Berkonomics

MAY 16, 2019

There must be at least several companies out there right now positioning to compete with you. And although many positioning efforts cross the lines between these, great companies play to the strength of just one. Innovation certainly defines a number of companies catering to early adopters and the mass audiences that follow.

Company 120

Company Companies Pricing Competition 120

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

A while back I wrote a bunch of posts on Sales & Marketing and have been meaning to get back to that theme for a while. Even if you don’t have “direct&# sales I would tell you that “everything is a sale&# including fund raising, hiring, getting press and doing business development.

Sales 346

Sales Startup Technical Review Custom 346

socalTECH

MAY 6, 2014

Irvine-based PEAR Sports , a developer of personalized coaching apps for the iPhone and Android, has raised $5M in a funding round, to go towards its mobile apps and platform. PEAR Sports said the funding will go towards sales and marketing of its mobile app and hardware. READ MORE>>.

Coach 170

Coach Mobile Activity Platform 170

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

According to one study a decade ago, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2021

An edtech startup called Entity Academy — which provides women with training, in areas like data science and software development; mentoring; and ultimately job coaching — has raised $100 million on the heels of strong growth of its business, and an ambition to improve that ratio.

Mentor 297

Mentor Training Startup Course 297

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

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. You need a good cook, good marketing, and first-class service. investors invest in people, not ideas) Effective and timely go-to-market.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

The global meat substitute market was valued at $4.51 billion two years ago and is expected to double by 2027, attracting startups, like alternative meat food tech company AKUA , that aim to solidify a prominent place in the up-and-coming industry. million seed round, led by Vibrant Ventures, to give the company $5.4

Startup 191

Startup Los Angeles Sample Funding 191

Berkonomics

JUNE 29, 2017

If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

Invest 243

Invest Entrepreneur Sales Startup 243

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Today’s pace of change in the market and in technology is unprecedented. In the end, engagement drives customer retention, sales, growth and profit.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

AeA Los Angeles Council

APRIL 10, 2008

Having been both a marketing & sales executive, I have seen first-hand how silos between these two departments can exist while products (or the sale of services) still "succeed" despite the rivalry. But there's a high price to pay when you consider that it affects the well-being of your company culture.

Sales 45

Sales Marketing Woodland Hills AeA 45

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entrée for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. You need a good cook, good marketing, and first-class service. investors invest in people, not ideas) Effective and timely go-to-market.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. If you raise millions of dollars from professional investors it is no longer “your” company but a shared company that you control. In the Early Days.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2019

Richards--a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in a number of technology companies here, including NTI Group (sold to Blackboard), Internships.com, MP3.com, Now we have a thousand large companies into it, and if you name a big company, they're a customers of ours, from Starbucks to NASA. That's been very effective.

Content 193

Content Social Network Coach Help 193

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s. In a mature company it’s often like a presidential chief of staff. They will often run all of the daily reports into them covering off for finance, sales, marketing, biz dev & HR. And I decided that his startup company was not MY deal.

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. I’ve seen too many companies go off track by a VC hell bent on the team pursuing the VCs strategy which at times is about chasing the next shiny object. SEO marketing vs. social marketing. I call them “ VCs Seagulls.” Connections?

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

There is an exemption from the requirements that these investors be accredited with net worth or income minimums to qualify legally to invest in your company. If you have a virtual company with your employees working from home locations, as many startups do, it should be the location of the founder. We’ll call these “inside angels.”

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2023

Even the best marketing doesn’t do it. Your challenge is to excel in all elements of a customer interaction, from pre-sales to long-term advocacy and image. In reality, many companies now offer a “ clicks and bricks ” business model, with shopping online, and then completing the purchase and support at a physical location.

Competition 109

Competition Services Custom Customer 109

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

recently wrote a post talking about how some VCs meddle in operating company decisions or some executive teams are too reliant on VCs to jump in and make hard calls for them. In practice it can be a fine line between sparring partner / coach and stepping over the line to brute-force persuasion. ” Of course I agree with this.

