SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product." It is almost never the case that you are building an MVP to "show" to an investor the product itself.

Metrics 264

Metrics Venture Capital News Product 264

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Jim Semick: I’ve been launching and managing software products for 15 years now, going back to when you and I worked together at Expertcity before it was acquired by Citrix. I have always worked on early stage products. Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Providing your product or service free to customers may sound attractive in marketing materials, but you need revenue sources to survive. Professional investors look for the right people, more than the right product. Provide details on the business model and cash flow. Current and past titles don’t convey this information.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2019

In this industry, customer acquisition costs are super high. Customer acquisition costs can be as much as $200 an hour. With HeyTutor, we track those lessons, let you write notes down about your clients, we create a tutor profile for you and a hub. We knew customer acquisition costs were a low lower than that value.

Startup 113

Startup Venture Capital Beverly Hills Acquisition 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

But the press (and I suspect many of the senior execs of these companies) don’t really explore the corrosive downside of these acquisition. If I don’t commit to millions of dollars of acquisitions I will … die? So I thought I would. That’s why liquidation preferences exist – downside protection.

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

SoCal CTO

MARCH 18, 2010

Vince: In addition to my management writing I’ve interview many CEOs and innovators. I’d love to get your thoughts at some point about writing for these publications vs. on your own blog. What are some of the top things you've published online, e.g., blog posts?

Startup 225

Startup Los Angeles Social Network Twiistup 225

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Journal or Blog – Writing about your experiences will force you to be contemplative and thoughtful. If a prospect does not purchase your product, it is not because they are too stupid to understand your value proposition. Journal or Blog – Writing about your experiences will force you to be contemplative and thoughtful.

Startup 206

Startup Journal Writing Blogging 206

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

Is it one product line or multiple? For example, if you sell your product through a third-party reseller who charges 30% of any sale then your COGS will be 30% of revenue (assuming no other costs of sales). They used the money to hire a bigger tech team so they could roll out their second product line.

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

In writing anything positive about any of the companies I’m not suggesting that it means that I prefer them to any of their competitors. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. I know the product intimately and it rocks. Really!). 2.2mm in Series A.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

Los Angeles-based Maple Media (maplemedia.io) recently announced a big, $30M funding from Shamrock Capital, to assemble a collection of mobile applications in the utility, productivity, games and entertainment verticals. We have a huge acquisition pipeline. What's the idea behind Maple Media? Why not just go and build your own apps?

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. So imagine what it’s like to be a supplier to Walmart. Sound interesting?

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

This acquisition resolved the surgical robotic IP landscape and allowed Intuitive to dominate the market. Unlike an unregistered copyright, which you gain automatically by expressing an idea in written form, you cannot gain intellectual property protection by simply being the first person to describe an idea in writing.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

For the rest of us, we need a business plan, as well as a product plan. Some of you may be convinced that your product specification communicates the product message even better than a business plan, so why be redundant? Professional investors and even customers invest in people, rather than just a product.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Jackson , “This financing round, coupled with hiring Adam Sroka as our head of technology, puts CapLinked in a position to further enhance our enterprise product offerings.”. 25 Years of Writing Code. According to CEO Eric M.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

We caught up with co-founder Joey Flores on the story behind the company's brush with death, and its recent acquisition by You42, which was announced last week. Joey Flores: Yeah, we spend the earlier part of 2014 exploring acquisition options, because we had a pretty hard time raising money. Joey, thanks for the time today.

Software Review 100

Software Review Startup Metrics Content 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while and was going to use AngelList by Nivi & Naval as the basis for my example and the perfect prompt came yesterday when I read Fred Wilson’s blog post on AngelList. Anything requiring lead generation and/or customer acquisition I call Matt Coffin.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Tech.Co

JANUARY 6, 2020

A few high-profile acquisitions put Spotify into the running against Apple, while buzzy new startups like Luminary jumped into the pool as well. Once you have the raw material, you'll need to learn how to cut and splice it into a final product, complete with a little music. . 2019 was the year podcasting turned into a major industry.

RSS 104

RSS Startup Media Template 104

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 4, 2016

In November of 2015, Citrix announced that it will spin out the “GoTo” Division, of which GoToMeeting remains the flagship product, as a standalone public company. Circa 2001, Yahoo publicly declared that they didn’t do cost per acquisition (CPA) deals. In reality, they loved doing CPA deals.

SaaS 100

SaaS Yahoo Advertising Customer 100

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. Thus, I will recruit independent distributors and they will sell my new and innovative products on my behalf. Fallacy: Yes.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2015

Sales people (and website customer acquisition folks) all think in terms of funnels and yet non-sales professionals seldom do. I point this out because in a world where it sometimes feels productive to be busy, people seldom find extreme focus to get stuff out of the bottom end of the funnel. Lots of people start, very few finish.

