Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2019

More important than finding a community, is creating one, with your blog and other social media engagement. Social media activities span the gamut from curation to gifting, building relationships and groups, blogging, service actions, to lead conversion. See some recent examples in the The 10 Best Social Media Campaigns of 2018.

Social Media 96

Social Media Media Marketing Metrics 96

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

In terms of stack ranking I recommend you force yourself to have no more than 8–10 “A’s,” 8–10 “B’s” and the balance 20–24 should be “C’s.” Then begin your process in earnest with up to 8–10 firms. Why 8–10 and not just 3–4? Remember, I was an entrepreneur for 10 years before a VC).

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I made every textbook mistake at my first startup, which is why I believe I was much more effective at my second one. If I can help you avoid some of my first-time mistakes it would be a victory. But it is a big mistake to tell too many people where you’re heading. You’re reading their press releases or blog posts.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

You will make mistakes. Hire a professional marketing and public relations agency once you have a good revenue stream but you don’t need them to start a free blog, establish Facebook and Twitter accounts with initial content and complete the basics of search engine optimization. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Search Engine Optimization 124

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 124

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 15, 2011

However, in the fifteen minutes that we chatted, the caller made the following mistakes: Why? If he had spent any time reading my blog, he would have understood that I am not a fan of consultants , especially at startups. – I do not expect everyone I speak with to be a fan of my humble blog.

Networking 231

Networking Blogging Santa Barbara Startup 231

InfoChachkie

JUNE 9, 2014

In the fifteen minutes that we chatted, the caller made some shocking networking mistakes. If he had asked, he would have learned that I had not spoken with our "mutual acquaintance" in over 10-years and I frankly was hoping the caller could shed some light as to why the long-lost acquaintance connected us. Research? –

Networking 232

Networking Santa Barbara Research Blogging 232

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

I’m going to save that for a future blog post. The Greycroft event was a 10 out of 10 so I’ve diligently taken notes. He says this is a mistake. Nail it before you scale it” – I missed who said this but I love this quote. It is the key to “customer development” that Steve Blank talks about.

Startup 279

Startup Venture Capital Tips Custom Development 279

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2015

Add new blog content to your site on a regular basis. Blogging is an ideal way to express your positive values, show your expertise and establish yourself as an influencer. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring negative comments or reviews, hoping no one will notice. Actively work to remove irrelevant and unwanted content.

Content 103

Content Sites Blogging Activity 103

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 14, 2015

I don’t know Ezra yet but since he’s taking the time to blog (which I hugesly respect) and share thoughts I thought I’d take him up on his challenge and also spill the beans on my secrets. On blogging I blog because I love it. Mostly I’m Blogging for the Hell of It, Not Blogging to Stay Relevant.

Blogging 150

Blogging Writing Email Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2015

I used to love blogging. Blogging proved to be a great way to hone my ideas, have public conversations with people and as it turns out – build meaningful relationships through public dialog that spilled over into the real world. Somewhere along the way blogging changed. Fred Wilson said as much in his blog post today, too.

Blogging 150

Blogging Writing Startup Ideas 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

Maybe they get up to 10% if they joined REALLY early and were senior. Let’s be honest – even 10%. I wrote about many of the early-stage startup mistakes here. People just don’t talk about it publicly or in blogs. Most senior employees who join are given 2% if they join early. Who gets 30%?

Startup 393

Startup Equity Funding Summary 393

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Do they recognize that you’ve spent 10 months not 3 months on it?

CTO 167

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 167

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

A great recent example of this was a successful group of entrepreneurs who had created a company that will do $10-12 million in revenue at their system integration business (read: services business) in 2011 after having done $5 million or so in 2010 and $2-3 million in 2009. Even tech blogs know this. This is a huge mistake.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2017

More important than finding a community, is creating one, with your blog and other social media engagement. Social media activities span the gamut from curation to gifting, building relationships and groups, blogging, service actions, to lead conversion. The best communities then become your advocate.

Social Media 62

Social Media Media Metrics SEO 62

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I have been working full time with two founders for about 10 months on full time basis. Do they recognize that you’ve spent 10 months not 3 months on it?

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

blogging, in a sense. If we had a blogging platform then, we would have been blogging. I''m not talking about one or two people responding, we get 10, 15, 20 responses for a particular problem. Your customer blog probably won''t morph into an international bestseller. “We started sending out the newsletter.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

You will make mistakes. Hire a professional marketing and public relations agency once you have a good revenue stream but you don’t need them to start a free blog, establish Facebook and Twitter accounts with initial content and complete the basics of search engine optimization. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Startup 89

Startup Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 89

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

If you read this blog often you'll know that I'm a huge fan of First Round Capital. Josh and Howard began co-investing as angels and in 2005 they started a $10 million fund. Twitter wanted to raise money for this new venture at a pre-money valuation which was quite a bit higher than First Round’s $10 million limit. and Half.com.

Capital 284

Capital Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 284

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

You will make mistakes. Hire a professional marketing and public relations agency once you have a good revenue stream but you don’t need them to start a free blog, establish Facebook and Twitter accounts with initial content and complete the basics of search engine optimization. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 108

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 1, 2009

If you’ve read my blog for a while you’ll know that I’m a fan of starting businesses in a non-traditional way. Once it’s set up I recommend bringing in a co-founder and giving them 10-30% of the company depending upon when you bring them in. Your company of 10 people doesn’t need 5 that are like you.

