Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Burn rate in case you don’t know is the amount of money a company is either spending (gross) or losing (net) per month. (it Let’s set up a framework.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

I can attest from experience that publishing a regular blog to properly showcase your offering, even before you have it, is a most cost effective approach in time and money. So finding time is hard, and good writing is simply not what most people do. More and more, employees work for people they respect, rather than companies.

Blogging 93

Blogging Invest Startup Writing 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

One of the advantages of blogging, using social media, public speaking, etc as a VC is that you get a more nuanced view of these shifts by watching your own successes and failures. I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. But succinctly this press places a marker in the ground for your company.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

Using social media to increase your company’s touch and reach with each of your customers may be the most important reason to jump in to this game changing strategy. Social media can help bridge a long standing gap between customers and the companies they trust with their hard earned cash. Eric Greenspan.

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent. But some CEOs then try to have more junior people in the company take the interview. In a startup this is a mistake. Some final thoughts on PR.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. You can’t really succeed in life if you are not happy.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2014

I can attest from experience that publishing a regular blog to properly showcase your brand value, even before you have it, is a most cost effective approach in time and money. For blogging to work, you need to do it consistently and frequently, at least once a week, or the value evaporates. Cultivate early customers.

Startup 101

Startup Blogging Writing Google 101

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches? I am a VC.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). In a startup this is a mistake.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 22, 2007 Discussion Creation Among Bloggers - LinkedIn, Blogging and Discussion Groups Ive been participating in a Yahoo Group that are users of LinkedIn and who are Bloggers: [link] Its an interesting group of folks from diverse backgrounds. See Five Things Meme as an example.

Blogging 150

Blogging CTO Coach CTO Hire Southern California 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. If I check Twitter it’s usually because I’m waiting for a meeting to start and I never write posts during the day. By having 5 or 6 blog posts with different points of view they could draw more inferences.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2020

In our business lives we’re having to deal with decisions that could have lasting impacts on our companies without any compass to guide us in the direction we’re heading . He produced a very detailed analysis of his customer base and which would be affected. you name it. But here is where empathy becomes most critical.

Demand 215

Demand Guide Customer Custom 215

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity. She drove her company to profitability before paying herself a modest salary. She put all of her savings into her company. She focused on her customer. She found non-traditional financing.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

John Lusk, along with his Co-Author Kyle Harrison, leveraged their humble company''s newsletter into The MouseDriver Chronicles , a New York Times bestselling book. The company''s newsletter was initially created to share their entrepreneurial journey with their family and friends. blogging, in a sense. in September of 1999.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

By definition, you read blogs. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Having paying “Customers” is what makes the cash register roar. An entrepreneur having low self worth is the number one deterrent for a potential customer not buying into what you are selling. Using your service or owning your product isn’t why a person buys, it’s the experience your customer will have. Second, how to get leads.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Marketing SEO 85

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2023

If you can’t write it down, you probably don’t understand it. Writing, audios, and videos are all great ways to do this, since these all facilitate the one-to-many multiplier. Some people learn best from conferences, while other learn best from blogs and other information online. Provide a unique point of view. Build a team.

Social Media 94

Social Media Media Ideas Writing 94

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

This blog started from a series of conversations I found myself having over and over again with founders and eventually decided I should just start writing them.It I see founders who think they can be at every conference, advise multiple companies, do side investments in angel deals, leave the office at 6pm and have a balance life.

Competition 394

Competition Startup Writing Marketing 394

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

This is a post I’ve been dying to write for 18 months. I invested in LA-based Gogii , one of the fastest growing, most exciting mobile social networking companies you’ve never heard of and maker of a product called textPlus. And if you are – what on earth are you reading such a boring blog as this?!?

Gogii 310

Gogii Invest Blogging Startup 310

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

And even the best teams combined to create big innovations sometimes don’t time markets well, are surprised by unexpected technology breakthroughs by competitors or just don’t find the magic the leads to mass customer adoption. I was thinking about all of this as I looked at the logs from my WordPress blog this evening.

Startup 391

Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 11, 2011

I recently had the pleasure of spending an hour with Jon Steinberg, president of Buzzfeed , a company who focuses on helping media companies make their content go viral. I’ll write a post on how to give feedback to employees and then I’ll get emails from people telling me they forwarded it to their whole team.

Buzzfeed 354

Buzzfeed Content Tips Blogging 354

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2013

If you haven’t already followed me on Twitter, that’s the fastest way to get blog updates. In my first enterprise software company we developed a methodology for sales that we called PUCCKA. Customers sometimes buy things spontaneously without thinking through what their actual need is. Click here.

Sales 367

Sales Slides Startup Customer 367

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

The truth is – there isn’t a “right&# answer so for your company. And these ideas have ways of seeping into board discussions with portfolio companies as in, “have you ever thought about trying A, B or C?&# For early-stage consumer companies I would be careful not to market futures at all.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

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. I will talk about these strategies in my next blog post. ” Don’t.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

In his words, [in some instances] “because lots of capital is available, the company takes on the capital and that ends up resulting in no constraints on decision making and so the company decides to do five things in stead of just one.” You are defined by how you serve the companies that are struggling.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

So I ask you – if you’re being reactive to somebody else’s emails are you really being as productive in your company as you could be? You’re writing a freaking blog post! I spend tons of time each day on portfolio company issues. I submitted a term sheet to a company yesterday.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

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. This is equivalent to being handed a free customer for every ten customers you acquire.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

I have experienced many first-time entrepreneurs with too much hubris if fund-raising came easily and press was fawning and employees joined in droves and customer adoption has been rapid. So founders took fewer risks and at the societal level with fewer companies taking fewer expansion risks job creation is weaker.

Startup 261

Startup Press Blogging .Net 261

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

John Lusk, along with his Co-Author Kyle Harrison, leveraged their humble company''s newsletter into The MouseDriver Chronicles , a New York Times bestselling book. The company''s newsletter was initially created to share their entrepreneurial journey with their family and friends. blogging, in a sense. in September of 1999.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2022

People judge you and your company in the first few seconds. Social media includes blogs, social networks, and video-sharing sites. It could be a product quality problem, or a major customer complaint on Twitter. Even the most experienced executives write down what they need to say, and practice for every event.

Media 118

Media Tips Social Media Startup 118

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

Let’s say you have built a SaaS company where a large part of the early revenue comes from a few big customers or a large part of the revenue is services based vs. software based. The investor is a customer and they have money to spend but only for a limited number of companies. Let me give you an example.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

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. I just cover the companies that were funded that week. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. Enter Xobni.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2020

If you can’t write it down, you probably don’t understand it. Writing, audios, and videos are all great ways to do this, since these all facilitate the one-to-many multiplier. Some people learn best from conferences, while other learn best from blogs and other information online. Provide a unique point of view. Build a team.

Social Media 126

Social Media Media Ideas Writing 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

People cite sources like this Inc.com article “ 5 Reasons Why You Don't Need a Business Plan ,” or my own blog discussion on this subject, “ Situations Where A Business Plan Does Not Add Value.” Pitch your company, not your product. Successful startups are all about the right people with the right stuff. Executive summary glossy.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Tips Funding Startup 156