Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

The real challenge is to win massive consumer preference repeatedly. 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. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem. These tolerate negative cash flows for growth.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Custom 142

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

NOT because the founder of the company has an established credibility working for both Facebook and MINT when those companies were in infancy. I am a raving fan of AppSumo because the creator of the brand, Noah Kagan , leads his company focusing on community first and sales second. I am a raving fan of AppSumo.com.

Metrics 87

Metrics Email Startup Technical Review 87

InfoChachkie

MARCH 23, 2015

As crazy as this scenario sounds, it is very similar to the “scoring process” companies engage in when they track Net Promoter Scores. A company''s Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a beloved metric slavishly tracked and reported by product marketing and customer support executives of both established and nascent enterprises.

.Net 100

.Net Startup Satisfaction Technical Review 100

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. Emphasize your real ambition to change the world, through helping the underprivileged, improving healthcare, or saving the environment.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

The world around us is being disrupted by the acceleration of technology into more industries and more consumer applications. 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. By definition?—?I’m

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2021

The ready-fire-aim approach makes sense here, but it should be combined with metrics to learn from feedback, and make pivots as required. In general, I see that the strategic cycle for most companies gets longer and longer as they mature, which kills any ability to stay competitive. You already have a large and loyal customer base.

Marketing 138

Marketing Demand IBM IBM 138

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Warby Parker filing to IPO last week was one more sign that direct-to-consumer (DTC) is an extremely powerful e-commerce trend. Created in 2014 and acquired by Dentsu in 2019, MuteSix was recommended to TechCrunch by Rhoda Ullmann, VP Consumer at Sense, a Boston-based startup building a home energy monitor.

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

Networking is all about marketing yourself and your company. You can get started by visiting your local Chamber of Commerce and attending the next Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. You won’t need the multiple follow-ups and time to close new sales. Build a marketing plan with deliverables and metrics.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

New unmet consumer or customer needs. Perhaps you own a consumer products store and see that following the introduction of a new iPad model, there are no attractive protective cases for them yet available. Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. Broad disruptive events.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Sometimes we measure things and see that in the short term they actually hurt sales. But we do it anyway, because we believe that the short-term metrics probably aren''t indicative of the long term.”. A company that is constantly improving, even in small ways, is a difficult company to beat. Two Pizzas, One Meeting.

Tips 223

Tips Framework Metrics Cloud Computing 223

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. Here’s the dilemma.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. Raising capital isn’t the be-all and end-all of startup success. It decreases your odds of being bought.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

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

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2015

Congress' latest attempt to impose an "Internet sales tax" is just another misguided tax grab that will do more harm than good to American small businesses. As it currently stands, online sellers must collect sales tax in the states where they have, "sales tax nexus." Online sellers are already awash in sales tax complexity.

Sales 100

Sales Custom Customer Metrics 100

InfoChachkie

MARCH 9, 2019

Measure What Matters – The McDonald brothers were dogmatic about tracking metrics. For instance, they knew that their drive-in restaurant drove 87% of its sales from three items: hamburgers, fries and soft drinks. They’re driven by metrics that don’t matter.” Brad Feld, American Venture Capitalist.

Startup 100

Startup Netflix Entrepreneur Metrics 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Cloud computing and the open source movements have brought down the costs of starting a company by more than 90%. From this we have seen a commensurate boom in the number of startup companies. But on micro level, over-funding also creates performance problems for specific companies. There are 20x more consumers online.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

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. Make your company a ground-breaking invention machine. They help hiring managers raise the bar for every interview.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Custom Customer 123

socalTECH

APRIL 4, 2011

For today's interview, we caught up with Clark Landry , the chairman of GraphEffect (www.grapheffect.com), a Santa Monica company which is helping other companies to hone their advertising on Facebook. Clark Landry: GraphEffect is a company that helps other companies advertise effectively on Facebook.

Advertising 198

Advertising Startup Santa Monica Social Network 198

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2015

New unmet consumer or customer needs. Perhaps you own a consumer products store and see that following the introduction of the new iPad, there are no attractive protective cases for them yet available. Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. Broad disruptive events.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Startup 106

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2011

MarketShare recently launched a rebranding effort for the company, and is in the midst of a major hiring and expansion phase. Wes Nichols: MarketShare is an analytics company. You mentioned that you've been growing the company recently, and made a recent acquisition? We've been expanding the company aggressively.

