Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. In today’s information overload, marketing is everything. Use every marketing channel available.

Product 95

Product Case Study Customer Custom 95

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2016

To win, you need to think outside the box to deliver a better customer experience, business model, and new positioning. It takes extra effort and focus on some special techniques, including the following, to get the edge you need over your competitors in customer attraction and retention: Set order-of-magnitude goals.

Ideas 103

Ideas Competition Customer Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Investors want to hear about customers with money who have a painful problem that you can solve now. Investors are looking for a concise description of your product or service without technical jargon or fuzzy marketing terms with value quantified in customer terms. What are your specific marketing and sales plans?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

million in funding on TechCrunch led by Harmony Partners and Upfront Ventures to double its footprint of 3 cities (New York, Chicago & Washington DC) to 6 in 2016. We raised this capital in what has increasingly become a difficult market for fund raising so I’d like to share with you some details on how we get it done.

Startup 150

Startup Pricing Marketing Product 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Lately I’ve been having to say things I thought I’d never have to remind people, like, “getting to positive gross margin in several territories is a very low bar to claim success” or “profitable excluding marketing costs” is not actually a real thing. Market Size. MakeSpace provides physical storage.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2016

The right channel for marketing and distribution is one of the basic “four Ps” of business (product, promotion, price and placement). For growing revenue and market share, it’s a key element of your overall strategy, and one that can make or break you. In many product areas, especially retail, the channel is the market.

Pricing 54

Pricing Customer Custom Sales 54

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2016

First-to-market is a key competitive advantage. Too many startups are proud of being the first-mover in a new market -- only to be overrun by big gorillas with more resources who see the startup traction. If we build a great product, customers will find it and us. Keep innovations in stealth mode until ready to ship.

Startup 58

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Ideas 58

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Lead with your intent to offer the solution free to customers. Of course, customers love free, but investors hate it. In reality, fundamental changes in technology frighten away more customers than they attract, and take longer and more money to come to fruition than any investors wants to commit. Skip the hype.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2016

Every entrepreneur I know starts out with a strong conviction that their solution is a perfect match for their target market, and yet almost every one later admits a need to “pivot” before finding their groove. This confuses customers, and dilutes your marketing impact. Hone your definition of target customer demographics.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Pricing Course Competition 57

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2016

mPulse was formed in April of 2015, as a spinoff of a company called mobileStorm, which has been in mobile marketing and communications for the last fifteen years. It's a pretty diverse set of customers, who are all driven of our SaaS-based, contact engine we have created. What's been the biggest challenge, in tackling this market?

Mobile 100

Mobile Southern California Startup Marketing 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2017

Most startups, and many big businesses, still don’t have a clue on how to use social media productively for marketing their business. The first thing that entrepreneurs need to realize is that the process and framework for making social media marketing work are different from traditional marketing, and trial and error certainly doesn’t work.

Social Media 62

Social Media Media Metrics SEO 62

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 6, 2020

In 2016, that represented a couple of unique concepts. As time has gone on, the company then shifted into the ridesharing market, essentially operating as a car availability platform for Uber and Lyft drivers. There's real competition in this area. One, was it allowed you to get a used car subscription with your phone.

Startup 124

Startup Pricing Platform Study 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2017

exabytes per month at the end of 2016, of which half was video. This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Analytics will soon drive nearly all business decisions for any company that wants to remain relevant to its customers. Crowdsource: putting your audience to work beyond customers.

Startup 55

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 55

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

We got really serious after the success of that customer, who wanted to make this technology available for all of its employees across the globe. How is it your first customer was in Australia? Anne Fulton: I'm actually a Kiwi, a New Zealander, and all of our product and marketing is done out of New Zealand. versus New Zealand?

Help 100

Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

socalTECH

APRIL 21, 2017

For people who send things out, it's a chance to be in front of your customer. We're working with some very large, extremely well known CPGs to help them establish that direct selling channel, and help them create a relationship with their customer. So, we build that and started offering it to the market.

Startup 145

Startup Product Customer Custom 145

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2016

A focus on business execution certainly includes selecting the right idea and developing a marketable solution, but it also requires selecting a viable target market, attracting customers, winning against competition, and delivering a value proposition which is attractive to customers as well as the business.

Ideas 54

Ideas Entrepreneur Customer Custom 54

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

Examples of VC platform services include: recruiting, marketing, design support, inside sales reps, consulting, accounting services and so forth. Side Note : Upfront has hired Kerry Bennett as a member of our executive management team to run marketing – please follow her on Twitter here ].

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

His focus is primarily on improving the results for traditional sales professionals, but I’m convinced that the same principles are equally critical for entrepreneurs selling their startup to investors, strategic partners, and customers. It can be your competitive advantage over peers and existing players, and it’s fun to do.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2014

zettabytes by the year 2016. This gives rise to the personalization and customization that we all want. Analytics will soon drive nearly all business decisions for any company that wants to remain relevant to its customers. Crowdsource: putting your audience to work beyond customers. Big data:” learning from the flood.

