Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2020

Driven by the current pandemic, smart entrepreneurs of all ages are jumping into the fray with new ideas, new recovery strategies, and discarding outmoded business models. I see it most in the newest generation of entrepreneurs (Gen-Y), who were shocked out of entitlement into action by an economic downturn. Snap up top talent.

Geni 172

Geni Layoffs Entrepreneur Outsource 172

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

When you are starting a new business, every resource is precious, including time, funding, and people. It’s always tempting to think that more product variations will satisfy more customers and lead to new sales. New businesses often burn excessive resources working on the wrong things, or doing things the wrong way.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2023

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Strategic partnerships in this context can take the form of joint ventures, intellectual property licensing, outsourcing agreements, or even cooperative research. Up-sell related products or cross endorsement. Benchmark your practices against a true peer.

Startup 105

Startup Outsource Competition Entrepreneur 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2021

In my experience as a business advisor and occasional investor, many of you won’t make it that far, succumbing to the high costs of getting those first customers, funding an initial inventory, and building an operational support process. Assess your resource potential before you start. Build your plan around resources you know.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Customer Custom 161

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2022

These days, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, pitching their latest and greatest new idea, and looking for someone to give them money. Talk is cheap, but entrepreneurs who show you a working model of their idea know how to execute. You should never outsource the management of your core technology.

Outsource Development 110

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

I see too many business plans that are really product plans for customers, touting free services and long feature lists. No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Word-of-mouth does not scale.

Startup 154

Startup Outsource Ideas Research 154

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. You can now skip the mandatory office space rental, with secretary and bookkeeping staff, or outsourcing. budget business e-commerce entrepreneur startup'

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2013

As I visit the websites of many startups, as well as more mature businesses, I still too often see a “contact” page offering nothing but a sterile form for customers to submit, never to be heard from again. Customers are not all like you, and they have choices, so a “one size fits all” customer service is no longer a viable option.

Social Media 99

Social Media Customer Custom Media 99

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

It’s a jungle fight for survival out there for aspiring entrepreneurs of all ages and demographics. The smart ones have a plan for how they intend to spend these resources, and measure themselves against the plan. The best entrepreneurs work on making better time management a top objective. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup News Framework 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2022

The bad news is that it’s still a jungle fight for survival for entrepreneurs of all ages and demographics, with over 80 percent not having access to bank loans or venture capital. The smart ones have a plan for how they intend to spend these resources, and measure themselves against the plan.

Startup 112

Startup News Framework Outsource 112

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

For some reason, too many aspiring entrepreneurs I know seem to focus on “actions” rather than “results.” These are not the entrepreneurs that I want to support, since I’m well aware that running a startup is far more complex, albeit more satisfying, than most conventional roles in established enterprises.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2020

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Strategic partnerships in this context can take the form of joint ventures, intellectual property licensing, outsourcing agreements, or even cooperative research. Up-sell related products or cross endorsement. Benchmark your practices against a true peer.

Startup 126

Startup Outsource Competition Acquisition 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2013

Customer service has always been reactionary, meaning someone has to wake up and answer website email requests. That’s just not savvy enough to hold today’s fickle, less loyal, and ready to jump customer. This exemplary customer service is just savvy marketing. Respect your customer’s view of usability.

Customer 89

Customer Custom Services High Tech 89

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

If you have a software development background like mine, Im sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Factor in all the cost elements.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

That’s why I caution my aspiring entrepreneur clients against proclaiming to investors that they are a great “idea” person. In addition, creating a business requires leading and interacting with other people, including partners, investors, and customers. Don’t assume you can outsource the implementation decisions.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2012

As I visit the websites of many startups, as well as more mature businesses, I still too often see a “contact” page offering nothing but a sterile form for customers to submit, never to be heard from again. Customers are not all like you, and they have choices, so a “one size fits all” customer service is no longer a viable option.

