Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

And as I always assert, “Great companies are built in downturns. And it’s when mediocre companies get pulverized.” I remember, for example, when business intelligence swept through companies globally. When markets start to turn shelfware companies are the quickest to die. It’s when the game slows.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2022

Facebook has created an environment where millions of people can hold billions of conversations with people and companies, transforming how people expect to interact with each other and the world. There is still infinite room for new startup sales modes and models. Data enable: use metrics and measurements.

Startup 126

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 126

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

Most of us are driven by the competitive spirit, the desire or need to win. And many of these actions are repetitive to a fault, contributing to boredom and ultimately to restlessness and desire for something new, in or out of the company. Create and publish metrics as goals and comparisons to past accomplishments.

Metrics 176

Metrics Competition Coach Email 176

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

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. Incentives should be a combination of metrics and recognition to highlight results. Incent and reward employees who delight customers.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I know all of this because every VC knows this because we’ve all either funded companies that have marketing technology or we’ve seen a pitch with a company that does this. Your deck should be so good that a VC asks you for permission to show it to his or her portfolio companies.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Your focus for momentum could be sales, profitability, or number of customers, but trying to keep all possible parameters growing is simply not practical. It’s important to define your growth strategy, document it, communicate it to your team, and align metrics and employee rewards to target goals.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entree for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. All the investment money in the world won’t make your company succeed, if you have the wrong team. In all cases, don’t skip the basic training.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2023

Everyone in the company must adopt the principles of customer-first focus, agility in responding to change, and constant innovation to improve your processes as well as the solution. Measure progress through metrics on sales, revenue, and penetration. Seek customer feedback on ways to improve value and satisfaction.

Customer 91

Customer Custom Marketing Startup 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2022

Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. For example, quarterly sales on one of your most important products suddenly decreases, or your inventory across a whole category has surged. Taxi or bus companies are often slow to recognize a new popular travel location based on population shifts or resort communities.

eBook 111

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2021

There is no substitute for talking to customers, analyzing your competition, and honing your solution to meet a target market segment. The ready-fire-aim approach makes sense here, but it should be combined with metrics to learn from feedback, and make pivots as required. You already have a large and loyal customer base.

Marketing 138

Marketing Demand IBM IBM 138

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

For example , when Yvon Chouinard founded Patagonia , a successful outdoor products company, his real goal was building safe products to help the environment. He also still gets excited to donate one percent of sales to environmental groups around the world. Some people love starting companies, while others enjoy scaling them.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

Spark Capital is relatively new to VC (founded in 2005) yet has become one of the hottest new VCs having invested in Twitter, Tumblr, AdMeld, Boxee, KickApps and many more companies. Company grew by more than “400% each year” for past few years [assume growth metric = revenues]. Founded in 2008 by Mehdi Maghsoodnia.

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Capital Metrics Competition 217

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entrée for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. All the investment money in the world won’t make your company succeed, if you have the wrong team. In all cases, don’t skip the basic training.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2019

Facebook has created an environment where millions of people can hold billions of conversations with people and companies, transforming how people expect to interact with each other and the world. There is still infinite room for new startup sales modes and models. Data enable: use metrics and measurements.

Technology 97

Technology Social Media Startup Entertainment 97

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Besides Sense, MuteSix’s former and current clients include companies such as Adidas, Petco, Ring and Theragun, to whom it provides a full range of marketing services, including top-notch direct response videos. In today’s highly competitive ad environment, both content and data are kings. The key takeaway?

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

For example, Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes attributes his ability to raise a seed round and build a $400M company to his commitment to provide a free pair of shoes to the underprivileged for every pair sold. You need to show you have a “Plan B,” and a never-give-up mindset, in handling any competitive threat or customer reaction.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Your goal must be to make every aspect of a customer interaction a joy to both you and them, starting from the shopping experience, to the sales close, to delivery and service. Use metrics to assess needs and growth economics. Regularly invent new ways to delight customers.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. I often answer the same way … * “First, yes, nearly every corner of our market is over-valued. By definition?—?I’m dot-com bonanza.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2016

In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. From time to time, include customers and sales members in ideation sessions.

Coach 64

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 64

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Most board meetings are administrative updates that accomplish very little other than inform board members about the performance of the company since the last board meeting. Nobody knows how many outstanding shares are in the company so nobody knows what percentage Mary’s 22,475 shares is equal to. The meeting starts.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2017

It means competition is more fierce because formidable new competitors can arrive overnight. On fatherhood and entrepreneurship… As CEO and co-founder of productboard, how does Hubert Palan manage the company, the product, and his newborn son? Now everything our company does?—?from Why has product management be so slow to adapt?

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Metrics Ideas Product 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Since Arrested Development is back I thought I’d resurrect Gob Bluth’s answer when he was told he needed a “business model” – he quickly figured out that he was missing one so he asked Starla, the Bluth company secretary, if she would be his business model. You need product / market fit.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

To keep you on a positive track with potential investors, I recommend the following logic principles, to balance your passion in presenting your vision of a new business: Make sure your plan includes some business metrics. Postulate competitive reactions and your responses. Present a viable exit strategy for investors to cash out.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Innovation is not a random walk into the unknown. Set milestones and meet them.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2019

In the popular press, it’s easy to find articles that will convince you that companies with a good culture, such as Google, do it by lavishing perks and benefits , including some combination of free meals, trips and parties, financial bonuses, gyms, and a dog-friendly environment. What the team feels is more important than what they know.

Competition 76

Competition Coach Case Study Statistics 76

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Exposure instills the fear and urgency you need to deliver the right competitive solution. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. Exposure is another key ingredient. Exposure to customers, incumbents, and competitors all drive success.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business for 4-6 months. Are you looking to potentially sell the company in the next year or two?

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2018

In top current companies, such as Google, Apple, and Netflix, cultural strategies that include greater employee freedom and fostering creativity are the norm. Thus creating the right company culture must be a top priority of every entrepreneur and business leader. Establish metrics on the culture, as well as the product.

Metrics 57

Metrics Startup Netflix Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2015

Facebook has created an environment where millions of people can hold billions of conversations with people and companies, transforming how people expect to interact with each other and the world. There is still infinite room for new startup sales modes and models. Data enable: use metrics and measurements.

Startup 106

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 106

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. For example, quarterly sales on one of your most important products suddenly decreases, or your inventory across a whole category has surged. Taxi or bus companies are often slow to recognize a new popular travel location based on population shifts or resort communities.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

They are tasked with “getting deals done” so they race around talking to tons of potential partners inking anything from channel sale deals , product integration, international distribution agreements, co-marketing arrangements, M&A discussions, etc. Do the hard work and try to define your companies objectives and get them on paper.

Activity 164

Activity Conference Press Case Study 164

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Competition and sustainable advantage. Marketing, sales, and partners.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2017

Facebook has created an environment where millions of people can hold billions of conversations with people and companies, transforming how people expect to interact with each other and the world. There is still infinite room for new startup sales modes and models. Data enable: use metrics and measurements.

Startup 55

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Competition and sustainable advantage. Marketing, sales, and partners.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. I see many companies that don’t make this transition well.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286