Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Prior recognition and visibility in the target market is invaluable from a competitive perspective. Investors check connections.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

Competitiveness - One attribute that I believe most VCs look for in entrepreneurs is competitiveness. If you stumble on to a really good idea believe me it will get competitive really quickly. I know that people who aren’t competitive always find competitive people slightly distasteful. I had to say it.

Competition 296

Competition Entrepreneur Startup GRP Partners 296

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

VC firms see thousands of deals and have a refined sense of how the market is valuing deals because they get price signals across all of these deals. As an entrepreneur it can feel as intimidating as going to buy a car where the dealer knows the price of every make & model of a car and you’re guessing at how much to pay.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

<== Our conclusion was that this isn’t a temporary blip that will swiftly trend-back up in a V-shaped recovery of valuations but rather represented a new normal on how the market will price these companies somewhat permanently. Of course our execution against the strategy has had to change but the strategy has remained constant.

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Prior recognition and visibility in the target market is invaluable from a competitive perspective. Investors check connections.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Of course, both you and they will make mistakes, which are the best learning experiences.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Startup Course 146

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

Of course, investors still require a profitable business model, and the potential for high returns. Startups can use social responsibility as a competitive advantage. That’s a real competitive edge that you can use in your marketing and positioning. Socially responsible products typically sell at a premium price.

Startup 149

Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2022

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. I can think of at least five ways that this benefits the business, as well as customers: Products in a purpose culture more readily sell at a premium price. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Organization 143

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

You have figured out how to undercut your competitor’s price, and still hold your margin. Love that sustainable competitive advantage. Working on that unique design, or completing the breakthrough for an innovative patent, are moments of inspiration that you will never forget, especially if they become your competitive edge.

Startup 160

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 160

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Of course, there are external risks that cannot be controlled or predicted but can be planned for as well – natural disasters, sudden political or economic events that rattle the entire economy, and more. Fourth is competitive risk. These include having a current knowledge of competitors’ hiring practices, pricing strategy, and more.

Competition 156

Competition Marketing Class Product 156

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. We short-handed this marketing mix as “ the four P’s ” – product, price, promotion and place (distribution) – this was devised in 1960 and while a little bit dated is still a useful framework. It’s worth a quick read.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2022

It happens on the front end for startups to get traction, and then again later for every company as the economy, competition, and culture changes around them. The pivot can be as simple as changing the pricing model, or as complex as moving from a product business to a services business.

Course 127

Course IBM IBM Social Media 127

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

JULY 30, 2021

Of course, no business wants to be the next Blockbuster , which kept charging straight ahead despite subtle clues that the Internet was changing everything. When sales fall off, you need to dig deep for the “why,” rather than just assuming the price needs to go down. Don’t dismiss any new thing as a “flash in the pan.”

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

The basic alignment framework of strategy, customers, people, and processes hasn’t changed, but the pace of technological, competitive, and social change has increased at an amazing rate. Make sure the inspiration that launched your vision isn’t lost in the course of a pivot or market change. Revisit your startup vision and values.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 17, 2019

[Email readers, continue here…] Suppliers need you to be a good customer, to pay a reasonable price for goods or services, to pay your bills on time, and of course to reorder when the time comes. Good suppliers want to create solutions to your needs and distance themselves from their competition.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Course Competition 120

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

Some objections are real and they end up becoming changes to your product, your service plan or your pricing / bundling. As a founder, when you’ve been dealing with these kinds of objections for a couple of years it becomes natural and you easily handle objections on price, product & competition without much thought.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Here is a sample of the reading list for the course that gives you a flavor for just how modern and practical this course is. Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. Sales people will often blame your pricing. They lost the deal because your competitors dropped price. Customers seldom buy on price. Sure, you need to be competitive on price.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Of course, both you and they will make mistakes, which are the best learning experiences.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Startup Course 124

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

Product differentiation is absolutely necessary to make a sale when there is visible competition, as there usually is in any sale. Provide a deadline after which the price will increase, the sale will end, the product will be re-allocated to another customer, or a tax credit will expire. Why buy it?”. Why buy MINE? .

