Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. 2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. Organic milk formula product Bobbie. Runway AI user interface.

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2020

From my consulting with entrepreneurs in Europe and other countries, I’m convinced that we all could benefit from adapting to meet their environments. Competition is not always a bad thing, and the real purpose is often to make the world a better place. Design the full stack, not just a new software element.

Ideas 124

Ideas Venture Capital Software Review Technical Review 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2018

Most aspiring entrepreneurs are convinced that their idea and passion are so great that failure is not a possibility. Based on my experience, creating a new business is at least as difficult as creating an innovative solution, and it takes a knowledge of finance, operations, customers and the marketplace.

Startup 99

Startup Competition Examples Ideas 99

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

And there is so much money around being thrown at so many entrepreneurs that many firms don’t even care about board seats, governance rights or heaven forbid doing work with the company because that would eat into the VCs time needed to chase 5 more deals. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there were over 20 million registered developers in 2018. Build your own marketplace platform.

Mobile 126

Mobile Develop Development Platform 126

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

Glossier affirmed our inherent beauty, then reminded us that we can be even more beautiful if we buy their “Boy Brow” pomade, which sold one tube every 32 seconds by 2018. billion company in the brutally competitive beauty industry, especially one with such broad appeal.

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

As a self-made entrepreneur and former chairman of Diamond Resorts International, he asserts that the five biggest companies by market value today, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, aren’t really tech, but hospitality companies. Customer needs and expectations are changing faster than ever these days.

Technical Advisors 82

Technical Advisors Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 82

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2018

Unfortunately, I have learned that investors and customers are wary that big changes will take a long time, and cost more money. Therefore I always recommend to entrepreneurs that they use the term cautiously, but I never discourage their focus on disruptive innovation. Take advantage of big data and modern design tools.

Marketing 89

Marketing Technology Customer Custom 89

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2019

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. This can be customer acquisition cost, revenue growth, profit, or whatever other parameters are key to your success.

Social Media 96

Social Media Media Marketing Metrics 96

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2018

Most entrepreneurs see their new venture as a fun adventure, until the pressures of a cash flow crisis, or a manufacturing quality problem, or a major customer satisfaction problem hits. Here are the top approaches I recommend, and the entrepreneur mindsets that I see in survivors: Evaluate new competitive threats as new opportunities.

Startup 82

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Mentor 82

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. It takes a well-rounded and motivated team to run a competitive business today. Once gone, customers won’t be back.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

Now is the time to be an entrepreneur and create a business from your passion. On the other hand, everyone is doing it, so that means more competition, and the market and technology are changing faster than ever before. Validate your solution with a prototype and real customers. Ideas are not enough to gauge business potential.

Funding 73

Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2018

Rather than enhancing the offering you have, develop and offer new products that capitalize on the customers that you already know well. Rather than rely only on linear thinking, the best entrepreneurs are always looking to offer in parallel a more dramatic new alternative. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 12/18/2018.

Examples 99

Examples IP Acquisition Social Media 99

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2018

Many customers now actively seek out new technologies, rather than wait for many others to try it first. Bold entrepreneurs now can credibly talk about entirely new markets, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), genetic modifications, and privatized space travel. Marty Zwilling First published on CayenneConsulting on 10/10/2018.

Marketing 92

Marketing Demand Examples Social Media 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2018

Starting a new venture and thriving in today’s economy is hard, but the best have figured out that customers and employees need to feel that you have a sense of purpose, to complement the company’s pursuit of profit. Assemble the right people, and don’t forget to include real customer interaction.

Startup 58

Startup Customer Custom Competition 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

I’m still amazed at how many technical entrepreneurs don’t have a business pitch, and offer me their product pitch or product spec instead. Unfortunately, customers look for value in solving their problem, and new technologies alone scare them, so these solutions don’t get bought by customers, or funded.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2018

The stalwarts should be making the big leaps to be competitive, rather than the other way around. Many large companies, and even startups, often forget their core competencies and direction in an effort to grow their business and customer base faster. In fact, almost 90 percent of the Fortune 500 firms that existed in 1955 are gone.

Startup 59

Startup Competition IBM IBM 59

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

I find that the most successful entrepreneurs have mastered the art and skill of building and managing relationships. In my role as a mentor to business professionals and entrepreneurs over the years, I have found that it’s important to take a hard look at the relationships around you on a regular basis.

Tips 95

Tips Mentor Coach Activity 95

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

Continuing to micromanage both as your business grows is the downfall of many entrepreneurs. With a tiny organization, small businesses can make decisions quickly, allowing them to respond quickly to customer input and changes. The result was a growth plateau, as well as entrepreneur health and family balance challenges.

Sales 69

Sales Organization Entrepreneur Examples 69

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. While 2018 was all about better understanding the SoCal opportunity, 2019 was about honing our focus and defining our core programs.

SoCal 140

SoCal Southern California Startup Venture Capital 140

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2018

Customers and analysts are always looking for innovation indicators. I will suggest to you as a business owner and entrepreneur that focus on certain key behaviors will drive innovation without waiting for the next competitive crisis: Be outspoken in communicating proactive required change.

Metrics 58

Metrics IBM IBM Competition 58

socalTECH

MARCH 13, 2020

Dmitri Leonov: We built a distribution business for equipment for the spa industry, and have had 10,000 client over that time, but in the last few years, we've really focused on talking to spa customers about their needs in the market. Essentially, the customer wants natural and organic ingredients. Our average retention is 70 percent.

Template 124

Template Beverly Hills Startup SEM 124

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. 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.

Incubator 87

Incubator Startup Resource Seed Funding 87

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2018

As the Global Customer Growth Evangelist at Salesforce, with implementation roles at many other companies, she makes a host of relevant observations for every business owner. These days, customers remember the total experience with a company longer than they remember the price they paid. Find ways to work with your competition.

Examples 67

Examples Customer Custom Software Review 67

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2018

Thus creating the right company culture must be a top priority of every entrepreneur and business leader. In fact, most see a more direct relationship between customers and their business success, so employee focus by default will end up in third place. Marty Zwilling First published on CayenneConsulting on 07/10/2018.

Metrics 57

Metrics Startup Netflix Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2018

Unfortunately, most of the entrepreneurs who contact me for guidance only seem to work on strategic issues when they are in a crisis, such as losing a major distributor or being swamped with customer complaints. I recommend that every entrepreneur and business owner carve out some time every week for proactively work on strategy.

Tips 51

Tips Metrics Sample Statistics 51

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2018

The insurance industry is an old industry, with a lot of contradictions--it's one where the more claims insurers pay to help customers, the less money the insurers make--and it's also one that hasn't been disrupted much yet by technology. However, overall we'll be customizing that out. That legacy system has been absolutely necessary.

Technology 165

Technology Startup West Los Angeles Platform 165

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

With perfect information and too much competition you pay up or they walk right down the street and get it from somebody else.” It forces the founder to spend time in front of customers. The funny thing about “too much money” is that it doesn’t just come from entrepreneurs. April 30th, 2018.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2018

Your competitive drive for success will cause you to dive in with more energy and not be easily distracted. Perfection is not really possible nor necessary in most business tasks, so I recommend the same strategy that good startups use on products, before shipping to customers.

Coach 56

Coach Paramount Software Review Product 56

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

Without profit, there is no longevity to any business, so I’m always surprised when sincere young entrepreneurs avoid using the term, as if “profit” is a bad word. At the other extreme, I don’t condone greedy and unethical business practices to unjustly shake down customers and employees alike.

Customer 19

Customer Custom Acquisition Entrepreneur 19