Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience. But through nearly a decade of startups I learned that sales comes down to three essential elements: 1. Even businesses that attempt to sign up customers directly on a website need to answer this question for people albeit programmatically and through good website copy.

Sales 319

Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

In today’s totally interconnected world with its abundance of information, choices, and marketing, how your customers buy has drastically changed. Whether you are an executive, an entrepreneur, a marketer, or a salesperson, it’s time to look beyond how you sell, and focus on how your customers buy.

Customer 94

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 94

TechCrunch LA

JULY 29, 2019

All of Ordermark’s previous investors came back to provide additional capital for the company’s new funding, including: TenOneTen Ventures, Vertical Venture Partners, Mucker Capital, Act One Ventures and Nosara Capital , which led the Series A funding. “We The round was led by Boulder-based Foundry Group.

Services 195

Services Los Angeles Sales Funding 195

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Ask every employee to focus on sales. Aggressively enter new markets and sales channels.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 22, 2016

I had the honor of moderating a panel of three SaaS CEOs who have collectively raised nearly $40 million of venture capital and are on their way to breakout success: Reed Shaffner of Workpop , Jerry Jao of Retention Science and Ara Mahdessian from ServiceTitan. He started by stating, “We track customer success.” Share and Enjoy.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Cornerstone OnDemand Metrics 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

I like the ten steps he outlines, which I characterize here as follows: Seek major capital infusion. But to scale the business, they need the complementary expertise, experience, connections, oversight, and new capital connections of a formal board of directors. Switch your attention from product development to sales.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

An effective tool I see used more and more, as a prelude to a more detailed business plan, is the Business Model Canvas , first introduced by Alexander Osterwalder back in 2008. I look for evidence of the nine major elements of the model canvas, as paraphrased here from the author’s key points and how they apply to teams: Customer segments.

Funding 133

Funding Activity Customer Custom 133

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 9, 2021

Even as NFT sales dip below their most speculative highs, startups aiming to tap into their potential are still scoring big funding rounds from investors who believe there’s much more to crypto collectibles than the past few months of hype. The startup has raised a whopping $120 million to date.

Platform 308

Platform Framework Los Angeles Design 308

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

According to ServiceTitan, the integration allows garage door sales and service technicians to easily configure and present quotes and track and process Clopay doors. ServiceTitan said the move is aimed at helping improve efficiency and drive sales for garage door dealers and contractors served by Clopay.

Sales 100

Sales Los Angeles Pricing Tool 100

socalTECH

MAY 10, 2017

San Diego-based Perspectium Corporation , a developer of enterprise integration, replication and monitoring as a service tools for ServiceNow, has raised $8M in a Series A funding, according to the company. The funding was led by TVC Capital. As part of the funding, TVC's Steve Hamerslag joins the company's board. READ MORE>>.

San Diego 113

San Diego Tool Platform Sales 113

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 30, 2022

” Genies last earned a $1 billion valuation from heavy-hitting tech investors including Silver Lake and Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital during its most recent raise, a $150 million Series C round announced in April. ” Genies CEO and founder Akash Nigam. Image Credits: Genies. Image Credits: Genies.

Geni 219

Geni Silver Lake Startup Platform 219

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 9, 2022

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but when it comes to getting ahold of an appointment for your hair or another treatment…that’s a different story: The bespoke nature of a lot of the work has meant that a large swathe of the professionals providing these services have stayed offline when it comes to interfacing with customers.

Help 195

Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Berkonomics

AUGUST 1, 2013

But businesses that expose their story to tens of millions of potential customers through the Internet need additional tools. CHURN (% customer cancelling each month). CHURN (% customer cancelling each month). LPC (Lifetime Profit per Customer). CACR (Customer Acquisition Cost Ratio).

Acquisition 189

Acquisition Statistics Sales Customer 189

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

It also handles the back end as well by automating the posting, sale and shipment of unsold inventory while offering immediate payment to creditworthy sellers. The investment was led by Union Square Ventures and included participation from Eniac Ventures, Human Capital and Flexport. Syrup Tech bags $6.3M

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

socalTECH

JULY 8, 2016

Carlsbad-based Zingle , a startup developing messaging tools that allows businesses to connect to consumers via messaging and texting, has raised $3M in a Series A funding round. According to the company, it will use the new funding round to invest further in sales, marketing and product. Zingle was founded by Ford Blakely.

Customer 145

Customer Custom Tool Sales 145

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2013

The seed funding round came from Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Chicago Ventures, CrunchFund and MuckerLab. BloomNation, which is led by Farbod Shoraka, lets local florists post pictures of their unique flower arrangements, provides tools for those lcoal florists to interact with consumers, and allows consumers to order flower delivery.

Seed Funding 138

Seed Funding Tool Design Sales 138

socalTECH

JUNE 14, 2019

Los Angeles-based Sunbit , a fintech startup which provides point-of-sale financing for purchases, using machine learning to qualify consumers, has raised $26M in a Series B funding round, the company said this week. The funding was led by Zeev Ventures, and also included Group 11 (formerly SGVC), Chicago Ventures, and others.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Startup Sales Email 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Ask every employee to focus on sales. Aggressively enter new markets and sales channels.

