Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

In my first enterprise software company we developed a methodology for sales that we called PUCCKA , which I wrote about previously. Having a good sales methodology can help you ensure your company runs more disciplined campaigns and focuses scarce resources on your best opportunities. The first post covered the topic of “P” or pain.

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Those references drive trillions of dollars of commerce. We're really latching onto the growing trend of building products that detect product references in social messaging. We automatically add tracking and point those product references to e-commerce merchants. Who is providing the funding and backing for the company?

San Diego 159

San Diego Social Media Commerce Snapchat 159

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

With services, scaling the business often implies cloning yourself, since you are the intellectual property and the competitive advantage. For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

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 wrote here about why I avoid party rounds.

Venture Capital 337

Venture Capital Invest Ideas Entrepreneur 337

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

With services, scaling the business often implies cloning yourself, since you are the intellectual property and the competitive advantage. For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

I told him only 2 weeks ago when we were in London together that I wanted to write a blog post that has been in my head for 2 years. These engagements went well and he came highly referred by my friend Gary Swart who runs oDesk. How to help his companies. My pal Dave occasionally presents “headline risks” for investors.

Startup 309

Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

With services, scaling the business often implies cloning yourself, since you are the intellectual property and the competitive advantage. For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. A good investor can do a lot to help a company, but can't make customers buy products. Waste no time.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Startup Writing Competition 94

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 24, 2016

The Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” has enacted major changes for healthcare providers since it was enacted at the start of President Obama’s first term. Even so, employers will need to keep their plans competitive in order to discourage marketplace health plan shopping.

Startup 49

Startup Competition Study Writing 49

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you don’t follow the image reference above or the tag line, “ You don’t need double talk; you need Bob Loblaw “ (try saying it out loud) , and if you care! Many people start companies arse backwards. This is one of the biggest source of future problems for the company. the link is here.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

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

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2008

We caught up with both Anne and John to learn more about the company. In their case, people write their scripts on a web site, and when they're done, they can submit them to contests with a single click. What kind of writing and writers are you targeting? We are trying to keep it competitive. Anne Walls: Everything.

Writing 209

Writing Hollywood Startup Sites 209

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. 5) Allow Partners To Write Your Agreements. Rationale: My company is small, I am super busy and I am not a lawyer.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

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 reference them? Have you looked at competition? How well financed is the competition? It’s called competition. It’s healthy competition. That’s OK.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. A good investor can do a lot to help a company, but can't make customers buy products. Waste no time.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Writing Competition Tips 90

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. They’re competitive. 15 companies North of $1 billion exit.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. They’re competitive. 15 companies North of $1 billion exit.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2016

The best candidates quickly figure out that companies that don’t respond, demonstrate chaos during interviews, or keep delaying a decision are not a good opportunity. Your gut-feelings are important, but need to be validated by normal background and reference checks. Failure to include company culture in the hiring criteria.

Organization 57

Organization Entrepreneur Satisfaction Screening 57

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt. Tempus Fugit.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

InfoChachkie

JUNE 20, 2011

Despite the fact that both companies were comprised of about 100 – 150 employees at the time, we routinely recruited 30 to 50 Interns each summer. Competition – Make it clear that only the best Interns will be granted offers for full-time positions. This explicit competitive element will cause the high-achievers to excel. .

Startup 244

Startup Software Review Technical Review Class 244

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. But issues do arise as your company grows. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact).

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series on Start-up Lessons that I learned from founding two companies. I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. They’re competitive. We helped the write out their requirements for a system.

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

This happens when the company has been making steady progress but hasn’t built enough “ proof &# to raise its next round of financing from external investors. If no financing happened then this “note&# may not be converted and thus would be senior to the equity of the company in the case of a bankruptcy or asset sale.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

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. I need to give credit for the topic to PR Malloy who Tweeted me this question.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

InfoChachkie

MAY 23, 2011

As noted in Contract Traps Entrepreneurs Should Avoid , exclusivity can kill a small company. Unfortunately, many Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) assume they must unfairly skew the market in their favor by precluding you from freely working with anyone you choose.

Technical Review 183

Technical Review Marketing Sales Competition 183

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

Bijan Sabet – investor & board member in some small companies you might have heard of like Twitter, Tumblr, Boxee & OMGPOP – took issue with the whole notion that you even need a Powerpoint deck anymore. First, if it’s an early stage company, I don’t need to see a powerpoint deck. I funded them 8 weeks later.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

This latest round valued the company in excess of a billion dollars, entering them into the overly-hyped Unicorn Club. In contrast, low-volume, high-conviction investors like Rincon only invests in a handful new companies each year, making it much more costly (in dollars and effort expended) to invest in a loser.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

We need venture debt, factoring companies and public markets. So what took me $2 million at my first company now takes $20,000. A new group of investors have clustered around writing earlier-stage, smaller checks. Others should swing for the fences - Some companies are designed to be big, industry changing plays.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308

InfoChachkie

APRIL 3, 2012

Did you just meet the shy boy who spent his High School years writing in his journal or the boisterous verbal bully who used her wit to hide her insecurities? When I say “get personal,” I am referring to non-typical questions designed to determine who the candidate really is. Did you play any team or individual sports competitively?

Entrepreneur 219

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Journal 219

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 6, 2012

“Competition for the future is about what you are doing today,” Vijay Govindarajan preaches passionately from the stage at the front of the Metro Toronto Convention center on June 5th, 2012 at the Art of Leadership Conference. In the boxes he writes: 1. Manage the present. Selectively forget the past. Create the future.

Pricing 80

Pricing Statistics Examples Design 80

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

My firm GRP Partners recently funded a young LA based company named Ad.Ly that is an “in-stream advertising&# company currently focused on monetizing Twitter. Traditional media companies published their stories on the web. See Fred Wilson’s post on Twitter referring traffic. was the “static&# web.

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

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. Write out the topic and maybe even the blog title. Absofuckinglutely.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more. A business plan is the outward facing definition of the business you hope to drive with your hardware solution, with a hardware overview in the intro to highlight customer value and competitiveness.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Christensen, “We subsidize their education in fields for which there are no jobs” he said in referring to the fact that many courses at universities are still taught with skills that aren’t relevant to the 21st century needs of the US workforce. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

Such attorneys can also add tremendous value in your negotiations with Big Dumb Companies (BDCs), as they can ensure that you focus on the deal points that are of most significance to a small entity. The reference may be well-intentioned, but the lawyer’s allegiance may be divided between the investor and you.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Let me be clear – a product or consulting startup today without a blog, even with a static website, risks not being competitive in cost and time to reach and hold that critical mass of online customers. An informal writing style is generally recommended. Add outgoing links. Be a blogger today, and trump your competitors tomorrow.

Blogging 135

Blogging Services Search Engine Optimization Web 135

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 20, 2013

Brad Feld seems to write books faster than I can read and write about them. He teamed up with his wife, Amy Batchelor , to write about about the impact that entrepreneurship has on relationships and what to do about it. It’s an enjoyable read and one I’ll bet you refer back to rather than read once and file away.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Social Network 370