Social Media 91

Social Media Customer Custom Media 91

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2020

These days, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, pitching their latest and greatest new idea, and looking for someone to give them money. Talk is cheap, but entrepreneurs who show you a working model of their idea know how to execute. You should never outsource the management of your core technology.

Outsource Development 124

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2012

Driven by the recent recession, smart entrepreneurs of all ages are jumping into the fray with new ideas, new recovery strategies, and discarding outmoded business models. I see it most in the newest generation of entrepreneurs (Gen-Y), who were shocked out of entitlement into action by the recession. Focus on your core competency.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Geni Layoffs Outsource 93

Jason Nazar

JULY 1, 2016

Entrepreneurs often lament big companies, but most of us hope we’ll create just that. Add in public company demands, lawsuit targets, & millions of customers to continually satisfy, and you have to have great respect for those doing it well. Decisions that take entrepreneurs an hour, often take months at large companies.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Company Companies Outsource Development 55

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. It takes options off of the table.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

As noted in Pour and Stir Part I , the key to the successful execution of this strategy is managing the following equation: The cost to acquire a customer < lifetime value of a customer. Decreasing Your Customer Acquisition Costs. This is equivalent to being handed a free customer for every ten customers you acquire.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2015

I see too many business plans that are really product plans for customers, touting free services and long feature lists. No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Word-of-mouth does not scale. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 103

Startup Outsource Invest Ideas 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2019

The bad news is that it’s still a jungle fight for survival for entrepreneurs of all ages and demographics, with over 80 percent not having access to bank loans or venture capital. The smart ones have a plan for how they intend to spend these resources, and measure themselves against the plan.

Startup 94

Startup News Framework Outsource 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Every new entrepreneur soon realizes he or she has some big ones, but very few figure out how to use these them to their advantage. I believe that the resourcefulness to turn constraints into competitive differentiators and new opportunities is a trait that separates the great entrepreneurs from the “wannabes.”

Startup 57

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Outsource 57

socalTECH

MARCH 5, 2014

So, how do you help ease enterprise customers into the cloud--or at least, help them use cloud technology to help them with their business goals? 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.

Cloud Computing 217

Cloud Computing Outsource Development Outsource Startup 217

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

The most important way to sell a product for an early-stage business (or frankly any stage) is to have strong referenceable customers. How do you get referenceable customers? Your project is forked without a rollout organization, communications, measurement, integration and without turning sales into referenceable customers.

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

I see too many business plans that are really product plans for customers, touting free services and long feature lists. No product, even with a large opportunity, is ready to scale until you can show it working, with multiple customers paying the full price, to validate the business model. Word-of-mouth does not scale. Marty Zwilling.

Tips 111

Tips Startup Outsource Ideas 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2013

Driven by the recent recession, smart entrepreneurs of all ages are jumping into the fray with new ideas, new recovery strategies, and discarding outmoded business models. I see it most in the newest generation of entrepreneurs (Gen-Y), who were shocked out of entitlement into action by the recession. Focus on your core competency.

Startup 98

Startup Geni Entrepreneur Layoffs 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2015

These days, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, pitching their latest and greatest new idea, and looking for someone to give them money. Talk is cheap, but entrepreneurs who show you a working model of their idea know how to execute. You should never outsource the management of your core technology.

Ideas 107

Ideas Outsource Development Startup Tool 107

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. Fallacy: AdVentures tend to evolve once you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2016

Good entrepreneurs are all about managing change, but too many forget that they have to change themselves as their dream evolves from a startup to a scalable business. Now you have real customers who can quickly turn off hundreds of potential customers if you ignore their feedback. Trust your gut, and ignore naysayers.

Social Network 59

Social Network Startup Demand Entrepreneur 59

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Strategic partnerships in this context can take the form of joint ventures, intellectual property licensing, outsourcing agreements, or even cooperative research. Up-sell related products or cross endorsement. Benchmark your practices against a true peer.

Startup 59

Startup Outsource Competition Acquisition 59

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61