Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Cost of customer acquisition.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Get attention and reach your audience.

Social Media 127

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

Intuitively, many entrepreneurs and businesses believe that the key to faster growth and success is more products, features, and markets. Since we all have limited resources, and can’t add more hours to the day, the result is usually more things done poorly, rather than a few key things done better than anyone else. Just ask J.C.

Startup 154

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 154

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2012

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Social media is the realm of public opinion and customer conversations.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Startup 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2022

I remember too many once thriving and growing companies, such as Blockbuster and BlackBerry, who somehow changed their way of thinking, and were overtaken by more nimble and astute peers or newcomers, like Netflix and Apple. The best growth alternatives may still come from “entrepreneur thinking” about alternate solutions and divergent paths.

Startup 154

Startup Artificial Inteligence Metrics Netflix 154

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

In fact, even within Fortune 100 companies, almost 90 percent have encountered growth stalls or flirted with failure, or worse, in the last 50 years. No company can afford to lose the agility, flexibility, and innovation of a startup. Companies follow each other rather than the market. Change is hard.

Startup 120

Startup Statistics IBM IBM 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Every business owner and entrepreneur I meet in my consulting rounds dreams of finding that “ disruptive ” innovation that will supercharge their business and move it into the ranks of business unicorns (billion-dollar valuations), such as SpaceX and Apple. Define realistic metrics to keep track of progress.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Metrics Resource Software Review 101

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have enough resources to bootstrap our own startups, so we are completely dependent on investors to help turn great ideas into great businesses. Investors love entrepreneurs who come across as constantly on the lookout for new ideas, and able to grasp the larger implications for market change.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2013

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. entrepreneur goals startup metrics social media'

Social Media 102

Social Media Media Entrepreneur Metrics 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. People are your best innovation resource.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. People are your best innovation resource.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 5, 2013

It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan. No-one challenged this number, and it became an unattributed source of the metric for market size for years. Email readers, continue here.]

Metrics 239

Metrics Startup Marketing Demand 239

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2010

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Get attention and reach your audience. That’s where the money is.

Social Media 84

Social Media Metrics Media Satisfaction 84

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2022

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.

Startup 144

Startup Social Media Metrics Customer 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs like you that I have met in my role as a business advisor are really product creators versus business creators, convinced that a great product will generate a great business. Entrepreneurs are typically focused on the big picture – creating a vision, purpose, and a long-term strategy.

Metrics 140

Metrics Entrepreneur Coach Satisfaction 140

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. What makes their story more remarkable, in the age of 20-something billionaires, is that both of the company’s founders are in their 50’s.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2015

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Social Media 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2023

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Most true visionary entrepreneurs have unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks.

Startup 82

Startup Ideas Organization Entrepreneur 82

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Unfortunately, with limited resources, this isn’t possible, and it frustrates customers and the team. New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

socalTECH

AUGUST 12, 2019

The Vinetta Project (www.vinettaproject.com), a group which is focused on helping to accelerate the growth of female-led startups, announced a few weeks ago that it is working with P&G Ventures, the internal "startup studio" of Procter and Gamble on an effort to help female-led companies in Los Angeles. What is The Vinetta Project?

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Metrics Los Angeles Help 124

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. Use data analysis and metrics to measure for results. Subjectively measuring employee engagement.

Tool 121

Tool Statistics Entrepreneur Metrics 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. A passionate entrepreneur I met a while back had found that a certain algae could be grown cheaply, and could end world hunger.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2019

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Get attention and reach your audience.

Social Media 98

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2020

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Most true visionary entrepreneurs have unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks.

Startup 131

Startup Ideas Organization Entrepreneur 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2016

In fact, even within Fortune 100 companies, almost 90 percent have encountered growth stalls or flirted with failure, or worse, in the last 50 years. No company can afford to lose the agility, flexibility, and innovation of a startup. Companies follow each other rather than the market. Change is hard.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Startup Statistics IBM 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2020

As an advisor to entrepreneurs, I often hear the desire to run their own company, to avoid having someone else telling them how to run the business. I have to explain that if you really want to exercise total control of a new venture, they you need to do it without external investors, bootstrapping your way with your own resources.

Technical Advisors 125

Technical Advisors Startup News Resource 125

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Also, investors from the super-hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, or Boston), probably won’t assume anyone outside their domain has the savvy and resources to make it happen.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2016

It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. Most true visionary entrepreneurs have unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks.

Startup 55

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Organization 55

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 28, 2020

In my years of advising business leaders, from entrepreneurs to enterprise executives, I often hear a passion for strategic change planning, but seldom see the same commitment to strategic execution. He brings a wealth of experience to the table, based on years of consulting work with middle market companies around the world.

Coach 159

Coach Resource Summary Metrics 159

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. My first job out of school was at one of the early bioinformatics companies in Silicon Valley, working as the head of technical services. This time I'm getting to know Mark Geller ( LinkedIn , @markgeller ). Tell me a bit about your background.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs tackle starting a business as a random walk into a business minefield, and they count on their street smarts, thick skin and pure determination to get them to their destinations alive. These include the following: Take inventory of your resources before you start. Define metrics to keep on track for the journey.

Startup 101

Startup Metrics Resource Mentor 101

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 16, 2013

Hamet Watt is a longtime serial entrepreneur, who just recently join LA''s Upfront Ventures (www.upfront.com) as a Venture Partner. Hamet was previously co-founder at bLife and MoviePass, founded NextMedium, and was Entrepreneur-in-Residence with True Ventures, among other experience. Congrats on the new position.

Entrepreneur 191

Entrepreneur Startup Metrics Capital 191

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? One of our SaaS companies made great strides with a new product.

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2017

Yet if you don’t spend some resources preparing for the changes in the marketplace we already know about, there may be no tomorrow for your business. I believe these factors are key to the future success of every new startup, as well as every mature company: Leadership must be values-based and people focused.

Company 55

Company Companies Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 55

Berkonomics

APRIL 8, 2021

Discord is a great example of a company going viral mostly from word of mouth. It was as much in reaction to my getting blank stares from entrepreneurs when I asked the above question as it was for me to better understand the problem itself. Well-tuned metrics are an absolute must. Here is my list. First: Planning.

Sites 156

Sites Product Social Network Press 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2017

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Get attention and reach your audience.

Social Media 69

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 69

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

It was as much in reaction to my getting blank stares from entrepreneurs when I asked that question as it was for me to better understand the problem itself. In today’s world of social marketing, it takes someone knowledgeable if not expert in understanding how to use available resources in promotion and marketing. Here is my list.

Social Network 179

Social Network Metrics Ideas Sites 179