new ventures

HOW DO YOU CREATE A ONE PAGE SUMMARY BUSINESS PLAN?

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Advice for Young Entrepreneurs And Some Older Ones Also …

I published this post in late 2022. I recently discussed this with several young aspiring entrepreneurs – worth repeating :

Here are words of wisdom I often share with young entrepreneurs. I used this in the intro in a recent book for young entrepreneurs:

“TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL BE MORE DISAPPOINTED BY THE THINGS YOU DIDN’T DO THAN THOSE YOU DID. SO THROW OFF THE BOWLINES. SAIL AWAY FROM THE SAFE HARBOR. CATCH THE WIND IN THE SAILS. EXPLORE, DREAM. DISCOVER.”

MARK TWAIN

Good advice for older aspiring entrepeneurs as well

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Entrepreneurship. TV Interview. Nov 30th

Entrepreneurs need Untitled design(2)to  learn new traditional management skills to improve their ability to both attract funding and succeed. That is the message I delivered in a local TV interview discussing #entrepreneurship in Northern Virginia. The region is now called “Silicon Valley East” based on the surge of entrepreneurial ventures in the area.  Read More








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Surge Rate of Hispanic Entrepreneurship

Hispanic Entrepreneurs Are Beating Expectations and Bolstering the U.S. Economy

This point obviously seems to be missed in our current political debate. And the conclusions here are driven by numbers and data, not rhetoric. Hispanic entrepreneurship helps drive our economic growth. Read More








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Gemini Business Group Now Focusing Exclusively on New Venture Development

3Starting September 15, 2015, Gemini Business Group, LLC will focus exclusively on addressing the needs of entrepreneurs and investors and offer a portfolio of new venture development and management support services that have been well received in the market.

The revised Gemini Business Group website provides an overview of the new directions we will be pursuing with clients in coming months.

Look for additional announcements in coming weeks on staff appointments , new developments, and updates on the Gemini Venture Partners Emerging Growth Fund.

I also encourage you to visit my blog www.paulbsilverman.com/blog and also sign up for the complimentary Entrepreneurship Today! e-mail updates which I am using to share new venture developments, management tips, insights on new venture financing trends such as equity crowdfunding, and other topics.

Your comments are always welcomed. Drop me a note anytime at paul@paulbsilverman.com.

Paul B. Silverman

Managing Partner








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Quote for Entrepreneurs

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that is your own self. So you have to begin there, not outside, not on other people. That comes afterwards, when you have worked on your own corner.

                                                                                                                         – Aldous Huxley








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Comments on Forbes Article – Millennials Want To Be Entrepreneurs, So Why Aren’t They Starting Businesses?

Posted comments today on Forbes article by Jared Meyer on why millenials are not pursuing their “entrepreneurial dreams” and reinforced the same points I am making in other forums:

— 50% of new ventures fail within five years- we need to educate entrepreneurs, provide tools and ‘best practices’ to create more ‘Survivor’ entrepreneurs

— We do a poor job of offering entrepreneurial education curriculum that really addresses the skills needed to develop winning entrepreneurial management strategies and improve the probability of success

You can see a copy of the Forbes article and comments at http://tinyurl.com/nb9qmzk– here is a copy of my posted comments:

Jared:

Thanks for insightful article- good discussion. Glad to share four perspectives on entrepreneurship based on my experience and publications.

First, serving as an Adjunct Professor at 3 leading universities since 2002 teaching mostly Capstone courses, at the first class I always ask for a show of hands on the question “How many of you would like to be an entrepreneur?” after graduation. My survey results shows 50 percent or less answer yes, and sometimes much less. While they see upside, most also understand the challenges here and life’s realities on the need for a steady income, and I am sure this drives these numbers much lower.

Sec1ondly, entrepreneurs must invest time, resources, maybe take a second mortgage on a home, max credit card debt, and if really fortunate, may attract some investors and capture customers. But statistics show half of these new ventures are doomed to fail within five years. Looking deeper, SBA statistics show what drives all business failures: Management Competence (46%), Lack of Managerial Experience (30%), and Lack of Market Sector Experience (11%). Summary- entrepreneur commitment and risks are high, the probability of success are modest.

Third, in my view we are failing in educating entrepreneurs to meet today’s new venture challenges.

