Top 10 Entrepreneurship Skills

By Tim Berry

What entrepreneurship skills do you need before you start? Here is my top 10 list, revised for 2021. This isn’t the first such list I’ve prepared, but it is the latest. I don’t think it matches many of the millions of other such lists. That’s fine with me. Here is my list Empathy. Understand what... Read More »

Startup founder with child

What? Founders with Kids?

By Tim Berry

The question surprised me: “Is it a red flag for a founder to have a child while a startup is still in an early age?” It’s an odd view on startup founders with children. Enough to prompt me with this blog post. I could summarize my answer with simply, “absolutely not.” But here’s my more... Read More »

investors look at startup forecast

What Makes a Successful Pitch

By Tim Berry

No, it’s not really the format, the pictures, or the design … although those help. Ugly, confused, or disjointed is never an advantage. But what makes a successful pitch in a pitch presentation to investors is not the cosmetics; it’s the content. Question: Is there one unique piece I’d seen in a successful pitch that... Read More »

The Best Place to Start Your Business …

By Tim Berry

… is where you are. Sure, there are exceptions. Maybe you’re young, and have no roots. Or maybe you just want to move to somewhere else. But, barring special cases, look around you. The best place to start you business is where you are. In my email and on Quora I get a steady stream... Read More »

10 Prevailing Myths Of Business Ownership

By Tim Berry

I was asked about common myths of business ownership, that people still believe in 2019. I came up with a list of 10 common myths. Do you agree? That the business idea matters. As if ownership ought to depend on having the big idea. As if people steal ideas, or that’s even possible, much less... Read More »

5 Most Important Illusions About Startups

By Tim Berry

Q: What some illusions about start-ups? A: here’s my list of the five most important illusions about startups The illusion of the idea. Few businesses have truly new ideas. Apple didn’t; Facebook didn’t; Google didn’t. They took an existing idea and did it better, or differently. Quite often the second or third entrant into a... Read More »

What Do I Need to Do to Become an Entrepreneur

By Tim Berry

Q: What do I need to do to become an entrepreneur? Being an entrepreneur is simply somebody who has launched a business. It’s not a set of traits or qualities, a state of being, or an attribute. It’s not a degree or certificate. It’s not an expertise. It’s did you start a business, or not?... Read More »

Pervasive Startup Myth: Don’t Work for Free

By Tim Berry

Startup myth: The one about founders having to work for free to impress angel investors. This supposedly shows passion. Don’t believe it. Investors want people committed to working their startups, and that usually takes getting them paid. I’ve been getting a lot of upvotes on my answer to this question in Quora: How do entrepreneurs... Read More »

7 Things Wanna-be Entrepreneurs Need to Know

By Tim Berry

What do entrepreneurs need to know as they get started? Of course there’s need to know, absolutely; and there’s ought to know.  I was asked to come up with a list, and here is my best guess. Know the difference between cash and profits. You Think in Profits, but You Live on Cash. Things like sales... Read More »

Finding Dumb Investors is a Dumb Idea

By Tim Berry

Are you looking for dumb investors? “How can I find investors who don’t take much equity?” “How can I find investors who don’t interfere with my running the business? I first posted my objections to this kind of thinking nine years ago in Dumb Investors Dumb Idea, one of the earliest posts on this blog.... Read More »