Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Keep delivering something new and fresh.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs?

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Berkonomics

JUNE 15, 2012

One important element of positioning a company is pricing strategy. There are five niches you can chose when defining your positioning strategy: price, quality, service, innovation, and elegance. First, and easiest to understand, is creating differentiation by price. Quality can be, and is, an important differentiator.

Pricing 149

Pricing Competition Coach Sales 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Train and coach continuously. It’s a core process that must be up and effective when you deliver your first product or service. In the past, competitive advantage was all about economies of scale, advertising power, and service versus price. If service employees are not happy, the process isn’t working yet.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Products that ship late and place entire companies under serious stress. You have to figure out when to be the up-beat coach, “It will all get better, stay confident, keep the course” or the honest voice in one’s ear, “Listen mate, you’ve been protecting your head of product for far too long.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Certainly, bootstrapping is a preferred method of funding growth if it does not hold back the speed of growth or hobble the quality of product or service to the extent that better-funded competitors can overtake the business. There is a lot to say about retaining control. It’s an option, even though an expensive one.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2019

Traditionally, you just worried about the quality of the sales transaction (price, speed, service), but the “customer experience” now includes ease of pre-sale shopping, post-sale support, with a connected relationship throughout. Provide useful prompting to prevent future pain. Anticipate and meet customer needs not yet realized.

Customer 96

Customer Custom Coach Pricing 96

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2019

I think, to be a great entrepreneur, you have to look at what is missing in the category that you will be playing in the industry, and figure what you can deploy with a little bit of strategy and technology to bring a better service and price. If you can't see it, it's hard to convince others to see it. more) READ MORE>>.

Content 193

Content Social Network Coach Help 193

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. So I did want any rational person who wants to improve does – I hired a coach. They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. Here’s what I learned.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

What price? Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? The only way for a company to be overvalued is if there’s someone willing to pay that price. ” Therefore one goal of Y Combinator appears to be “get the highest price and best terms.”

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2023

Even if you were an “A-Player” in your previous organization (top 10-percent performer, high integrity, exceeds on commitments), you had peers and executives around you to provide coaching and keep you centered. Employees can be much more productive if they fully understand strategic issues and focus correspondingly.

Entrepreneur 85

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Competition 85

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

What price? Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? The only way for a company to be overvalued is if there’s someone willing to pay that price. ” Therefore one goal of Y Combinator appears to be “get the highest price and best terms.”

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs?

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

I’ve written about the topic of convertible debt at length before specifically about how angels & entrepreneurs should think about pricing. Convertible debt is an investment that “converts&# into equity in the future usually at a discount to your next funding round price and sometimes has a “cap&# (maximum price).

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Even if you were an “A-Player” in your previous organization (top 10-percent performer, high integrity, exceeds on commitments), you had peers and executives around you to provide coaching and keep you centered. Employees can be much more productive if they fully understand strategic issues and focus correspondingly.

Entrepreneur 159

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Competition 159

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). ” So Ethan went to work as a product manager at Google Video. I acted as the occasional mentor, advisor and coach to Ethan.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

In practice it can be a fine line between sparring partner / coach and stepping over the line to brute-force persuasion. Here is where I see this really play out: Product Management. Most CEOs fancy their own product skills and like to weigh in on priorities. CEOs often meddle in products and dev teams hate it.

Startup 150

Startup Sales CTO Coach Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Keep delivering something new and fresh.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2019

Based on my own experience in business over the years, and current coaching efforts, I recommend a focus on the following strategies and attributes: Make your customer the center of everything you do. Steve Jobs was always visible at industry forums, product pitches, and interviews.

Customer 93

Customer Custom IBM IBM 93

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). The “product” value is difficult to quantify, the costs are nebulous, and entrepreneurs have to clone themselves to scale the business. Don’t forget seminars and events.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Demand 56

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2019

I found some good guidance on this subject in a new book, “ The Leader You Want To Be ,” by Amy Jen Su, a managing partner in an executive coaching and leadership development firm. I get much more satisfaction, and can provide more realistic help, in steering you through specific pricing, organizational, or competitive challenges you face.

Help 123

Help Entrepreneur Course IBM 123

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Of course it makes no sense to have great people management and a crappy product. One who wants to commercialize his product and start charging while the other prefers to not charge.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

This is probably because many founders are product or technology people. The mistake many startup people make is they hire a “sales person&# to go out and talk with customers so they can do what they’re good at which is building product or “running the company.&# Sales people are a different breed, you say.

Sales 346

Sales Startup Technical Review Customer 346

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

If there happens to be a gas station along the way where you can fill up for a reasonable price, great. One way to combat reckless spending is to instill a sense of pride in your employees to never pay full price. Rather, you should be ashamed to pay full price. Encourage all of your employees to ask, “Is that your best price?”

Startup 221

Startup Pricing Entrepreneur Email 221

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2018

Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you set the right price for your entrée, and correctly included all costs?

Startup 81

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 81

InfoChachkie

MARCH 30, 2015

For many years after Microsoft became highly successful, its executives (yes, including Mr. Gates) flew coach. However, Gates and company realized that there were far more productive uses of Microsoft’s cash than to expend it to ensure the temporal comfort of a handful of traveling Executives. However, do not count on it.

Startup 100

Startup Pricing Coach Incubator 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Keep delivering something new and fresh.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Any startup coach or business advisor will tell you that, on your way to being a great chef, you don't start your journey by inventing the ultimate entre. If you can’t identify customer interest, it doesn’t matter how good your product is. Have you set the right price for your entrée, and correctly included all costs?

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2017

Many business executives and entrepreneurs I know are convinced that business success is all about having the right solution for the right price. Thus most investors I know claim to invest in the person, rather than the product. His 30 years of business and coaching experience bring credibility to his perspective.

Software Review 57

Software Review Technical Review Startup Press 57

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Keep delivering something new and fresh.

Startup 56

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 56

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Keep delivering something new and fresh.

Sales 96

Sales Metrics Startup Entrepreneur 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2013

Traditional” marketing, sales, and product management organizations often lead to mediocrity. The portfolio should be much more than just product improvements, and should include better business models, customer service improvements, as well as continuous process improvements. Get your team right and do it quickly. Train all the time.

Startup 101

Startup Training Study Customer 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Train and coach continuously. It’s a core process that must be up and effective when you deliver your first product or service. In the past, competitive advantage was all about economies of scale, advertising power, and service versus price. If service employees are not happy, the process isn’t working yet.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2012

Traditional” marketing, sales, and product management organizations often lead to mediocrity. The portfolio should be much more than just product improvements, and should include better business models, customer service improvements, as well as continuous process improvements. Get your team right and do it quickly. Train all the time.

Training 109

Training Startup Study Customer 109

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits. I keep my competitors as friends and those that didn’t choose me or my product as friends, too. Did we really have good change management procedures if we were willing to launch products without backward compatibility.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

And Coach Campbell. I’ve heard directly from top executives that Jeff Bezos (in my opinion the most talented person in the tech industry) has received his fair share of VC coaching in the early years. And I’ll know in 18 months whether we have product / market fit. Not according to my sources. Agree whole heartedly.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

It is never as rewarding when you’re the coach (but coaching has many other benefits. I keep my competitors as friends and those that didn’t choose me or my product as friends, too. Did we really have good change management procedures if we were willing to launch products without backward compatibility.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328