Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

We had a special edition of This Week in Venture Capital this week shooting out of the Next New Networks offices in New York. Our guest was Mo Koyfman of Spark Capital. The Spark Capital website (it’s one of my favorites). Company grew by more than “400% each year” for past few years [assume growth metric = revenues].

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Capital Metrics Competition 217

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Many entrepreneurs never get past their first-stage focus on their innovative product, to scaling the business globally, organizing a structure to handle thousands of employees, and concentrating their focus “on the business” rather than working “in the business.” Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Others do far too little, assuming the viral effect and word-of-mouth will soon kick in, and sales will suddenly grow exponentially. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales. Shorten the close cycle to grow faster.

Search Engine Optimization 131

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

Trying to do everything is a sure way to maximize stress, lower job satisfaction, and minimize productivity. If you are a genius at invention, for example, then that is the role you should seek to keep you motivated and productive. Enablement: provide support and human capital. Discernment: evaluate and refine the solution.

Activity 108

Activity Satisfaction Metrics Startup 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

Scan for unmet needs to match new products. When sales fall off, you need to dig deep for the “why,” rather than just assuming the price needs to go down. Often new competitors do fail, but they may highlight a consumer trend that you can capitalize on now, before it comes back to haunt you later.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? With the enormous changes to our economies and financial markets?—?how Of course we can’t.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2009

Los Angeles-based Image Metrics (www.image-metrics.com) recently landed a $6.5M, Series B funding round for the firm's facial animation products. Around 2006, they opened up a sales office here, with a couple of guys talking to the film and games business. We're actively hiring engineers, researchers, and sales people.

Metrics 100

Metrics Startup Sales Newsletter 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. I like the ten steps he outlines, which I characterize here as follows: Seek major capital infusion. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2022

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

eBook 111

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 111

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

In the interests of helping you work smarter and last longer, I would like to offer my top ten list of key resource drains to avoid in early businesses and startups, based on my years of advising entrepreneurs and my own business experience: Expanding your product line too quickly for scaling. Use multiple small orders at first.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? Develop metrics with which to measure yourself and use these to incrementally expand and improve your offering as fast as the market and capital will allow.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

" Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does  —  @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric. More people aren't the answer if your core business isn't already productive. But if you want to add some in the comments section on Medium and I’ll make sure to read them.

Software Review 242

Software Review Technical Review Pricing Metrics 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs like you that I have met in my role as a business advisor are really product creators versus business creators, convinced that a great product will generate a great business. In most businesses, this means selling something, and proving that your product or service has value.

Metrics 140

Metrics Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction 140

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 22, 2016

I had the honor of moderating a panel of three SaaS CEOs who have collectively raised nearly $40 million of venture capital and are on their way to breakout success: Reed Shaffner of Workpop , Jerry Jao of Retention Science and Ara Mahdessian from ServiceTitan. The Most Important Metric. Such metrics will obviously differ.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Cornerstone OnDemand Metrics 100

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2019

For today's interview, we sat down and spoke with David Loo , the founder and CEO of Perspectium (www.perspectium.com), a startup which is developing service management applications designed to help connect different, enterprise service management software products together. Perspectium recently raised a funding round from TVC Capital.

SaaS 113

SaaS Startup Customer Custom 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

I can’t tell you how many people have thanked me for this advice and say their productivity increased exponentially. It freed up Ophir to grow out our sales organization, to work more closely with agencies, to innovate on product and to raise capital. It literally can put you out of business.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? Develop metrics with which to measure yourself and use these to incrementally expand and improve your offering as fast as the market and capital will allow.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

You need to first create a compelling product. Compelling in the sense that you solve a real problem a target group of potential customers has with a product that is significantly better than the alternatives on that market. You need product / market fit. Product / market fit is everything. ” True.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. Raising capital isn’t the be-all and end-all of startup success. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. Energy is still the domain of Houston and Dubai.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

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? Internet scale.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

The steps outlined below represent an ideal approach to raising capital from sophisticated investors. The VC will recognize you as a productive and additive member of the online startup community. Step 4: Reconnaissance Mission, Under Promise – An effective technique for acquiring investment capital is to initially not ask for money.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Customer 236

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. I like the ten steps he outlines, which I characterize here as follows: Seek major capital infusion. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. I have always worked on early stage products. Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

If you buy into the argument that a strong board can actually help you then this post will lay out how to help you have more productive meetings by preparing properly in advance. Often board members themselves don’t do the work to say “what metrics would we like to see.” This is part of a broader series on Board Meetings.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. I like the ten steps he outlines, which I characterize here as follows: Seek major capital infusion. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives.

Startup 56

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Customers today quickly get beyond these, and put a competitive priority on the experience of others, reflected in reviews and social media, and their own total experience with your sales process, delivery, returns, and support on their schedule. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem. These tolerate negative cash flows for growth.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. I like the ten steps he defines, which I can summarize here as follows: Seek major capital infusion. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives.

Sales 96

Sales Metrics Startup Entrepreneur 96

socalTECH

JUNE 1, 2012

Are users willing to check into local businesses with another, mobile check-in product? My other co-founder, Rusty Jenkins, was also with that company, doing sales. Other than that, I don't really see a downside for a company that is trying to raise money, if they are close to product. We're also funding it out of pocket.

CTO Coach 223

CTO Coach Startup Mobile Artificial Inteligence 223

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2016

Others do far too little, assuming the viral effect and word-of-mouth will soon kick in, and sales will suddenly grow exponentially. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales. Shorten the close cycle to grow faster.

Search Engine Optimization 57

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 57

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

BigCo calls you to review your product and decides they want to use you. I make exceptions for companies with proper venture capital funds that are mostly autonomous like Comcast, Disney (Steamboat) and Intel Capital – all of which are great funds. million in sales. million in sales (e.g.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

The consumer product they’ve created is called TrueCar. And finally, Scott demonstrated his internal management tool for managing the metrics of his business. Money to be used for hiring and additional product development. Company plans to use the capital to build out sales and marketing and r&d. -a

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. Through advertising or direct sales, these sites harvest intent. My Obsession With The Product - Feld Thoughts , May 3, 2010 For some reason I’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. How profitable is my product or service? As an early-stage VC I love this phase.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. Raising capital isn’t the be-all and end-all of startup success. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. Energy is still the domain of Houston and Dubai.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2015

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2018

If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? Develop metrics with which to measure yourself and use these to incrementally expand and improve your offering as fast as the market and capital will allow.

Startup 81

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 81