Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

I am chairman of a company that, as I write this, is twelve years old and has not yet taken a dollar of outside investment. The company has been funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. How refreshing! Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

And as I always assert, “Great companies are built in downturns. It’s when the noise stops and you can actually get customer attention, press articles and VC meetings. And it’s when mediocre companies get pulverized.” I remember, for example, when business intelligence swept through companies globally.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

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. The more revolutionary the solution, the more important it is to educate customers on a solution’s existence and value.

Case Study 89

Case Study Custom Customer Study 89

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 31, 2020

I was chairman of a company that, for twelve years never took a dollar of outside investment. The company was funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. First, an example of grant-based financing . No dilution to shareholders or the founders.

Equity 156

Equity Writing Education Research 156

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. The more revolutionary the solution, the more important it is to educate customers on a solution’s existence and value.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Custom Customer 174

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The CEO of the high-performance Italian motorcycle manufacturer offered that point of optimism, as her Modena based EV company remains closed by government decree. The company — that has has a California office and U.S. The venture is also one of the few e-motorcycle companies drawing engineering tips from competition.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 14, 2016

In the corporate world, events are more than just an event�they are opportunity to connect with your customers and turn potential customers into buyers. Ryan Costello: We're a software company. Ryan Costello: We're a software company. The most obvious, is to drive sales. How did you start the company?

Sales 100

Sales Santa Monica Startup Orange County 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

There has always been tension between CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies and the retailers who sell their products to consumers. If a consumer will pay a fixed price for a product or service then the battle over who gets the margin in any sale is between the person who merchandises a product and the person who manufactures it.

Product 296

Product Course Custom Customer 296

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2013

Our current categories are electronics, photo equipment, cameras, lenses, appliances, music equipment, and baby products. Once you put your offer in, you enter your credit card, and you commit to the sale. We take a commission on the sale, and everybody is happy. What''s the story behind the company?

Pricing 273

Pricing Product Help Sales 273

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 22, 2019

Blueland’s cleaners — a bathroom cleaner, glass cleaner, and multi-purpose cleaner — are sold as tablets that customers add to the cleaning containers the company provides. With Naqzi on board, the company began filing patents for its unique process and the products it’s bringing to market, says Paiji.

Design 161

Design Patents Los Angeles Ideas 161

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. That student is Erin McCann who formerly worked in sales at Google, so she has some ground to stand on in her assertions. My guess is that we are likely in total agreement.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

It also handles the back end as well by automating the posting, sale and shipment of unsold inventory while offering immediate payment to creditworthy sellers. million in new funding for its predictive inventory recommendation platform, joining other similar companies, including Zippedi and Inventa. Last week, Syrup Tech raised $6.3

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

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 Custom 124

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

Now the company is launching a new initiative called “Verified Shops” which looks to change the way that up-and-coming retail brands can sell their wares. . “ Verishop was the first online-only retail partner, because they’ve got a really large audience of customers that are in our demographic.”

Commerce 173

Commerce Startup Platform Los Angeles 173

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

The company said it has started with televisions, but will be integrating the Amazon product API into the rest of its categories over the next few weeks. The tie into Amazon expands the depth of information on the site, and also allows Enervee to include Amazon customer reviews and sales information.

Santa Monica 178

Santa Monica Sales Sites Product 178

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

Early-stage ideas fall in the same category. In other words, inventions are necessary but not sufficient to create real value for investors and customers. You need a viable business model and customers. Just because your technology is “cool” doesn’t mean that it solves a painful problem that customers are willing to pay for.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

socalTECH

AUGUST 21, 2013

According to the companies, the combined company expects to have over $400M in total sales in 2014. The companies said the combined company will help them to expand its customer base in the United States, accelerate international and category expansion, and also gain "scale and operational synergies".

Commerce 159

Commerce Sites Acquisition Los Angeles 159

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. The challenge is to transform and hardwire your entire team to think in these terms, rather than the default focus on distinct towers of product quality, closing the sale, or fixing a complaint.

