Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2017

Today’s customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making a decision is a challenge. You may think this is only important to your marketing and sales people, but in reality it doesn’t matter how great your product or technology might be, you won’t succeed if you don’t understand your target customer decision process.

Sales 82

Sales Entrepreneur Customer Custom 82

StartUp Beat

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

What do entrepreneurs do when they finally establish their startup? 2017 has already witnessed a load of successful and exciting conferences, including World Domination Summit, Startup+Fest and CEO Space. Since Disrupt, we sign up about 5000 new customers a day.”. Roam the streets looking for more investors?

Conference 40

Conference Startup Artificial Inteligence Competition 40

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

21 in Los Angeles near the serial entrepreneur’s other company SpaceX. Musk mentioned on Twitter the desire to produce a pickup truck way back in April 2017, before the first Model 3 sedans had been handed over to customers and the CEO had entered production hell. The date just so happens to coincide with the LA Auto Show.

SpaceX 186

SpaceX Los Angeles Ideas Angel 186

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2017

With the advent of the Internet, social media, and instant communication via texting, customer expectations for service, as part of their entire customer experience, have changed. They expect you to be there, to know their history as a customer, and to treat them with priority and respect.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Services Social Media 57

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Thus I believe that business leaders and entrepreneurs need to focus first on people leadership, rather than process leadership. Customers demand more engagement and flexibility.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

TechCrunch LA

MAY 23, 2019

The firm was launched in 2017 by general partners Eva Ho and TX Zhuo, formerly of Susa Ventures and Karlin Ventures, respectively. “We feel over the next couple of years, we’ll start to see repeat entrepreneurs come out of these LA companies. The timing is ripe for a fund like ours to capitalize on the opportunity.”

Funding 218

Funding Startup Seed Funding Los Angeles 218

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

Stella Wu, who formerly worked as a growth product manager at Wish, got firsthand experience of the pain points related to the process when she bought her own house in 2017. “I We’re also helping these individual contractors increase the brand, and helping them with the administration and customer support side with our software.”.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

SoCal Tech Calendar

OCTOBER 20, 2017

Thursday, October 26, 2017 -- Founder Stories: David Knight, Angel City Data. Angel City Data has deployed over 2,000 custom desktop, web and mobile software solutions for clients such as Apple, Disney, Warner Bros., Burbank Tech Talks and TechFire. Harvard, Caltech, UCLA, USC, the BBC, and NASA. See [link] (more)

Burbank 100

Burbank Angel CalTech USC 100

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2019

In an age of ever increasing marketing spend to attract customers, how do you make sure you aren't spending more acquiring a company than they are worth? Los Angeles-based Retina is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to figure out customer lifetime value (CLV) for such businesses as Dollar Shave Club. What is Retina Go?

Dollar Shave Club 113

Dollar Shave Club Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2022

exabytes per month at the end of 2017, of which more than 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 126

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 126

SoCal Tech Calendar

APRIL 6, 2017

Wednesday, April 12, 2017 -- Funding your Innovation. This course is about selling your innovation to investors, grant proposal reviewers, potential strategic partners, and to your intended customers. The following questions that plague entrepreneurs will be answered: 1. Are your target customers not buying-in?

Funding 100

Funding Course Customer Custom 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. Let’s say you have built a SaaS company where a large part of the early revenue comes from a few big customers or a large part of the revenue is services based vs. software based. Let me give you an example.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Constance Curtis: I have been a successful entrepreneur for the past thirteen years. Through my own frustration, I decided, in 2017, the heck with this, and decided to hire a traditional matchmaker. What's the biggest lesson you've learned, as an entrepreneur? As CEO and an entrepreneur, you have to know that yourself.

Startup 203

Startup Entrepreneur Southern California Netflix 203

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2017

Focus on products and customers, and trust your accountant. The accountant may accurately record every transaction, but only you can make the strategic tradeoffs on marketing costs versus customer revenue, product quality versus support, and so forth. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 07/14/2017.

Entrepreneur 72

Entrepreneur Competition Customer Custom 72

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

In addition, like an entrepreneur with a new business, you have to factor in all the indirect costs previously covered by employers, including training, health care, and time off for vacations. In fact, thinking like an entrepreneur is a good strategy today for success, even if you are currently in a long-term employment situation.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

Berkonomics

APRIL 8, 2021

From its start in 2015, the number of registered users has “suddenly” climbed from 45 million in 2017 to a reported 300 million by the end of 2020. It was as much in reaction to my getting blank stares from entrepreneurs when I asked the above question as it was for me to better understand the problem itself. Here is my list.

Sites 156

Sites Product Social Network Press 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2017

As an angel investor, I get approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who can talk endlessly about their latest great idea, and little else. The challenge is to correctly sense the market, and match the product to the customer need, rather than celebrate the technology or assume that everyone will buy. Get to know yourself first.

Ideas 83

Ideas Customer Custom Entrepreneur 83

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 19, 2018

With lead investors like Fika Ventures and Fathom Capital, and co-investors, including Toyota AI Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, Riot.vc, Osage University Partners and Stage Venture Partners, Elementary Robotics is readying itself for commercial pilots with a few undisclosed customers as it proves out its technology.

Los Angeles 207

Los Angeles Angel Artificial Inteligence CalTech 207

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

founded in summer of 2017. That makes it difficult to figure out what it costs to acquire a customer, and what a customer is worth. Dan LeBlanc: I used to run customer analytics for a brand called ProFlowers. Their customers are starting brands, and using their e-commerce platform to really accelerate and grow.

