socalTECH

JUNE 1, 2021

Playa Vista-based iLife, a startup which is developing tools to help life insurance agents set up their own, branded "digital insurance agency", has raised $4M in a seed funding round, according to the company. iLife said the funding was led by Foundation Capital, and also include AME Cloud Ventures and Cherubic Ventures.

Sales 113

Sales Seed Funding Startup Tool 113

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 29, 2021

Salted , a Los Angeles-based startup creating digitally native quick-service restaurant brands, brought in a new round of $16 million in Series A funding to continue its nationwide expansion. Our technology and Salted Analytics product helps us grow at the rate we want to and still maintain customer experience,” Applebaum said. “We

Funding 186

Funding Los Angeles Invest Examples 186

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

They forget that adapting their company and themselves as their customers evolve is the key to long-term survival. Think of Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us , both of whom missed customer changes and the move to online. Create an overt strategy to react to emerging customer trends. Expand into key new sales and delivery channels.

Custom 143

Custom Customer Examples IBM 143

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2021

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and occasional angel investor, I often see and hear innovative product pitches that sound exciting, but are missing one or more of the key business elements that investors deem critical for funding consideration. Quantify your value proposition for customers.

Funding 132

Funding Template Resource Competition 132

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

The process for retailers and brands to liquidate excess inventory hasn’t changed very much, if at all, and while some retailers were able to build operational infrastructure to service the off-price channels, it continues to be a constant pain point. Ghost is not alone in developing technology focused on inventory. Syrup Tech bags $6.3M

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

I recently wrote a blog post in which I pointed out that many investors & advisors discourage enterprise startups from having a professional services (PS) business and I think this is a big mistake. I think it’s important for enterprise startups to layer in professional services into your revenue stream.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software Services Company 321

TechCrunch LA

JULY 29, 2020

The two companies have announced a new partnership that will see Humana pushing Heal’s in-home and virtual care delivery services to the patients it covers and committing $100 million to spur the Los Angeles-based startup’s growth. “ We think we are… an accelerant for the adoption of those services.”

Services 244

Services Invest Demand Los Angeles 244

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

This is part of a series on sales & marketing. I previously covered how early phase sales teams should be “evangelical&# and consultative in nature. The first post on scaling sales dealt with “aiming&# your sales teams – making sure they were focused on the right opportunities.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 4, 2014

Los Angeles-based Unitas Global , a new, cloud services company founded by infrastructure veteran Grant Kirkwood, said today that it has raised a new funding round, from MK Capital and Azure Capital. Size of the funding round was not announced. enterprise infrastructure capital venture funding cloud private global unitas'

Funding 185

Funding Capital Los Angeles Sales 185

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

Fund raising. But it’s critical for your business, for you as a leader and people who excel at fund raising have an extreme advantage over those who do not. As a VC I also have to fund raise every three years and these posts 100% apply to VCs raising money, too. It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 27, 2020

The Los Angeles-based operations and security management software service, Replicated has raised $25 million to ramp up its staffing and scale its sales and marketing efforts. Last year, the company unveiled its tools for managing Kubernetes deployments and immediately saw sales increase.

Software 224

Software Tool SaaS Los Angeles 224

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Display ads on mobile devices, including video and audio, also offer a new opportunity to reach target customers. Display advertising. Email marketing. Trade shows.

Custom 146

Custom Customer Marketing Startup 146

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

There’s a line of thinking in Silicon Valley that you should build product businesses rather than services businesses. It’s nearly impossible to get a services company financed by VCs. Why Shouldn’t Most Services Businesses Raise VC? You’re a small fish.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

In other words, inventions are necessary but not sufficient to create real value for investors and customers. The value is tied to infrastructure outside your control, such as a pervasive network of fuel stations, trained service facilities, and new government regulations. You need a viable business model and customers.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

socalTECH

JULY 22, 2013

Once upon a time, when the desktop PC was king, there were two kingdoms in the world of customer relationship management: ACT! If you were in sales, you either ran ACT!, and Goldmine faded away, no longer the two kings of the sales CRM world. contatta goldmine customer relationship management nimble software saas'

Funding 222

Funding SaaS Santa Monica Custom 222

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

Vonjour (www.vonjour.com), a Los Angeles startup, has developed a cloud-based customer support and phone system which, in addition to handling all of a company''s usual enterprise phone needs--also lets employers harness employee smartphones to deal with customer support issues, make calls, and interact with customers directly from a mobile app.

