Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2023

Instead, they need to validate a customer problem and real market need first. Don’t create solutions looking for a problem , since investors ignore these, and customers other than early adopters will be hard to find. I say again, customers buy solutions, not technology. Look for customer willingness and ability to pay.

Customer 110

Customer Custom Social Media Technology 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Yet, as a business consultant, I often find minimal focus on improving employee engagement and assessing their customer-facing performance. For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Nor do they exist in the investors of early-stage companies. Whenever I heard why we didn’t feel a sales process at an important customer was going well (or if we lost) I would get involved myself. Many great ones don’t thrive in the early phase of a company where the sales is more consultative or evangelical.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Two years after the Los Angeles-based fintech startup Dave launched with a suite of money management tools to save consumers from overdraft fees , the company is now worth $1 billion thanks to a nascent banking practice that had investors lining up. “It’s one thing to help people with budgeting.

Company 262

Company Companies Startup Tips 262

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

As I talk to many of you in my role as business advisor, I still often hear the concern for maximum return to the business and stakeholders, more than a passion for sustainably enriching the lives of your customers and team. This applies to your own team, as well as customers. Make every customer experience memorable.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

They forget that adapting their company and themselves as their customers evolve is the key to long-term survival. Think of Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us , both of whom missed customer changes and the move to online. Create an overt strategy to react to emerging customer trends. Remember when you were a startup?

Customer 143

Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

Photo by Vanna Phon on Unsplash Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of many startups from e-commerce to gaming to marketplace companies, among others. that’s where the customers are. For these companies, it looks like a rosy picture. But if you ask anyone in the ecosystem of customer acquisition?—?founders,

Product 424

Product Platform Advertising Acquisition 424

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

They are attracted to people who agree, but may not be able to help. A business startup is not an academic environment, or a big company research organization. On the other hand, there are many technology companies successfully started and run by non-technologists. Are you there? Martin Zwilling.

Competition 174

Competition High Tech Startup Social Media 174

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. The five strategies: Picking one to emphasize. So, how do you position yourself to be a stand out? Using price creatively.

Company 120

Company Companies Pricing Competition 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

The traditional model for hiring permanent employees who can grow their career with your company just doesn’t work, and can jeopardize your business before it even gets traction. Many successful new companies have moved more to self-management, or decentralizing the decision-making with few managers.

Competition 168

Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that many of you have your most creative ideas for your company’s first big bang , but often get bogged down with details as the company grows. When Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia with creative outdoor products, he pitched also a purpose of helping the environment.

Company 148

Company Companies Ideas Mentor 148

socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2018

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based Catalog (www.catalog.cc), a startup developing artificial intelligence software to help independent visual artists scale their content production efforts, announced it raised $1.5M Jacobo Lumbreras: My background for the last three years, I was at working at a company that Keith Ferrazzi had built.

Help 133

Help IP Content Google 133

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2012

You hear a lot of talk these days about the importance of customer satisfaction, but customer loyalty is the real win. A satisfied customer is necessary, but not sufficient, to be a loyal customer who will come back repeatedly, refer their friends and family to you, and be faithful even when your price is not the lowest.

Customer 104

Customer Custom Startup Competition 104

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2013

You put your price into our gauge, which has the colors red, yellow, and green to help guide consumers in making the most appropriate offers. That gauge helps make sure the offers that consumers place are realistic, for example, not offering $200 for a $2000 Canon camera. What''s the story behind the company?

Pricing 273

Pricing Product Help Sales 273

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 30, 2014

The University of Southern California is home to many innovative students and companies. In order to support all of these teams, there are several on-campus startup competitions every year, from the Silicon Beach USC competition to the New Venture Seed Competition, with prize funds to help build the companies.

Competition 104

Competition Startup USC Southern California 104

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2014

We spoke with Michael Chasin, the company''s co-founder, about the startup. Michael Chasin: LawKick.com is essentially a marketplace that makes it easier than ever to find legal help. How the website works, is the client goes to the website, and indicates what they need help with. What''s LawKick about? Thanks, and good luck!

Help 240

Help Startup CTO Hire Pricing 240

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

They are looking for startups that have a sustainable advantage over direct and indirect competitor offerings, as well as obvious value to customers living without your product today. A narrow scope doesn’t help your case either. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

From apps to hardware, to KickStarter successes and international startups, we’re inching closer to finding out who will take home the title of Startup of the Year competition at our annual Celebrate Conference in October. Among the dozens of participants that applied for the online competitions, only a few progressed into the semifinals.

