Startup Advice Column

Sean Murphy answers your questions about starting or running your high-tech startup.

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

See what startup founders say about Sean Murphy.

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