Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

Since 2009 we’ve been in an unequivocal bull market. I’d like to do a few posts on what life looks like on the way up and perhaps how to keep your head on straight and avoid drinking your own Kool Aid because as I often advise entrepreneurs on irrational exuberance, “ In a strong wind even turkeys can fly.”

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

socalTECH

APRIL 2, 2014

How can marketers make better decisions and get better results from their online marketing? Pasadena-based Smartify (www.getsmartify.com)''s CEO, Carla Bourque , recently talked to us about the company''s online marketing platform, and how it differentiates itself from a lot of other competitors in the market.

Marketing 196

Marketing Pasadena Platform Email 196

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

In fact, I often have to tell aspiring entrepreneurs that their inventions have zero value, at least not until they are put in the context of a business plan, with qualified people committed to executing the plan. Early-stage ideas fall in the same category. You need a viable business model and customers. Don’t get me wrong.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2022

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. The ideal business model is to establish a direct-to-consumer service that enables you to bill the customer directly. The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly.

Develop 138

Develop Development Platform Mobile 138

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. The company's market is the same. These points may sound obvious, but the process is certainly contrary to the popular “shoot from the hip” approach that is practiced by some entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2021

Based on my experience as a business advisor, I’m convinced that most startup investors invest in the entrepreneur, as much as a solution or product. The attitude of taking nothing for granted, of disbelieving the conventional wisdom, of challenging the way things are done, is essential for a winning entrepreneur.

Startup 162

Startup Entrepreneur IBM IBM 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2023

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. In today’s information overload, marketing is everything. Use every marketing channel available.

Case Study 89

Case Study Customer Custom Study 89

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Founded four years ago by Matt Danna and Sean Stavropoulos, Boulevard was inspired by Stavropoulos’ inability to book a haircut and Danna’s hunch that the inability of salons and spas to cater to customers like the busy programmer could be indicative of a bigger problem. That could be because of the size of the industry.

Software 323

Software Beverly Hills Los Angeles Equity 323

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2018

Even when your new product or solution fills a real customer need, and has a positive value proposition, many new venture founders are surprised and frustrated to find that excited customers are hard to find and growth is slow. My answer is that innovative marketing is always required, to stand out above the crowd.

Product 86

Product Marketing Education Examples 86

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. In today’s information overload, marketing is everything. Use every marketing channel available.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Customer Custom 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2022

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. The company's market is the same. These points may sound obvious, but the process is certainly contrary to the popular “shoot from the hip” approach that is practiced by some entrepreneurs.

Ideas 155

Ideas Entrepreneur Research Demand 155

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. Get out and meet your customers to learn what turns them on these days.

Customer 83

Customer Custom Demand Examples 83

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2015

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should select only social media for marketing, or stick with digital media, or just count on traditional media. Social media as a marketing tool is here to stay, and is now widely accepted. Don’t try to tackle all 20 major categories of digital social media at once.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Marketing Resource 108

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Even entrepreneurs that already sold on SaaS should stake note of new research from the SalientGroup : SaaS gets funded - Nearly 50% of SaaS-based startups are getting successfully funded—a rate of funding success no other sector can match. Overall, according to Gartner, the SaaS market will top $22 billion by 2015. Time to market.

SaaS 100

SaaS Entrepreneur Startup Satisfaction 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I don’t think it takes book smart people to build great companies – sometimes it’s a hindrance. If you haven’t spent time over there you should.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Startup Outsource Development Customer 306

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2022

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. Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. Doing business is a human process.

Organization 143

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 143

socalTECH

DECEMBER 4, 2020

For our interview today, we spoke with Darren Litt , one of the co-founders of Los Angeles-based MarketerHire , an online marketplace focused on connecting companies with marketing talent. Darren Litt: Simply put, we're a talent marketplace that makes it easy to hire the best marketers. What is MarketerHire?

Commerce 113

Commerce Marketing Southern California Netflix 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2014

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist. Remember, customers are the reason you do what you do.

Customer 98

Customer Custom .Net Competition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2015

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist. Remember, customers are the reason you do what you do.

