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. However, to be a great VC you have to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time. dot-com bonanza. Seed has become an option factory for many.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2013

Most struggle with the idea and practice of marketing and sales, and see these as a necessary evil, if even required. Of course, for a price, there are many marketing organizations and gurus willing to come to your aid. entrepreneur startup metrics marketing sales business' Fans contribute 2.6 Marty Zwilling.

Sales 105

Sales Startup Metrics Customer 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

In my experience, less than half of founding entrepreneurs even aspire to stay and scale their company. Switch your focus from product development to sales. Explosive growth to an enterprise normally requires a scalable sales model, a well-documented process with incentives, training, and metrics for tracking and management.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2022

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

eBook 111

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 111

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

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

1/ From vantage point of being able to see hundreds of companies, good & bad I have some advice for founders - Get to know and love "gross margin." " Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does  —  @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric.

Software Review 242

Software Review Technical Review Pricing Metrics 242

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

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

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics. Optimize the total customer experience.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

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

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

During the late 1980's, Steve accepted a senior executive role at SuperMac, a Macintosh graphics card company that Steve jokes was, “Fifth in a group of three.". Despite these abundant resources, the team's ineffectiveness was reflected by the company's dismal 11% market share. The first thing I did was raise our prices.".

Marketing 271

Marketing Startup Sales Customer 271

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

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. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

For example, one of the first home grocery delivery companies, Webvan, was so enamored with early traction in Silicon Valley, it raised and spent nearly a billion dollars and went public, before filing for bankruptcy three years later. Control costs and adjust prices to maintain your margin.

Metrics 86

Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

For example, when delivery costs and delays were still a major online sales hurdle, Amazon Prime membership was invented to offer free next day shipping. Incorporate AI-powered data and metrics systems. Their pricing algorithm crawls the Web daily, and adjusts prices to always match the lowest price found anywhere, offline or online.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Customer Custom 123

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

As a business advisor, I have to recommend even to established companies that they review and revamp their competitive strategy now, even if it appears to be working today. Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry. The real challenge is to win massive consumer preference repeatedly.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

What I love about my job is getting to see teams of super-early-stage companies develop ideas that while raw have potential to make an impact on the market. Clearly the founders and senior executives of a company are the most valuable resources and their time should be maximized on the most valuable tasks. Timing of cash payments.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics. Optimize the total customer experience.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

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. The money quote.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 10, 2011

The big price increase : 5 out of 5 stars. The remainder of this article will deal with this decision but it comes down to the different economics of DVD rentals due to “ the first sale doctrine ” which gives Netflix a complete library of films and the fact that the first-sale doctrine doesn’t apply to digital downloads.

Netflix 287

Netflix Customer Custom Pricing 287

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

According to one study a while back, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics. Optimize the total customer experience.

Startup 56

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 56

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Scott tells us how the company--backed by St. Cloud Capital--has managed to coax those equipment rental yards into the digital age, and how the company has tackled other challenges in focusing its business. Scott Cannon: We are an online marketplace for companies in the rental construction equipment space. What is BigRentz?

Startup 174

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 174

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

Large companies can be strange sometimes. I’ve observed the following scenario in both of my companies and in countless others I’ve advised or invested in: - your company becomes moderately high profile in a few press articles. What they mean specifically is ownership in your company. .

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

According to one study , only 45% of Founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Weinfurter, who has made the leap a couple of times himself, and spent many years consulting with other companies who have done the same.

Sales 96

Sales Metrics Startup Entrepreneur 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2015

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Startup 106

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

DECEMBER 8, 2018

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 81

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 81

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Customers may be attracted to your marketing message, but investors look harder at the startup team, seeking superior expertise in the key areas of growing a business, product domain, financial, marketing and sales. Specific elements of your marketing and sales plans. Projected revenues and expenses over the strategic period.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

If you are one of these owners who wants to do the right thing to survive and delight your customers, but doesn’t know where to start, I am here to recommend some best practices that I see successful companies, and many startups, who have focused on this issue. Define stretch goals and challenge your team to deliver.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

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. Usually the reason the big companies are no threat is because the market is too small.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2013

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

eBook 95

eBook Metrics Startup Examples 95

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2017

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

eBook 52

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 52

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

He calls it his “Tom Sawyer&# company. Scott’s first big foray into industry-changing companies came with CarsDirect, an IdeaLab company where he was the initial founder & CEO. Scott left the company, which eventually IPO’d and became Internet Brands. It’s awesome. Foursquare. -A

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

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.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 93