Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Sustainable innovation is really the only sustainable competitive advantage.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 24, 2019

Most of us are driven by the competitive spirit, the desire or need to win. And many of these actions are repetitive to a fault, contributing to boredom and ultimately to restlessness and desire for something new, in or out of the company. Create and publish metrics as goals and comparisons to past accomplishments.

Metrics 120

Metrics Competition Coach Email 120

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

Back when we were all trying to figure out the real value of traffic on the web, investors – and acquiring companies – got a bit crazy with metrics used to value acquisitions and investments. I am an investor and advisor to one such “eyeballs” company. Microsoft paid $9.00 per registered user for Hotmail.

Metrics 296

Metrics Sites Advertising Web 296

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Here is my selection of ten key metrics that every six-sigma joint like GE tracks without thinking, but too many small businesses only monitor haphazardly, if at all: Sales revenue.

Metrics 106

Metrics Startup Sales Statistics 106

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

The most competitive startups do both, all the time and every time. In today’s competitive world, with its accelerating rate of change, no competitive advantage lasts long. The only sustainable competitive advantage is creativity. Creativity is the ultimate competitive advantage.

Company 90

Company Companies Competition Netflix 90

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2017

He talks in detail about ten of the key challenges that Facebook faced in their growth, to move from a tiny social media upstart to one of the most successful companies in the world. Pick a single metric that is the focus for all growth. Revenue and competitive position followed. Less is more.

Competition 65

Competition Social Media Metrics Customer 65

Berkonomics

JUNE 16, 2022

We can invent lots of metrics to measure progress for a leader, including revenue, profit, employee satisfaction, cost containment, percentage of available market, and more. And that’s not as easy as “simply” selling the company or achieving a financial goal over time. What is your leadership end game goal?

Resource 156

Resource Satisfaction Metrics Course 156

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

This topic was well addressed in the classic book, “ The Invisible Advantage: How to Create a Culture of Innovation ,” by Soren Kaplan, who lays out the key steps to assess, disrupt, and reshape the existing culture of a company to get more innovation. Decide what to measure and create metrics. You only get what you measure.

Develop 135

Develop Development Startup Metrics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Sustainable innovation is really the only sustainable competitive advantage.

Metrics 144

Metrics Coach Social Network Competition 144

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

<== Our conclusion was that this isn’t a temporary blip that will swiftly trend-back up in a V-shaped recovery of valuations but rather represented a new normal on how the market will price these companies somewhat permanently. First in late-stage tech companies and then it will filter back to Growth and then A and ultimately Seed Rounds.

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2022

Facebook has created an environment where millions of people can hold billions of conversations with people and companies, transforming how people expect to interact with each other and the world. More and more company and personal services are being virtualized to the Cloud. Data enable: use metrics and measurements.

Startup 126

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2023

Soon you won’t be able to name a business as one of your favorites if you can’t personally visualize and relate to company leadership. In the same way, great entrepreneurs and company leaders should no longer rely on faceless and nameless processes to drive business strategy and innovation to stay competitive.

Customer 140

Customer Custom Social Media Metrics 140

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

Most of us are driven by the competitive spirit, the desire or need to win. And many of these actions are repetitive to a fault, contributing to boredom and ultimately to restlessness and desire for something new, in or out of the company. Create and publish metrics as goals and comparisons to past accomplishments.

Metrics 176

Metrics Competition Coach Email 176

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

The most competitive startups do both, all the time and every time. In today’s competitive world, with its accelerating rate of change, no competitive advantage lasts long. The only sustainable competitive advantage is creativity. Creativity is the ultimate competitive advantage.

Competition 135

Competition Netflix Ideas Metrics 135

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup LAMP Marketing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees. Incentives should be a combination of metrics and recognition to highlight results. Incent and reward employees who delight customers.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2022

They randomly churn for hours a day on a couple of their favorite social media platforms, with little thought given to goals, objectives, or metrics; and ultimately give up and fall back to traditional marketing approaches. Create an action plan with metrics. You spend the months influencing the influencers. Marty Zwilling.

Social Media 135

Social Media Framework Media Metrics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2022

He talks in detail about ten of the key challenges that Facebook faced in their growth, to move from a tiny social media upstart to one of the most successful companies in the world. Pick a single metric that is the focus for all growth. Revenue and competitive position followed. Less is more.

Startup 144

Startup Social Media Metrics Custom 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2023

I see this happening in smaller ways often, where there is minimal focus on competition. Here are some key initiatives that I recommend to every business owner and leader to stave off new competitors before they seriously impact or cause a competitive crisis in your business: Continually compare yourself to known competitors.