Custom 133

Custom Customer Startup Mobile 133

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2023

In my view, this focus on the wrong skill set is the primary reason why over half of new businesses fail in the first five years, and only one out of a hundred startups get their requested funding from professional investors. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. Marty Zwilling

Startup 154

Startup Sales Entrepreneur Custom 154

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2013

CapLinked , the Los Angeles-based developer of enterprise software for managing M&A transactions, venture deals, and other business deals, is aiming squarely at legacy, virtual data room services with its latest updates. CapLinked is headed by Eric M. READ MORE>>.

Services 218

Services Venture Capital Equity Los Angeles 218

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Today, a startup that is doing this in the specific area of distressed property is announcing a round of growth funding to ramp up its team and expand its business. The funding is being led by QED Investors; Founders Fund, Susa Ventures, Navitas Capital, and Prudence Holdings also participated.

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

Linktree has been around since 2016 and has more funding than its up-and-coming competitors. So, in February 2020, with little to no funding left, the company completely pivoted to its current link-in-bio business. Now, Snipfeed enters the ring with its own $5.5 Image Credits: Snipfeed. With its $5.5

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

socalTECH

MARCH 19, 2014

Sales tax compliance is not a typical sexy startup area. So, it was a surprise when a number of smart, insider angels -- including Roy Rubin (founder of Magento, which he sold to eBay), and Dan Rose (VP of Partnerships at Facebook)--put their money behind TaxJar (www.taxjar.com), a San Diego startup developing sales tax compliance software.

Sales 149

Sales Software Startup Commerce 149

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

When people talk about “online food delivery” services, chances are that they’ll think of the Uber Eats, Instacarts and Getirs of this world. The funding is coming from a wide mix of investors. The funding is coming from a wide mix of investors. It is currently is the company’s biggest customer.).

Startup 249

Startup Platform Software Los Angeles 249

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I now observes the fund raising process as a profession. This is the fund raising perspective from both sides of the table. Fund raising (as is much of life) is a sale – pure and simple. Three rules in sales: Why buy anything? Fund raising is bloody hard. Executive Summary. Create scarcity. Why buy me?

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

Many people are too cautious in sales processes and as a result when they present their solutions they end up sounding milquetoast and undifferentiated from anybody else in the market. I recently wrote about the three rules of sales. The first of question is about qualifying your potential customers aka leads. Why Buy Me?

Sales 150

Sales SaaS Startup Venture Capital 150

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. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Sales/Marketing.

Sales 102

Sales Custom Customer Outsource 102

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Today, one of the companies that is supplying produce and other items both to consumers and other services that are in turn selling food and groceries to them, is announcing a new round of funding as it gears up to take its next step, an IPO. Source tell us it is now between $400 million and $500 million.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I write about sales often both because it’s the lifeblood of any organization and because in my experience it is the area in which more startups are least experienced or inclined. I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand.

Sales 150

Sales Startup Venture Capital Funding 150

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

The younger Canter upgraded the menu, brought in a point of sale system and renovated the bar. “I was the guy in the restaurant to pitch whenever there was a service or product,” Canter says. million in funding Ordermark moved to the big leagues — the Western Food Service and Hospitality Expo.

Services 165

Services Los Angeles Startup Capital 165

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Solicit funds from friends and family. Use crowd funding to build reserves.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. I still see entrepreneurs who spend money and time for months on a new business idea without any separation of personal and business funds, and any formal accounting system for their new business.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

socalTECH

JULY 2, 2020

El Segundo-based Stamps.com was behind the successful fundraising effort run by John Oliver on Last Week Tonight , saying it has so far generated sales of over $4M to help support the U.S. Postal Service. on eBay.

El Segundo 113

El Segundo Custom Customer Sales 113

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

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). Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally generated funds.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. On the product side, once you have a proven product and business model, all you need is money to build inventory, and a sales and marketing operation to drive the business.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 2, 2021

As video commerce becomes the norm and entertainers, brands, businesses, and franchises of all sizes and stripes look to cut out the middle man, the array of services on offer from Maestro may be the scissors these entities need to cut the cord. “ We were targeted to a small number of very premier customers.

Tool 315

Tool Commerce .Net Entertainment 315

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2023

Let me be a bit more specific on how follow-up trumps ideas for success in the key challenges of a startup, or any small business: Networking with investors, partners, and customers. Passionate reiteration of the idea won’t close funding. Managing marketing metrics and the sales pipeline. Maintaining professional relationships.

Startup 155

Startup Ideas IBM IBM 155

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision.

Education 151

Education Custom Customer Sales 151