Stephanie Vozza has spoken of the six lessons gleaned from entrepreneurs’ experience (Fast Company). It was illuminating to evaluate how our startup company (FundingSage) and its founders dealt with these business improvement issues.

Strategic thought requires thinking “conceptually” as opposed to “sequentially.”  Sequential thinking weighs the pros and cons of each step against its immediate surroundings. Conceptual thinking requires that each step be measured against the larger goal. Perhaps this is best understood with an analogy.  Imagine going on a trip from point “A” to point “B.”

There are two key factors to consider in order to be great startup advice from outside experts: Pick the right team, and always know what you want before you ask.

What’s ‘critical’ about Critical Path Analysis? The Critical Path is the sequence of steps that determine the minimum time needed for an operation.

Founder contributions are critical to entrepreneurial startups. There are three major contributions that founders provide to startup businesses: Money, Commitment, and Effort

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A simple business plan template to follow is to develop a “sniff test.” Hold up the fish (project) – if it doesn’t smell right, throw it away. This is simply a short-hand way to tell if a project is worth a more detailed look.

The goal of many startup companies is to become a scalable business. Unfortunately, there is some confusion about what it really means to scale up.

A big company bench can allow you to scale rapidly, but excess payroll costs can also drag you down…fast. On the other hand, you can’t be too timid or slow, the market waits for no person. So how do you handle this dilemma?

1. Growing old while building a startup company will mature both you and the business.

A principal goal in the life of a scalable startup company is getting external equity funding. The closing of a funding round is cause for celebration. However, founders are often left with a somewhat bitter-sweet taste when they realize what just happened.