socalTECH

APRIL 21, 2017

For people who send things out, it's a chance to be in front of your customer. We're working with some very large, extremely well known CPGs to help them establish that direct selling channel, and help them create a relationship with their customer. You need to understand what it means when a customer receives a product.

Startup 145

Startup Product Customer Custom 145

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2016

A focus on business execution certainly includes selecting the right idea and developing a marketable solution, but it also requires selecting a viable target market, attracting customers, winning against competition, and delivering a value proposition which is attractive to customers as well as the business.

Ideas 54

Ideas Entrepreneur Customer Custom 54

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy. A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give.

Incubator 106

Incubator Startup Help Resource 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2016

For example, early social media startup Friendster was so enamored with their early acceptance that they turned down a $30 million offer from Google, then quickly ran into money woes and tough competition. An initial revenue surge, or a major cash advance from investors often leads to a mentality of building a large customer base at any cost.

Startup 57

Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

After listening to hundreds of startup pitches, and reading even more business plans, most new venture investors develop their own favorite list of “red flags” that signal the beginning of the end of their interest. Lead with your intent to offer the solution free to customers. Of course, customers love free, but investors hate it.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2016

The most common channels in use today include e-commerce, direct to customer, wholesale to dealers, and value-added resellers. In other words, you may have a great new product, but no distributor penetration means no shelf space and no customers. Always use analytics and listen directly to customer feedback.

Pricing 54

Pricing Customer Custom Sales 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2016

Hiring requirements must be anticipated and implemented with the same precision and tracking as manufacturing volumes, sales leads, and customer service. We all make staffing mistakes, so it’s most important to quickly fix them, before the morale of the whole team is impacted, or your business loses some key customers.

Organization 57

Organization Entrepreneur Satisfaction Screening 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2016

Getting investors to trust you with their money is always a challenge, and it’s even more difficult in the early stages, where you don’t have a significant revenue stream, a few customers, or maybe even a product yet. Here is my list of shortcomings that cause many investors to look elsewhere: No well-defined need or viable customer set.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

Assume you already know what your customers need and want. Just because you love a new solution doesn’t mean your customers will love it. Before spending any money, make sure you interact directly with potential customers, industry experts and investors. Marty Zwilling First published on Entrepreneur.com on 02/24/2016.

Startup 59

Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2016

According to recent statistics from the International Business Innovation Association ( InBIA ), there are about 7,000 business incubators and accelerators worldwide, with over 90 percent being non-profit and focused on incubator programs for community economic development. The process is often competitive and very difficult.

Incubator 58

Incubator Startup Seed Funding Equity 58

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 6, 2020

In 2016, that represented a couple of unique concepts. There's real competition in this area. There are lots of transaction costs which occur both on acquisition of customers and on returns, and those costs are real, and must be considered in how we price the products. Brad Stewart: The company had two previous lives.

Startup 124

Startup Pricing Platform Study 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2016

Interact with real customers to validate passion in their feedback. Use social media and live customers to eliminate any reality distortion in your internal perception of value. Develop marketing content and communicate with trusted advisors and employees to make sure the right message can be delivered with clarity and integrity.

Startup 62

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Statistics 62

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

After a year in the market, MakeSpace was growing rapidly and our biggest issue was CAC (customer acquisition costs) relative to payback period (when we get our marketing investment back) and relative to LTV (lifetime value). But that’s harder to build in 2016 than it was in say 2005. That is how great businesses are built.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

By 2016, app downloads are estimated to reach 44 billion and app-to-person messaging is seen to overtake text messaging. It is no wonder that the average apps user spends 139 minutes per day browsing them, according to a report by Flurry, a company catering to app developers. What’s in an app? We need an APP! Branding with an app.

Mobile 40

Mobile Social Media Google Software Review 40

Xconomy

DECEMBER 28, 2017

In 2016, the renowned international university programming tournament — attended by student competitors, coaches, and parents — took place in Phuket, Thailand. In 2016, Rapid City was officially named ICPC 2017’s host city. Rapid City, South Dakota. ICPC World Finals 2017, held in Rapid City.

Coach 75

Coach Technical Review Carson Networking 75

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2015

Santa Barbara-based Ice Energy (www.ice-energy.com) has quietly been working away at developing energy storage systems to help smooth out the demand for energy on the nation's power grid. Our customer is not the building owner or tenant, it's the utility. How is it that utilities are your main customer? megawatts of energy.

Southern California 100

Southern California Technical Review Demand Outsource Development 100

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

Linktree leads the space, securing a recent $45 million Series B raise to build out e-commerce features, but Beacons boasts competitive creator monetization tools with just a $6 million seed round in May. Linktree has been around since 2016 and has more funding than its up-and-coming competitors. Image Credits: Snipfeed. With its $5.5

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2016

Unfortunately, this approach often turns off mainstream customers, who find the result hard to use. Even worse, this “feature creep” often makes the final product late to market, sluggish and more expensive than competition. Developers should get the last word on implementation, sizing and duration alternatives.

Product 61

Product Competition Customer Custom 61

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2016

After reviewing her day-by-day recommendations to improve productivity in a single week, I have extrapolated her guidance to ten productivity tips specifically for entrepreneurs to regain that competitive edge: Focus on managing yourself rather than managing others. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 10/31/2016.

Tips 100

Tips Activity Startup Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2016

For example, at any given moment in your business, you may be limited by development, marketing, or sales. These days, there are many companies around the world, with the skills and equipment you need, ready to assist with development resources, marketing programs, or call centers immediately. Acquire or merge with another company.

Startup 56

Startup Outsource Development Organization Outsource 56

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2016

They need incentives to investigate market trends and competitive actions, as well as continuous communication of the bigger picture of the business and current objectives. The most effective teams, through sharing and common interests, develop leaders at all levels. Marty Zwilling First published on Huffington Post on 12/07/2016.

Marketing 89

Marketing Coach Mentor Social Media 89

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

Way back in the early eighties, I was privileged to be part of the original IBM PC development team, led by Don Estridge. The culture of a large technology company is to rely on internal development or large, stable, and proven external vendors. Corporate entities operate under strict competitive and accounting rules.

IBM 85

IBM IBM Entrepreneur Technical Review 85

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

A cybersecurity report by Ponemon Institute, in association with Keeper Security, found that in the 12 months leading up to June 2016, 55 percent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) experienced a cyber attack, while 50 percent encountered data breaches involving customer and employee information.

Startup 40

Startup Framework Statistics Customer 40

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

For the cybersecurity industry, 2016 is shaping up to be the year of alliances. It’s an interesting tactic that seems unusual in a competitive business environment, but makes sense when considering the constantly expanding sea of cyber threats—and solutions—through which organizations must wade. That’s the goal, at least.

Press 40

Press Symantec Organization IBM 40