Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. Simply put – I’d be in search of a VC who had an intuitive sense of my product, my customers, my organizational issues, my competitors, etc.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2019

Based on my own experience in business over the years, and current coaching efforts, I recommend a focus on the following strategies and attributes: Make your customer the center of everything you do. Customers need to believe that you have their interests at heart. Highlight your credibility by visibility and relationships.

Custom 93

Custom Customer IBM IBM 93

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2016

While I do agree that many attributes of a good entrepreneur, such as curiosity, confidence and determination, are largely determined by early-life experiences, a good education is critical in understanding the elements of creating a business and wooing customers. Don’t forget business writing and communication.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 98

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

While I do agree that many attributes of a good entrepreneur, such as curiosity, confidence and determination, are largely determined by early-life experiences, a good education is critical in understanding the elements of creating a business and wooing customers. Don’t forget business writing and communication.

Writing 111

Writing Coach Incubator Entrepreneur 111

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

25 Years of Writing Code. Adam Sroka, an agile software innovator, is a self-taught programmer with 25 years of writing code and previously combined his coding skills with his knowledge of agile and lean management techniques as a coach and technical trainer. and Schlumberger.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

As a CEO you never stop needing to go on sales calls (or to work the phones in telesales or customer support) and ceasing to do this as your company grows because you’re focusing on investors, recruiting, PR or whatever is a mistake. As a content management system we had lots of write activities and went with Postgres.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

So I know I’m getting myself into a bit of trouble by writing this. If they’re not running their business then perhaps the wrong person was picked as CEO or perhaps they need more mentorship / coaching to better allocate their time. It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s.

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

So part of playing an effective coach is helping the team to see the answer for themselves. In stead of just writing operating and funding advice Fred also talks about industries. When I write about topics that are relevant suddenly anybody with a startup solution in that field will approach us. This works brilliantly.”

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

I’ve spent hours this week reading about the firing of the head coach and personnel manager of the football team I support – The Philadelphia Eagles. His name was Chip Kelly and he came off of a very successful stint as the coach of the collegiate Oregon Ducks. The reality of most startups is about survival. Team Building.

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Partly out of the fact that in 1 week I depart for England to speak at LeWeb, attend our DataSift board meeting and generally make myself available to the DataSift team to meet their customers, partners and employees. He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital Blogging 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Your historical trading information including financials and a “customer file” which shows the history of your transactions so that investors can run “cohort” analyses Customer reference, personal references, key team members, compensation, cap table, stock option plan, etc. But just putting a customer reference list in a data room?

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

"The best way to prepare [to be a programmer] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. This frugality was evidenced by the fact that everyone at Microsoft, even Gates, flew coach until well into the late 1990s. One Of The Most Important Startup Skills. "The " [Tweet this quote].

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

The last thing, is understanding how open and receptive all of these CEOs were to feedback, coaching, and improvement. The ability to attract talent, retain talent, to manage and grow that talent, and nurture that talent in a company is incredibly important to be able to build and scale a company. You can't be the best at everything.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

I’ve started writing up some of those sales & marketing lessons and I plan to continue to build that section out over time. So I did want any rational person who wants to improve does – I hired a coach. They are as good at selling you as they are at selling your product to customers. They’re in beta).

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Custom 316

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

I plan to write about it early next year when we’re all through. Sign up customers who are paying you money for a service you can’t 100% guarantee is going to be operational for the full period that they’re expecting. I didn’t want to disappoint my customers. And yes, I sleep better at night as a coach.

Blogging 420

Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits. Ask your customer why you lost. Write things down. We helped the write out their requirements for a system. You are most vulnerable right after it has been announced that you won (I will write a separate post on this).

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits. Ask your customer why you lost. Write things down. We helped the write out their requirements for a system. You are most vulnerable right after it has been announced that you won (I will write a separate post on this).

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

If you’re an early investor like I am that often means writing the first $2-3 million check into a business that previously had either survived on fumes or on a $500,000 angel round. You’re the coach, mentor, cheerleader. One of the interesting things about being a VC is that you often see companies in transition.

