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

Tech.Co

MARCH 1, 2018

And while that cliché has been said about everything in the Lone Star state for years, it rings particularly true for the hottest startups showcasing their big innovations at SXSW Startup Night 2018 presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo. Tapping into a niche community is part of Quirktastic Media’s competitive advantage.

Startup 79

Startup Mentor Platform Help 79

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. Source: runwayml.com In June, Runway raised $141 million in funding, nudging its market valuation to an envy-inducing $1.5

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

There is nothing more pure than building a product, putting it out in the world and seeing paying customers using your product and in some cases loving it. As companies get this initial customer feedback on their product they start to have to ask harder questions about unit economics: How much does it cost us to acquire a new customer?

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2018

Based on my experience, creating a new business is at least as difficult as creating an innovative solution, and it takes a knowledge of finance, operations, customers and the marketplace. If there is no competition, there is likely not a market. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 12/11/2018.

Startup 99

Startup Competition Examples Ideas 99

socalTECH

MARCH 13, 2020

Dmitri Leonov: We built a distribution business for equipment for the spa industry, and have had 10,000 client over that time, but in the last few years, we've really focused on talking to spa customers about their needs in the market. Essentially, the customer wants natural and organic ingredients. Do users buy or rent these?

Template 124

Template Beverly Hills Startup SEM 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2018

In this age of constant market evolution and new technology, there is no such thing as a static business that is self-sustaining. Rather than enhancing the offering you have, develop and offer new products that capitalize on the customers that you already know well. Populating new domains to sustain your market.

Examples 99

Examples IP Acquisition Social Media 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there were over 20 million registered developers in 2018. The ideal business model is to establish a direct-to-consumer service that enables you to bill the customer directly.

Mobile 126

Mobile Develop Development Platform 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2018

Starting a new venture and thriving in today’s economy is hard, but the best have figured out that customers and employees need to feel that you have a sense of purpose, to complement the company’s pursuit of profit. Tie marketing content to the bigger picture of the world. Build a skilled team to design and develop what is needed.

Startup 58

Startup Customer Custom Competition 58

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

With the speed of change and volume of market feedback today, as well as the advances in machine learning, Amazon, Alibaba, and others have proven the value of software driven strategy decisions. Only smart software can plow through the volume of live data, recognizing trends, customers, and match offerings to reality.

Artificial Inteligence 84

Artificial Inteligence Metrics Commerce Software 84

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

As a self-made entrepreneur and former chairman of Diamond Resorts International, he asserts that the five biggest companies by market value today, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, aren’t really tech, but hospitality companies. Customer needs and expectations are changing faster than ever these days.

Technical Advisors 82

Technical Advisors Artificial Inteligence Customer Custom 82

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. Others still routinely have phone hold queues for customer contact that can last up to an hour, with no alternative options.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2018

Unfortunately, innovation means change, and most business professionals and existing customers, by default, hate change. This takes leadership from the top, and an ongoing focus on market change, customer feedback, and internal measurement and rewards. Let customer value be the driver, rather than cost savings.

Satisfaction 53

Satisfaction Startup Competition Customer 53

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2018

The stalwarts should be making the big leaps to be competitive, rather than the other way around. Many large companies, and even startups, often forget their core competencies and direction in an effort to grow their business and customer base faster. Leverage seismic shifts in the market or economy.

Startup 59

Startup Competition IBM IBM 59

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

There are some key strategies I recommend in developing that mindset, whether you are currently and employee or an aspiring entrepreneur: Keep the business customer at the top of your pyramid. Every business depends on customers to thrive, and every employee role has some correlation to customer satisfaction.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Customer Custom 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2018

As the Global Customer Growth Evangelist at Salesforce, with implementation roles at many other companies, she makes a host of relevant observations for every business owner. These days, customers remember the total experience with a company longer than they remember the price they paid. Find ways to work with your competition.

Examples 67

Examples Customer Custom Software Review 67

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

On the other hand, everyone is doing it, so that means more competition, and the market and technology are changing faster than ever before. Validate your solution with a prototype and real customers. You need something real that investors and customers can touch and feel. Ideas are not enough to gauge business potential.

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Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

Glossier affirmed our inherent beauty, then reminded us that we can be even more beautiful if we buy their “Boy Brow” pomade, which sold one tube every 32 seconds by 2018. billion company in the brutally competitive beauty industry, especially one with such broad appeal. That Cloud Paint is pretty magical, if we’re being honest.