Search Engine Optimization 131

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

With the new capital, SpotOn has raised $628 million since its inception. So for example, when you’re ordering food at a game or concert, Appetize’s technology makes it easier to pay in a variety of contactless ways through point of sale (POS) devices, self-service kiosks, handheld devices, online ordering, mobile web and API integrations.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Software Review Invest Acquisition 296

Tech.Co

MARCH 25, 2022

Another reason could be a steep drop in sales growth rate since the start of the pandemic, when many people suddenly became interested in getting groceries dropped off at their door. — Fat Tail Capital (@FatTailCapital) March 25, 2022. Now, it has dropped that valuation to just $24 billion, a drop of 38%. Delivery Is Evolving.

Advertising 118

Advertising Tool .Net Google 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

First you work in the kitchen for a while, learning some tools of the trade, experiment with a few recipes, and test on willing clients. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Don’t be afraid to test your ultimate entree on customers. Make them “feel the love.” Don’t stand still.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2015

The Series B funding was led by Goldcrest Capital. As part of the funding announcement, Connectifier says that it now has an annual run rate of $10M, having grown from zero revenues in 18 months; the company said it has seedn a 487 percent annual increase in its sales. The company has now raised $12M in total. READ MORE>>.

Software 100

Software Google Tool Sales 100

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 17, 2012

I now use the Impact Matrix as a venture capital investor to help our portfolio companies objectively evaluate which initiatives they should pursue in the near-term, which they should re-considered in the future and which should be dismissed entirely. Share and Enjoy.

Tool 255

Tool Startup Ideas Resource 255

socalTECH

APRIL 25, 2018

CampusLogic, which develops software tools to help streamline the management of student financial aid for schools, said Wednesday morning that it had raised $55M in a funding round from JMI Equity. CampusLogic said it will use the new investment for product development, customer success, and sales and marketing. READ MORE>>.

Equity 100

Equity Funding Tool Sales 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

He has forgotten that new technologies are perceived by most customers as causing more pain than the problems they hope to eliminate. Yet we all know that many customers delay their adoption of the latest software platform, and fancy new hardware, for a year or two until all the “kinks” are worked out of them.

Customer 95

Customer Custom Technology Marketing 95

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 15, 2018

It was from their hometown Los Angeles exurb, that Kim and Lee first began plotting how they would turn their experience working for PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young (respectively) into the software business that just managed to rake in $40 million in financing led by one of venture capital’s most-respected firms, Battery Ventures.

Startup 155

Startup Cerritos Los Angeles IBM 155

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 18, 2019

Formed specifically to roll up Pearson’s virtual and augmented reality assets, GIGXR is helmed by David King Lassman, the founder of streaming media company Vyclone and the Southern Californian venture capital firm White Hart Ventures.

Training 100

Training Education Media Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 28, 2018

If you're a bricks-and-mortar retailer, looking for information on your customers, it's often very tough to figure out who's coming in the door. Those retailers look over at the online world, and wish they had the same kinds of tools that e-commerce retailers had to help them improve their business. How do they solve that problem?

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Sales 113

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

We negotiate with our suppliers, customers, investors, and even our auditors. I was selected because I did not have an emotional stake in the outcome as did the entrepreneur, or the continuing relationship with a buyer as would others in management who might remain after the sale. Learning and practicing the art of negotiation.

Pricing 120

Pricing Sales Tool Entrepreneur 120

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

We negotiate with our suppliers, customers, investors, and even our auditors. I was selected because I did not have an emotional stake in the outcome as did the entrepreneur, or the continuing relationship with a buyer as would others in management who might remain after the sale. Learning and practicing the art of negotiation.

Pricing 120

Pricing Sales Tool Entrepreneur 120

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 12, 2018

Both programmers, the two reconnected after doing stints as custom developers during and after college, and then when they were developing tools for their families’ businesses as residential contractors in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.

Glendale 271

Glendale Los Angeles Startup Technical Review 271

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

JULY 13, 2019

An effective tool I see used more and more, as a prelude to a more detailed business plan, is the Business Model Canvas , first introduced by Alexander Osterwalder back in 2008. I look for evidence of the nine major elements of the model canvas, as paraphrased here from the author’s key points and how they apply to teams: Customer segments.

Activity 100

Activity Customer Custom Resource 100

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2019

Perspectium recently raised a funding round from TVC Capital. We're in the space, and leading the thought process on what needs to be combined, for example, CRM with ITSM tools, to create meaningful results that you can act on at the C-level. So how far along is your software now, and have you rolled this out to customer yet?

SaaS 113

SaaS Startup Customer Custom 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

First you work in the kitchen for a while, learning some tools of the trade, experiment with a few recipes, and test on willing clients. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Don’t be afraid to test your ultimate entree on customers. Make them “feel the love.” Don’t stand still.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

I like the ten steps he outlines, which I characterize here as follows: Seek major capital infusion. But to scale the business, they need the complementary expertise, experience, connections, oversight, and new capital connections of a formal board of directors. Switch your attention from product development to sales.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

I like the summary of the competitive reality in a new book, “ Rethinking Competitive Advantage: New Rules for the Digital Age ,” by Ram Charan, who relates a wealth of current experience from global clients: Customers expect a personalized experience. Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142