Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

It’s hard enough building a valuable product or service in competitive global markets without spending time on unproductive tasks. Mostly I just wanted to write this as a reminder to founders to be suspicious of people who constantly introduce you around. That’s why focus is critical.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. From an investor perspective, understanding and acting early to establish a sustainable competitive advantage, and barrier to entry, is the best assurance of a financial return. Effective communication requires real listening, as well as talking.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Open your pitch by grabbing the investor's attention with a statement or question that piques their interest, then hit the following key bases: Definition of customer problem, followed by your solution. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 94

Startup Resource Training Ideas 94

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising. How to get your Series A mojo back The rest of the outline I’ll write as a series to come back to this blog if you want to read more. … Fund raising. The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” We’re all socially connected (so great businesses spread faster). Why is this?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. As an early stage investor you’re often planning around 10x your investment at the time your write your first check so in this case you’d be going into your investment expecting an exit of $800 – $1.2

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Here are some key strategies that I recommend to every worker today: Develop and highlight your competitive differentiation. That means regularly scanning LinkedIn and job sites for roles and opportunities that you may quality for, and honing your skills and connections to be sure you are competitive. Develop the courage to move on.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

Competitive sportswoman. Kara on one side of the table showing me market sizes, competitive dynamics, product roadmaps, pricing plans for physical products with COGS and gross margins. She helps write press releases. In the most perfect sense of the definition. Remember, it’s about Lines, Not Dots. Stanford MBA.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales. The idea that the course asks students to write public blog posts is a testament to its more modern teaching style.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2013

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Sample 92

Sample Writing Startup Summary 92

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 2, 2014

However, if you’re looking for something new or exciting that’s not the typical 9 to 5 rat race, working in a startup is definitely something you should consider. Working at large, well-known companies definitely look great on your resume, but startups offer something very valuable: a wide set of skills beyond your job description.

Startup 102

Startup Social Media Writing Google 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2012

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Sample 96

Sample Writing Summary Startup 96

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

Investor and customer attention spans are short, and both will write you off quickly. This statement leaves no confusion in the minds of investors, or customers, of what the company does and how it is different (and better) than the competition. Will you be selling to businesses or consumers, or both?

.Net 73

.Net Examples Custom Customer 73

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

But Jason is one of the smartest thinkers in our industry so while style points in his eye-poking post might be low, he’s definitely scratching at something important. If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. million round I might write $1.8 – 2.2

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2015

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 109

Startup Resource Training Ideas 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. Competition analysis. Here is where you pick a few of these, characterize what they do, and position your own product to show your competitive advantage. Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.”

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

Sometimes those motives are positive (they really want the chance to work with you, they think you have unique skills) and sometimes they are less positive (their first-tier of “go to” referrals passed on the deal, they don’t want to write another check themselves, etc.).

Venture Capital 337

Venture Capital Invest Ideas Entrepreneur 337

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2010

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Startup 91

Startup Funding Sample Writing 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. Competition analysis. Here is where you pick a few of these, characterize what they do, and position your own product to show your competitive advantage. Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.”

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 57

Startup Resource Training Ideas 57

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. From an investor perspective, understanding and acting early to establish a sustainable competitive advantage, and barrier to entry, is the best assurance of a financial return. Effective communication requires real listening, as well as talking.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2011

There was a real opportunity for me to arbitrage the last decade and a half of my experience in the Internet, and apply that to a products company, and to get some real competitive advantage. Having a strong presence online and strong, positive word of mouth in a relevant audience is a real competitive advantage.

Web 225

Web Social Media SEO Media 225

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2013

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Training 97

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Have you looked at competition? How well financed is the competition? It’s called competition. It’s healthy competition. Aint no market power here, likely, depending on the definition of “market.&# update] Is Ron Conway a great guy with good intentions in writing the letter he did?

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Tech.Co

MAY 26, 2020

Jeff Bezos didn't get to be the world's richest man by writing a lot of checks, and one recent way to keep Amazon's profits healthy has been to cut its affiliate commissions scheme. Amazon is unlikely to be going anywhere, but every other affiliate network and program out there will definitely be healthier. commission).

Technical Review 129

Technical Review Buzzfeed News Networking 129

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Training 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. 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. Develop your business plan.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. But having no process does not make you more competitive.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

The sponsoring partner will be given feedback on what some partners don’t like about the team, the market, the product, the competition or the deal terms and that partner may have to answer back on those topics at the next partner meeting or maybe even just later that day (depending on time sensitivity of the deal). ” Guys?

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

When added to my volume of Facebook messages, LinkedIn requests, blog comments and Tweets my head is definitely below water. They taught us to write down questions when they came up and batch them together in point sheets. This product seems to be dead-ended the way that Microsoft products become when they have no competition.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2011

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 94

Startup Resource Training Ideas 94

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

I must admit I discuss this very frequently with portfolio companies but hadn’t thought to write about it. The more specific you can get in your definition the better. I need to give credit for the topic to PR Malloy who Tweeted me this question. PR Malloy (@diddly_do_indy) June 13, 2015.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Custom Customer 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. But having no process does not make you more competitive.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. But make it competitive.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

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. By definition an MVP (minimum viable product) means there’s room for improvement. Sure, you need to be competitive on price. Here’s what I learned. Customers seldom buy on price.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Custom 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. 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. Develop your business plan.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Training Outsource Metrics 92