socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2009

Los Angeles-based Image Metrics (www.image-metrics.com) recently landed a $6.5M, Series B funding round for the firm's facial animation products. Around 2006, they opened up a sales office here, with a couple of guys talking to the film and games business. One of those venture investors was Saffron Hill, which is involved here.

Metrics 100

Metrics Startup Sales Newsletter 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. New startup founders keep all the operating metrics they need in their head. The best sale or acquisition is a gradual one, where the acquirer gets to know you through formal and informal relationships.

Startup 99

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2021

For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. New startup founders keep all the operating metrics they need in their head. The best sale or acquisition is a gradual one, where the acquirer gets to know you through formal and informal relationships.

Startup 173

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 173

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

And NOT even because they give until death refunds if a customer is ever dissatisfied with a purchase. I am a raving fan of AppSumo because the creator of the brand, Noah Kagan , leads his company focusing on community first and sales second. He says he cares most about “focusing on customers for life”. It makes sense.

Metrics 87

Metrics Email Startup Technical Review 87

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Funding is depleted before customer sales ramp up. One of the pitfalls of optimism is the expectation for early customer growth, and understating the real costs of design, development, and inventory. Don’t underestimate your own value as customers arrive, establishing a line of credit, and borrowing against inventory.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. For example, if you have ever watched the Shark Tank show on TV, they always ask about the cost of customer acquisition.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2011

This site aggregates and filters content from thought leaders who talk about topics such as Marketing , Sales , Design , Revenue , Hiring , Social Media , Business Models , Metrics , PR , Venture Capital , Angel Investors , Bootstrapping , Incubators , Agile and many others.

Content 175

Content Startup Social Media IP 175

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

Unfortunately, in my experience as an angel investor, about ninety percent of new business efforts fall short , leading me to believe that many of you may be better off staying where you are. He also still gets excited to donate one percent of sales to environmental groups around the world.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or angel investors in Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Exposure to customers, incumbents, and competitors all drive success.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Steve Reich

JUNE 11, 2012

This is not an article about the high moral purpose and the nobility of listening to your customers. It is an article about how to make your company worth a fortune by listening to your customers. It gives the best customer experience of any phone. Listen to your customers and grow rich. Why does Google dominate search?

Customer 97

Customer Custom Software Review SaaS 97

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Decide early where and when money will come from, set some milestones and metrics, and work to a plan, or be caught short. Word of mouth is not adequate for marketing and sales.

Startup 107

Startup Sales Customer Custom 107

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. “COGS” represents the amount that each sale costs you.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

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

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Our fund (Upfront Ventures) recently returned >1x an entire $200 million fund just selling small minatory in secondary sales while still holding most of our stock for an ultimate public market exits. We can’t wait for customers to use the product for 12–18 months and do customer interviews or look at purchase cohorts.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

The problem is that stakeholders, like marketing and sales, don’t know what the latest version of the roadmap is. Greathouse: Having run these groups, I know all about the inherent friction between sales and marketing with regard to lead quality, volume, etc., That causes friction internally. It was a viable option for us.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2018

As a member of an angel investment group, I have to admit this is probably the most common rejection we issue. The intent is to indicate that founder passion is not a substitute for real customers buying the product. Pivoting early, based on real customer feedback, is always cheaper than later.

Customer 59

Customer Custom Pricing Startup 59

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2019

That's where Los Angeles-based Rolebot (www.rolebot.net) comes in. Shane Bernstein: We look at actionable data points and data metrics which are quantifiable across the web, and we qualify them and normalize that data, and sort them based on what they've done. We have several local customers using it now, quite successfully.

Sites 240

Sites Startup Tool CTO Hire 240

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2017

I hear it all the time as an angel investor, but I also see that same naïve or cavalier attitude come back to haunt entrepreneurs once they really get out in the marketplace. You need quantified value for customers to see, feel, and pay for. What metrics should you use to measure success? Just because Google sales hit $1.5

Metrics 58

Metrics Resource Startup Training 58

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2011

For our Friday interview, we thought we'd catch up with Los Angeles-based MarketShare , the Elevation Partners-backed software provider, to hear where the firm is nowadays. Its primary goal is to focus on identifying what is truly driving demand, analytically, so that our customers can optimize their activities.