Startup 99

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

Assume you already know what your customers need and want. Just because you love a new solution doesn’t mean your customers will love it. Before spending any money, make sure you interact directly with potential customers, industry experts and investors. Usually, no competitors means no market -- or it means you haven’t looked.

Startup 59

Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 59

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2016

I believe that the resourcefulness to turn constraints into competitive differentiators and new opportunities is a trait that separates the great entrepreneurs from the “wannabes.” If you have a great product and need customers, find a partner with many customers who needs a new product. There is still room for many more.

Startup 57

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Outsource 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2016

For example, early social media startup Friendster was so enamored with their early acceptance that they turned down a $30 million offer from Google, then quickly ran into money woes and tough competition. An initial revenue surge, or a major cash advance from investors often leads to a mentality of building a large customer base at any cost.

Startup 57

Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2016

Seek evidence of market opportunity to balance your passion. These days, there are over 150 credible market-research companies online sizing opportunities, including Nielsen and Gartner. Interact with real customers to validate passion in their feedback. Marty Zwilling First published on Entrepreneur.com on 01/01/2016.

Startup 62

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Statistics 62

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

billion company in the brutally competitive beauty industry, especially one with such broad appeal. Like with many consumer brands geared toward women, we buy in not just because of the marketing, but because of the product itself. Glossier’s commoditized feminism aside, it’s no easy task to launch a $1.8 And who cares?

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2016

Secret sauce' or competitive advantage is not clear. They know that showing market traction will attract big companies, like Apple or Google, who can easily overrun the best startup. Market is new or unproven, or your solution is 'disruptive.' When Facebook first started looking for investors, there was so social-media market.

Funding 57

Funding Social Media Startup Patents 57

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Incubator 106

Incubator Startup Help Resource 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

Angels are most interested to help you scale the business, once you have real customer traction and ready to break out. A business needs technical, marketing, financial and many other skills. These are required to show that you have a defensible competitive advantage or at least a barrier to entry.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. Here is my list of shortcomings that cause many investors to look elsewhere: No well-defined need or viable customer set.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2016

Due diligence is going the next step, to meet and interview all key members of the team, visit the business location and follow-up with early customers and advisors. Customer and market interaction. Investors will test your relationship with real customers, based on the data you provide.

Technical Review 55

Technical Review Help Innocal Startup 55

Xconomy

JULY 19, 2016

For 2015, there were 133 information security M&A deals, according to 451 Research’s Tech M&A Outlook 2016. In general, M&A is a natural part of the IT security market. It’s why this market segment is so attractive to venture investors. Symantec Forces the Industry to Stay Competitive. Why is this happening?

Symantec 40

Symantec IBM IBM Acquisition 40

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

It’s like trying to sell a home still being built at next year’s dream market price. First priority is real revenue, customers and contracts. Patents filed, even provisional, as well as trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets count as barriers to entry and sustainable competitive advantages.

Startup 71

Startup Patents Invest Blogging 71

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

For the cybersecurity industry, 2016 is shaping up to be the year of alliances. It’s an interesting tactic that seems unusual in a competitive business environment, but makes sense when considering the constantly expanding sea of cyber threats—and solutions—through which organizations must wade. That’s the goal, at least.

Press 40

Press Symantec Organization IBM 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2016

To build a startup, you have to enjoy the broad range of challenges, from technical to marketing to sales to personnel. An entrepreneur has to be as adept at building a team, finding the right external partners, and finding customers, as building the solution. Startup investors and customers alike are waiting to line up behind you.

Entrepreneur 67

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Sample 67

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2016

The process is often competitive and very difficult. All recommend that you be focused and specific on the market problem you solve, have a truly unique solution and be able to describe in detail how you will acquire customers. But the application process can be very competitive, and expensive in terms of equity and cash.

Incubator 58

Incubator Startup Seed Funding Equity 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Even if your product is a technological marvel, I look for balanced strength on the team in finance, marketing and operations. Fundable entrepreneurs have to feel comfortable talking and listening to engineers, financial people, marketing and especially customers. Fill in gaps with expert advisors to make it whole.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2015

These Ice Bear units are all networked and linked into control systems, and communicate with the web, where they can be remotely controlled and monitored by our customer. Our customer is not the building owner or tenant, it's the utility. How is it that utilities are your main customer? Can you talk about that?

Southern California 100

Southern California Technical Review Demand Outsource Development 100

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

By 2016, app downloads are estimated to reach 44 billion and app-to-person messaging is seen to overtake text messaging. The premise is simple: if you want to engage with your customers, go where they are and where you can matter. The mobile app revolution also gave birth to mobile marketing. What’s in an app?

Mobile 40

Mobile Social Media Google Software Review 40