Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? Do I have data or facts to present so the story has legs? Final example.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

It’s why in this article I advise that people “market today not futures” because you don’t want your playbook in the hands of the competition. The reality is that a journalist who’s writing a story about you – a relatively unknown entity – wants to hear directly from the founders and/or the CEO.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Startup Grind was a truly awesome conference and Derek the consumate host. In many ways I think general purpose writing & thinking skills are as valuable as math skills. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition. I hope to be asked back for next year’s event.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

Modern-society is also littered with over-networkers and over-introducers and professional conference attendees. It’s hard enough building a valuable product or service in competitive global markets without spending time on unproductive tasks. Focus is almost always the right answer.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2010

In fact, I said as much in September 09 at a Twitter conference in LA on a panel that Guy Kawasaki was moderating. It also means that the publisher (person writing the status update) can share in the monetization. So how does this all relate to the upcoming Twitter Chirp conference next week?

Acquisition 287

Acquisition Develop Development Conference 287

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

I had a chance to discuss AngelList Syndicates with Naval at Michael Kim’s Cendana LP/VC conference on a panel with Naval, Roger Ehrenberg (IA Ventures) and Mike Brown, Jr. If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. Must be doing something right!

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

Some people do the conference circuit too much, get involved in lots of side projects and attend every entrepreneur dinner. I get to do a deep dive on their business model, product roadmap and competitive positioning. When I go to conference I never sit in the meeting section – I always cruise the halls meeting people.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

For starters some funds are small and thus while they put $750k into your company to own 10% of your company they might not be able to write another $2 million if you then raise a $20 million round (10%). ” In fact, I was at a recent early-stage VC/LP conference where this was accepted as conventional wisdom. Maybe take some.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

TechCrunch Europe ran an article in November of last year that European startups need to work as hard as those in Silicon Valley and I echoed the sentiment in my post about the need for entrepreneurs to be maniacal about their businesses if one wants to work in the hyper competitive tech world. Our first big institutional round was $16.5

Entrepreneur 308

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Conference 308

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

He has it on stage, too, at conferences. 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. When he writes them online his Tourette’s comes out and sometimes the substance gets lost in the style. My pal Dave has blogger Tourette’s. Not much more.

Startup 309

Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

I’m writing this post as part of my series with Advice on Raising Venture Capital but will file it under Sales Tips as well since it applies equally to both scenarios. My partner, Brian McLoughlin , attends almost all Financial Services conference, makes a number of investments in the space and has relationships across the sector.

Venture Capital 318

Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

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.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He did it yesterday, “Mark, I’m going to write a blog post following on from your VC’s aren’t dumb. He is very pleasant when he calls and writes. Ask for short conference calls. In Rob’s spare time he always seems to be going to a boxing class or some other competitive, physical activity.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving. When you account for competition for talent, the difficulty of retention, the cost of living and the difficulty of rising above the noise – there are many advantages of staying put.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

Then, he'll need to patent it and create a plan to show opportunity, competition, and financial projections. I have found that the process of writing down your idea, with a plan for implementation, and reviewing that plan with a business advisor, will force you to learn and acknowledge the real requirements for implementation.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

So by offering convertible debt you can avoid a price discussion in the same way that angel investors sometimes do in order to win competitive early-stage deals. They might put the kibosh on company travel and not attend some key meetings or conferences. They might not replace an engineer or two that quits.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

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.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

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

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

You must recognize that change is the new norm in business, so problems represent opportunities to learn something new, improve your productivity and competitiveness of the business. Write down your top 5 core values and review them often. Pressure and emotion in business is often an indication of core value conflicts.

Coach 137

Coach Training Satisfaction Mentor 137

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2021

This may mean attending industry conferences, taking college courses, or reading some key books. It may be time for you to start your own blog, write a book, or volunteer as a speaker at public events in your domain. The more you know, the more self-confident you will be to make your own leadership decisions.

Entrepreneur 132

Entrepreneur Course Satisfaction Guide 132

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

And if they can monetize their follower base then they have an incentive to grow their base, Tweet more, engage more and write better quality Tweets. But then I went to the Parnassus Group’s Twitter 140 conference run by Steve Broback and Brett Schulte. If we continue our success we will have strong competition.

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Here are some key strategies that I recommend to every worker today: Develop and highlight your competitive differentiation. Today, customers and future managers put a higher value on relationships, and expect to know you from industry conferences, social media, or recommendations from peers. Develop the courage to move on.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Every industry organization has regular local meetings and annual conferences for education purposes and bringing the right people together. Write a business plan for your desired new business. Sources should include local startup incubators, blog owners, and government support organizations, such as SCORE.

Startup 114

Startup Tips Coach Satisfaction 114

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

MAY 13, 2018

If you’re raising a round where a new lead investor would invest $5 million the VC fund must have no less than $100 million and if you’re looking for them to write $15–20 million as the lead their fund realistically should be at least $400 million. even if it’s just a web conference call walk through.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

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

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2013

Aspiring creators learn by connecting with top web filmmakers and YouTubers on a topics specific to the web: developing a web series, producing web series, writing for genres like comedy & sci-fi, directing, editing, camera, Kickstarter funding, show hosting, distribution, and marketing. Any competition in LA?

Web 93

Web USC Course Guide 93

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

She can anticipate reactions to price increases or product changes by customers and she can sustain competitive challenges because she knows the customer will stick by her. They attend conferences and do marketing. I wanted to just write. I like writing. Many tech execs (and VCs) I know have “bunker mentality.”

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

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.

Pricing 80

Pricing Statistics Examples Design 80

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

For me, it’s very much showcasing that angel investing is not just writing a check, it’s so much more. NON: At one of our inaugural Pipeline Fellowship conferences, at the end of the day, a woman approached me and told me how she was skeptical about being an angel investor. Pitching isn’t a zero-sum game.

Mentor 84

Mentor Invest Entrepreneur Startup 84

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 21, 2012

To top it all off, students preparing to enter the workforce can now share their portfolios with potential employers as evidence of their work product, presentations, writing samples and internships. Apply to conference Startup Alley’s and competitions. Know what you want from them in terms of support.

Education 63

Education Web 2.0 Course Platform 63

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2017

In this age of information overload, success is all about building a brand that stands out above the competition. Start a blog and write for industry forums and newsletters. Reporters are always looking for content, so they rarely turn away professionals they meet at conferences or events.

Startup 55

Startup Organization Newsletter Content 55

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. I learned to avoid unnecessary conferences, avoid non-essential costs and strive for at least a neutral EBITDA if for no other reason than nobody was interested in giving us any more money.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” Facebook went mainstream after the F8 conference and its big push beyond college campuses. Why is this?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

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. It became a huge kerfuffle with many VC partners writing to thank me for the post, which exposed those that gave their industry a bad name. And covered we did.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

. - Journalists don’t know enough about your company before the show, don’t have time for proper research, and you will be competing for their time afterward with 49+ other companies that want them to write about you. - Given a choice of your marketing person or talking to you (the founder) there’s no competition.

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

Paul Graham on trends for the future - Business of Software Blog , August 25, 2010 Paul Graham spoke at last year's Business of Software conference. We had to write a CRM to keep track of them all. There is no competition. I’m going to try to do something for you guys that I’ve always resisted doing. Want to be Mercenary?

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191