Startup 113

Startup Platform Commerce San Diego 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2017

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. The canvas is a visual chart with elements describing your value proposition, structure, finances, and customers, to help companies identify and align business activities.

Funding 57

Funding Startup Activity Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2017

Entrepreneurs are people who dream up new ideas, and then commercialize them into new businesses. Yet, in my experience as a mentor to entrepreneurs, the majority of failures I see are related to starting and growing the business, not developing the solution. Then assume the customers will change over time, so never stop listening.

Ideas 72

Ideas Startup Metrics Entrepreneur 72

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 21, 2019

During the summer of 2017, the rumor of a popup store in LA generated a crowd of 500. In-store customers are limited to purchasing one unit of each product. Some online customers utilize bots, at about $100 per use, to ensure they will have a legitimate shot at fulfilling at least part of their wish list.

Demand 160

Demand Pricing Product Equity 160

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2019

exabytes per month at the end of 2017, of which more than 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.

Technology 97

Technology Social Media Startup Entertainment 97

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2016

We have made a big push this year to bolster our team with healthcare industry expertise to help provide our customers with exceptional outcomes. Finally, what do you think will have the biggest impact on the technology industry in 2017?

Southern California 113

Southern California Social Media News Entertainment 113

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

“We want to inspire, but we also want to be realistic and show beauty in real life,” Glossier founder and CEO Emily Weiss said in a 2017 interview with Inc, just as the brand had reached what Weiss herself described as “cult status.” Even Chrissy Teigen and Reese Witherspoon wore Glossier’s signature Cloud Paint blush to the Oscars. .

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2017

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I often get asked for next sure-fire idea. Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and other famous entrepreneurs are examples of dedicated people who looked for inspiration, rather than ideas for their next business. Great entrepreneurs identify something larger than money to provide purpose and meaning.

Ideas 54

Ideas Study Entrepreneur Customer 54

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2017

Most entrepreneurs relish being their own boss, but find the transition to “ownership thinking” to be more difficult than anticipated. Incidentally, if you never thought of yourself as being an A-Player employee, you probably will struggle even more in the competitive entrepreneur world.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Competition 54

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2017

They flocked to businesses like Apple, when influencer Steve Jobs was at the helm, and anxiously await the next moves from visible entrepreneurs, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Customers need to believe that you are one of them. Going out of your way to help a customer or help a good cause pays big dividends these days.

Social Media 58

Social Media Customer Custom Entrepreneur 58

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2017

This technology is not only spawning a new generation of entrepreneurs, but is also changing the educational landscape, all the way down to early grade school. In my view as an advisor to new ventures, the Maker Movement is an integral part of a new age of the entrepreneur. Meeting the new consumer demand for customization.

Ideas 61

Ideas Outsource Development Startup Education 61

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2017

Entrepreneurs always work hard to create an innovative product or service, but often count on standard seller marketing for sales. But the reality is that sellers are no longer in charge of the customer buying process. The best way to do this is with real customer interviews. Don’t start from how you want to sell.

Search Engine Optimization 58

Search Engine Optimization Startup SEO Customer 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2017

As an active business advisor and angel investor, I’m convinced that we are rapidly entering a new age of the entrepreneur, and those who are best prepared will be the first to reap some big rewards. I continue to see stories of really young entrepreneurs, and I just met a really impressive one, Neva Lee Recla, at a recent Fast Inc.

Coach 80

Coach Entrepreneur Ideas Class 80

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2017

True business success and leadership starts with real personal values, extends to building a team, and finally to inspiring customers and your community. My job as a new business advisor is to help entrepreneurs get over this chasm early. In business, consistency is the key to productivity and trust by team members and customers alike.

Case Study 55

Case Study Customer Custom Entrepreneur 55

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Unless you are a serial entrepreneur with a string of successes behind you, you need a business plan to convince investors that you can build a business out of the dream that has been driving your passion to change the world. Marketing, sales, and customer experience. Skip the acronyms and jargon.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

In my experience as an advisor and mentor to entrepreneurs in business, one of the biggest failures I see is a lack of self-leadership. For example, I often hear from aspiring entrepreneurs that “I had that idea first, and he stole it, and is now making money on my idea.” Values are your most valuable assets.

Coach 59

Coach Satisfaction Ideas Entrepreneur 59

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2017

We are living in a new generation of business, where customers drive the experience, and highly engaged employees are required to keep up with customer expectations. Their experience as executive coaches and entrepreneurs gives real credibility to their assessment of some new leadership approaches that are required in business today.

Entrepreneur 59

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Coach 59

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2019

Now we're in over 100 cities and have over 10,000 clients, 10,000 tutors, and a platform which is working very efficiently, and gives the customer what they want. In terms of where we offer to our customers, we have 250 different areas, from early childhood to studying for an MCAT or the bar. That's a great question.

Startup 113

Startup Venture Capital Beverly Hills Acquisition 113

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Customers heavily adopted in-person returns. We saw the steady stream of customers Nordstrom Rack was getting from HauteLook shoppers, and we realized that we could do that same thing with any retailer. Customers expect the retailers to pay for those returns, they expect returns to be free, and they expect outbound shipping to be free.

Training 100

Training Customer Custom Software Review 100