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5 “What-Ifs” To Include In A Startup Financial Model

Startup Professionals Musings

In reality, a simple Excel spreadsheet model customized around your assumptions can save you hours and avoid a wasted expense in validating alternative vendor and marketing decisions. Vendor costs are subject to change, customers are fickle, competitors come out of the woodwork and the economy can take a downturn. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 147
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7 Ways To Preclude The Most Common Investor Rejection

Startup Professionals Musings

One or more of the following parameters are viewed by most investors as traction indicators, but good entrepreneurs are often creative and define their own to supplement these: Start with sales to-date for a priced offering. As an investor, I would like to see one month of sales, and see how that compares to your projections.

Startup 121
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5 Startup Financial Questions Every Investor Will Ask

Startup Professionals Musings

In reality, a simple Excel spreadsheet model customized around your assumptions can save you hours and avoid a wasted expense in validating alternative vendor and marketing decisions. Vendor costs are subject to change, customers are fickle, competitors come out of the woodwork and the economy can take a downturn. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 123
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Pour And Stir II – Managing Your Cost Per Customer

InfoChachkie

As noted in Pour and Stir Part I , the key to the successful execution of this strategy is managing the following equation: The cost to acquire a customer < lifetime value of a customer. Decreasing Your Customer Acquisition Costs. Unattributed – There is no such thing as organic customers.

Customer 164
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Create An Industry Alliance Entrepreneurs: Need Friends On The Startup Playground

InfoChachkie

Entrepreneurs can emulate de la Guerra’s strategy and make their adVenture appear far larger than reality and thus increasing its influence and market reach while discouraging competitive threats by creating an industry alliance. Revenue – We generated significant fees, over and above our product sales, from our members. Road Rules.

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Should Startups Care About Profitability?

Both Sides of the Table

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 senior 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 6 months. I often ask entrepreneurs to consider, “What’s your objective?

Startup 227
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Social Media Marketing Should Not Be Used Alone Today

Startup Professionals Musings

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should select only social media for marketing, or stick with digital media, or just count on traditional media. According to a recent article in Entrepreneur , 94% of small and medium businesses (SMBs) now use social media as a marketing tool, and 81% use it to drive growth.