Social Media 235

Social Media Demand Activity Marketing 235

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

According to Los Angeles-based FEM (fem-inc.com), video recommendations can make a significant difference in how long a user spends on a website or app. One of our customers is Inc. How did you end up in Los Angeles? Rachel Payne: I''m originally from Los Angeles. The metrics are very solid. magazine, for example.

Google 233

Google Content Startup Venice 233

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or Angel investors in Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Exposure to customers, incumbents, and competitors all drive success.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Kathy Sierra at Business of Software 2009 - Business of Software Blog , May 4, 2010 "In the old days, getting customers was easy. Putting customers first. Legendary customer support. Through advertising or direct sales, these sites harvest intent. They’re deep into Customer Development ,” he said. Innovative.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

It’s different than working with a group like us that’s trying to optimize every small piece of the funnel, and being accountable for the entire funnel to drive as much sales or revenue. I oversee sales, marketing and partnerships, and my role is really trying to figure out which brands make most sense to partner with MuteSix.

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

socalTECH

JULY 10, 2019

For this morning's interview, we spoke with Los Angeles-based Halla , a venture backed startup, focused on personalized recommendations for the food ordering industry. At the end of the day, we help retailers make smarter recommendations to their customers, which leads to better business. The company has raised $1.9M What is Halla?

Pricing 113

Pricing Startup North Hollywood Platform 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2013

Every entrepreneur’s first priority should be the alignment of interests across the range of constituents required for success – partners, investors, customers, vendors, and employees. If you have had to pivot from the consumer market to enterprise customers, that requires new pricing models and new sales channels.

Startup 94

Startup Social Media Entrepreneur Framework 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2012

Every entrepreneur’s first priority should be the alignment of interests across the range of constituents required for success – partners, investors, customers, vendors, and employees. If you have had to pivot from the consumer market to enterprise customers, that requires new pricing models and new sales channels.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Social Media Startup Framework 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. New startup founders keep all the operating metrics they need in their head. The best sale or acquisition is a gradual one, where the acquirer gets to know you through formal and informal relationships.

Startup 98

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2018

They start second-guessing their own vision, and are prone to making snap decisions suggested by someone else, in lieu of their carefully crafted processes and metrics. Entrepreneurs who can keep their cool under fire are the long-term winners I look for as an experienced angel investor.

Metrics 57

Metrics Entrepreneur Customer Custom 57

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. In addition to helping manage the board Chris also helps represent the interests of the angel investors / common stock holders.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2007

Maybe its because Im 66", but I think most clothes shopping really stinks and when was the last time that a sales person was actually helpful. Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -. Marketing, Startups and Networking in Los Angeles.

MyShape 150

MyShape CTO Coach Southern California CTO Hire 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or Angel investors in Phoenix, Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Exposure to customers, incumbents, and competitors all drive success.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 10, 2011

Fueled by a drive to be self-made and complimentary pizza & beer, the room consisted of younger and older, budding entrepreneurs, track-proven overseers, and even a couple of angel investors. Metrics-Guided. He went on to explain a bit about the customer development model from Blanks: State business model assumptions.

Startup 86

Startup Santa Monica Los Angeles Custom Development 86

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones. Funding process.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

InfoChachkie

JULY 20, 2015

Combine this significant pool of sophisticated Angel capital and expertise with UC Santa Barbara’s world-class entrepreneurial program and throw in a critical mass of entrepreneurs bold enough to build businesses around their passions, it’s understandable how a modest-sized community has produced so many successful tech startups.

Santa Barbara 100

Santa Barbara Startup Sales Entrepreneur 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2017

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or Angel investors in Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Exposure to customers, incumbents, and competitors all drive success.

Sites 59

Sites Startup Technical Review Oracle 59