The Ground Floor Trap

Posted in Entrepreneurship, strategy
By David Kaplan - July 1st, 2009 No comments

Entrepreneurs naturally look for growing markets. The opportunity to “get in on the ground floor” in a fast emerging market is certainly attractive. Still, fast emerging markets also present a set of predictable strategic risks that entrepreneurs will want to consider with care.

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Business Case Checklist

Posted in Business Plan Tips
By David Kaplan - March 17th, 2009 No comments

Perhaps the first issue an entrepreneur needs to face is “How strong is the business case for this new venture idea?” Every founder needs to answer that question to prevent over-investing themselves and to be prepared for the legitimate skepticism of others. The list that follows probes the strength of the business case systematically … […]

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The Venture Quest

Posted in Venture Capital
By David Kaplan - March 17th, 2009 No comments

Many start-ups literally spend years chasing venture capital funding. Now, sometimes that perseverance makes sense, but often it does not. Still, once an entrepreneur has decided that her enterprise is suited to VC investment it can be difficult if not impossible to change her mind.

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