Today’s market, technology, and competition challenges are tougher than ever and savvy investors know that. New players emerge and are attacked by newer players using even newer technology. Teaching entrepreneurs how to start and manage a new venture really is the easy part – from business idea, business plan, resources, and launch – the skills needed here can be learned. In a recent book (8 Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business), I defined these “SYOB” (“Start Your Own Business”) skills as Entrepreneurial Management 1.0, and these skills are not sufficient to meet today’s challenges

Finally, simply put, yesterday’s skills do not meet today’s entrepreneur’s needs. Recognize that Fortune 500 companies develop new ventures using some SYOB techniques, but before committing resources to pursue new ventures, major firms do more- they look at strategic issues; identify value chain metrics; identify peer group competitors; assess market attractiveness using Five Forces Models; identify alliances and global strategies; assess how venture metrics impact overall ROI given 3 to 5,000 other products and services, and so on. And these new skills are the foundation for what I call Entrepreneurial Management 2.0, a new entrepreneurial management discipline I developed building on SYOB tools, drawing upon Fortune 500 firm techniques for launching and managing new ventures, and my experiences working with many early stage companies. Entrepreneurial Management 2.0 is a portfolio of new entrepreneurial management skills organized into 8 Building Blocks to meet today’s business challenges to help manage and grow new ventures. (see “Half of All New Ventures Fail Within 5 Years- What Is Driving This Sobering SBA Statistic?”) The objective here- help entrepreneurs launch, manage, and grow successful ventures and reduce new venture failure rates.

I share your view on the role entrepreneurship plays in driving economic growth and working on several proposed programs to meet this need (national and regional level), and also exploring a new venture development fund. In 2009, I developed and managed a new Step Up Program to bridge the academic and business community and help educate entrepreneurs- more info and press interview at George Mason University Step Up Program and Paul B. Silverman – Press Interview. This is a representative direction I foresee, coupled with creative new venture financing options.

Summarizing, we can be doing much more to educate and motivate entrepreneurs, jumpstart and grow our entrepreneurship sector- these actions will also drive positive economic growth

Paul B. Silverman

 

Paul B. Silverman writes about entrepreneurship, healthcare, analytics, and strategy management and serves as Advisor, Speaker, Educator, and Managing Partner of the Gemini Business Group, LLC, a new venture development firm, and author of “8 Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business.” He also serves as Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at George Mason University. See more at Paul B. Silverman Blog and sign up for Entrepreneurship Today! email updates to track latest new venture developments.








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Half of All New Ventures Fail Within 5 Years- What Is Driving This Sobering SBA Statistic?

A new press release was issued today announcing the publication of “8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manager and Grow a Successful Business”  and availability on Amazon (Print and Kindle).

8b3_copy(4)Here is a copy of the press release…

‘8 Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business’ Now Available On Amazon

Half of all new businesses fail within five years. SBA statistics show what drives all business failures: Management Competence (46%), Lack of Managerial Experience (30%), and Lack of Market Sector Experience (11%)-new book offers success solutions

July 15, 2015RESTON, Va.8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manage, and Grow a Successful Business” is now available on Amazon (US and global markets)- print and Kindle editions. Targeted to entrepreneurs, the book walks readers through the many steps needed to not only launch a business, but stay in business and succeed. The new book received positive pre-publication reviews from invited senior level reviewers

“SBA and other statistics confirm what I’ve seen so many times,” said author Paul B. Silverman. “You can have a great idea, market need, solid team, funding and maybe a customer or two, and then five years later you’re out of business. “Understanding the challenges, and helping you develop winning strategies and succeed in today’s explosive and exciting entrepreneurial arena is why this book is written,” said Silverman.

“8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manager and Grow a Successful Business” provides a step-by-step guide to all the key elements an entrepreneur needs to tackle to meet today’s challenges, understand and use Fortune 500 new venture ‘best practices’, profitably stay in business, and create value for shareholders. The book delves into the reasons why most businesses fail, how to prevent common pitfalls, and create winning strategies.“8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manage, and Grow a Successful Business” .…. READ PR AT PRESS RELEASE- 8 BUILDING BLOCKS

Here are some related links:

Reviews – I appreciated the support and comments of the pre-publication reviewers- reviews at What Readers are Saying

Link to new book page-  Book Page: * Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business

 Read Book Excerpts at http://paulbsilverman.com/books/excerpts/

Link to Amazon to order the book  Amazon Link; 8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manage, and Grow A Successful Business

Link to blog    paulbsilverman.com/blog/

Media Kit for Press at  Media Kit -8 Building Blocks-071515

Sign up for new Entrepreneurship Today! email updates on areas I am tracking such as crowdfunding, Reg A+, cybersecurity, healthcare, IOT, and analytics . The email updates will cover new venture developments, blog posts highlights, upcoming interviews with leading entrepreneurs, guest posts by investors and entrepreneurs, and new Entrepreneurial Management 2.0 techniques. More info and sign-up page at http://paulbsilverman.com/contact/ 

I am ramping up speaking engagements and plan on doing several interviews related to new venture development and entrepreneurship and glad to address any group where I can contribute and schedules work

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me anytime and I will be glad to help.

All the best,

Paul B. Silverman

Paul B. Silverman writes about entrepreneurship, healthcare, analytics, and strategy management and serves as Advisor, Speaker, Educator, and Managing Partner of the Gemini Business Group, LLC, a new venture development firm, and author of “8 Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business.” He also serves as Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at George Mason University. See more at Paul B. Silverman Blog and sign up for Entrepreneurship Today! email updates to track latest new venture developments.

