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This is a great Steve Blank article explaining why the traditional business plan is totally inappropriate for startup ventures and what to do about it. Before you create one more pitch deck or pro forma for your startup, read this first. Read More

This is a fun list that describes a number of ways that bootstrapping an opportunity is better than trying to raise seed capital. It's sure to make for a spirited debate among BizSugar readers! Read More

This pioneering Babson study examines whether writing a business plan before launching a new venture affects the company's subsequent performance. Interestingly, the analysis revealed that there was no difference between the performance of new businesses launched with or without written business plans. Unless a would-be entrepreneur needs to rais Read More

New research by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that nearly six in ten businesses shut down within the first four years of operation. To avoid becoming a statistic yourself, here are the top reasons so many new ventures fail. Read More

Your company could offer the best prices and services around, but if your company fails to make customers feel wanted, you can consider the chances of repeat business out the door. When it comes to retaining customers, simple gestures go a long way. And yet, if studies are anything to go by, we have yet to learn the fine art of keeping customers f Read More

Contrary to what many aspiring entrepreneurs believe, the key to a successful startup does not rest upon having a unique, one-of-a-kind idea. A good idea is a necessary starting point for any new business, but that's all it is. As VC and entrepreneurship teacher Rob Adams points out, ideas are not scarce: they're commodities. Virtually any idea Read More

A classic essay by Greg Gianforte about the virtues of bootstrapping and how it often yields better results than the "fund and burn" model of VC-backed startups. Read More

The internet is a copy machine. When copies are super abundant, stuff which can't be copied becomes scarce and valuable. From my study of the network economy I see roughly eight categories of intangible value that we buy when we pay for something that could be free. In a real sense, these are eight things that are better than free. Eight uncop Read More

Studies of customer profitability in many businesses have found that only a small percentage of accounts are responsible for all of the firm's profits once costs related to acquisition, service, and support have been factored in. The staggering truth is simply this: many customers cost more to serve than they bring in revenue! Read More