Competition 122

Competition Mobile Startup Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2019

After working in business at all levels, and consulting to entrepreneurs for years, I’m still surprised to see so many situations where things that should be easy are painful to customers, and lead to customers hating your business. For example, I recently picked up my phone to call a well-advertised local company for a TV repair.

Customer 83

Customer Custom Demand Examples 83

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and and of course a relentless pursuit of helping founders succeed. So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. She took an operating role helping run Citysearch and Urbanspoon. So What Does All This Mean?

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2023

Most new business owners I know feel the challenges of not enough time, money, and resources, and see these as problems rather than a competitive advantage. People respond to positives, such as new growth, versus problems implying costs and loss of customers. Share constraint info and ask team to help.

Resource 111

Resource Competition Outsource Development Startup 111

Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

Having great company culture is no longer just an option. In fact, fantastic company culture is almost expected along with other traditional benefits. It has established what the company culture is, and fitting into that culture is the most important thing managers look for when hiring. What does that culture look like?

Examples 100

Examples Company Companies Google 100

Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

Having great company culture is no longer just an option. In fact, fantastic company culture is almost expected along with other traditional benefits. It has established what the company culture is, and fitting into that culture is the most important thing managers look for when hiring. What does that culture look like?

Examples 100

Examples Company Companies Google 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 6, 2022

Unfortunately, in mature companies, a larger and larger percentage of employees forget company survival and customers as the objectives, and focus only on their own personal gain. People in larger organizations move away from day-to-day contact with the end customer, and focus becomes company internal and isolated.

Satisfaction 147

Satisfaction Organization Customer Custom 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

If you're an employee in a big company, sometimes it can feel like you're not sure when your career is going. com) � backed by local investors Rincon Venture Partners and Bonfire Ventures�is helping to solve that problem, with its career pathing software designed for helping employees at large enterprises figure out what's next.

Help 100

Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Los Angeles-based Enrou (www.enrou.co) thinks it has a way--by connecting people with products that also help support international development and causes, via its own online marketplace. What''s the story behind the company? What is Enrou? That''s really what I wanted, and what I saw that my friends and the community wanted.

Commerce 140

Commerce Help UCLA Organization 140

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

One startup that aims to help make the process simpler, cheaper and less stressful by helping people manage the home renovation process has raised $6 million to help it grow even faster. Eano, she said, offers competitive and transparent pricing so that homeowners aren’t surprised as a remodeling project goes on.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

You may feel good when that first burst of customers arrives, but don’t assume that “ word of mouth ” and those early adopters will grow your business to match your dreams of success. In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. They won’t find you.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

They are looking for startups that have a sustainable advantage over direct and indirect competitor offerings, as well as obvious value to customers living without your product today. A narrow scope doesn’t help your case either. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Berkonomics

JUNE 2, 2022

Few of your contacts will be willing to use their valuable social or political capital helping you with a sales effort, and you will definitely strain your relationship with the intermediary if not a close friend. After all, you have a paying relationship with these resources, and asking for help is not considered a daunting request.

Ideas 156

Ideas Sales Competition Venture Capital 156

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2017

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. He talks in detail about ten of the key challenges that Facebook faced in their growth, to move from a tiny social media upstart to one of the most successful companies in the world.

Competition 65

Competition Social Media Metrics Customer 65

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

His impact has even helped a small country gain admission to the United Nations. He was a life-long entrepreneur and the first business he created out of college (actually, he founded it while he was at Caltech) was a company that manufactured high quality audio speakers. So he launched a company with exclusively paid search.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2019

I like his summary of five kinds of questions that can help you change your leadership effectiveness, and your organization’s view of reality when faced with complex new issues: Questions that highlight key roadblocks to a solution. Today’s workforce, and customers, are looking for leaders, not tyrants.

Help 91

Help Examples Summary Design 91

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

It seems, however, that the company has found plenty of opportunity for growth while remaining focused on the San Francisco Bay Area. Good Eggs says that in the past year, revenue has grown to the nine figures (more than $100 million), hired more than 400 employees and nearly doubled its customer base. Image Credits: Good Eggs.

Southern California 318

Southern California Orange County San Diego Commerce 318

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2021

In these days of rapid change, the pandemic, and worldwide competition, you need to make sure your entire team is customer-focused, innovative, and always looking around the corner for the next big thing. Recent articles report that companies where everyone is focused on the big picture can increase their returns by up to 400 percent.

Coach 174

Coach Activity Customer Custom 174

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

A friend helped him get out of this situation and changed Matt’s life forever. Don’t and you might make one catastrophic mistake that leaves you in the annals of Effed Companies. He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition. The answer?

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304