Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

I love the enthusiasm, the boundless energy and the sense of possibility that comes from having an idea that hasn’t yet been beat up in the marketplace of competing ideas, customer contracts, VC skepticism, jaded journalists or fickle consumers who are on the The New, New Thing. Great startups have budgets.

Outsource Development

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2012

But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Jim Sterne, who has written six books on Internet advertising, marketing, and customer service, tackled this complex world of social media metrics in his book titled " Social Media Metrics."

Social Media

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

In addition to being a thought leader within the Lean Startup Movement , Steve is also a professor at Stanford and Berkley. He met with the editors of the three Mac magazines that his customers read and showed them metrics that confirmed that SuperMac's boards were the fastest on the market. "I Lean Startup Lessons - For Free.

Marketing

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. Who would not want to join the unicorns (recent startups with a current valuation of over $1 billion)? Establishing your brand with interactive social media.

Tips

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

How did they end up with such an irreverent site and what was their objective? Should you have 7 people doing your seed round and why Ron Conway is the S&P 500 of Venture Capital (this discussion starts at minute 59). BookRenter – plus a discussion about Chegg … what is going on in the university book market?

Venture Capital

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Phil Buckley, in his book “ Change With Confidence ,” provides practical answers to fifty of the biggest questions that keep change leaders up at night.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. The number of startups being created has increased by an order of magnitude. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin!

Venture Capital

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. For many years, startups featuring all-electric vehicles fell into this stage of the business lifecycle.

Marketing

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2022

As a startup, you need to use your limited resources to excel at a few core things for your best customers, in order to stand out and get the momentum going. I found some good lessons in this regard in a classic book, “ Becoming Facebook ,” by Mike Hoefflinger, the former Head of Global Business Marketing at Facebook. Less is more.

Startup

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Our interview today is with Amos Schwartzfarb , the author of Sell More Faster: The Ultimate Sales Playbook for Start-Ups , which comes out tomorrow, Wednesday. We caught up with Amos to learn about his new book, and to gain some tips for startup entrepreneurs on how to figure out when you're actually ready to scale your sales team.

Sales

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2015

In a new book, “ Driving Demand: Transforming B2B Marketing to Meet the Needs of the Modern Buyer ,” top marketing consultant Carlos Hidalgo updates the old guidelines on how to set up demand generation processes, keep them current, and measure results. Understanding culture is paramount, but measuring results is even better.

Metrics

Berkonomics

JANUARY 30, 2014

So why do so many business-book authors stress the opposite behavior? What happens to careful planning, sure-fire metrics, quality test scenarios, market research, a good business plan – all in place before pulling the trigger of a new opportunity. Starting up Positioning Surrounding yourself with talent'

Artificial Inteligence

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. He has one of the first books on this subject, and he breaks the process down into nine key activities, as follows: Get focused and identify goals. Project the future.

Social Media

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2010

But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Jim Sterne, who has written six books on Internet advertising, marketing, and customer service, tackled this complex world of social media metrics in his recent book titled " Social Media Metrics."

Social Media

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2013

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Phil Buckley, in his new book “ Change With Confidence ,” provides practical answer to fifty of the biggest questions that keep change leaders up at night.

Startup

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Eric is also author of the book The PayPal Wars: Battles With Ebay, the Media, the Mafia, And the Rest of Planet Earth , where he documented that experience. He also gave us some of his thoughts on why the "Paypal Mafia"--former PayPal employees--have gotten so much success from their startups. Eric, what's the story behind CapLinked?

Southern California

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

We all know that funding markets have changed for startups. In a funding round with 1 or 2 VCs and 15-20 angels or 4-6 seed funds if you gave every investor you financial information and performance metrics your proprietary information would increase in its probability of leaking out. Has written a book on venture capital.

Venture Capital

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2020

Every new venture that survives the first five years starts to drift away from their entrepreneurial thinking, and assumes they have achieved the path to longevity. No company can afford to lose the agility, flexibility, and innovation of a startup. No company can afford to lose the agility, flexibility, and innovation of a startup.