Sales 226

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 226

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Of course, this path involves some risk, but you never get anywhere unless you take a chance. In many cases, the products from competitive companies are complementary, or many customers are natural candidates for both. Startup founders are known for their passion for their startup idea, and for their passion to kill every competitor.

Startup 173

Startup Outsource Development Examples Customer 173

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2010

Conventional wisdom in most companies is that “the competition is the enemy&# – it’s the rallying cry to dig deeper, get more features out the door, issue press releases citing differences and attack the competition’s weaknesses in sales presentations. A healthy respect for your competition will serve you well.

Cloud Computing 320

Cloud Computing Competition Press Startup 320

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 26, 2010

Competition. And the reality is that if you have no competition it will likely be perceived as a negative, not positive. And the reality is that if you have no competition it will likely be perceived as a negative, not positive. Here’s some thoughts on the competition slide and also how to talk about it: Competition.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Slides Competition Education 313

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2022

Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. You might sell one of two of your widgets for $1 million each, entering profitability immediately, but then die because you can’t grow sales at that price.

Platform 118

Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. I can think of at least five ways that this benefits the business, as well as customers: Products in a purpose culture more readily sell at a premium price. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Organization 128

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 128

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Of course, there are good ways and bad ways to ask for help. Most experienced business people love to help, but they don’t have the time or interest to give you a course on basic business concepts, like the need to be competitive. Clearly identify key constraints around your request.

Help 123

Help Entrepreneur Course IBM 123

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

As the school year kicks off for college students, one of the big tasks of the year is buying books for their courses. Every price comparison out there, whether that's Google Products, Bizrate, or other sites, can find books, but you can only do it one at a time. Jonathan Simkin: Certainly, it is extremely competitive.

UCSD 185

UCSD Course Startup Sites 185

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Of course, you can’t possibly brand yourself if you don’t know who you really are. Dig deep to get beyond the best price or best service, to find a higher cause or unique benefit that they can remember and be happy to advocate. The smart ones were already working on new features, and able to counter competition quickly.

Marketing 133

Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2012

Formal training courses. The result is a sinking feeling after some time that you are no longer vital and competitive in your own domain. Daily attendance is mandatory in order for the business to succeed and be profitable, and the so-called freedom is hard to find. Vacations and time-off don’t happen for years.

Startup 94

Startup Pricing Entrepreneur Training 94

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

As a starting point I have to believe the founder has the attributes of an entrepreneur that matter most to me : Tenacity, resiliency, inspiration, perspiration, attention-to-detail, competitiveness, decisiveness, risk tolerance and integrity. Of course I also have to the concept. It’s not enough to love the founding team.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” And fifth: Competitive risk. . Especially if you are in the early stage of growing a business, these five risks can and often do derail entrepreneurs before realizing the riches of a great exit. So, let’s examine them and mitigate them.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

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. Many of us learned about substitute products in undergrad economics courses. Here are some ideas of what I believe matters.

Product 296

Product Course Customer Custom 296

Berkonomics

APRIL 30, 2015

Of course money motivates. Salaries or hourly wages must be within reasonable limits set by the industry and matched by the competition, both regionally and for the same job classification. And there are some industries where tools such as stock options are considered mandatory for a company to be competitive. What a title.

Design 120

Design Competition Pricing Sales 120

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2012

Suppliers need you to be a good customer, to pay a reasonable price for goods or services, to pay your bills on time, and of course to reorder when the time comes. Good suppliers want to create solutions to your needs and distance themselves from their competition.

Course 176

Course Customer Custom Email 176

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

Sponsor some friendly competitive events with prizes. Elon Musk and Tesla made their battery patents available to anyone, to clear the path for market infrastructure growth and compatibility, which of course benefits Tesla. Let your highly motivated customers be your best marketing advocates for new customers.

Marketing 170

Marketing Examples Startup Customer 170

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Over the course of the first few months I saw a few people out on the street taking Birds and then a steady uptick in riders. Capital of course drives scale advantages and when you have “winner take most” markets it also has a way of scaring away some investors from investing in the 3–5th “me too” competitors. Are the scooters safe?

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256