socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2014

Santa Monica-based private equity investor Clearlake Capital said this morning that it has acquired Tolt Services Group , an outsource, IT services company, and merged it with Kyrus Solutions , to form a new company called Tolt Solutions. Financial details of the deal were not announced. READ MORE>>.

Capital 138

Capital Services Outsource Development Santa Monica 138

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. Almost anyone can start a company today on a shoestring budget, following these cost-cutting recommendations: Establish a solid legal structure for your business.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. Running a new company cannot always be a consensus-driven process, especially when hard decisions need to be made that affect everybody’s lives. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The trusted leader. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 123

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

I am fond of quoting that about 70% of my investment decision of an early-stage company is the team. How you build out your team in the first few years can have a huge impact on the trajectory of your company. So I naturally spend much time with the companies in which I invest helping them: recruit. figure out roles.

Startup 388

Startup Slides Outsource Development Sales 388

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. 1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2018

Ahead of the conference, we sat down and spoke with Kevin Anderson , co-founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Appetize (www.appetizeapp.com), a rapidly growing developer of point-of-sale software, on the topic of customer service. That's a huge different, and we've prioritized that as we've grown the company.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Services Conference 113

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 13, 2009

For children with a proclivity toward business, a newspaper route provided an invaluable opportunity to develop the following entrepreneurial skills: Punctuality – Newspapers had to be delivered on time, irrespective of the weather, the fact that Sunday papers can weigh several pounds each or the requirement to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Web 2.0 222

Web 2.0 Web Sales Outsource Development 222

socalTECH

MARCH 5, 2014

We caught up with founder and CEO Grant Kirkwood --a serial entrepreneur and veteran of providing infrastructure to the enterprise markets--on the vision behind the company. My last company was a global communications company with network points of presence around the world. Explain to us what Unitas Global does?

Cloud Computing 217

Cloud Computing Outsource Development Outsource Startup 217

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

I recently did a post for startups on understanding sales people. The CTO / Lead Architect - If you want to build a great technology company, you’ll need a “rockstar&# engineering lead. So I believe that every great technology startup has the technology visionary inside the company. What makes a great tech team?

CTO Hire 400

CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

The era of VCs investing in successful consumer Internet startups such as eBay led to a belief system that seemed to permeate many enterprise software startups that hiring sales or implementation people was a bad thing. But the “no sales people” mantra isn’t what I’m here to take on. I believe it’s flawed.

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

InfoChachkie

MAY 19, 2011

As noted in parts I and II of this series, agreements with Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) can be alluring and potentially fatal. This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Do Not Execute an Ambiguous Statement of Work.

Outsource Development 193

Outsource Development IP Technical Review Entrepreneur 193

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 88

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 88

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2020

Initially, you may be able to do everything in your startup, including product development, marketing, and shipping orders. Too many entrepreneurs I know burn themselves out as this burden grows, and they are hesitant to use available tools or outsourcing non-critical tasks to allow scaling. But even he started with just one.

Startup 123

Startup Outsource Development Entrepreneur Outsource 123

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. Running a new company cannot always be a consensus-driven process, especially when hard decisions need to be made that affect everybody’s lives. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The trusted leader. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

socalTECH

APRIL 30, 2018

For this morning's interview, we caught up with Elizabeth Cholawsky , the new CEO of Santa Barbara-based HG Data (www.hgdata.com), which develops software which helps marketers and salespeople understand the "technology stack" of their potential customers and prospects. For those who aren't familiar with HG Data, what does the company do?

Santa Barbara 113

Santa Barbara High Tech Outsource Development Startup 113

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 13, 2013

Even if you’ve managed to start many a successful company, if you haven’t learned the critical value of calculating your costs and proactively managing your cash flow, you’re a rookie. Marketing is key in helping you to develop long-term, strategic plans that can stop your cash drain. Create a Marketing Plan.

Outsource Development 91

Outsource Development Outsource Startup Marketing 91

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. Running a new company cannot always be a consensus-driven process, especially when hard decisions need to be made that affect everybody’s lives. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The trusted leader. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Outsourcing your core competency does not work. Running a new company cannot always be a consensus-driven process, especially when hard decisions need to be made that affect everybody’s lives. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The trusted leader. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Advisors 98

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2014

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. Almost anyone can start a company today on a shoestring budget, following these cost-cutting recommendations: Establish a solid legal structure for your business.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Develop your business plan. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2014

If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales. This is probably the best place to apply your “gut” feeling. Complementary skills. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 107

Software Review Entrepreneur CTO Hire Outsource Development 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2017

Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done.

Software Review 56

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development CTO Coach 56

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

Chris Tragos: The tree founders of Jetpack, myself, Kevin Woolery, and Marc Brown were all working on the publisher side at Spin Media (Editor's note: previously Buzznet) I was running sales, development, and operations, and looking at all these RFPs that came in. Why don't those companies serve publishers that well?

Buzznet 100

Buzznet Outsource Development Design HTML 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales. This is probably the best place to apply your “gut” feeling. Complementary skills. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 103

Software Review Equity CTO Hire Outsource Development 103

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

In the initial phases of any new market you’re developing a product (hopefully with a minimal set of features), getting feedback from customers, refining your product based on user feedback and then re-launching your product. I believe that over capitalizing companies too early often favors the VC. Rinse & repeat.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Develop your business plan. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Training Outsource Metrics 92

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

We sat down with Brian McCarthy , SVP of Dentistry.com (www.dentistry.com), a startup within a much larger company Futuredontics, which itself is a part of a big company called Sirona. Brian McCarthy: We're somewhat different than the companies that you usually interview, as we're effectively a startup inside an existing company.

Startup 113

Startup CitySearch Outsource Development Organization 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2011

By Ernst Gemassmer Expanding into International is both necessary and positive for every company, including startups, but it has some unique challenges, as I have found out personally, like expected “under the table” payments in dealing with other cultures and bureaucracy. billion in penalties on companies in 2010.

Outsource Development 88

Outsource Development High Tech Outsource Examples 88

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. The product plan tells your developers what to build, and the marketing team what to market. Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Development and rollout.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Develop your business plan. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2011

If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales. This is probably the best place to apply your “gut” feeling. Complementary skills. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 96

Software Review CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development 96

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 15, 2009

Steve Gilison worked as a market researcher and product manager at a startup where my company, TechEmpower , did the software / web development. I have about 11 years in the technology sector including roles doing market research, sales and product development. My focus has been marketing strategy and product development.

Los Angeles 179

Los Angeles Product Angel Startup 179

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. The product plan tells your developers what to build, and the marketing team what to market. Enough detail is required so that someone else can build it without you (outsourcing). Development and rollout.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2016

Given TimeHop’s failed experiment, I was especially intrigued when I learned that a team of a dozen remote entrepreneurs hack the typical corporate structure and creates a company that generated nearly $100 million in revenue. To gather hands-on remote team building advice, I sought out two companies that have done it: TaxJar and FastSpring.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Santa Barbara Email Outsource Development 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Develop your business plan. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Product development process. If you are contracting or outsourcing, this is even more important.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Entrepreneurs who don’t have someone else’s cash for outsourcing come up with the more innovative and creative approaches to get things done. You can also use it acquire or merge with other companies for exponential growth. Thus they will insist on a sale or public offering at every opportunity, which will likely force you out.

Entrepreneur 67

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Outsource Development 67

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2010

If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Look at the big picture first of development, finance, and marketing/sales. This is probably the best place to apply your “gut” feeling. Complementary skills. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 92

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 92