Metrics 71

Metrics Training Netflix Resource 71

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 5, 2013

It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan. No-one challenged this number, and it became an unattributed source of the metric for market size for years. Or cost estimation.

Metrics 239

Metrics Startup Marketing Demand 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

It must be understandable, written down, and verifiable, with regular measurements and metrics to make it real, benchmarked against the competition. Companies with great service routinely spend 3% to 5% of salaries training team members – experienced as well as new. Make your service deliver process “happy.”

Startup 154

Startup Training Custom Customer 154

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Networking to build and maintain positive relationships with the right people outside your company is something you can’t forget in the rush to get your new business going. Highlight the competitive edge you bring to the market. Put operational systems and metrics in place early. This is not a place for friends and family.

Marketing 116

Marketing Resource Training Startup 116

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2022

The long-standing rule of thumb that companies have ten years between significant disruptions was reset a few years ago to five years, according to experts Larry Downes and Paul Nunes. Stroh, which details the principles and metrics to follow for fostering innovation in any organization. by Patrick J.

Metrics 102

Metrics Startup Organization Demand 102

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Implicit in effective marketing of yourself and your solution are a set of skills that every professional needs and can develop over time in business, whether their focus is on career advancement, or starting your own company. Using metrics to measure results and commitments. Marketing your personal brand and your vision.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

And as I always assert, “Great companies are built in downturns. And it’s when mediocre companies get pulverized.” I remember, for example, when business intelligence swept through companies globally. When markets start to turn shelfware companies are the quickest to die. It’s when the game slows.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entree for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. All the investment money in the world won’t make your company succeed, if you have the wrong team. In all cases, don’t skip the basic training.

Startup 112

Startup Metrics Coach Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

This topic was well addressed in the classic book, “ The Invisible Advantage: How to Create a Culture of Innovation ,” by Soren Kaplan, who lays out the key steps to assess, disrupt, and reshape the existing culture of a company to get more innovation. Decide what to measure and create metrics. You only get what you measure.

Startup 97

Startup Metrics Competition Organization 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

It’s important to define your growth strategy, document it, communicate it to your team, and align metrics and employee rewards to target goals. The company has since gone public, and is still a market leader. Track competition to stay ahead of copycats. Build a strong employee culture focused on growth.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Custom 160

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

After many years in business, working in large companies as well as startups, I’m no longer surprised at why mature and successful companies struggle with introducing innovative new ventures as the market and environment changes. Make sure everyone comes with an entrepreneur mindset for real innovation.

Incubator 143

Incubator Seed Funding Metrics Customer 143

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I know all of this because every VC knows this because we’ve all either funded companies that have marketing technology or we’ve seen a pitch with a company that does this. Your deck should be so good that a VC asks you for permission to show it to his or her portfolio companies. A deck is a deck. Just send it.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Competition 239

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2020

Soon you won’t be able to name a business as one of your favorites if you can’t personally visualize and relate to company leadership. In the same way, great entrepreneurs and company leaders should no longer rely on faceless and nameless processes to drive business strategy and innovation to stay competitive.

Social Media 128

Social Media Metrics Custom Customer 128

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2022

Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. If one metric changes, it may not be significant, but someone needs to monitor whole categories for fluctuations that may be a weak signal. Taxi or bus companies are often slow to recognize a new popular travel location based on population shifts or resort communities.

eBook 111

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2021

There is no substitute for talking to customers, analyzing your competition, and honing your solution to meet a target market segment. The ready-fire-aim approach makes sense here, but it should be combined with metrics to learn from feedback, and make pivots as required.

Marketing 138

Marketing Demand IBM IBM 138

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2019

Facebook has created an environment where millions of people can hold billions of conversations with people and companies, transforming how people expect to interact with each other and the world. More and more company and personal services are being virtualized to the Cloud. Data enable: use metrics and measurements.

Technology 97

Technology Social Media Startup Entertainment 97

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2022

The solution is to establish and maintain a culture and processes that don’t view change as a discrete event to be spotted and managed, but as an ongoing opportunity to improve competitiveness. The following initiatives that Chris and Tammie define for large companies apply just as directly to startups: Improve change awareness.

Startup 116

Startup Training Statistics Summary 116

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

Back when we were all trying to figure out the real value of traffic on the web, we investors – and acquiring companies – got a bit crazy with metrics used to value acquisitions and investments. That is the quandary which entrepreneurs face today in building models for new companies around a web presence.

Metrics 207

Metrics Sites Advertising Web 207

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

For larger and mature companies, the hard part seems to be giving up the familiar space that isn’t working so well anymore, so that you can focus on a new segment or opportunity. It’s a tough world even for big-company generalists, who take on the complexities of product diversification. Well-articulated goals and metrics.

Startup 154

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 154