Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2010

Non-organic growth would include OEM relationships, finding strategic partners, “coopetition,” as well as acquisitions. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came early. These relationships need not require cash investments; often they are done with exchanges of equity or assets. Economies of scale. New management skills.

Acquisition 85

Acquisition Startup Organization Competition 85

Berkonomics

APRIL 4, 2019

On the other side, entrepreneurs and CEO’s usually have a natural fear of giving too much information to us investors after the initial investment is received. Shareholders may vote on other issues during the year by written consent, including acquisitions, stock issuance, changes to the articles of incorporation and bylaws, and more.

Class 120

Class Course Report Competition 120

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 19, 2015

Computers and the Internet have now brought in a new era that relies on data to make profitable business decisions in the competitive environment. Below is a full explanation of how small businesses can leverage technology to earn a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Cloud Services. Images via Shutterstock.

Competition 40

Competition Technology Social Media Tips 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

Expand into key new sales and delivery channels. Today the Internet is the best example of a new sales and delivery channel that has transformed many businesses, and killed others. This were done in a complementary fashion to provide support and education, and not undermine sales. Standing still is actually falling behind.

Customer 143

Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

If there are conflicts within the team, or differing views of the strategy, or evidence of missing processes and tools, the investment process will likely be terminated. Make yourself available to answer any questions, show your enthusiasm, and explain both the positives and negatives of the external investment process.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Berkonomics

JANUARY 26, 2017

The rest of the purchase price was concocted from a brew of zero coupon bonds (where the face value is many times the invested amount until the reduced cost bonds mature thirty years later), and borrowing using the target company’s accounts receivable and other assets as collateral for a loan to purchase the company. What power!

Pricing 120

Pricing Sales Tool Equity 120

Berkonomics

APRIL 14, 2012

There is a natural fear of giving too much information to investors after the initial investment is received. Shareholders may vote on other issues during the year by written consent, including acquisitions, stock issuances, changes to the articles of incorporation and bylaws, and more.

Class 202

Class Report Competition .Net 202

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

We have made 5 online video investments in total – some we will talk about later this year. Content is a “hits driven business” and therefore you can only invest in platforms not media. You must invest in technology. You can’t build a brand on YouTube. I think most arguments miss the mark.

SEM 150

SEM Content Platform Acquisition 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business for 4-6 months. If you don’t, somebody else WILL!” ” The Details.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

InfoChachkie

JULY 28, 2015

Although this is a somewhat unusual real estate transaction, it reflects a surprisingly common scenario in the business world of mergers and acquisitions, with one important distinction. My House Is Not For Sale. Our response was that there was no “price” as our company was not for sale. We were not rude nor indignant.

Company 100

Company Companies Santa Barbara Pricing 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2015

Non-organic growth would include OEM relationships, finding strategic partners, “coopetition,” as well as acquisitions. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came quickly. These relationships need not require cash investments; often they are done with exchanges of equity or assets. Economies of scale. New management skills.

Organization 100

Organization Startup Competition IBM 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

For example, if you have ever watched the Shark Tank show on TV, they always ask about the cost of customer acquisition. Thus investors are investing in you and your team, so you need to highlight the skills you have mastered, past accomplishments, and the connections you have established in your industry.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2011

We have a very sophisticated, analytics and software platform that over half the Fortune 50 are now using, to help guide how they invest in marketing and sales activities and investments. You mentioned that you've been growing the company recently, and made a recent acquisition? Did the TV stimulate search?

Social Media 235

Social Media Demand Activity Marketing 235

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

A technical champion may drive a specific innovation, but the business leader has to own the result, in order to drive an appropriate business model, customer acquisition, support, and a growth strategy. Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the key to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

For starters, here is my selection of some key metrics that every six-sigma joint like GE tracks without thinking, but that too many small businesses haven’t yet formalized: Sales revenue. Sales data needs to be correlated to advertising campaigns, price changes, seasonal forces, competitive actions, and other costs of sales.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2017

From my perspective, projecting financial returns is part of the homework every business person needs to do in sizing customer opportunity, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value, before expending their own resources in a highly risky venture. Calculate cash-burn rate and investment timing.

Pricing 57

Pricing Startup Entrepreneur Invest 57

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

Here is my selection of ten key metrics that every six-sigma joint like GE tracks without thinking, but too many small businesses only monitor haphazardly, if at all: Sales revenue. Sales is simply defined as income from customer purchases of goods and services, minus the cost associated with things like returned or undeliverable merchandise.

Metrics 106

Metrics Startup Sales Statistics 106

socalTECH

JULY 9, 2012

We thought it would be insightful for our readerswho are usually looking to get acquired by other companieson what the thought process of those large companies making those acquisitions are. For a company like yours, what goes into your acquisition strategy and what thoughts went behind the Anue acquisition?

