TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 9, 2022

to date, the company said that it saw an 188% growth in annual recurring revenue compared to a year ago, with more than 25,000 individuals in 2,000 salons and spas in the country now using its platform. But at the same time, Los Angeles–based Boulevard got this funding infusion at a boosted valuation because it has been on a roll.

Help 195

Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

There is much discussion online and also in small, private groups, about why the price of technology companies – public and private – are falling. Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2021

Certainly I believe the traditional ready-aim-fire strategy approach works best in most cases, and that should be your default. There is no substitute for talking to customers, analyzing your competition, and honing your solution to meet a target market segment. There is a powerful advocate or cause driving demand.

Marketing 138

Marketing Demand IBM IBM 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2018

He makes a convincing argument that it’s time for every company to get prepared for the next customer generation, or your company is heading toward life support. More and more, I see evidence that customers want to be pulled to your company, rather than feel that you are pushing yourself on them.

Demand 71

Demand Custom Customer Tips 71

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Many entrepreneurs still don’t understand that building a business culture today of doing good, like helping people (society) and planet (sustainability), is also a key to maximizing profit. Every company needs this focus to attract the best minds and loyalty in both categories. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Organization 128

Organization Startup Pricing Custom 128

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

It won’t happen right away but I’ve seen some innovative companies doing exactly this in places like Australia where they are taking a more liberal approach to allowing drone deliveries. they just put up with the food delivery company fees. Customers were happy and restaurants focused on their in-store business.

SaaS 242

SaaS Custom Customer Technical Review 242

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2022

Entrepreneurs and startups are big believers in innovation, but sometimes they forget that innovation must be continual to assure long-term success, rather than the one big-bang idea that initiated their journey. Get the right players on board and enable them to do great things. Hire slowly and fire fast.

Metrics 102

Metrics Startup Organization Demand 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2022

Do you love managing your own schedule, overcoming obstacles, starting a new adventure, facing financial risk, and relish the opportunity to change the world? Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Assess customer demand.

Startup 115

Startup Resource Training Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2020

Entrepreneurs and startups are big believers in innovation, but sometimes they forget that innovation must be continual to assure long-term success, rather than the one big-bang idea that initiated their journey. Get the right players on board and enable them to do great things. Hire slowly and fire fast.

Startup 138

Startup Organization Demand Custom 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2018

He makes a convincing argument that it’s time for every company to get prepared for the next customer generation, or your company is heading toward life support. More and more, I see evidence that customers want to be pulled to your company, rather than feel that you are pushing yourself on them.

Demand 56

Demand Custom Customer Tips 56

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. Board members in constant conflict can kill your company more quickly than any market forces. It’s a complex competitive world out there, and learning is a full-time role.

Startup 145

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2022

Success in any business these days requires a constant flow of new and innovative solutions, to keep up with changes in the market, competition, and to attract new customers. I don’t believe these two objectives have to be mutually exclusive. An exclusive focus on efficiency is a dangerous and limiting to long-term growth.

Ideas 111

Ideas Framework Summary Organization 111

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2010

Conventional wisdom in most companies is that “the competition is the enemy&# – it’s the rallying cry to dig deeper, get more features out the door, issue press releases citing differences and attack the competition’s weaknesses in sales presentations. You know, frenemies. When Enemies are Good.

Cloud Computing 320

Cloud Computing Competition Press Startup 320

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2022

The power of strengths is the positive impact on everything you say and do, the increase in your well-being, and lasting resilience. Embrace the real you as your competitive advantage. Cultivate the courage to do honest introspection. This is a tough challenge for every coach and mentor.

Entrepreneur 90

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Coach Mentor 90

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

If you’re talking with a typical Seed/A/B round firm they often have ownership targets in the company in which they invest. Since they have limited capital and limited time availability they often try to make concentrated investments across companies in which they have the highest conviction. There are some simple reasons.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

I do believe that we are in structural change where technology will increasingly play a bigger role in all facets of life so the long run up for tech is promising through all of these cycles. And as I always assert, “Great companies are built in downturns. And it’s when mediocre companies get pulverized.”

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2015

People seem polarized between, “that’s what it takes to succeed” to “I can’t believe what a heartless, intolerant and misogynistic company culture they’ve built.” Should we do an article on what it’s like to be a medical resident? They are personal choices.

