Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

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. Do you have any contacts or friends within the target company? LinkedIn might be good as a start, but beware.

Ideas 120

Ideas Sales Competition Venture Capital 120

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Capitalism is fundamentally about timing, since market competition is about finding opportunities before others. When should you start a company? What company should you start? When should you join a company? Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets. When should a VC invest?

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Lower costs to start a business (95% reduction), many more companies created & funded by angels / seed. Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.”

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. There is an inherent value that any company has. I acknowledged this in the article.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising. Let’s say you have built a SaaS company where a large part of the early revenue comes from a few big customers or a large part of the revenue is services based vs. software based. Fund raising. Let me give you an example. What to do about that chip on your shoulder ?

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Open your pitch by grabbing the investor's attention with a statement or question that piques their interest, then hit the following key bases: Definition of customer problem, followed by your solution. Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. No mention usually means no plan and not competitive.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

By definition, you read blogs. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. eCommerce is an enormously competitive search term. Absofuckinglutely. You need a blog.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 94

Startup Resource Training Ideas 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was leaving IAC to start a company. Competitive sportswoman. Kara on one side of the table showing me market sizes, competitive dynamics, product roadmaps, pricing plans for physical products with COGS and gross margins. She helps write press releases. In the most perfect sense of the definition. Stanford MBA.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Many MBA programs still cater too much to the needs of large, corporate management jobs or prepare students to enter big consulting companies or investments banks. Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 2, 2014

As the capital needed to start a small business continues to fall, the number of software companies being started is exploding. There’s a lot of uncertainty in startup companies. Now, you’re handling payroll and doing writing as well. You may even discover that you enjoy writing more than crunching numbers.

Startup 102

Startup Social Media Writing Google 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2013

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Sample 92

Sample Writing Startup Summary 92

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

But Jason is one of the smartest thinkers in our industry so while style points in his eye-poking post might be low, he’s definitely scratching at something important. If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. million round I might write $1.8 – 2.2

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

I remind founders that the no’s come early because it’s super easy to qualify out a deal that you know is unlikely due to stage, focus, geography, competitive deal you’ve done or even just the fact that you’re too busy right now. And in a later post I’ll write about why you want them to fall of the fence even if it means “no.”

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

Investor and customer attention spans are short, and both will write you off quickly. This statement leaves no confusion in the minds of investors, or customers, of what the company does and how it is different (and better) than the competition. Will you be selling to businesses or consumers, or both?

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2012

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Sample 96

Sample Writing Summary Startup 96

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2014

Sometimes those motives are positive (they really want the chance to work with you, they think you have unique skills) and sometimes they are less positive (their first-tier of “go to” referrals passed on the deal, they don’t want to write another check themselves, etc.). I never thought of it that way.”

Venture Capital 337

Venture Capital Invest Ideas Entrepreneur 337

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 1, 2015

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 109

Startup Resource Training Ideas 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. Competition analysis. Here is where you pick a few of these, characterize what they do, and position your own product to show your competitive advantage.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2011

In the case of SmartyPants Vitamins (www.wearesmartypants.com), it's at the core of the company. There was a real opportunity for me to arbitrage the last decade and a half of my experience in the Internet, and apply that to a products company, and to get some real competitive advantage. We will be doing a venture round.

Web 225

Web Social Media SEO Media 225

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. Have you looked at competition? How well financed is the competition? When I was fund raising for my second company we had agreed a company-wide deal with Salesforce.com to use our product.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2011

A clearly defined and differentiated market position – so many company have “me, too” slogans or consulting gibberish in their taglines. This was definitely not an accident and has been the source of at least as much discussion. I do advocate: 1. HUGE free publicity and control of the conversation.

Startup 289

Startup Press Software Marketing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 57

Startup Resource Training Ideas 57

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2010

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Startup 91

Startup Funding Sample Writing 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. A business plan is an “outward facing” document for external investors, or for C-level executives within your own company. Competition analysis. Here is where you pick a few of these, characterize what they do, and position your own product to show your competitive advantage.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2013

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Training 97

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

The sponsoring partner will be given feedback on what some partners don’t like about the team, the market, the product, the competition or the deal terms and that partner may have to answer back on those topics at the next partner meeting or maybe even just later that day (depending on time sensitivity of the deal).

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. Many people start companies arse backwards. Our lives are intertwined.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

Tech companies have spent the past decade or more developing innovations that can be applied to old-world industries like agriculture, construction, energy, education, manufacturing and transportation and logistics. As with most of Biden’s big infrastructure initiatives, there are startups tackling these issues.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Money should not be the big driver here. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Training 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. This will include the first version of many critical processes that can be split out later, including market opportunity, requirements, product definition, business model, sales process, and organization. Develop your business plan.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Nor do they exist in the investors of early-stage companies. I’ve started writing up some of those sales & marketing lessons and I plan to continue to build that section out over time. Many great ones don’t thrive in the early phase of a company where the sales is more consultative or evangelical.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was an angel investor in his company, made a bunch of calls on his behalf and then I personally sent it out on AngelList. I think how hard it is for me to be hands-on with a handful of portfolio companies. I’ve had to do this with 2 companies at the same time. Through this process he raised $2 million. So I thought, WTF?

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. But having no process does not make you more competitive.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

So that we’re speaking the same language I would define “exclusive” as a period in which your company is prohibited from doing business with certain customers or business partners, which is why many incorrectly assume this is necessarily bad. The more specific you can get in your definition the better.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 10, 2012

Although the exact sequence of events is a bit unclear, it appears that Hacker News user "lukethomas"(who is unaffiliated with Divshot) was prompted to create the Hacker News post after reading a tweet about the initiation of the company's private beta. Be Yourself - Represent yourself, not the company in your comments.

News 198

News Sites Startup RSS 198

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

It means the “ torso TV ” consumption patterns will be more important than the head or the long tail for the next era of media companies. You should only worry about this if you’re a large, traditional media company with fat margins. TV of the future will not always have linear stories. Harlem Shake. million views).

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380