Joe Procopio

Editor’s note: Veteran Triangle entrepreneur, blogger and author Joe Procopio talks about the five keys to launching a digital startup in his latest series “Five Kinds of Startup.” DURHAM, N.C. – The last two installments of the Five Kinds of Startup Series have been cake. I can pretty much explain what a Product Startup does in four words: Make something, sell something. The same thing is true for Service Startups: Do something, get paid.  This is not true for all startups. And it’s especially not true for Digital Startups. While all businesses are unique, there are really only a few kinds of startup. How...

Editor’s note: Veteran entrepreneur, blogger and author Joe Procopio offers his thoughts on what you must do in order to succeed. If you want to succeed, you’ve got to prepare. DURHAM, N.C. – Forget Goals. If You Want to Succeed, You’ve Got To Prepare There you go. There’s some of my best advice, right there in the title and subtitle. If you want to stop right here and just go and execute on that advice, go nuts. I won’t hold it against you. Get started. In the rest of our time together, I’ll explain why I’m giving that advice,...

Editor’s note: Veteran entrepreneur, author and blogger Joe Procopio takes a look at what’s needed to launch a service-oriented startup. DURHAM, N.C. – When we talk about the ingredients for successful startups, one of the primary rules is: Find a problem a lot of people have and solve it. Product Startups, as we discussed last time, take the long road to complete that journey. It’s a daunting undertaking to try to solve a problem with a thing. It’s a much more direct route to solve a problem with people. We live in a society of perpetual progress, and this...

Editor’s note: Veteran author, blogger and entrepreneur Joe Procopio launches a new series focusing on how to build what can be a successful startup. DURHAM, N.C. – So you’ve got it. You’ve nailed it. You’ve discovered the missing link that’s going to change the game, the world, and millions of lives. OK, first thing, someone has probably already done it. But don’t let that stop you. There are a million kinds of startups out there and a million more that haven’t made their way off paper yet. Each one is unique, sure, but deep down, there really aren’t any...

Editor’s note: Fundraising, especially when it involves VC, is a long, painful, time-sucking process. DURHAM, N.C. – There’s so much to talk about with Venture Capital funding, so here’s what I won’t be talking about. I’m not going to discuss all the varieties of financing that can be a part of VC funding, like bridge financing or down rounds. I’m going to stick to the basics and compress a few things. I like to cover the entire universe at a high-level, so you know what the game looks like. There will be plenty of time to drill down into...

Editor’s note: The startup show/interview must go on even in the wake of a hurricane, writes veteran entrepreneur, author and blogger Joe Procopio. ​ DURHAM, N.C. – Forgive me, and this is a long-tail forgive me, but I’m about to do something stupid. I want to flush away any preconceived notions of entrepreneur post-exit experimentation, or maybe even mid-life crisis. Hell, this might just be a poorly executed ego trip, the one where my left brain and my right brain finally have it out in the most awkward way possible. In fact, you know that scene at the end...