Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches?

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. Because market is such a broad topic, I’m restricting these lessons to PR marketing (as opposed SEO, SEM, product marketing, etc.). I call this “marketing futures.&# You need some guidelines to make decisions.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

With the enormous changes to our economies and financial markets?—?how how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued?

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

Serial entrepreneur, venture investor and startup accelerator pioneer Brad Feld has notoriously mocked traditional marketing throughout his career. companies should… focus on building amazing products. If you have amazing products, the marketing of those products is trivial. Trada – Guerilla Marketing In Action.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

A product at the concept stage contains feature-functionality that customers may not want or be willing to pay for, or which just might not work well enough for release to the public. Allow for the cost and extra time for tweaks to the product or service. Surprises when the market meets your product. Rush to market?

Customer 156

Customer Custom Writing Product 156

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. Getting something to market and getting funding override any other concerns. It’s understandable - a hands-on developer can produce a product.

CTO Hire 260

CTO Hire Develop Development Fractional VPE 260

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

As an investor, I sometimes see CEOs who negotiate to send their VP of Marketing to talk. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing. Many would argue that Steve Jobs impact at Apple came more from his public speaking ability than the other four skills put together.

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Guide Customer 113

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Know the cost to move from your existing platform, and estimate the switching costs for moving from a competitor’s product or service to yours. The momentum from an old decision that took lots of effort to implement is worth something to a marketing professional. And that’s a lesson for all of us in marketing. What should I do?

Marketing 199

Marketing Email Customer Custom 199

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2019

Image via Flickr by jardenberg Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. Then write it down. It’s pretty simple to do.

Customer 93

Customer Custom Marketing Tips 93

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. Organic milk formula product Bobbie. 2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. Runway AI user interface. Gumroad homepage.

Startup 213

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 213

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2022

Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. Every entrepreneur assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities.

Content 146

Content Newsletter Competition Writing 146

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

That great productivity drain that we somehow all buy into. So I ask you – if you’re being reactive to somebody else’s emails are you really being as productive in your company as you could be? You’re writing a freaking blog post! I never get grumpy that people write. Marketing.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

TechEmpower

AUGUST 14, 2023

Specifically, they should know about, and help with: Asking and answering the 53 Questions Developers Should Ask Innovators Knowing when and how to bring on development talent ( Hiring Developers Before Product/Market Fit? , Then, a month later, the product is still 90% done. Please write us at blog@techempower.com !

Technical Review 260

Technical Review CTO Coach CTO Hire Software Review 260

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down. The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Finish the product before marketing begins.

Startup 124

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2022

Assess social media relevance to your product or service. If your business is industrial B2B products, social media should be low on your list. For some customers and many investors, a heavy focus on social networks and viral marketing may be a negative, rather than a positive. Communication and writing skills are required.

Social Media 126

Social Media Media Startup Platform 126

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2016

I went to an industry event where people actually called me self-centered for writing publicly. Here’s the thing: If you never try new product and new networks you’ll never learn anything. In 2007 I started using Twitter and most of my friends & colleagues wondered why people would care what I ate for lunch.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Product Startup AMA 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. Too much hesitation will kill any new venture, as markets move quickly and difficulties mount.

Writing 102

Writing Startup Entrepreneur Capital 102

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

I recently wrote a post about avoiding the “ Deferred Life Plan &# and some related thoughts about personal productivity that came from Tim Ferriss’s book, The Four Hour Workweek. I would love to say that I’m the productivity guru. Tim Ferriss gave this extra emphasis in his book.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

Fountain Valley-based HyperX , which makes products for the videogaming market, said today that it has rolled out two new solid state disks (SSDs) specifically aimed at videogamers. The new drives not only feature very fast data transfer speeds (550MB/s read and 480MB/s write), but include RGB lighting effects. READ MORE>>.

Writing 113

Writing Marketing Product Technology 113

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

It is simply the most important way to proactively control your career development and how the market perceives you. This started as a post in which I was going to write out tips to personal branding and became in stead an essay of my own branding journey. That was fine with me – the market is the market.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

First: Product risk. . Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to. One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2017

Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities.

Content 67

Content Marketing Newsletter Writing 67

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down. The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Finish the product before marketing begins.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

InfoChachkie

JULY 30, 2012

I always enjoy a great guerilla marketing story, such as TestFlight’s use of T-shirts and Tacos to gain Steve Jobs’ attention at Apple’s 2011 developers’ conference. Trade Show Guerilla Marketing Done Right . Be Closing, No Posing – The ultimate measure of effective marketing, especially at a startup, is revenue.

Marketing 209

Marketing Conference RSS Angel 209

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

I recommend that you always use brainstorming, or expert feedback, to define similar approaches and markets, before proceeding to produce and sell a solution that may be expensive to change later. One of the best ways to assess development risk is to build and test a prototype, or minimum viable product (MVP).

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

Why is it that most of the business plans I see are really product plans? I define a product plan as a detailed description of your product or service, with a bit of business thrown in at the end. A business plan is a detailed description of your business, with a bit of product description thrown in near the front.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition Outsource 92

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. I recommend that you look for new or emerging opportunities in new markets.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2015

This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can. The result is a bloated first product which finally collapses under its own weight, or is too late and too expensive for the intended customer. Define milestones for cost review and sign-off.

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Product Software Review High Tech 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

Why is it that most of the business plans I see are really product plans? I define a product plan as a detailed description of your product or service, with a bit of business thrown in at the end. A business plan is a detailed description of your business, with a bit of product description thrown in near the front.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Last month, the product launched with $1.2 Creators and influencers like Bernstein are forging a path from content creator to full-fledged business, with multiple revenue streams via podcasts, licensing deals, branded merchandise and even software products. “A million in funding from Rebecca Minkoff and other unnamed investors.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

SoCal CTO

MARCH 10, 2010

Steve Blank wrote a great post recently entitled Perfection By Subtraction – The Minimum Feature Set where he explains the real goals around defining a minimum viable product: Founders act like the “minimum” part is the goal. Only a special subset of customers will and what gets them breathing heavy is the long-term vision for your product.

Product 150

Product Startup Customer Custom 150

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 14, 2009

Cliff Allen is someone I've known for quite a few years and he's a go to person for me when I'm thinking about issues around marketing, sales, technology, startups and networking. I moved into writing software to analyze audience data, and wrote a lot of computer graphics software. Maybe that would make sense as a marketing channel.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Networking Marketing Startup 150

Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2021

Here’s important homework for your marketing effort. Know the cost to move from your existing platform and estimate the switching costs for moving from a competitor’s product or service to yours. The momentum from an old decision that took lots of effort to implement is worth something to a marketing professional. What to do?

Competition 156

Competition Customer Custom Email 156

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Turn on your phone and look at the productivity folder. Something to write your notes, another to set reminders, and one that does both. You’ll be more productive within three weeks time. We discuss productivity, emails, communication, and the dynamics of the team. We’ve been there. We’ve all been there.

Product 99

Product Email Ideas Organization 99