Customer 100

Customer Custom .Net Competition 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2013

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should use social media for marketing, digital media, or traditional media. The place to start today is if your company only uses traditional media for marketing, or no marketing. Don’t try to tackle all 20 major categories of digital social media at once.

Social Media 103

Social Media Media Marketing Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. New unmet consumer or customer needs. Unfulfilled business and other potential opportunities. Broad disruptive events.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2017

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should select only social media for marketing, or stick with digital media, or just count on traditional media. Social media as a marketing tool is here to stay, and is now widely accepted. Don’t try to tackle all 20 major categories of digital social media at once.

Media 59

Media Marketing Social Media Resource 59

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. The company''s market is the same. These points may sound obvious, but the process is certainly contrary to the popular “shoot from the hip” approach that is practiced by some entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Ideas Research Demand 105

socalTECH

APRIL 18, 2017

Ahead of the Recurring Revenue Conference ([link] which we are helping to sponsor next week, we are chatting with a few companies in the recurring revenue area space. We are also launching beverages and coffee, two new categories, next month. The problem is that there's no access. There's no access, for two reasons.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Services Sales Customer 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2018

In this age of constant market evolution and new technology, there is no such thing as a static business that is self-sustaining. Just ask former big brand companies, like Blockbuster, Kodak, Lehman Brothers, and Sears, what happened to them. Populating new domains to sustain your market.

Examples 99

Examples IP Acquisition Social Media 99

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2022

As an advisor to entrepreneurs and a technologist, I’m happy to report that the tide may be turning, and we are experiencing a new era of opportunity for entrepreneurs, and a new appreciation of the power of the digital world. In his classic book, “ Digital Context 2.0: Norton, Ph.D., Is your business ready to ride the wave?

Social Media 107

Social Media Tool Google Yahoo 107

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2021

For today's interview, we sat down and chatted with >Zeb Evans, the founder and CEO of San Diego-based ClickUp (www.clickup.com), the developer of a workplace productivity software platform which is based by such companies as Google, Airbnb, and Nike. It's a place for companies and small teams to work together to get more done.

Doc 203

Doc San Diego Demand Product 203

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2017

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2015

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2014

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. A recent book, “ Hunting in a Farmer''s World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Startup News Slides 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2016

I’m sure all of you know one or more of the 200 or more young companies that are currently valued at one billion or more by investors and stockholders. What every entrepreneur is asking me these days, is “How do I get to be a unicorn?” Most unicorns pop up first in new solution categories. These are popularly called “unicorns.”

Company 100

Company Companies Startup Statistics 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. The ideal business model is to establish a direct-to-consumer service that enables you to bill the customer directly. The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly.

Mobile 126

Mobile Develop Development Platform 126

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Having the best solution is a good start these days, but a solution alone is no longer enough to keep customer attention and loyalty. Michelli, with inspiring stories on how one well-known company, Mercedes-Benz, made the transition and is profiting as a result. Tie customer experience to all compensation and recognition.

Customer 56

Customer Custom Startup Competition 56

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should use social media for marketing, digital media, or traditional media. The place to start today is if your company only uses traditional media for marketing, or no marketing. Don’t try to tackle all 20 major categories of digital social media at once.

Media 92

Media Social Media Marketing Resource 92

socalTECH

APRIL 1, 2019

com), which is developing analytics software which leverages mobile phones for data on customers. Portnoy is a serial entrepreneur, having previously founded ThinkNear, a startup which went from the Techstars startup accelerator to an exit in only 14 months. That competitiveness is driving companies to make better decisions.

Startup 113

Startup Culver City Competition Customer 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2021

The tougher question is whether you are also wise, in the sense of cultivating the right relationships, understanding team dynamics, and keeping to the correct side of the ethical line to maintain the trust of team members and customers alike. This locked in engagement from his employees and customers.

Patents 138

Patents Mentor Customer Custom 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2013

Many entrepreneurs I know don’t realize that the language they learned in the corporate world, or even their recent MBA class, won’t get them ahead in the startup world today. As a reality check, try this quick test of your entrepreneur savvy. As a reality check, try this quick test of your entrepreneur savvy. Super-angels.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Startup Web Equity 109