Social Media 235

Social Media Demand Activity Marketing 235

socalTECH

JULY 10, 2019

The company has raised $1.9M We spoke with CEO and co-founder Spencer Price to learn more about the company. Spencer Price: Halla is the only software company to dynamically profile human tastes so we can help people make better choices. We're an AI company that works at the intersection of personalization and food.

Pricing 113

Pricing Startup North Hollywood Platform 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2013

New unmet consumer or customer needs. Perhaps you own a consumer products store and see that following the introduction of the new iPad, there are no attractive protective cases for them yet available. Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. Unfulfilled business and other potential opportunities.

eBook 95

eBook Metrics Startup Examples 95

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2017

New unmet consumer or customer needs. Perhaps you own a consumer products store and see that following the introduction of a new iPad model, there are no attractive protective cases for them yet available. Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. Broad disruptive events.

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. And it carries no inventory. a fbFund winner.

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad have completely revolutionized how consumers interact with the online world in the past few years. One of the first companies to see the potential for a mobile application specifically targeted at the enterprise was Roambi (www.roambi.com), which is based in Solana Beach.

Mobile 170

Mobile Oracle Startup Content 170

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. Raising capital isn’t the be-all and end-all of startup success. It decreases your odds of being bought.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Startup Grind was a truly awesome conference and Derek the consumate host. He believes that one of the financial metrics taught at business schools and reinforced by Wall Street has accelerated offshoring of industries. The numerator (return) encourages more sales, which is fine.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

As a business advisor, when I bring this up, at best I will hear the defense that you are focused on the strategy of the moment, such as such as how to increase sales, or reach a new market. The result is a business plateau that hits you like a ton of bricks. Highlight your competitive value, not your technology.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Custom Customer Competition 87

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

A mis-hire at the outset of your company can irreversibly alter the trajectory of your corporate culture. Some people are internally focused, and if they reach critical mass, they can tip the whole company.”. The most junior person in the company can win an argument with the most senior person with regard to a fact-based decision.

Tips 279

Tips Startup Framework Custom 279

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2019

As I said in the beginning, people don’t trust what they don’t know, so make sure you communicate personally to the whole team, and to customers, your companies’ vision, goals, and challenges. Annual bonuses tied to production metrics are nice, but these will not generate the long-term trust and loyalty you need to set the culture.

Custom 92

Custom Customer Mentor Training 92

socalTECH

JULY 10, 2017

There's been a revolution in the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the last few years, by both startups and large companies, to help in a large number of areas. With each company that we've started, we've concentrated on a particular market. You've done this before in other industries--what led to new company?

Artificial Inteligence 124

Artificial Inteligence Software Review San Diego .Net 124

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 12, 2017

And when it’s time to apply to an accelerator, making sure your company is presented in the best way on the application can significantly improve your chances. Or their sales pitch?! We want hard data and metrics – we want proof. Failure is part of the startup process. Needless to say, that startup didn’t get an interview.

Tips 70

Tips Startup Statistics Metrics 70

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Through advertising or direct sales, these sites harvest intent. Bending over: How to sell to large companies - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , May 24, 2010 This is a guest post by Steve Hanov , who blogs about programming and startups. they have purchasing intent ).*. marketplace is born. What should I do?’.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2012

Rather than a sigh of relief at the sale, you must redouble your efforts to improve the relationship while the customer is first using, consuming, enjoying, and relying on the product or service they purchased from you. You need a reliable system of metrics to measure your performance here. Your multiplier moment.

Custom 93

Custom Customer Startup Competition 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. Raising capital isn’t the be all and end all of startup success. It decreases your odds of being bought.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2011

Rather than a sigh of relief at the sale, you must redouble your efforts to improve the relationship while the customer is first using, consuming, enjoying, and relying on the product or service they purchased from you. You need a reliable system of metrics to measure your performance here. Your multiplier moment.

Custom 88

Custom Customer Competition Metrics 88

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

Nearly half of small businesses today still don’t have a website, despite a majority of people looking there for search, sale, and support. Pick metrics to measure change implementation and results. Every change requires extra communication to constituents. Always evaluate new tools and new systems.

Press 56

Press Tool Metrics Startup 56