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2018

Most entrepreneurs see their new venture as a fun adventure, until the pressures of a cash flow crisis, or a manufacturing quality problem, or a major customer satisfaction problem hits. Here are the top approaches I recommend, and the entrepreneur mindsets that I see in survivors: Evaluate new competitive threats as new opportunities.

Startup 82

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Mentor 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

Unfortunately, customers look for value in solving their problem, and new technologies alone scare them, so these solutions don’t get bought by customers, or funded. Attracting business investors is as tough as attracting customers, but it’s a different challenge. Intellectual property and sustainable competitive advantage.

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2018

The facts, as well as what motivates your peers, customers, and business leaders are changing daily. I believe these insights can and must be extended to you and your career, in line with the following guiding principles: Make your interest in learning your competitive advantage. Define personalized learning goals with a timetable.

Examples 85

Examples Social Media Competition Guide 85

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2017

Here’s why that should scare you… In recent years the pace of the market has accelerated dramatically. It means competition is more fierce because formidable new competitors can arrive overnight. Anyone could submit an idea, and others in the customer community could participate by upvoting and commenting on the ideas they liked best!

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Metrics Ideas Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2018

In this era of rapid market and technological change, I know I have to challenge my small business advisory clients to keep innovating and stay ahead of the game. Customers and analysts are always looking for innovation indicators. Innovation driven only by crises is not leadership and growth.

Metrics 58

Metrics IBM IBM Competition 58

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2018

The insurance industry is an old industry, with a lot of contradictions--it's one where the more claims insurers pay to help customers, the less money the insurers make--and it's also one that hasn't been disrupted much yet by technology. Allen Kamrava: It's technology which is a true alternative to the insurance market, the first ever.

Technology 165

Technology Startup West Los Angeles Platform 165

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2019

While 2018 was all about better understanding the SoCal opportunity, 2019 was about honing our focus and defining our core programs. However, innovation-driven corporations often have the urgency to act (or risk losing market share, relevance, etc) and resources to deploy. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year?

SoCal 140

SoCal Southern California Startup Venture Capital 140

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

With a tiny organization, small businesses can make decisions quickly, allowing them to respond quickly to customer input and changes. As a small business owner and entrepreneur, you may relish the flexibility and the challenge of getting that first traction and customer recognition. Sharing the same space also facilitates creativity.

Sales 69

Sales Organization Entrepreneur Examples 69

Inverted Software

JANUARY 2, 2019

In order to be competitive with other cryptocurrency miners, though, a cryptocurrency miner needs a computer that can keep up with the calculations, one that is loaded with GPUs. When the cryptocurrency market crashed, however, mining was no longer as profitable. Bitcoin value traded at an all time high at the end of 2017.

Class 58

Class Sales Demand Marketing 58

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

Our perspectives on the topic wax and wane with market cycles. Here’s what I believe, but won’t claim to “know” because every time I think I know something the market seems to do something entirely different. It forces the founder to spend time in front of customers. VC funding. I have strong opinions.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

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. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Incubator 87

Incubator Startup Resource Seed Funding 87

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2018

Unfortunately, most of the entrepreneurs who contact me for guidance only seem to work on strategic issues when they are in a crisis, such as losing a major distributor or being swamped with customer complaints. Often, beneficial changes will have a short-term cost to achieve market growth or competitive advantage.

Tips 51

Tips Metrics Sample Statistics 51

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

At the other extreme, I don’t condone greedy and unethical business practices to unjustly shake down customers and employees alike. Shows positive value for both the customer and the business. Customers and investors are looking for quantifiable specifics, not just social value or “eco-friendly.”

Customer 19

Customer Custom Acquisition Entrepreneur 19

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2018

Since I am a techie at heart, I always get excited when founders pitch their new innovation as “disruptive,” meaning that it is so unique that it will create a new market and disrupt the existing value network, displacing established products and markets. Business success always relates to how effectively you satisfy customer needs.

Marketing 89

Marketing Technology Customer Custom 89

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

I second his list of top innovation challenges and strategies to capitalize on untapped global startup opportunities: Create new markets rather than disrupt existing ones. Competition is not always a bad thing, and the real purpose is often to make the world a better place. Target a global market rather than a local from day one.

Capital 138

Capital Marketing Ideas Venture Capital 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2020

I second his list of top innovation challenges and strategies to capitalize on untapped global startup opportunities: Create new markets rather than disrupt existing ones. Competition is not always a bad thing, and the real purpose is often to make the world a better place. Target a global market rather than a local from day one.

Ideas 124

Ideas Venture Capital Software Review Technical Review 124