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2016

For leaders, this is often evident in the willingness to be coached, by outside experts or by your own team. Howard Schultz, who grew Starbucks to 13,000 stores by 2008, decided to step back in as CEO when the economy was killing his stores, and refocus everyone on the customer. I have just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”

Examples 76

Examples Startup Coach Patents 76

Frank Addante

JUNE 25, 2015

Be your best: John Wooden was one of the greatest coaches in American sports history. As head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period. My junior high school basketball coach never told us to win a game, and somehow we ended up in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Coach 40

Coach Startup Ideas UCLA 40

Frank Addante

JUNE 25, 2015

Be your best: John Wooden was one of the greatest coaches in American sports history. As head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period. My junior high school basketball coach never told us to win a game, and somehow we ended up in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Coach 40

Coach Startup Ideas UCLA 40

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2013

For an entrepreneur, this is often evident in the willingness to be coached, by outside experts or by your own team. Howard Schultz, who grew Starbucks to 13,000 stores by 2008, decided to step back in as CEO when the economy was killing his stores, and refocus everyone on the customer. Promote resilience. Manage around obstacles.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Examples Ideas 104

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

I finally got around to writing it having read Fred Wilson’s post about what a CEO does. Once you’ve been around for a few years, attracted some great people, landed real, paying customers and raised venture capital you’ve likely got a talented team around you. Both are basically people businesses.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Sales Custom 319

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

In the original version of his post, Andy writes. And Coach Campbell. I’ve heard directly from top executives that Jeff Bezos (in my opinion the most talented person in the tech industry) has received his fair share of VC coaching in the early years. They see how hard she does her job. Not according to my sources.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits ;-). We helped the write out their requirements for a system. You are most vulnerable right after it has been announced that you won (I will write a separate post on this). Ask your customer why you lost. Write things down.

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2012

For an entrepreneur, this is often evident in the willingness to be coached, by outside experts or by your own team. Howard Schultz, who grew Starbucks to 13,000 stores by 2008, decided to step back in as CEO when the economy was killing his stores, and refocus everyone on the customer. Promote resilience. Manage around obstacles.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Ideas 104

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

We are judging how well you are coached on stage. They do this because they have amazing skills at writing business plans. I like to debate with them how they will land customers and how they deal with the press. I don’t think they serve investors well. I feel like I’m attending theater rather than looking for deals.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

Without their buy in, we don’t get the opportunity to interact with end customers. My brand marketing experience is making a big difference with our audiences since hospitality is all about a ‘brand experience’ and they want their stuff to look great, be a reflection of their brand and get customers excited. Write it down….

Startup 233

Startup Design Mobile Social Network 233

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2014

Plus, if she does have areas where we could coach her on improvement it would help to know that coming in.” You can ask VCs, customers, competitors or somebody who had a similar job function in the same general community. You expected no less. CFOs often know the other CFOs and same for heads of sales, marketing, tech, etc.

Startup 302

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Report 302

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

We are judging how well you are coached on stage. They do this because they have amazing skills at writing business plans. I like to debate with them how they will land customers and how they deal with the press. I don’t think they serve investors well. I feel like I’m attending theater rather than looking for deals.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 24, 2012

Participants spend their time soaking in hot springs, eating delicious and healthy organic Ayurvedic inspired meals, stretching out each morning with two hours of yoga, staying grounded through guided meditations, exploring new ideas in workshops, writing, drawing, sharing in group discussions and being present.

Pricing 86

Pricing Coach Email Startup 86

socalTECH

JULY 29, 2009

Our model does not involve commissions or revenue share with our customers, unlike the traditional publishing model, where you give out your knowledge for a small fraction of what a publisher gets. Instead of writing a book, we wanted to develop a platform to bring our methods to life, and scale our knowledge.

Geni 100

Geni Web Guide Platform 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

You can certainly get coaching from your VC on how to play the negotiations since they do it more often than you do. Very customer focused. But when they’re trying to get David Pogue, Walt Mossberg or Kara Swisher to write a story for you, they’re also thinking about their other clients – now and in the future.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

You need to know all the personalities before the meeting and you need to have a coach at the VC or customer that helps you control the meeting tempo from the insider (and don’t be afraid to politely ask for help from them doing this before the meeting – but only if you have established a good relationship with them first).

Slides 358

Slides Venture Capital Startup Summary 358

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2016

On a business team, the ability to communicate verbally and in writing is more important than technical depth. Teamwork inside the company and interacting with customers and partners outside the company are mandatory activities. Provide required team integration, training and ongoing coaching. Good communication skills.

Technical Review 56

Technical Review Coach Training Screening 56

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2010

They mostly understand your company, your customers, your competitors and your market but never as precisely as you do. And let’s be honest, other than money and coaching most VC’s add little value to your company strategy. Make sure when you write it you assume this. That’s it. Most VC’s want to help.

Startup 301

Startup Venture Capital Software Review Email 301