Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. Some dreams sound great, but may not yet be viable or proven with today’s technology. Writing down key parameters will force you solidify the specifics, and mentally commit to them.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. But that doesn’t mean that people are paying rational prices as investors based on intrinsic value. Rational people can disagree and some may argue that today’s prices are rational and under-pinned by economic drivers. I believe that. That’s fine.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. Write things down. Looong Appendix (only for those interested in reading another story about losing a sale & key lessons): A personal story of losing a sale that haunted me for years. I later learned one of my biggest lesson in sales.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2019

Image via Flickr by Phil Gyford Starting a new venture still costs real money, even though the entry price has come down dramatically in last few decades. Unanticipated pivots, quality write-offs, and shrinkage. It helps to also have your plan reviewed and critiqued by an experienced advisor in the same industry.

Startup 105

Startup Software Review Technical Review Social Media 105

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

China is indelibly an important part of the future of the global technology system. Write things down. Looong Appendix (only for those interested in reading another story about losing a sale & key lessons): A personal story of losing a sale that haunted me for years. I later learned one of my biggest lesson in sales.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

I’m sitting at my computer now at 9.00pm writing this – which is an hour earlier than I normally write (there are about 8 women at my kitchen table having a book club (aka excuse to drink wine & gossip so I’m locked in another room writing. Should entrepreneurs have convertible debt or priced equity?

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. Value is created through diligent hard work.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I recently wrote a post on angel financing covering the topic of convertible notes but I realized I was thinking about the issue more from investor perspective and a very narrow topic of how to price the round. Existing tech or industry executives - Do you have strong relationships in your industry? That’s OK.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Gross margin (GM) is the amount of profit you make per sale of your product or service taking into account your total costs of selling that product or service. If you have a very low gross margin (10-30%) it can be very hard to build a large, scalable business because you need to make a lot of sales to cover your operating costs.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

I was working hand-in-hand with my close friend and associate Stuart Lander who was running our UK office and with one of our local sales reps. We helped the write out their requirements for a system. Winning the contract meant that we would hit our quarterly revenue figure and be in good position for our annual sales target.

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2014

I would start by asking the candidate, “How did you decide on these five people” as part of your review process. Most people delay reference calls until that point both due to expediency of time (why make phone calls unless you think you might hire the person?) You expected no less. Having an accomplice. They hold out.

Startup 302

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Report 302

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. The questions that a VC mulls before writing a check are precisely the questions you should be asking yourself.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

Three reasons: There is a relative valuation between the price a VC pays and their expectations of what it will exit for in an IPO or trade sale. Also, it’s harder to pay a $30 million pre-money value on an unproved company when you see public companies with $100 million in sales trading for less than $20 million.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Startup Invest Funding 263

InfoChachkie

MAY 23, 2011

Hipster-wannabes routinely wait in line for hours for the opportunity to buy exorbitantly priced drinks in an exclusive nightclub. As noted in Alliances , startups with compelling technologies can often form an alliance of partners around their unique solutions. As such, deals are not exclusive, they are excludesive.

Technical Review 183

Technical Review Marketing Sales Competition 183

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 19, 2012

The industry had seen unprecedented growth in the past decade due to a combination of factors, one of which was the United States’ economic recession. Due to the combination of these factors, marketers began to more heavily fund digital platforms. As the combination of the three provide the ultimate benefit.

Mobile 85

Mobile Software Review Statistics Technical Review 85

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. I’m writing this post to explain to entrepreneurs what you should be thinking about in terms of the VC’s you approach and the size and stage of their funds.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

If you have the proper mechanisms to accurately calculate your Cost Per Customer / Lifetime Value Equation, you will happily purchase as many customers from affiliates as your cash flow constraints will allow, as long as the average acquisition price is less than the customers’ average lifetime value. I was dead wrong.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 27, 2009

Often times, in the world of cell phones and high tech software, you don't know the challenges throughout the process of creating a product. There was a disconnect between the product and the sales process. Every company that did try it or buy it gave rave reviews, and said that this was what they wanted.

Startup 100

Startup Software Review Technical Review Software 100

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

That said, when a customer posts on Facebook that you should lower your prices by 50%, perhaps this is not something you should spend too much time on. However, if your customers don’t post anything at all, good or bad, perhaps your pricing is too high overall. After writing this blog post, I found this on Facebook.

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

How Most Board Meeting Prep Works I’ve been sitting on tech boards for two decades so I have some experience with what goes wrong. This can include: Fund raising, product development choices, sales, marketing effectiveness, competition, business development, M&A … whatever. This is part of a broader series on Board Meetings.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

Nobody commits, nobody wants to set a price, nobody wants to stick their neck out then BOOM! I remind founders that the no’s come early because it’s super easy to qualify out a deal that you know is unlikely due to stage, focus, geography, competitive deal you’ve done or even just the fact that you’re too busy right now. Happy raising.

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. Jamie’s ethos led him to price at just $3 / user / camera / month at a time when traditional home security companies’ monthly fees were so unaffordable.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

The prices of angel deals have recently crept up, VCs have also gotten their checkbooks out again, frothy deals are happening and people are feeling bullish. VCs have also gone back to writing checks because as an industry we can’t be seen as “sitting on the sidelines” for years at a time. VCs get paid to “put money to work.&#.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

Sometime around 2003/04 my technology team turned me on to “Spolsky on Software&# a periodic newsletter served up blog style from Joel Spolsky of FogCreek Software, a maker of bug-tracking software. Microsoft Office ended up beating its competitors because it was able to read and write to file formats other than its own.

Software Review 285

Software Review Software Blogging Startup 285