Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

Products and services for a business need to be attuned to customer requirements, cost and quality tradeoffs, with milestones for pricing and completion. Show that you have a process to hire, fire, and train others as required. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive. Solution development and delivery.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2013

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). In this more traditional product pricing model, the price is set at two to five times the product cost.

Pricing 116

Pricing Product Customer Custom 116

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos. Remember the transportation transitions from horses to autos to trains to airplanes. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. A narrow scope doesn’t help your case either.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Projecting financials is a natural extension of the homework every entrepreneur needs to do on customer opportunity size, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value. For additional value, I suggest the use of a spreadsheet such as Excel as a financial model, with a few variables, like price and volume.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. Many businesses have found that raising the price of a product to give it status can win more customers than a price war.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2010

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Portfolio pricing. Tiered or volume pricing. Freemium” model.

Pricing 98

Pricing Product Startup Competition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

With services, scaling the business often implies cloning yourself, since you are the intellectual property and the competitive advantage. For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2023

For example, consider Whole Foods , whose focus on healthy foods and a sustainable environment is legendary, even though their prices are often a bit higher. Highlight the competitive edge you bring to the market. Proactively provide training and team member rotation. Bring in experienced advisors to keep you on track.

Marketing 116

Marketing Resource Training Startup 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2023

Customers react poorly when they hear your value claims for them, and see more value to you (bottled water in your hotel room at a high price as a “convenience” to you). Train customer-facing team to collaborate with customers. Internal training and policies are not adequate to create great customer experiences.

Customer 131

Customer Custom Social Media Training 131

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

Some objections are real and they end up becoming changes to your product, your service plan or your pricing / bundling. As a founder, when you’ve been dealing with these kinds of objections for a couple of years it becomes natural and you easily handle objections on price, product & competition without much thought.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

Before the health crisis shutdown most of Italy, Energica had already seen larger demand for its high-performance e-motos, with a price range of $17,000 to $23,000. The venture is also one of the few e-motorcycle companies drawing engineering tips from competition. Track competition is a secondary arena for Energica.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Here are my recommendations for training and managing your team to keep their delivery memorable for customers, as well as profitable for your business: Hire team members who enjoy customer interaction. Provide training, tools, and required decision authority. That approach still is meaningful today.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

I had never had any sales training so everything we did for the first couple of years was instinctual. We focused together on improving our sales methodology, our training and our comp plans through a larger than life ex country manager from PTC named Kai Krickel. Sales people will often blame your pricing.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

There was no money train. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. By 2015 it had come to signify by the market a new era where business fundamentals had changed, companies could easily and quickly be worth $10 billion or MORE so why worry about the “entry price!”

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. Competition. Think broadly here, like planes versus trains. Investors look for a sustainable competitive advantage, like a patent. Revenue model.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2022

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. Create an environment that unleashes these competencies and trains and pushes them to the fore. Companies can use this strategy to improve their profitability and competitive advantage. Craft your culture into an actionable plan.

Organization 143

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” That implies competitive now, and the potential to stay in the lead.

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Email readers, continue here…] Too often the person you call your chief financial officer is trained in accounting, which is primarily a process of looking backward over events in the past. Fourth is competitive risk. These include having a current knowledge of competitors’ hiring practices, pricing strategy, and more.

Competition 156

Competition Marketing Class Product 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

Products and services for a business need to be attuned to customer requirements, cost and quality tradeoffs, with milestones for pricing and completion. Show that you have a process to hire, fire, and train others as required. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive. Solution development and delivery.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

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. Make sure you adopt the right hiring practices and training to keep your team responsive.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Startup Course 146

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2019

Hire and train your own managers for internal and external work projects. Fixed price bidding is the only effective outsourcing model.” Getting a fixed price bid works for well-defined short-term projects, like blogging or programming. Fair compensation is the lowest price we can negotiate.” Be flexible.

Outsource Development 121

Outsource Development Outsource Entrepreneur Summary 121

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

If you don’t have a destination, don’t waste your money trying to get there, and don’t expect anyone to support you along the way Projecting financials is a natural extension of the homework every entrepreneur needs to do on customer opportunity size, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2012

A satisfied customer is necessary, but not sufficient, to be a loyal customer who will come back repeatedly, refer their friends and family to you, and be faithful even when your price is not the lowest. Price was everything, and customers would switch suppliers for pennies. Provide stability in terms and prices.

Customer 104

Customer Custom Startup Competition 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

Customers react poorly when they hear your value claims for them, and see more value to you (bottled water in your hotel room at a high price as a “convenience” to you). Train customer-facing team to collaborate with customers. Internal training and policies are not adequate to create great customer experiences.

Customer 158

Customer Custom Social Media Satisfaction 158

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

In all cases, don’t skip the basic training. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? Follow the “how to” instructions above for combining the ingredients, combined with you own “special sauce” (competitive edge), and I’m sure you will deliver a tasty dish, on time and with a profit.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

Others stage elaborate “training” sessions, to “assure” that everyone tells the same story. This will involve an analysis of the company’s distribution channels, advertising, and pricing strategy. The right answer is somewhere in between. Sales and marketing strategy.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

It takes a long immersion in the marketplace for someone to be a true insider, understand the subtleties of the competitive landscape, recognize the people who are true assets (independent of titles), and look through the propaganda of technical collateral and PR campaigns. You need a trained CFO to fill the financial gaps on your team.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

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

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

I had never had any sales training so everything we did for the first couple of years was instinctual. We focused together on improving our sales methodology, our training and our comp plans. They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. A smart investor will take an independent final reading in the market on barriers to entry, active competition, demographics, and price sensitivity.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. Create an environment that unleashes these competencies and trains and pushes them to the fore. Companies can use this strategy to improve their profitability and competitive advantage. Craft your culture into an actionable plan.

Organization 128

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2012

Formal training courses. Larger enterprises are always sending their “high fliers” to leadership refreshers, new technology updates, and training on employee performance management. The result is a sinking feeling after some time that you are no longer vital and competitive in your own domain. Personal wealth management.

Startup 94

Startup Pricing Entrepreneur Training 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2012

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Portfolio pricing. Tiered or volume pricing. Freemium” model.

Pricing 112

Pricing Competition Customer Custom 112

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

In all cases, don’t skip the basic training. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? Follow the “how to” instructions above for combining the ingredients, combined with you own “special sauce” (competitive edge), and I’m sure you will deliver a tasty dish, on time and with a profit.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

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. Make sure you adopt the right hiring practices and training to keep your team responsive.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Startup Course 124

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

I’ve written about the topic of convertible debt at length before specifically about how angels & entrepreneurs should think about pricing. Convertible debt is an investment that “converts&# into equity in the future usually at a discount to your next funding round price and sometimes has a “cap&# (maximum price).

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2016

They are trained in school, and by many experts, that running a business requires logical workflows and analytical thinking. Offer incentives or competition. There is nothing like friendly competition or an attractive reward to bring out a new base of un-edited ideas. This approach works best if you make it a quick effort.

Ideas 103

Ideas Competition Customer Custom 103