Startup 150

Startup Demand Organization Social Network 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

In more than a decade of writing about the Internet and tech-enabled businesses I’ve learned that mobs don’t do nuance well. So I’m going to try and do a single sitting riff of how I’ve viewed the topic as I’ve watched the cheerleaders & naysayers from the sidelines. It’s Hobbesian economics 101.

Course 280

Course Startup Framework Marketing 280

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. Almost nobody believed and now look at it. Let’s just make sure we do it fairly.” Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

I have seen bad behavior from later-stage VCs, believe me. Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital. Do investors always take up their prorata rights in later rounds?

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

We spoke with founder and CEO Luke Fox to learn more about the company, and its technology. How did the company start? What were doing in 2019, is scaling the company. Luke Fox: I got into this when I was doing work with some scientists on different forestry initiatives. How are you funding the company?

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2022

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. So what are the right motivations, and how do you candidly assess your own? People see you as great for demanding customers and team bonding.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Organization Custom Customer 110

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

There has always been tension between CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies and the retailers who sell their products to consumers. Think about the tension between media companies and cable operators like last year when Viacom threatened to pull Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, etc. from Charter’s subscribers.

Product 296

Product Course Custom Customer 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2015

Many entrepreneurs still don’t understand that building a business culture today of doing good, like helping people (society) and planet (sustainability), is also a key to maximizing profit. Every company needs this focus to attract the best minds and loyalty in both categories. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Organization Startup Pricing 117

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. I believe that over capitalizing companies too early often favors the VC.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2022

If you enjoy your role today, I believe it makes more sense just to keep it that way. These authors have enjoyed leadership positions in big companies, as well as small, and distill their advice from interviews with dozens of business owners of all sizes around the country. No one else can do the solution delivery like you can.

Satisfaction 92

Satisfaction Training Custom Customer 92

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Do you love managing your own schedule, overcoming obstacles, starting a new adventure, facing financial risk, and relish the opportunity to change the world? Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Assess customer demand.

Startup 94

Startup Resource Training Ideas 94

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). BuildOnline (the company I founded) has just announcement plans to be more aggressive in growing in the US. Let me not bury the lede.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

It’s the company that evokes fear into more startups and venture capitalists looking to fund eCommerce businesses than any other potential competitor. Every pitch I’ve ever seen has led to the, “Would Amazon eventually do this? But what if you could do the reverse of Amazon? And could we then compete?”

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

InfoChachkie

JULY 11, 2012

The following guest post is from Dan Monarko, Online Marketing Manager at The Resumator , a SaaS applicant tracking system and hiring platform trusted by many of the fastest-growing companies in the world, including: Pinterest, Tumblr, Hootsuite, Klout, Posterous, Bitly, Atari and Mashable. Commitment . It’s the root of real achievement.

Coach 160

Coach Tips Competition Pricing 160

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

It conjures up a range of emotions anytime I’ve privately expressed my opinion to thought leaders in our industry that I believe it is one of the most innovative companies in digital media. And I have been so fascinated by the emotions that BuzzFeed arouses that I asked Jonah if I could do the interview myself.

Buzzfeed 210

Buzzfeed Media Content News 210

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2015

Santa Barbara-based Ice Energy (www.ice-energy.com) has quietly been working away at developing energy storage systems to help smooth out the demand for energy on the nation's power grid. That cools the refrigerant going through the ice block, and provides cooling of the buildling, instead of air conditioning doing that job.

Southern California 100

Southern California Technical Review Demand Outsource Development 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

There are an awful lot of Internet music services out there nowadays--how does a startup try to compete with all that noise, and do it ad-free? Los Angeles-based Radical.FM (www.radical.fm) thinks it has a new formula for Internet streaming, and can take on Pandora and others in head to head competition. Explain what Radical.FM

Startup 237

Startup Services Advertising Content 237

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

So how should you decide what to do? There is a natural tension between wanting to have cash in the bank now versus believing that our businesses will be more valuable in the future and therefore wanting to wait. I’m a very big believer in the “Lean Startup&# principles as espoused by Steve Blank and Eric Ries.

Help 303

Help Startup Competition Framework 303

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

This is important because the customers they serve (the red line) demand a product that meets their complex requirements. When new companies enter the market they really have no chance to initially unseat the incumbents because the performance gap is too large and the costs / time of catching up too unachievable. So what did happen?

Startup 376

Startup Framework Marketing Custom 376