Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Train them fully, give them authority, make them accountable, and tie their pay to customer satisfaction. Train and coach continuously. Companies with great service routinely spend 3% to 5% of salaries training team members – experienced as well as new. Know your customers intimately.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2022

Initially, all companies sell to customers who are the easiest to reach and most excited about the new product. Prices begin to decline quickly. The first customers are early adopters who are the least price-sensitive. Unfortunately, the mainstream customers who can really drive revenue care more about price.

Startup 106

Startup Pricing Cloud Computing Customer 106

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2020

Start with only the very best people, demand excellence, and train them to stay ahead of the pack. Know the issues they face, and search for ways to help them, make them happier, more productive, and more profitable. Simultaneously deliver the best selection, service, and price. Craft mutually beneficial relationships.

Startup 122

Startup Training Customer Custom 122

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. By adding to perceived value, a company attracts more sophisticated and demanding customers less expensively and more quickly.

Organization 128

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2020

Initially, all companies sell to customers who are the easiest to reach and most excited about the new product. Prices begin to decline quickly. The first customers are early adopters who are the least price-sensitive. Unfortunately, the mainstream customers who can really drive revenue care more about price.

Pricing 123

Pricing Cloud Computing Customer Custom 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Keep delivering something new and fresh.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

Image via Pixabay As a mentor to many small business owners, I always caution them that you can never relax completely, just because your initial solution or product set appears to be getting traction, and the market buzz is positive. Control costs and adjust prices to maintain your margin.

Metrics 86

Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2022

The next phase of evolution will demand device independence, enabling an uninterrupted computing experience as we move from device to device throughout our daily lives. Many businesses are already weaving gamification into their strategies to enhance loyalty programs, customer retention, productivity measurement, and training.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

” The post talked about how to find the lowest acceptable price & terms in a deal through testing. You’ve got to have some wiggle room on price and on terms. She got you to drop price and include more licenses for free. She got you to offer free storage and discounted training. Wants their pound of flesh.

Development Team Review 293

Development Team Review Software Review Pricing Startup 293

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

In a bear market executives are paid to: consolidate the number of contracts and renegotiate prices. Other companies have only seen a slight decline and may be expecting demand to return to normalcy later in the year. The reality is that when unemployment sinks in demand is likely to get worse. Should you focus on growth?

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

It was a stock option incentive related “expense” but I bet you didn’t know that because in an era where we only read the headlines — they must be a train wreck losing billions. Is it one product line or multiple? They used the money to hire a bigger tech team so they could roll out their second product line.

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2017

The reality is that a good customer experience today is more important than a premium product. No customers, including yourself, are willing to tolerate multiple bad experiences, just to get the lowest price. For your business to prosper, don’t associate good service only with high-price products.

Customer 89

Customer Custom Demand Pricing 89

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 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2015

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. By adding to perceived value, a company attracts more sophisticated and demanding customers less expensively and more quickly.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Organization Startup Pricing 117

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2015

Initially, all companies sell to customers who are the easiest to reach and most excited about the new product. Prices begin to decline quickly. The first customers are early adopters who are the least price-sensitive. Unfortunately, the mainstream customers who can really drive revenue care more about price.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Cloud Computing Customer 116

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. How profitable is my product or service? As an early-stage VC I love this phase.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Start with only the very best people, demand excellence, and train them to stay ahead of the pack. Know the issues they face, and search for ways to help them, make them happier, more productive, and more profitable. Simultaneously deliver the best selection, service, and price. Craft mutually beneficial relationships.

Training 108

Training Customer Custom Social Media 108

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. ” Climate resiliency . Given the steady drumbeat of climate disasters that hit the U.S.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2018

Start with only the very best people, demand excellence, and train them to stay ahead of the pack. Know the issues they face, and search for ways to help them, make them happier, more productive, and more profitable. Simultaneously deliver the best selection, service, and price. Craft mutually beneficial relationships.

Training 61

Training Customer Custom Social Media 61

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2020

Indi operates an app which lets people get paid for sharing their social content, making product recommendations, and more. The reason for this business, is folks are always going on social media to recommend products to their friends, but they're not making any money from it. We have four different ways people can make money.

Help 113

Help Commerce Platform Orange County 113

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

We typically committed to building “missing&# features and therefore steered off of our MVP (minimum viable product). We had to do intense training sessions. Some companies / products are designed for large organizations from day 1. Companies post the $5 / month product designed for self-service clients.

Startup 389

Startup Customer Custom Resource 389

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2019

I think, to be a great entrepreneur, you have to look at what is missing in the category that you will be playing in the industry, and figure what you can deploy with a little bit of strategy and technology to bring a better service and price. You've got to know best practices in demand generation. Your finance has to be world class.

Content 193

Content Social Network Coach Help 193

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2017

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. By adding to perceived value, a company attracts more sophisticated and demanding customers less expensively and more quickly.

Startup 59

Startup Organization Pricing Customer 59

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Keep delivering something new and fresh.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2014

Initially, all companies sell to customers who are the easiest to reach and most excited about the new product. Prices begin to decline quickly. The first customers are early adopters who are the least price-sensitive. Unfortunately, the mainstream customers who can really drive revenue care more about price.

Pricing 105

Pricing Cloud Computing Customer Custom 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Pricing Sales 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2014

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. By adding to perceived value, a company attracts more sophisticated and demanding customers less expensively and more quickly.

Startup 91

Startup Organization Pricing Customer 91

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

The first thing you are trained on, is to qualify customers and figure out if they need upright or inverted microscopes. We've created an alternative, a hybrid microscope for the price of one. What really separated us, was not the microscope, but how we very quickly sold out of our first three production runs of our microscope.

Tech Coast Angels 124

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2018

Initially, all companies sell to customers who are the easiest to reach and most excited about the new product. Prices begin to decline quickly. The first customers are early adopters who are the least price-sensitive. Unfortunately, the mainstream customers who can really drive revenue care more about price.

Pricing 52

Pricing Cloud Computing Customer Custom 52

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2015

Start with only the very best people, demand excellence, and train them to stay ahead of the pack. Know the issues they face, and search for ways to help them, make them happier, more productive, and more profitable. Simultaneously deliver the best selection, service, and price. Craft mutually beneficial relationships.

Training 59

Training Customer Custom Social Media 59

socalTECH

MARCH 4, 2021

Buck Jordan: Miso Robotics is bringing the power of automation to commercial kitchens, and addressing one of the biggest challenges of the food industry, which is increasing production with the expansion of the delivery market, while also safely decreasing human contact. The demand is there. Coli, they become Chipotle.

Startup 113

Startup Venture Capital Capital Customer 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2009

Nick Desai: FitOrbit delivers a proven solution for fitness and weight loss over the Internet, for the first time, at a price people can afford. With FitOrbit, we bring real, one-to-one, human-based personal training and meal planning to the Internet for the first time. He is the passionate visionary behind the product.

Media 168

Media Pricing Sites Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

The next phase of evolution will demand device independence, enabling an uninterrupted computing experience as we move from device to device throughout our daily lives. Many businesses are already weaving gamification into their strategies to enhance loyalty programs, customer retention, productivity measurement, and training.

Technology 86

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 86

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

The first thing you are trained on, is to qualify customers and figure out if they need upright or inverted microscopes. We've created an alternative, a hybrid microscope for the price of one. What really separated us, was not the microscope, but how we very quickly sold out of our first three production runs of our microscope.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

They have to be energized and able to adapt as the market and competitors demand. The best companies have found that it’s important to constantly prepare team members for moving to the next level, through mentoring and training, rather than trying to keep them in their current role. Traditional mission statements are not enough.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84