Startup 289

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Sales 289

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2009

Yesterday I wrote a blog post ( here ) in which I urged people to not have too many founders. After re-reading, I see you have qualified your comments, but one of the things readers really like about your blog is that you give specific, actionable advice in it and your qualifiers will be ignored just as I read right past them last night.

Startup 251

Startup Equity Venture Capital Entrepreneur 251

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

blogging, in a sense. If we had a blogging platform then, we would have been blogging. I''m not talking about one or two people responding, we get 10, 15, 20 responses for a particular problem. Your customer blog probably won''t morph into an international bestseller. “We started sending out the newsletter.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I wrote the summary notes in this blog post. I called the meeting a 10/10 because we had a great 90-minute discussion in which we had great rapport. And did I really just try to drop an SAT word into my blog post? It’s the same as in any sales-oriented meeting and make no mistake raising money is sales.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Jason Nazar

DECEMBER 29, 2008

This month’s talk will be on “ 10 Mistakes People Make Before Starting a New Business&#. I wrote this presentation (purposefully harsh/comical) a year ago to help convey some of the mistakes I’ve most commonly seen and made myself. Mistakes People Make Before Starting a New Business - Free Legal Forms.

Los Angeles 46

Los Angeles Santa Monica Startup Angel 46

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

You will make mistakes. Hire a professional marketing and public relations agency once you have a good revenue stream but you don’t need them to start a free blog, establish Facebook and Twitter accounts with initial content and complete the basics of search engine optimization. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 105

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

If you acquire 10 customers a month at $100 per customer and this scales to 100 customers at the same price you may make assumptions about 1,000 customers that don’t hold. The first mistake that mostly only rookies make is to measure the CAC by looking at the attributable marketing costs of acquiring a user.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

InfoChachkie

MARCH 1, 2012

As any long-time reader of this humble blog knows, I am an ardent Beatles fan. One clear mistake was their underutilization of George Harrison’s talents. After an unprecedented 10-month break from the public eye, the Beatles released Sgt. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. The Beatles were far from flawless.

Tips 259

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Product 259

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

This article will cover two things; First, the top mistakes small business owners make that end with inquiries leading you to the exit door before making a sale. The Top 10 Ways To Get Leads. Over 50,000 journalists use HARO to find experts to interview for TV, newspapers, books, magazines and blogs. Blogs and Forums.

Custom 85

Custom Customer Marketing SEO 85

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

Justyn Howard, founder of Sprout Social has a blog post that he’s written about his experiences of migrating from scrappy tools to more efficient ones (i.e. Startups often make this mistake. These are always judgment calls but erring in either direction is a mistake. Penny wise, pound foolish. I Love Scrappy.

Startup 333

Startup Class Conference Product 333

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

10) Lynda, why does the world need lynda.com? However, if you could wipe the slate clean and start a new company tomorrow, what would that company’s mission be, what markets would you pursue and what mistakes (that you suffered through at lynda.com and otherwise) would you avoid? “ 10) Lynda, why does the world need lynda.com?

Entrepreneur 245

Entrepreneur Training Startup Web 245

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

10) Lynda, why does the world need lynda.com? . However, if you could wipe the slate clean and start a new company tomorrow, what would that company’s mission be, what markets would you pursue and what mistakes (that you suffered through at lynda.com and otherwise) would you avoid? “ 10) Lynda, why does the world need lynda.com? .

Entrepreneur 245

Entrepreneur Training Startup Web 245

Jason Nazar

JUNE 29, 2010

The biggest mistake most folks make is that they don’t meet more new people. Make it your goal at every meet-up to approach 10 people you don’t already know. • Social Proof is Key – don’t make the mistake of telling others how great you are, get other people to do it for you. How to Make it In the MeetUp Scene –

Tips 112

Tips Networking Entrepreneur Startup 112

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

I was 23 and had been programming computers, designing computer networks and selling software for 10 years. If I spoke at events about the dangers of raising too much money or setting your price to high it was no longer as the entrepreneur who had made both mistakes it was as the self-interested, only-saying-it-because-I’m-a-VC guy.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

Alon Schwartz

MARCH 30, 2012

It always amazes me to see the same mistakes repeated time and time again. With so many sites and blog posts dedicated to interview advice, you might think that there is no need for another one. With so many sites and blog posts dedicated to interview advice, you might think that there is no need for another one.

Blogging 76

Blogging Startup Google Course 76

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

Although I had lived and worked in more than 10 countries – it wasn’t good enough. And don’t make the same mistake twice. It’s one of my favorite blog posts. I had planned to blog about it at the time but I waited 2 days and the whole world blogged about it so I didn’t pile on.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

Although I had lived and worked in more than 10 countries – it wasn’t good enough. And don’t make the same mistake twice. It’s one of my favorite blog posts. I had planned to blog about it at the time but I waited 2 days and the whole world blogged about it so I didn’t pile on.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

I freely admit this (along with nearly everything between 1999-2000) was a mistake. I’ve said versions of it on this blog before so I hope it’s not too repetitive. 10 million post money) and therefore if we sold for $100 million dollars one day your gain would be approximately $1 million). I think you will.

Startup 294

Startup Sales Venture Capital Slides 294