Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2010

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Portfolio pricing. Tiered or volume pricing. Cost-based model.

Pricing 98

Pricing Product Startup Competition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2023

Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion. The purest form of capitalism has always meant charging a fair price and making a fair profit. Re-investing profits to grow the business is organic growth.

Organization 94

Organization Invest Customer Custom 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2010

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” That implies competitive now, and the potential to stay in the lead.

Competition 89

Competition Patents IBM IBM 89

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

Now these principles are complicated by the worldwide instant access to many competitive alternatives, indirect social and environment impacts, and the velocity of change enabled by the pervasive market move to digital. These principles include the following: Free and ultra-low cost may no longer be competitive.

Marketing 124

Marketing Customer Custom Competition 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2020

Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion. The purest form of capitalism has always meant charging a fair price and making a fair profit. Re-investing profits to grow the business is organic growth.

Organization 173

Organization Invest Customer Custom 173

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment. If there are financial anomalies, or someone on the team doesn’t know the current strategy, or is unhappy with you or the company, the investment will be jeopardized.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. We don’t hear about the remaining several million apps that are mostly free, and garnering only trivial revenue through advertising. Free’ doesn’t make it stand out when there are a million alternatives at the same price.

Mobile 126

Mobile Develop Development Platform 126

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Source: hibobbie.com The company also raised an impressive $70 million in funding in June to acquire the legacy pediatric nutrition brand Nature’s One, bringing its total kitty up to $142 million and helping to secure its competitive advantage in the industry going forward. Tome Tome is another AI startup that's been causing a stir in 2023.

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

For example, many investors I know tell me they look for business plans that allocate the largest portion of a requested investment to marketing, but most often see the top “ use of funds ” to be further product or service development. The smart ones were already working on new features, and able to counter competition quickly.

Marketing 133

Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2022

Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. You might sell one of two of your widgets for $1 million each, entering profitability immediately, but then die because you can’t grow sales at that price. Identify the total investment required for profitability.

Platform 118

Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2012

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). Portfolio pricing. Tiered or volume pricing. Cost-based model.

Pricing 112

Pricing Competition Customer Custom 112

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

Now these principles are complicated by the worldwide instant access to many competitive alternatives, indirect social and environment impacts, and the velocity of change enabled by the pervasive market move to digital. These principles include the following: Free and ultra-low cost may no longer be competitive.

Customer 101

Customer Custom Competition Netflix 101

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

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.). We built a strong brand in the city and acquired a ton of organic traffic.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2014

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). In this more traditional product pricing model, the price is set at two to five times the product cost.

Startup 114

Startup Pricing Customer Custom 114

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2017

The alternatives range from giving the product away for free (revenue from ads), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). This is the most common model used by online businesses and apps today, the so-called Facebook model, where your service is free, and the revenue comes from advertising.

Pricing 66

Pricing Customer Custom Advertising 66

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

Los Angeles-based online advertising technology provider Rubicon Project (www.rubiconproject.com) recently had its IPO, making it one of the big success stories of Southern California''s technology startup world. The third thing, is you have to continue to focus the company on managing the business, and not the stock price.

Startup 176

Startup Advertising Los Angeles Southern California 176

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Executive team.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off. If you have a market lead then raising capital and making investments now will help you as others enter the market. ” The Details.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2018

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Competition 51

Competition Patents Resource Entrepreneur 51

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 3, 2010

But we had a great chance to talk about the recent moves that Twitter has made to “plug holes” and changing its “TOS” on advertising. And the broader question of whether VC’s will continue to invest in the Twitter ecosystem. Competition: Pingg, MyPunchbowl, TinyPrints , PaperlessPost. Competition: Apple iPhone App Store Genius.

Venture Capital 214

Venture Capital Startup Design S3 214

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. Even a million users on your social media site won’t pay the bills until you sell some advertising or a premium service. Attract, train, and reward only the best leaders.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2015

The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. We don’t hear about the remaining three million apps that are mostly free, and garnering only trivial revenue through advertising. Free’ doesn’t make it stand out when there are a million alternatives at the same price.

Startup 98

Startup Platform Pricing Netflix 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Executive team.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

One of the most important questions you will be asked by potential investors is how your solutions beats the competition, not just today, but over the three to five year life of their investment. The concept is called “sustainable competitive advantage.” A sustainable competitive advantage is not a destination, but a journey.

Patents 90

Patents Competition IBM IBM 90

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

It’s building a product that is substantially differentiated, and, as Bill Gross, one of the most prolific tech entrepreneurs of our era says, “ It needs to be 10x better than the competition ” (because if you shoot for that then in competitive markets you might achieve 3x. So, yes, you can buy a best seller.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

Some might be looking for some liquidity, they might want to sell their app outright, or it could be they want to cut a deal on the publishing side, and get some helping out with advertising and monetization. It seem that now, versus a few years ago, it's a lot more competitive to try to get out and acquire a user profitably for an app.

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Middle Market Investment Banking. Advertisers. www.pitchtheangels.com) Join Tech Coast Angels members and other start up investors at the 5th Annual Los Angeles Fast Pitch Competition. Contact Scott Herson for an overview, pricing and information at herson@joyent.com or 949-861-1069. GetItStarted (www.getitstarted.com).

Southern California 113

Southern California Tech Coast Angels IP Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2014

Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings rather than fighting for another investment infusion. The purest form of capitalism has always meant charging a fair price and making a fair profit. Re-investing profits to grow the business is organic growth.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Organization Invest Customer 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Executive team.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 29, 2016

I believe that the resourcefulness to turn constraints into competitive differentiators and new opportunities is a trait that separates the great entrepreneurs from the “wannabes.” Startups funded by large venture-capital investments rarely think about productivity. Do it yourself with new tools rather than hire outside help.

Startup 57

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Outsource 57

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2019

Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. You might sell one of two of your widgets for $1 million each, entering profitability immediately, but then die because you can’t grow sales at that price. Identify the total investment required for profitability.

Snapchat 74

Snapchat Startup Course Yahoo 74

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Matt’s commitment to re-investing in tech startups is reminiscent to this great Fred Wilson post of “recycling capital. &#. People want to invest in people they trust – once you’ve made money for someone you can always go back, and even get better pricing. o Put a timeframe/money – competition in the picture.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2016

Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion. The purest form of capitalism has always meant charging a fair price and making a fair profit. Re-investing profits to grow the business is organic growth.

Startup 58

Startup Organization Invest Customer 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2013

This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment. If there are financial anomalies, or someone on the team doesn’t know the current strategy, or is unhappy with you or the company, the investment will be jeopardized.

Technical Review 97

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 97