Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 20, 2013

Crowdfunder , the Los Angeles startup led by CHance Barnett, has launched another crowdfunding event aimed at the local industry, saying Wednesday that it has launched CROWDIMPACT LA , a pitching competition which will award $20,000 in a top prize to a winning social enterprise company. Deadline for entry is March 28th. READ MORE>>.

Startup 215

Startup Competition Demand Los Angeles 215

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 28, 2020

The investment firms and executive teams behind the Los Angeles-based delivery liquor delivery company, Saucey , along with Inception Companies, the backer of marijuana distribution company, Emjay , have formed Pacific Consolidated to merge their two companies and build what’s likely the largest “vice” company in the world.

Company 188

Company Companies Los Angeles San Diego 188

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

As an occasional angel investor, I always ask for a business pitch to get me in the mood. 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. In reality, there isn’t much overlap between the business pitch I expect, versus a product pitch.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2013

In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. For example, one CEO I know gave away his software product to the first ten customers. You won’t succeed with a product that is too expensive for the market. Limited rollout.

Product 94

Product Pricing Customer Custom 94

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

The startup is backed by the Tech Coast Angels and Dolby Ventures. My background is I was a sales rep in this industry for fourteen years, with Nikon. Eugene Cho: We had a seed round for less than $3M, and we did a note round with the Tech Coast Angels for $2M after we won their Quick Pitch competition, over about 150 other companies.

Tech Coast Angels 124

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 124

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

We’ve had an explosion of alternate sources of financing from crowd-sourcing, angels, accelerators, incubators, corporates, corporate incubators. ” Case studies get done with ebullient CEO’s espousing the benefits of said software even though their organization was barely using the product. ROI studies were published.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

The startup is backed by the Tech Coast Angels and Dolby Ventures. My background is I was a sales rep in this industry for fourteen years, with Nikon. Eugene Cho: We had a seed round for less than $3M, and we did a note round with the Tech Coast Angels for $2M after we won their Quick Pitch competition, over about 150 other companies.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 9, 2022

The funding, a Series C, will be used to continue expanding Boulevard’s product and engineering teams and to build out more tools targeting an ever-wider set of users in the bigger wellness and beauty sector (those product additions are typically big — it most recently added a whole new payments feature). Focusing on the U.S.

Help 195

Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Looking for an entrance into a VC, an angel group, a bank, a CxO for a sales opportunity, or any other entity? Every sales person with a bit of street history will resonate with this question. Dropping that name will often immediately draw a response if the decision maker is curious or particularly competitive.

Ideas 120

Ideas Sales Competition Venture Capital 120

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2014

Some recent jobs: VP of Business Development, RampRate - Los Angeles. The Vice President of Business Development reports to the CEO and is responsible for the direction and management of all worldwide sales operations direct and indirect, including market competitiveness, pricing, compensation, and distribution.

SoCalTech 124

SoCalTech SaaS Los Angeles Platform 124

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

In today’s highly competitive ad environment, both content and data are kings. DTC entrepreneurs are more focused on immediate impact, because if they’re not selling product, there’s no large brand propping them up. It won’t be a fit if there’s no real unique value prop for the product.

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

The scion of Los Angeles’ famous first family of the deli business — the owners of the eponymous Canters restaurant — Canter has been in the food business longer than many seasoned restauranteurs twice his age. The younger Canter upgraded the menu, brought in a point of sale system and renovated the bar.

Services 165

Services Los Angeles Startup Capital 165

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

Here are some key ways that personal stories can raise your message above the standard sales pitch: Show that you are authentic and deserve their trust. Investors tell me that they invest in people, more than products. That means that you must convince your constituents that you are a real person, trustworthy, and authentic.

Startup 145

Startup Competition Customer Custom 145

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Explain that they may be called, and use the opportunity to check their satisfaction with your company and your product. Validation of product.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

The basic alignment framework of strategy, customers, people, and processes hasn’t changed, but the pace of technological, competitive, and social change has increased at an amazing rate. If you have had to pivot from the consumer market to enterprise customers, that requires new pricing models and new sales channels.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). Professional angels: This is the arena where I work and play. For you who fit that description, nice work.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

You alone will never find enough hours in a day to keep with all the challenges of sales, support, and scaling the business, in addition to developing and delivering your solution. Intellectual property is required for a competitive edge. As an angel investor myself, I’ve often heard the argument that your solution has no competition.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

You don’t want to take money from friends and family, but it’s too early for angel investors and VCs. No one wants to put in money until you have a product, and you need money to build the product. Bootstrap if you can, otherwise climb the pyramid of family, friends, angels, and VCs. The right motivated employees dilemma.

Startup 130

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. A hard look will be taken at the technology maturity, the current development progress, and customer satisfaction with early product shipments. Status of the solution. In addition, manufacturing and inventory levels will be reviewed.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

Unfortunately, in my experience as an angel investor, about ninety percent of new business efforts fall short , leading me to believe that many of you may be better off staying where you are. He also still gets excited to donate one percent of sales to environmental groups around the world.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business for 4-6 months. Is it one product line or multiple? ” The Details.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Yet, in the interest of full disclosure, and an honest intent to save future entrepreneurs some grief and money, I would remind you that starting any business has key dependencies on at least five major elements, including product design and delivery, the right people on the team, adequate funding, a sizable market opportunity, and marketing.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2012

Sound Idea (basic value, product risk) $1/2 million. Strategic relationships (reducing market risk and competitive risk) $1/2 million. Product Rollout or Sales (reducing financial or production risk) $1/2 million. Email readers, continue here.]

Invest 321

Invest Startup Email Competition 321

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2015

Image via Pixabay.com Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. Economies of scale also apply to marketing, distribution, and sales.

Organization 100

Organization Startup Competition IBM 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Orange County startup Beatshare --backed by the Tech Coast Angels, Pasadena Angels, Harvard Business School Angels, and Archangels, among others�thinks it's figured out the formula to make music the message in its mobile app. We worked on Beatshare at Chapman, where there was a business plan competition, which we won.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

500 CEO, serial entrepreneur and the founder of New York Angels. founder and CEO of Gust, the angel financing platform used by over 50,000. accredited investors in 1,000 angel groups and venture capital funds to. Described by BusinessWeek as a “world conquering. collaborate with over 250,000 entrepreneurs in 95 countries.

Startup 189

Startup Sales Ideas Entrepreneur 189

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

There has always been tension between CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies and the retailers who sell their products to consumers. If a consumer will pay a fixed price for a product or service then the battle over who gets the margin in any sale is between the person who merchandises a product and the person who manufactures it.

Product 296

Product Course Customer Custom 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2022

Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. You might sell one of two of your widgets for $1 million each, entering profitability immediately, but then die because you can’t grow sales at that price. Design a product or service that you can sell.

Platform 118

Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Our fund (Upfront Ventures) recently returned >1x an entire $200 million fund just selling small minatory in secondary sales while still holding most of our stock for an ultimate public market exits. We can’t wait for customers to use the product for 12–18 months and do customer interviews or look at purchase cohorts.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. Postulate competitive reactions and your responses. Building a sustainable business is more like a marathon than an event.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Solution product & technology. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or angel investors in Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. get the attention of the market they choose. What will set your business apart?

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123