Startup

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 2, 2012

I mean it’s tough to carry a black leather book in todays “fashionable” tight jeans. Meet today’s “little black book,” an updated, digital book that keeps track of one’s most private affairs. “As we all do, we share details of our hook ups with our close friends.

Mobile

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2013

It''s a line from an old movie "Field of Dreams" which is still leading to the demise of too many startups, led by entrepreneurs who really started their business to build an exciting new product or service. This book correctly characterizes every startup as a beast that has to be well fed to grow.

Sales

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

Many startups fail before reaching that magic “cash-flow positive” position they have been striving for, despite seemingly reasonable financial projections. Many startups see initial revenue from customers, and love the fast growth, but fail to anticipate the cost of early vendor payments, monthly overhead costs, and later taxes.

Technical Review

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Almost any startup can start with Excel, and move to open-source data analysis tools, including Python or RStudio. For a hands-on guide in developing data-driven people strategies, I found some practical techniques in the classic book, “ The Data Driven Leader ,” by Jenny Dearborn and David Swanson.

Metrics

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

I know it’s easier to write “horse race&# stories about who’s signing up more users, raising more funding or who’s “hot&# lately. Google started as a place where you came to be taken via links to other people’s websites. They’re an open feed. Google was duuumb. That’s what AOL was.

Social Media

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Social media is so pervasive in today’s world that every entrepreneur believes instinctively that they know how to use it for their startup. Startups should begin by selecting just a few of the vast array of social media offerings out there, and customize based on results. Concentrate your efforts on two to three platforms to start.

Social Media

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2012

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entree for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. Yet you may not be so sure where to start, and how to put it all together. then you can start writing a recipe. Make them “feel the love.”

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? While thinking about the parameters of traction, and how to measure it, I was impressed with a new book, “ Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth ” by Ash Maurya, a serial entrepreneur, and creator of the one-page business modelling tool Lean Canvas.

Metrics

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2020

I found that guidance along these lines was spelled out well in a new book, “ Entrepreneurial Leadership ,” by Joel Peterson, based on his experience at JetBlue Chairman and a Stanford Professor. You as the leader have a responsibility to define goals, strategy, and operational metrics. Always open to be influenced by new information.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2020

In the classic book, “ Driving Demand: Transforming B2B Marketing to Meet the Needs of the Modern Buyer ,” top marketing consultant Carlos Hidalgo updates the old guidelines on how to set up demand generation processes, keep them current, and measure results. Understanding culture is paramount, but measuring results is even better.

Marketing

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2010

Everyone is talking about how social media can help you jumpstart your business at no cost, and experts are springing up on all sides to help you do it at a high cost. So who do you believe, and what are the keys to success for your startup? Implement metrics and analytics. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Social Media

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Despite every challenge he had to face he was determined to see his stunt through the end and not give up. This is where I met flourishing start ups, bankers, attorneys, local business neighbors and former Bay Area execs eager to empower one another right there in Indianapolis to achieve their dreams. Word of mouth travels far.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

Good examples of startup focus before success include Google with their search engine, Facebook with friends networking, and Apple with personal computers. For larger and mature companies, the hard part seems to be giving up the familiar space that isn’t working so well anymore, so that you can focus on a new segment or opportunity.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2014

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Phil Buckley, in “ Change With Confidence ,” provides practical answer to fifty of the biggest questions that keep change leaders up at night.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

This topic was well addressed in the classic book, “ The Invisible Advantage: How to Create a Culture of Innovation ,” by Soren Kaplan, who lays out the key steps to assess, disrupt, and reshape the existing culture of a company to get more innovation. Decide what to measure and create metrics. You only get what you measure.

Develop

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2013

Your values as you create a startup are the key to creating an enviable culture that attracts more customers, according to Ann Rhoades, in her book “ Built on Values.” I believe in a startup culture that strongly transmits the values of integrity, customer focus, and results. High performance makes new leaders. Marty Zwilling.

Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2022

Most startups, and many big businesses, still don’t have a clue on how to use social media productively for marketing their business. Ric Dragon, an expert in online marketing, in his classic book. Create an action plan with metrics. You spend the months influencing the influencers.

Social Media