Custom 56

Custom Customer Startup Competition 56

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2019

Loo--who was the very first employee at ServiceNow--explains what that means, and why companies use the startup's software. The company is all about data solutions which combine meaningful application frameworks together. I have been in IT service management for over 30 years, at companies even before ServiceNow.

SaaS 113

SaaS Startup Custom Customer 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. Goliath” mythology take on the titans of industry and wins. This “overnight success” was first financed in 2004.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

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. If you don’t yet have a hundred investors knocking on your door, it’s time to put more focus on viral marketing, closing customers, and exponential growth.

Company 100

Company Companies Startup Statistics 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 senior 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 6 months. Are you looking to potentially sell the company in the next year or two?

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

As noted in Pour and Stir Part I , the key to the successful execution of this strategy is managing the following equation: The cost to acquire a customer < lifetime value of a customer. Decreasing Your Customer Acquisition Costs. This is equivalent to being handed a free customer for every ten customers you acquire.

Custom 164

Custom Customer Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2022

New unmet consumer or customer needs. For example, quarterly sales on one of your most important products suddenly decreases, or your inventory across a whole category has surged. If one metric changes, it may not be significant, but someone needs to monitor whole categories for fluctuations that may be a weak signal.

eBook 111

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 111

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 Custom Customer 138

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

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

All the data actually suggests with the growth of mobile, inbound sales calls will double from 30 billion to 60 billion in 3 years (source: Kelsey). In fact 61% of all mobile searches where a customer contacts a business it is via a phone call (source: Google). In the US alone there are 30 billion inbound sales calls every year.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

We caught up with Dan to hear about how the firm is going beyond online sales, and making shopping online for fashion as much entertainment as e-commerce. Fascinating idea for a company. Can you talk about what Little Black Bag is and the origins of the company? It's loosely based on the Japanese concept of a "lucky bag sale".

Commerce 153

Commerce Sites Entertainment Social Network 153

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

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. The more revolutionary the solution, the more important it is to educate customers on a solution’s existence and value.

Product 95

Product Case Study Custom Customer 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2020

Despite the fact that most of the CEOs I advise would claim to be in the first category, when I dig deeper I find that at best they are fast followers , due to the time consuming challenges of transforming any business in this digital age. They grew sales by 28% in 2009, while most companies were hunkered down and losing share.

Metrics 122

Metrics Training Satisfaction IBM 122

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

In the Los Angeles startup world, there are lots of high profile, buzzy companies which have lots of attention and funding--but which haven''t earned a dime of revenue. However, this town is also full of very profitable, growing, and revenue generating companies-- which have for the most part been below the radar.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

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. How long does it take me to pay back my original customer acquisition costs?

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2019

Richards--a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in a number of technology companies here, including NTI Group (sold to Blackboard), Internships.com, MP3.com, Now we have a thousand large companies into it, and if you name a big company, they're a customers of ours, from Starbucks to NASA.

Content 193

Content Social Network Coach Help 193

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2014

One Los Angeles company-- OneStop Internet (www.onestop.com) has created a growing business handling exactly that. John Tomich: OneStop Internet is an e-commerce services company. The way we get compensated, is we receive a percent of net sales that flow through the website. Who are your ideal customers and market?

Commerce 203

Commerce Venture Capital Internet Brands Startup 203

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

A huge mistake I see is that VC tells an entrepreneur no based on a set of reason that this VC felt weren’t right with the business (market size, traction to date, too many competitors, no big exits in the category or whatever easy excuses VCs have developed to politely say no) and the entrepreneur lets this get inside his or her head.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

For our interview today, we sat down with Kevin Anderson , one of the co-founders of Los Angeles-based Appetize (www.appetizeapp.com), the developer of a cloud based enterprise point of sale solutions for venues and events. We provide primarily enterprise, category, point-, and sit in between the legacy guys and mobile guys.

Entertainment 100

Entertainment Sales Mobile Startup 100