid to Take a Vacation
- Q: How Can I Help My Father Grow His Business?Working with family can be challenging. A young man asks… Read more: Q: How Can I Help My Father Grow His Business?
- Q: I Cannot Get Prospects Interested in ConversationsThere are many reason it can be difficult to get… Read more: Q: I Cannot Get Prospects Interested in Conversations
- Q: Should I Leave Medical School For a Startup?SKMurphy startup advice column: a reader asks how to decide… Read more: Q: Should I Leave Medical School For a Startup?
- Q: Should I Pre-Sell My Product?Bootstrappers can be tempted to pre-sell their product, accepting payment… Read more: Q: Should I Pre-Sell My Product?
- Time to Market S01E11 – Mastering Product DemosSean Murphy and Etienne Garbugli offer tips for entrepreneurs to… Read more: Time to Market S01E11 – Mastering Product Demos
- How Founders Should Should Manage Startup RunwayUsing 14 Ways B2B Entrepreneurs Can Extend Their Startup Runway… Read more: How Founders Should Should Manage Startup Runway
- What is Social Capital?In his book “Working Capital Vol 1: It Takes More… Read more: What is Social Capital?
- Q: Can you recommend an accountant for business taxes?Need an accountant for business taxes? Here are accountants recommended… Read more: Q: Can you recommend an accountant for business taxes?
- Q: How Does a First Time Founder Learn Sales?You learn sales by doing sales: as a founder you… Read more: Q: How Does a First Time Founder Learn Sales?
- Q: How Can I Manage the Stress of a Startup?Tips to cut the stress of a startup: plan for… Read more: Q: How Can I Manage the Stress of a Startup?
- Q: I need an attorney who works with startups who don’t have a ton of cashIf you need an attorney because you want to initiate… Read more: Q: I need an attorney who works with startups who don’t have a ton of cash
- Q: What Makes a Product Attract Early Adopters?The following is an edited version of a recent online… Read more: Q: What Makes a Product Attract Early Adopters?
- Q: Free Advice and Doing Business With FriendsDoing business with friends presents a number of challenges for… Read more: Q: Free Advice and Doing Business With Friends
- Q: Help! I Can Only Find Laggards in My Target Customer SegmentEntrepreneurs are often quick to characterize prospects who don’t see… Read more: Q: Help! I Can Only Find Laggards in My Target Customer Segment
- Q: Kissing FrogsFinding the right customers is not just a matter of… Read more: Q: Kissing Frogs
- Q: How Do I Plan for Pivots or Even Shutting Down My Startup?It’s useful to explore several paths in parallel and have… Read more: Q: How Do I Plan for Pivots or Even Shutting Down My Startup?
- Q: We Have Grown From One Project To Many Projects, How To Manage?Three keys to making the transition from a one project… Read more: Q: We Have Grown From One Project To Many Projects, How To Manage?
- Q: Help I Feel Stuck in Low GearIt’s not uncommon for an entrepreneur to feel stuck in… Read more: Q: Help I Feel Stuck in Low Gear
- Q: How to Explore an MVP For Knowledge Worker ProductivityApplications that improve knowledge worker productivity have to satisfy “prepared… Read more: Q: How to Explore an MVP For Knowledge Worker Productivity
- Q: Google Thinks Our Name Is a Typo and Suggests a CompetitorWhen someone on your team says, “Google Thinks Our Name… Read more: Q: Google Thinks Our Name Is a Typo and Suggests a Competitor
- Q: Is a Focus on Inefficiencies a Good Way to Find an Underserved Market?A focus on inefficiencies is a good method to find… Read more: Q: Is a Focus on Inefficiencies a Good Way to Find an Underserved Market?
- Q: Should I Be an Entrepreneur?How do you answer someone who asks “Should I be… Read more: Q: Should I Be an Entrepreneur?
- Q: How Do I Make Sure I Understand The Customer’s Problem and Present a Vision of a Solution?Customer development–discovery driven sales–requires that you first understand the customer’s… Read more: Q: How Do I Make Sure I Understand The Customer’s Problem and Present a Vision of a Solution?
- Q: Forming a Scientific Advisory BoardQ: I am in the process of forming a scientific… Read more: Q: Forming a Scientific Advisory Board
- Q: Best Practices For Finding Early AdoptersThere are a lot of misconceptions about finding early adopters… Read more: Q: Best Practices For Finding Early Adopters
- Q: When to Incorporate and Options for IP protectionSome quick answers to common questions about how to protect… Read more: Q: When to Incorporate and Options for IP protection
- Q: Helping Customers On HoldIt’s important to understand who your customer is and what… Read more: Q: Helping Customers On Hold
- Q: What Lessons Should I Draw From A Painful Cofounder Experience?Painful cofounder experiences are more common than happy ones, and… Read more: Q: What Lessons Should I Draw From A Painful Cofounder Experience?
- Q: Making Effective Use Of Your Advisory BoardTo make effective use of your advisory board you have… Read more: Q: Making Effective Use Of Your Advisory Board
- Q: A Google Search Finds Dozens of Competitors, What Now?A common mistake technical entrepreneurs can make is to focus… Read more: Q: A Google Search Finds Dozens of Competitors, What Now?
- Q: How Can I Maximize ROI and Minimize Risk?You can only capture a share of the value that… Read more: Q: How Can I Maximize ROI and Minimize Risk?
- Q: How Do We Get A Business Prospect To Talk To Us?Each interaction with a business prospect or a customer has… Read more: Q: How Do We Get A Business Prospect To Talk To Us?
