Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Many existing businesses see it as a big problem, and can’t adapt easily.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Startup Course 146

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

SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

The real milestone, proving the business model, is that first product sold for full price to a total stranger, leaving him happy. So what can you do to expedite this event, or even improve the odds that it will happen at all? If you lose money on every sale, it’s hard to make it up in volume.

Sales 97

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 97

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

The path I went down after a few years was to hire more process driven people and devolved more daily operational ownership to people running individual functions such as product management, sales management, finance, etc. One of the most obvious places where you see this is in sales & marketing. Ditto the CFO.

Sales 296

Sales Pricing Startup Customer 296

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2010

The real milestone, proving the business model, is that first product sold for full price to a total stranger, leaving him happy. So what can you do to expedite this event, or even improve the odds that it will happen at all? If you lose money on every sale, it’s hard to make it up in volume.

Sales 91

Sales Startup Customer Custom 91

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2011

We are an offer-based platform that allows users to negotiate the price they buy and sell tickets for, on the secondary market. Educate us, and explain what's different about how you are handling ticket sales and how that's different from the many others out there? That's a completely inefficient way to price tickets.

Ticketmaster 253

Ticketmaster Pricing Sales Activity 253

Berkonomics

APRIL 30, 2015

Salaries or hourly wages must be within reasonable limits set by the industry and matched by the competition, both regionally and for the same job classification. And there are some industries where tools such as stock options are considered mandatory for a company to be competitive. What a title. Of course money motivates.

Design 120

Design Competition Pricing Sales 120

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). For you who fit that description, nice work. There is a lot to say about retaining control. It’s an option, even though an expensive one.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Many existing businesses see it as a big problem, and can’t adapt easily.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Startup Course 124

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Competitors, seeing a successful development of a niche, flock into the competitive void with products or services built with a fresh view of the current environment. Young companies have been known to outgrow the abilities of management to focus and direct them, failing to make the transition to organized, stable growth.

Pricing 120

Pricing Invest Email Competition 120

Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2015

In the case of technology and Internet-related companies, competitive advantage will have only a relatively short lifespan and that therefore the window of opportunity is not infinite. They are also very competitive, and highly value the intellectual property of the Flipper.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Equity Competition Pricing 120

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

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 17, 2017

Their product suite, PREtect, contains 5 cyber risk management solutions designed to optimize the protection of data assets and the detection of malicious events by addressing the most common vulnerabilities in the enterprise. How do cloudy days affect sales? How do windy days affect sales?

Artificial Inteligence 92

Artificial Inteligence Startup Platform Training 92

Berkonomics

AUGUST 30, 2018

It did not hurt that Apple always seemed to trump the competition in design of the product and the product’s user interface too. Marriott called theirs “tier pricing”. In the meantime, we sold a second system to a large timeshare resort in Orlando for the same price. My “way too early” story. How it worked.

Artificial Inteligence 120

Artificial Inteligence Pricing Design Product 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

This is also the place to first mention patents and any other differentiators that put you ahead of competition. Every new offering has competition and alternatives, so it’s not credible to claim no competitors. What are your specific marketing and sales plans? How big and growing is the total market and your target segment?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Competitor positioning and sustainable competitive advantage. Customers may be attracted to your marketing message, but investors look harder at the startup team, seeking superior expertise in the key areas of growing a business, product domain, financial, marketing and sales. Specific elements of your marketing and sales plans.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

They’ll also be throwing live events to build Lime’s hype. As for what will happen at the store, Fifth Wall’s Adam Demuyakor tells me “There will be deployment of scooters, charging of scooters, and some sales of apparel and accessories that are related.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

InfoChachkie

MARCH 16, 2010

My House Is Not For Sale. Even the eccentric King of Pop communicated the price he was willing to pay. Our response was that there was no “price” as our company was not for sale. As we were not engaged in selling our company, a “price” was nonexistent. What is that price?”. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

Company 160

Company Companies Pricing Santa Barbara 160

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. List and describe your competition, direct and indirect, including customer alternatives. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2011

The sign up page for the event is here & there is limited availability. It’s at the Zanuck Theater (Fox Studios) and will be a great event to learn about the direction of the Twitter platform and how people are using it. Oh, and if you’re in Chicago or Seattle you have your home town events, too.

News 324

News Web Email Startup 324

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. Public relations at a startup is a sales process.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

Business model showing costs, pricing, and margins. Potential investors love to see gross margins in the fifty percent range or greater, with recurring revenue through subscriptions, follow-on sales, or services. Intellectual property and sustainable competitive advantage. Discussion of likely liquidity events and exit strategy.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 22, 2011

If that bond isn’t there or if it feels like I’m in a bidding process for the highest price, I might as well be Wells Fargo. In the simplest form, new startups have a product that is INFERIOR to that offered by the competition but at a dramatically lower price with the seller opting for a very thin margin on their product.

Startup 386

Startup Pricing Marketing Product 386

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

But if you raise the money at the big price (or any price) please go in with the expectation that you are going to build a large, long-term business. Raising a large round at whatever price will almost certainly take many potential buyers off the table. to justify a “strategic” price. Think about it. .”

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

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

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

In his recent post, Top 10 Ways to Win a Business Plan Competition , he says: #4 I wanted to push this further down the list, but I just bristle at this: the revenue forecast. Or maybe they are and I’m missing it because I’m going to TCA events? Do you need to get past the organizations to the individuals?

Invest 205

Invest Angel Tech Coast Angels Pasadena Angels 205

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

But that doesn’t mean that people are paying rational prices as investors based on intrinsic value. Rational people can disagree and some may argue that today’s prices are rational and under-pinned by economic drivers. All of that might be true, but the 2006 price might still be over-valued. That’s fine.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. List and describe your competition, direct and indirect, including customer alternatives. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2015

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Many existing businesses see it as a big problem, and can’t adapt easily.

Customer 101

Customer Custom Startup Course 101

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2017

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 52

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 52

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2013

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 95

eBook Metrics Startup Examples 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2014

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Many existing businesses see it as a big problem, and can’t adapt easily.

Customer 98

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Startup 98

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 18, 2015

Be a host company (must provide food / drink to attendees), then email events@techzulu.com with TZTECHCRAWL as the subject. We currently have sponsorship slots open If you would like to be part of this amazing event and show your support for Community. Sponsorship Opportunities for Events, and other channels. No refunds.

Hollywood 40

Hollywood Startup Social Network Entrepreneur 40

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Many existing businesses see it as a big problem, and can’t adapt easily.

Customer 52

Customer Custom Startup Course 52

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

But I would posit that in order to sustainably build great products in an intensely competitive industry with skills shortages – people management is one of the most critical soft skills organizations need. – while the other might want a quick sale and pocket some bucks while the tech market is hot.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340