 








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$9 M Google Ventures Funding… And Shows Future of Digital Publishing

Book Pile   BlogRecommend reading the Fast Company article “The Picture Book That Parents Worldwide—And Google Ventures—Can’t Put Down” http://www.fastcocreate.com/3048158/the-picture-book-that-parents-worldwide-and-google-ventures-cant-put-down

Take a good look here and you see where digital publishing is heading as print-on- demand, analytics, creative software, graphics design, and content creation merge to create what looks like a new market sector.

When we here about personalized children’s books we think about a child’s name inserted into the same story and replicated for others. Here we have a new paradigm using algorithms to create customized stories printed with high quality illustrations.

Here is what #Google Ventures says: “We don’t look at them as a book publishing company,” says Avid Larizadeh Duggan, a London-based general partner at Google Ventures. “It’s a platform for the best personalized content for children’s entertainment on multiple platforms. They’re redefining a category.”

When you read this article, I suggest keep the following points in mind:

  • Automated content creation using algorithms and software is a new frontier- as noted “… there are tens of thousands lines of code for each book delivered”
  • This is a technology not a book publishing startup –when you review the article that is clear
  • The team identified a market opportunity, organized a talented team, and then pursued the business. Market opportunity defined first, then technology solution- that is the way it is done to avoid having a creative technology looking for a market, a problem we often see with early stage companies

So where is this heading? Here are may perspectives:

  • The content creation analytics and software will advance quickly- we can envision more powerful and multi-threaded content creation options emerging- I expect these will be driven by start-up firms
  • We will move beyond the children’s book market- what I call ‘adaptive’ content creation will also address other traditional book publishing markets
  • Adaptive, personalized content creation has other applications in education and training. Customizing content to adapt to readers’ learning styles and disabilities, personalizing training content based on readers’ skill level; developing personalized healthcare education materials which adapts based on staff background, experience, their optimum learning approach are some of the many possibilities here.

Bottom line – like 3D printing, this is another disruptive breakthrough that I believe will open many exciting opportunities to create value. Recommend all stay tuned as this develops.

Paul B. Silverman

Paul B. Silverman writes about entrepreneurship, healthcare, analytics, and strategy management and serves as Advisor, Speaker, Educator, and Managing Partner of the Gemini Business Group, LLC, a new venture development firm, and author of “8 Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business.” He also serves as Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at George Mason University. See more at Paul B. Silverman Blog and sign up for Entrepreneurship Today! email updates to track latest new venture developments.








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New Book Release: “8 Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business”

I am pleased to advise publication of “8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manager and Grow a Successful Business”  – book is now available on Amazon (Print and Kindle).

8b3_copy(4)Here is press release…

HALF OF ALL BUSINESSES FAIL WITHIN FIVE YEARS

New book offers solutions for success

Reston, VA, July 3, 2015 – “8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manage, and Grow a Successful Business” is available today on Amazon (US and global markets) and Kindle (July 8th). Targeted to entrepreneurs, the book walks readers through the many steps needed to not only launch a business, but stay in business and succeed.

“SBA and other statistics confirm what I’ve seen so many times,” said author Paul B. Silverman. “You can have a great idea, market need, solid team, funding and maybe a customer or two, and then five years later you’re out of business.”

8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manager and Grow a Successful Business” provides a step-by-step guide to all the key elements an entrepreneur needs to tackle to meet today’s challenges, profitably stay in business, and create value for shareholders. The book delves into the reasons why most businesses fail, how to prevent common pitfalls, and winning strategies…. READ PR AT PRESS RELEASE- 8 BUILDING BLOCKS

Here are some related links:

Reviews – I appreciated the support and comments of the pre-publication reviewers- reviews at http://paulbsilverman.com/books/reviews/

Link to new book page-  Book Page: * Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business  

 Read Book Excerpts at http://paulbsilverman.com/books/excerpts/

Link to Amazon to order the book  Amazon Link; 8 Building Blocks to Launch, Manage, and Grow A Successful Business

Link to blog a paulbsillverman.com/blog/

Sign up for new Entrepreneurship Today! email updates on areas I am tracking such as crowdfunding, Reg A+, cybersecurity, healthcare, IOT, and analytics . The email updates will cover new venture developments, blog posts highlights, upcoming interviews with leading entrepreneurs, guest posts by investors and entrepreneurs, and new Entrepreneurial Management 2.0 techniques. More info and sign-up page at http://paulbsilverman.com/contact/ 

I am ramping up speaking engagements and plan on doing several interviews related to new venture development and entrepreneurship and glad to address any group where I can contribute and schedules work

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me anytime and I will be glad to help.

All the best,

Paul B. Silverman

Paul B. Silverman writes about entrepreneurship, healthcare, analytics, and strategy management and serves as Advisor, Speaker, Educator, and Managing Partner of the Gemini Business Group, LLC, a new venture development firm, and author of “8 Building Blocks To Launch, Manage, And Grow A Successful Business.” He also serves as Adjunct Professor in the School of Business at George Mason University. See more at Paul B. Silverman Blog and sign up for Entrepreneurship Today! email updates to track latest new venture developments.

 








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