Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2023

In this context, even “satisfied” is only a “meets-minimum,” and does not put you ahead of your competition. This means real customer value emphasis in all interactions and marketing, versus low price and price concessions. You may find that “ cost-plus” pricing results in giving away margin and losing incremental profits.

Competition 109

Competition Services Customer Custom 109

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. I had realized that I didn’t have it within me to be as good of a player as many of them did but I had the skills to help as mentor, coach, friend, sparing partner and patient capital provider.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2022

As with most investors and advisors, I always look first at some key personal characteristics and leadership strategies that I find often make you a more likely survivor and winner in the highly competitive world of businesses, both new and mature. Surround yourself with a competent team and advisors.

Startup 143

Startup Competition Coach Satisfaction 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

His challenge is to focus on one market, with a specific design, cost, and price. Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections. I have tried to convince him the general idea alone does not make a business. Yes, there are a lot of bridges to cross.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

It must be written down, with measurable team objectives, validated by metrics and compared against competition. Provide coaching and mentoring as well as training. Maybe you still remember the days when competitive advantage was all about economies of scale, advertising power and service versus price.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan. In the same year they won Business Insider’s Startup competition. The company was called Red Beacon. I was standing with him when he won the TechCrunch 50 award. RedBeacon was the 3rd winner (year 1: Yammer, year 2: Mint.com) – not bad company. Nice sweep!

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

We envy them all and want to emulate them but know that they are just people dealing with struggles of a different magnitude from the pressures of going public, the pressures of pricing competition, the pressures of over-reaching of journalists and regulators and the pressures of activist public shareholders with short-term expectations.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150