Acquisition 173

Acquisition IP Networking Marketing 173

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

How long does it take me to pay back my original customer acquisition costs? This financial leader could well have come through the finance org at another startup or at a larger company but they often also can come from strategy consulting (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) or through investment banking (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.).

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2012

Non-organic growth would include OEM relationships, finding strategic partners, “coopetition,” as well as acquisitions. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came early. These relationships need not require cash investments; often they are done with exchanges of equity or assets. Economies of scale. New management skills.

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Organization Startup Competition 99

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Competitor positioning and sustainable competitive advantage. Customers may be attracted to your marketing message, but investors look harder at the startup team, seeking superior expertise in the key areas of growing a business, product domain, financial, marketing and sales. Specific elements of your marketing and sales plans.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Public relations at a startup is a sales process. In addition to paying the consultant, you must invest time to educate them. Thus, you have negotiating leverage as long as a legitimate, competitive threat exists.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

Customer Acquisition. Those two things together would lower your acquisition costs nearly in half to $6.11. Ironically, there are times where it may actually pay to INCREASE your customer acquisition costs. Measuring customer acquisition is clearly not enough because not all customers stick around. lowering $1.50

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Customer 346

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. 1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Happy customers quickly become your biggest advocates, today reaching far beyond friends and family, and they make traditional marketing efforts pale in comparison for growth, loyalty, and new customer acquisition costs. Too many businesses I know still see customer service as a burden, rather than an opportunity to gain loyalty and advocacy.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2015

None should be considered competitive mutually exclusive to any other. Every business should look at its cost of customer acquisition (COCA) and return on investment (ROI) twice a year and after each campaign. Traditional marketing is sales-focused, one-way push. The tools and measurements are the same for both.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Marketing Resource 108

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

You decide how much you want to invest in your employees and then you give your employees the control to build a custom perk package for themselves. 3) I’ve heard some great stories about your weekend sales “boot camps.” We hired people who did not have outside sales experience. In fact, we are co-investors in The Resumator.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Non-organic growth would include OEM relationships, finding strategic partners, “coopetition,” as well as acquisitions. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came early. These relationships need not require cash investments; often they are done with exchanges of equity or assets. Economies of scale. New management skills.

Startup 93

Startup Organization Competition IBM 93

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

otherwise I prefer to invest less and risk less). We want money to make some acquisitions (investors would prefer to fund M&A if they know specific deals – not to encourage bad behavior. They tend to have many more investments than a concentrated VC and thus can’t cover all their bets as easily.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2017

None should be considered competitive mutually exclusive to any other. According to a recent social media industry report , 92 percent said that social media is important to their businesses, and more than half report it helped them improve sales. Traditional marketing is sales-focused, one-way push. Marty Zwilling.

Media 59

Media Marketing Social Media Resource 59

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 9, 2013

Speaking of the new investment, CapLinked CEO Eric M. Jackson said, “We’re using the proceeds from our financing round to invest in our technology, build new features, and increase sales and support.”. Jackson funding Google Inflection Ventures Investing Lee Essener' Over $3M Raised. million in the Series A round.

Draper 68

Draper Google Software Engineering Invest 68

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

If you don’t know Montgomery & Co it is one of the premier technology & media focused investment banks in the country (and as Michael corrected me they also have a strong Healthcare / Med tech practice). Should you use investment banks to raise venture capital? This is often in the 5-7% range. Watch the show!

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Mission Ventures Capital Help 242

InfoChachkie

MARCH 16, 2010

Although this is a somewhat unusual real estate transaction, it reflects a surprisingly common scenario in the world of mergers and acquisitions, with one important distinction. My House Is Not For Sale. Our response was that there was no “price” as our company was not for sale. free weekly Infochachkie articles! Do Nothing.

Company 160

Company Companies Pricing Santa Barbara 160

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. List key competitors and alternatives, highlighting your sustainable competitive advantages, such as patents and trademarks. Marketing, sales, and customer experience. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive. Project revenues, costs and investment needs.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

“it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive a higher acquisition valuation” I would like to amend her statement slightly to read, “it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive an higher acquisition.” I am not saying all companies should be for sale.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

If there are conflicts within the team, or differing views of the strategy, or evidence of missing processes and tools, the investment process will likely be terminated. Make yourself available to answer any questions, show your enthusiasm, and explain both the positives and negatives of the external investment process.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2009

When they promise to help you with marketing, sales, distribution, integrated product development, etc. When times are bad many cease investment activity all together. Investing is our core business. But even he would feel conflicted when I had to cut the engineering team because he valued our product more than his investment.

Venture Capital 279

Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur Framework 279