Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Upon graduation from Wharton, John and Kyle launched a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product: a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf driver. Putting their expensive educations to good use, they aptly named their novelty product a "MouseDriver". blogging, in a sense. From 35 To 500 Readers. every three weeks.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions. That student is Erin McCann who formerly worked in sales at Google, so she has some ground to stand on in her assertions.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2016

Not since the initial popularity of Twitter in 2007 has a product so befuddled people. I remember the same disdain from people when I started blogging or using Twitter. A bit like a blog that is put out regularly but not overly edited or self-conscious about word choices or typos. I LOVE writing. Why would a VC do that?

Snapchat 200

Snapchat Blogging Venture Capital Writing 200

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

We’re expected to be at conferences, events, sales meetings and be publicly visible. People expect blog posts, Tweets, panels, speeches. Recruiting, business development, shipping product, writing blog posts, networking … it’s all the same. And then there are investors who want updates, calls, reports, check-ins.

Activity 297

Activity Blogging Email Startup 297

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2021

At first this was limited to news sites that concentrated on a segment of a community, like West Seattle, but the concept is now being applied to advertising and promotion sites, blogging sites, and even legal services sites. Watch out for local sales force requirements. Building content is costly and time-consuming.

Startup 144

Startup Sites Content Sales 144

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). 5 years ago. Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. The monkey on my back.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

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). It super charges a business that is closer to product delivery.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2021

Their computers then merge your ads with search results when users search words imply an interest in your products. With PPC, the goal is for the search user to not only see your ad, but to click on it to get to your website (click-through), and buy your widget (conversion to sale). Campaign setup and ad copy writing.

PPC 154

PPC SEO Paid Search Search Engine Optimization 154

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Upon graduation from Wharton, John and Kyle launched a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product: a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf driver. Putting their expensive educations to good use, they aptly named their novelty product a "MouseDriver". blogging, in a sense. From 35 To 500 Readers. every three weeks.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Turn on your phone and look at the productivity folder. Something to write your notes, another to set reminders, and one that does both. You’ll be more productive within three weeks time. We discuss productivity, emails, communication, and the dynamics of the team. We’ve been there. We’ve all been there.

Product 99

Product Ideas Email Organization 99

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

Recently I wrote a blog post about how I hated losing, but I embrace it. Fred Wilson wrote on his blog this week about learning from failures here and quoted Obama’s speech from tonight: you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. In every sales campaign of any substance (e.g.

Startup 247

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Writing 247

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 24, 2011

On this blog I’m often trying to combine lessons for entrepreneurs and market commentary. I have long wanted to write about FNAC (feature, not a company) because it’s part of my normal lexicon to push teams that present to me to think harder about where the economics in their industry is coming from. It lingered.

Email 270

Email Writing Blogging Competition 270

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2019

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. Even great products need great marketing “content” to fuel the ascent of their online message. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities. Then write it down. Lacks a sales angle.

Customer 93

Customer Custom Marketing Tips 93

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

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

JUNE 27, 2011

Because market is such a broad topic, I’m restricting these lessons to PR marketing (as opposed SEO, SEM, product marketing, etc.). My general rule is that it’s good to be stealth in the early days while you’re building your product and testing your market. It’s a buggy product but pretty damn cool.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Then fans would be tasked with writing their own stories, submitting them to the Realms of Ruin universe by minting them as NFTs on the Solana blockchain. If the authors are inviting fans to write fan fiction about a universe they created, who owns the derivative works? Another unabashed proponent of fan fiction is N.K.

Writing 196

Writing Outsource Development Technical Review Examples 196

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

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2012

” Part of the beauty of blogging that in two sittings Fred was able to influence what was built over the next 12 months. I’ve wanted to write a blog post called “Mobile Second” for a long time to make this point more forcefully. I believe in integrated products. then mobile is awesome.

Web 334

Web Mobile Startup Software Review 334

SoCal CTO

MARCH 18, 2010

Vince: I’m an author, speaker and management consultant with a special expertise in online media sales. I started out as screenwriter, went into local television, ran ad sales in the west for AOL and joined Facebook in the companies very early days. What are some of the top things you've published online, e.g., blog posts?

Startup 225

Startup Los Angeles Social Network Twiistup 225

Tech.Co

MAY 26, 2020

Jeff Bezos didn't get to be the world's richest man by writing a lot of checks, and one recent way to keep Amazon's profits healthy has been to cut its affiliate commissions scheme. Since April 21, Amazon has slashed its rates across a wide range of product categories, in some cases dropping as much as 70%. The impact? commission).

Technical Review 130

Technical Review Buzzfeed News Networking 130

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2017

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. Even great products need great marketing “content” to fuel the ascent of their online message. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities. Then write it down. Lacks a sales angle.

Content 67

Content Marketing Newsletter Writing 67

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

First it was street-style photography, then came the launch of her popular fashion blog WeWoreWhat. Last month, the product launched with $1.2 The company was co-founded by Eric Wei, a former product manager at Instagram who focused on the creator and influencer side of the business.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

InfoChachkie

APRIL 25, 2011

If you are a leader at a startup and you are reading a business book, you are not closing customers, raising capital, improving your product, or spending time with your loved ones. It has also influenced my thoughts, as evidenced by the six infoChachkie blog entries which reference Art. I was not disapointed. Tricking The Jedi.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Blogging Class Entrepreneur 279

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 14, 2009

Cliff Allen is someone I've known for quite a few years and he's a go to person for me when I'm thinking about issues around marketing, sales, technology, startups and networking. I moved into writing software to analyze audience data, and wrote a lot of computer graphics software. I've been following both of your blogs for a while.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Networking Marketing Startup 150

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. We’re going to start aggressively spend money on marketing our product. ” I highly recommend reading it. 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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2014

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. Even great products need great marketing “content” to fuel the ascent of their online message. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities. Then write it down. Lacks a sales angle.

Startup 103

Startup Content Newsletter Writing 103

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2019

You too can become an influencer through social media, videos and blogs, and people will follow you on what to buy, what causes to support, and who to vote for. I still see too many aspiring business leaders highlighting their technology, product features, and price, more than customer value and usability.

Customer 93

Customer Custom IBM IBM 93

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I keep my competitors as friends and those that didn’t choose me or my product as friends, too. Write things down. 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. Quite the opposite.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

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 agree with YouTube (that they provide more (hosting, ad sales, etc.)

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

I keep my competitors as friends and those that didn’t choose me or my product as friends, too. Write things down. 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. Quite the opposite.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I wrote the summary notes in this blog post. 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.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299