Startup 150

Startup Sales CTO Coach Course 150

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

Strategic buyers look for managerial talent, intellectual property, geographic expansion, an extension into adjacent markets and more that will be achieved with the acquisition of your company. Email readers, continue here.] There is a third class of buyer I discovered first hand when selling my company – the emotional buyer.

Sales 220

Sales Pricing IBM IBM 220

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

When you raise money from investors you produce information that you are told they want and care about: A fund-raising deck that articulates your company strategy, plans, team, market, competitors and so forth. VCs (and LPs) have a vested interest in having more data, whether they want to invest in your company / firm or not.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2022

One of today’s great entrepreneurs, Richard Branson , who now manages over 400 companies within Virgin Group, says he always puts team members first, and still finds time to meet and connect, considering it one of his most enjoyable and productive roles. Spend time coaching and mentoring team members.

Mentor 108

Mentor Social Media Coach Custom 108

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. But issues do arise as your company grows. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact).

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

Obviously, both are required for a company to stay healthy and growing. Whether it be in person, on the phone, or implied in your marketing, your people and their engagement level is the key driver of customer loyalty, advocacy, and sales growth. You need their full support in today’s rapidly changing market.

Satisfaction 154

Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

That company was Invoca, which just announced a $20 million fund raise led by Accel. It turns out it actually takes time to build a high-growth business with differentiated intellectual property and roll out large, enterprise-class marketing solutions. Lemons ripen early, great companies take time.” 5 years ago.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

One of the interesting things about being a VC is that you often see companies in transition. I also see companies as they move from having taken $1-5 million from me to their next round where they raise $8-15 million from Series B investors and sometimes I lead at this round (we’re stage agnostic but 80% of our deals are seed & A).

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2021

The best entrepreneurs relish this role, while others struggle mightily and ultimately lose their health and their company. The right first step is to go back to your goals to focus on the real limiting factors when you encounter problems with sales, growth, profitability, market share, or costs.

Startup 140

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Coach 140

Berkonomics

APRIL 3, 2014

We’ve spoken of financing a young company through friends and family, known as “inside angels.” If you are starting a virtual company with your employees working from home locations, as many startups do, it should be the location of the founder. Angel groups invest from $250,000 to $1,000,000 or more in qualified investments.

Equity 232

Equity Startup Organization Invest 232

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. We help founders through difficult moments, we help coach, we act as sparring partners, we help them resolve conflicts when they’re fighting with co-founders and we help them deal with adversity as well as successes.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital CTO Coach Startup 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2019

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Today’s pace of change in the market and in technology is unprecedented. In the end, engagement drives customer retention, sales, growth and profit.

Coach 94

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 94

Berkonomics

JUNE 15, 2012

One important element of positioning a company is pricing strategy. And although many positioning efforts cross the lines between these, great companies play to the strength of just one. Certainly Wal-Mart, Target and others have gotten the attention of their potential customers using price as the primary leader to drive sales.

Pricing 149

Pricing Competition Coach Sales 149

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

I found this challenge and others outlined well in a new book, “ Running Your Small Business Like a Pro ,” by Andrew Frazier, who also brings many years of working with big and small companies. Big companies become divided up into silos, and often fail to collaborate or communicate. Find a coach who has a holistic view of all elements.

Sales 69

Sales Organization Entrepreneur Examples 69

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2022

Thus I was pleased to see the same conclusion in a new book, “ CEO Excellence ,” by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra, each a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. Today even small businesses need complex organizations that work together in alignment, remote and online, including marketing, sales, delivery, and support.

Template 109

Template Demand Social Media Summary 109

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2018

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entrée for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. You need a good cook, good marketing, and first-class service. investors invest in people, not ideas) Effective and timely go-to-market.

Startup 81

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 81

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

He says it basically comes down to three key functions: Sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders. Recruits, hires, and retains the very best talent for the company. Run great meetings (don’t be a productivity drain on the company). Selling the company.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Sales Custom 319

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

These are the timeless principles that must guide all hiring, marketing, and execution decisions. These will almost always be related to sales and marketing, since they must tie back to cash flow. There are also many more stories of companies that pivoted too late. Increase you focus on coaching, training, and mentoring.

Metrics 140

Metrics Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction 140