Loading...
Answers
MenuTips on how to hone ones's skills-sets
I come from Market research/analytics background with about 7 years of work experience.
Being a young entrepreneur, I realise that in order to stay updated with latest trends, I need to upgrade my knowledge base for survival. With no guiding force, how to keep pace and work alongside?
Is there a course (Full time/part time/online) which can add value to my profile?
Answers
Your question seems a bit too general to give a good answer without anymore context. If you are talking about skills for a specific job or industry, then following and talking with industry experts is enough. If you are talking about trends to help with your own business, then obviously it depends on what your business is :)
Either way message me if you would like to chat in more detail on this.
Read Hacker News.
Go out and meet people - and make friends with people who you think are smarter than you. There is a logic that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Talk to those friends constantly.
If you always chase after skill sets, certifications, you will be operating at relatively the same curve as everyone else who is doing the same thing. And that's good. But, if you truly go for things that truly challenge your thought process, thinking, and framework beyond an academic sense - things that other people can't copy, you will end up a better founder, a better CEO, and a better person as a whole.
Related Questions
-
What is a better title for a startup head....Founder or CEO? Are there any pros/cons to certain titles?
The previous answers given here are great, but I've copied a trick from legendary investor Monish Pabrai that I've used in previous startups that seems to work wonders -- especially if your company does direct B2B sales. Many Founders/ CEOs are hung up on having the Founder/ CEO/ President title. As others have mentioned, those titles have become somewhat devalued in today's world -- especially if you are in a sales meeting with a large organization. Many purchasing agents at large organizations are bombarded by Founders/ CEOs/ Presidents visiting them all day. This conveys the image that a) your company is relatively small (the CEO of GM never personally sells you a car) and b) you are probably the most knowledgeable person in the organization about your product, but once you land the account the client company will mostly be dealing with newly hired second level staff. Monish recommends that Founder/ CEOs hand out a business card that has the title "Head of Sales" or "VP of Sales". By working in the Head of Sales role, and by your ability to speak knowledgeably about the product, you will convey the message that a) every person in the organization is very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the product (even the sales guys) and b) you will personally be available to answer the client's questions over the long run. I've used this effectively many times myself.VR
-
What does a good advisor bring to the table for a startup?
A good advisor can help a startup in various ways. Here I describe what I do: I work quite a bit with pre-angel/pre-seed/pre-accelerator US-based tech startups (or sometimes even executives/scientists/technologists in corporate jobs toying with a startup idea that they'd consider leaving their jobs for), and have done this now for well over a decade while founding/growing my own companies. Most of these founders come to me from hearing about me from another founder, so I am assuming that founders are finding some value in their interactions with me. At this early-stage in the game, one of the key things I try to do is to separate founders' assumptions about various aspects of the business from facts that they have validated. Another thing founders find useful is examples/ideas of how other startups solved a similar business problem in a creative manner (my voracious reading helps a lot here.) Finally, I also try to take the devil's advocate position on key assertions that the founders make (e.g. why are they & their product uniquely suited to tackle this problem in face of competition) in order to point out counterarguments with the eventual goal of helping them strengthen their case. My engagements with founders tend to take the form of intense 30-75 minute brainstorming sessions (1-3 sessions), which typically provide them with enough food for thought to start executing on various fronts. A small percentage of these startups continue to make great progress over a period of 3-9 months and keep me in the loop via brief email updates. Those ones, I help by providing them critical feedback on their pitch decks (multiple iterations until I think that it is crisp and powerful) and then bring on the radars of my early-stage investor contacts (US-based).MB
-
What is the best job to get to learn to become an entrepreneur? Working at a VC as an analyst? Work in Sales? Work in Marketing? Consulting?
The best way to learn is by starting a company yourself. This could be anything from a web development company, e-commerce or even a lemonade stand! The second best way to learn is to work closely with another entrepreneur, either at a startup or as an assistant to the CEO/executive. It's important to see exactly how the startup works on the inside so you can bring experience when you start out on your own. Being an entrepreneur isn't easy, don't forget to have fun.MG
-
What is your advice for building a team of like-minded individuals to help start your business?
I'm a feelance CFO and I work actively with early stage companies. I've been at this for almost 30 years. Some of my current and recent clients wrestle actively with this very questions. My advice is to have the tough conversations right up front, early in the team building process. This usually consists of answering questions like, "who's in charge and what does that really mean," "who gets how much of the company and when and in exchange for what," "what are you, you and you really bringing to the table in terms of skills and cash," and "who is really in a life situation that will allow them to sustain their commitment to the business?" Any team that can get through these questions can get through the trials of surviving startup. I'm happy to talk with you directly about these issues and, in particular, to help look at them through a strategic financial planning lens.HD
-
Is there a profitable platform in being a "Life Coach"?
WHO THE HELL NEEDS A LIFE COACH? That's another name for "mom". How do you expect to charge for that? Being a warm shoulder to lean on is quite a bit different than being able to charge people to give them advice. I drink beer (and talk strategy) with people that I would NEVER pay to listen to. On the other hand, I pay people for awesome advice -- and I don't ever drink beer with them. What's the point? If you are an expert in something then CHARGE people for it. If they won't pay for it then you might not be as much of an expert as you think you are. BTW, please don't call yourself a "life coach". That's so awful.DW
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.