Startup 150

Startup Framework Sales Venture Capital 150

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

We've been quite active, and have had a bunch of acquisitions lately -- including Internet Brands and MySpace -- a total of over 2 billion in acquisition in Southern California. We can also write checks as large as $35M out of the Omega Fund. We really believe in the market. What areas you personally are looking at right now?

Redpoint 154

Redpoint Southern California Cornerstone OnDemand Invest 154

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2010

First, I believe that Seesmic has an excellent product – especially the web version of their product and that having another senior and experienced exec like Loic Le Meur would be great for Twitter. It also means that the publisher (person writing the status update) can share in the monetization.

Acquisition 287

Acquisition Develop Development Conference 287

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

We’re going to start aggressively spend money on marketing our product. We want money to make some acquisitions (investors would prefer to fund M&A if they know specific deals – not to encourage bad behavior. We want a strong balance sheet (um, ok. but that’s our firm’s money on your balance sheet.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

We started looking at the landscape, and as I was getting my MBA at the time, ended up writing the business plan for ConsumerTrack. We spent time going out there and really talking to customers, doing primary research, and have our customers actually help us build our products. We do that methodically.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Right now, there are no real efficient products in the dating market. As I was driving home from that meeting, I decided to work from there, and ended up writing a business plan and fundraising from family and friends. Make sure you can find them, acquire them, and know your customer acquisition costs. What are they reading?

Startup 203

Startup Entrepreneur Southern California Netflix 203

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

Decreasing Your Customer Acquisition Costs. Ultimately, your overall customer acquisition costs should calculated as an average of a variety of marketing channels. No one wakes up and says to themselves, “I need to buy that product I have never heard of before.” If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. This has value now, and is critical for maximum value in a merger or acquisition. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Not in a heated rush. Calm and self-assured, rather than desperate.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Course Patents 109

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” They have have raised $2-3 million, built a product that has some amount of market traction and got to annualized revenues of around $1 million.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I would argue that this mostly consists of consumer Internet companies (although not exclusively) and it is predominantly early-stage people who are product gurus and have a mildly technical bend to them. I’m a product geek more than a spreadsheet ninja. I’m a product geek more than a spreadsheet ninja.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 20, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Tuesday, February 20, 2007 Innovation and Geography I ran across a post in Read/Write Web - Does Location Matter in Web Innovation? Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

CTO Coach 150

CTO Coach Southern California CTO Hire Social Media 150

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2010

We help them identify products that are safe and health for them and their families, from organic baby food, to household items. We do deep research on every single product we advocate for, using the criteria and condition that they create a healthy child and a healthy world. They had a store, but weren't selling much.

Software Review 200

Software Review Commerce Startup Sites 200

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. This has value now, and is critical for maximum value in a merger or acquisition. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage. Not in a heated rush. Calm and self-assured, rather than desperate.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

In my opinion it’s the most natural fit and it would give Netflix a very strong presence in Los Angeles and in TV (obviously subject to getting the right writes from the studios). He defines this as new products that are dramatically cheaper, lower quality, lower margin but larger markets. It defied logic.

Netflix 329

Netflix Evite Pricing Hulu 329

Frank Addante

DECEMBER 5, 2006

Under Process, Over Deliver So, you need to develop a product? ▼ 2006 (20) ▼ December (2) Just Say What it Is 12 Proven Guidelines for Rapid Product Development. Internet Advertising ASP) Exit: $112M IPO and acquisition Lesson: Think big. Build a SWAT team 3. Visit StrongMail Website Startup 4.0: Zondigo, Inc.

Outsource Development 40

Outsource Development Develop Development Product 40

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

The questions that a VC mulls before writing a check are precisely the questions you should be asking yourself. So when Sam Rosen came to me with the idea of disrupting storage with a product that is priced cheaper than existing incumbents and he could build a product that is a better service I was intrigued. Market Size.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

Play it in the background while you otherwise remain productive (or listen to it while you update your FB page, your call). We quintupled our sales per sales person and reduced our acquisition costs by 80% during that (boot camp) period.”. What must a startup do to motivate you to write them a check?

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Frank Addante

JANUARY 23, 2007

Under Process, Over Deliver So, you need to develop a product? ► 2006 (20) ► December (2) Just Say What it Is 12 Proven Guidelines for Rapid Product Development. Internet Advertising ASP) Exit: $112M IPO and acquisition Lesson: Think big. So, you need to develop a product? Build a SWAT team 3. Zondigo, Inc.

Outsource Development 40

Outsource Development Develop Development Product 40