- Q: How To Critique a Competitor?A recent question from an office hours session on how… Read more: Q: How To Critique a Competitor?
- Q: How Can I Calculate The Exit Value Of My Idea?It’s masturbation to calculate the exit value of idea that has… Read more: Q: How Can I Calculate The Exit Value Of My Idea?
- Q: Can I Be My First Customer?It’s OK to solve your own problem first, to be… Read more: Q: Can I Be My First Customer?
- Q: Should I Tap My 401K To Bootstrap?Q: Should I tap my 401K to bootstrap my startup? A:… Read more: Q: Should I Tap My 401K To Bootstrap?
- Q: How To Evaluate Acquiring a Small Software FirmWe recently helped a client frame the exploration of an… Read more: Q: How To Evaluate Acquiring a Small Software Firm
- Q: How To Find Help Selling Professional ServicesQ: My software consultancy has reached the point of needing… Read more: Q: How To Find Help Selling Professional Services
- Q: Is Veterinary Marketing A Viable Approach To Market Exploration?Entrepreneurs who limit themselves to what they could learn if… Read more: Q: Is Veterinary Marketing A Viable Approach To Market Exploration?
- Q: How Do I Interest People In My Product?Q: We have a product for bloggers but I am… Read more: Q: How Do I Interest People In My Product?
- Crafting a Value PropositionQ: I struggle with the value proposition for our product.… Read more: Crafting a Value Proposition
- Q: Is It Waste To Build A B2B MVP That Inspires Trust?Build A B2B MVP That Inspires Trust Q: I am… Read more: Q: Is It Waste To Build A B2B MVP That Inspires Trust?
- Q: What Are Critical Tasks In A Startup?Q: What is the target allocation for each of these… Read more: Q: What Are Critical Tasks In A Startup?
- Q: How Do I Calculate Business Model Parameters For A Novel Product?While truly new markets have no history, their business model… Read more: Q: How Do I Calculate Business Model Parameters For A Novel Product?
- Q: Side Payment Requested In NegotiationQ: We have been in customer discovery for a few… Read more: Q: Side Payment Requested In Negotiation
- Q: How to Apply Lean Innovation Methods To Regulated Industries?Q: My research focused on the assessment of atherosclerosis in… Read more: Q: How to Apply Lean Innovation Methods To Regulated Industries?
- Q: Is the Prisoners Dilemma A Good Model for Doing Business?The prisoners dilemma thought experiment that posits a single isolated… Read more: Q: Is the Prisoners Dilemma A Good Model for Doing Business?
- Q: We Already Have a Prototype, Can We Still Do Customer Development?Product-market fit is not a ratchet: competitive response, new entrants,… Read more: Q: We Already Have a Prototype, Can We Still Do Customer Development?
- Q: Pricing Professional ServicesQ: I am starting a service business that will help… Read more: Q: Pricing Professional Services
- Q: How To Speed Up Early Trials, Adoption, and SalesQ: I run a SaaS B2B startup that boosts employee engagement… Read more: Q: How To Speed Up Early Trials, Adoption, and Sales
- Q: How Much Effort Should I Invest in Automated Testing For An MVP?Q: I have worked on large enterprise software systems but… Read more: Q: How Much Effort Should I Invest in Automated Testing For An MVP?
- Q: How Much Attention Should I Pay To Potential Competition?Instead of looking left and right for potential competition, I… Read more: Q: How Much Attention Should I Pay To Potential Competition?
- Q: Can We Launch First and Ask Customer Discovery Questions Later?Don’t do a big launch before you have completed customer… Read more: Q: Can We Launch First and Ask Customer Discovery Questions Later?
- Q: Should I Persevere With My Product Or Get A Job?One question entrepreneurs ask themselves is whether to persevere or… Read more: Q: Should I Persevere With My Product Or Get A Job?
- Q: Resources For A Lean Approach to Sales, In Particular New Product IntroductionQ: We have started selling and are looking for resources… Read more: Q: Resources For A Lean Approach to Sales, In Particular New Product Introduction
- Q: How To Pull The Trigger On A Pricing ModelIt can be difficult to put a price on a… Read more: Q: How To Pull The Trigger On A Pricing Model
- Q: Customer Exit Interview QuestionsQ: We have a SaaS offering that has been on… Read more: Q: Customer Exit Interview Questions
- Q: How To Estimate Prospect Counts and Market SizesHere are some back of the envelope models to estimate… Read more: Q: How To Estimate Prospect Counts and Market Sizes
- Q: How Do You Iterate An MVP So That It’s “Good Enough For Government Work”Q: I am part of a hardware/embedded device startup working… Read more: Q: How Do You Iterate An MVP So That It’s “Good Enough For Government Work”
- Mission Often Matters More Than Monetization In An Early MarketQ: I am a newly minted entrepreneur who has been… Read more: Mission Often Matters More Than Monetization In An Early Market
- Q: Should I Get A Normal Job Or Work At A Startup?Entrepreneurship gets a lot of hype but it’s not for… Read more: Q: Should I Get A Normal Job Or Work At A Startup?
- Q: Can a Custom Solution Be The Basis For A Product?Q: I was contracted to develop a custom software application that… Read more: Q: Can a Custom Solution Be The Basis For A Product?
- Q: Is Building The Wrong Product A Waste Of Time?Building the “wrong product” is not a waste of time… Read more: Q: Is Building The Wrong Product A Waste Of Time?
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