Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. Customer Acquisition. That’s not acceptable.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Custom 346

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. For starters, here is my selection of some key metrics that every six-sigma joint like GE tracks without thinking, but that too many small businesses haven’t yet formalized: Sales revenue.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Custom 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

If you buy into the argument that a strong board can actually help you then this post will lay out how to help you have more productive meetings by preparing properly in advance. There are too many pages. This is part of a broader series on Board Meetings. It passes the weight test.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

As a startup advisor and investor, I recommend a pitch deck with about 10 slides backed up with a written business plan of approximately 20 pages, both containing quantified answers to the following key questions. Investors want to hear about customers with money who have a painful problem that you can solve now.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

In most cases, I provide some combination of the following advice: Brevity - Maximum length: two pages. Hopefully this straightforward format will help you avoid overly obtuse verbiage, while keeping your executive summary to two pages. Distribution and Sales. Competition. Opportunity. paper cut vs. bleeding artery)?

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

They are tasked with “getting deals done” so they race around talking to tons of potential partners inking anything from channel sale deals , product integration, international distribution agreements, co-marketing arrangements, M&A discussions, etc. Here’s how it goes: You have a business development group with two people.

Activity 164

Activity Conference Press Case Study 164

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

People mistook extra doses of Ajax for a successful product. The last couple of years has also seen the huge initial success of Ycombinator, the Lean Startup and many other product driven approaches to going to market. I have seen really great product people espouse the death of the business plan. Do so at your peril.

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Solution product & technology. Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2012

The elevator pitch should be the first few paragraphs of your business plan, your executive summary, your investor presentation, and the first page of your web site. Unlike [competition], we [differentiation].” Here are some additional recommendations to increase the impact: Describe your product or service. Quantify the market.

Startup 113

Startup Patents Template Competition 113

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 10, 2012

The lessons learned by Divshot confirm that obtaining, and more importantly maintaining, visibility on the front page of a major social news site results from the congruence of three factors: audience, timing and engagement. If we hadn’t done well on Hacker News we would have needed to have some serious product/market fit discussions.".

News 198

News Sites Startup RSS 198

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. I have always worked on early stage products. Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. It included one firm who I asked not to call Salesforce.com as a reference (they were our largest pilot customer) and in their kindness they called Marc Benioff (the CEO) and asked his opinion.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Startups should begin by selecting just a few of the vast array of social media offerings out there, and customize based on results. Ask yourself where are the influencers in your market, the majority of your target customers, and what type of interaction will be most productive to your business?

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Startup Tips 108

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

No, that IS NOT a competitive advantage - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 12, 2010 This is part 1 of the series: 5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches. 0160; If I need $250,000 to get to 100 customers, or $1 million to get to X, and I can raise both amounts from either Angels or VCs, where do we turn? Make it unique.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 7, 2013

CapLinked also netted in new customers such as Thomson Reuters, Sun Capital, and Equity Partners, NextView Ventures and crowd-funding service AI Verified which will take advantage of its iPad compatibility, bulk uploading, and reporting tools. Challenge the status quo. How CapLinked Changes The Game.

Mobile 91

Mobile Report Pricing Tool 91

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

As a member of the local angel group Selection Committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Solution product & technology. Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. Solution and benefits.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

As a member of the local Angel group selection committee, I’ve seen a lot of startup presentations to investors, and I’ve never seen one that was too short - maybe short on content, but not short on pages! Solution product & technology. Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2013

Probably every one of you who has a business and a website have been approached through email or personal contact, and asked to spend money on paid search results (appear on the first page of search results, right hand column, despite low SEO rank). This is NOT the same as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Campaign setup and ad copy writing.

Paid Search 90

Paid Search PPC Organization SEO 90

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

They are the classic case of the Innovator’s Dilemma because they fundamentally can’t innovate on their product and can’t lower costs or their business craters. And it’s easy to run circles around them as our product differentiation shows. Growing our Product Lines. Little old us. Sound familiar?

Startup 150

Startup Pricing Marketing Product 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

The first page of the business plan better be an executive summary which gives the investor a taste of the financials, as well as opportunity, competition, and key executives. “I Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

Play it in the background while you otherwise remain productive (or listen to it while you update your FB page, your call). You decide how much you want to invest in your employees and then you give your employees the control to build a custom perk package for themselves. Click here to listen to the Audio File.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution. Solution and benefits.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 18, 2011

3) How has your role as the senior Tech Leader at the Rubicon Project and eHarmony influenced SteelHouse’s product roadmap and go-to-market strategy? How does SteelHouse enable its customers to leverage the existence of these various consumers? The whole Silicon Valley culture, I learned at Oracle.”. The number one thing is trust.

eHarmony 204

eHarmony Media Oracle Commerce 204

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Tech.Co

MAY 22, 2018

One of the biggest turn offs for investors are founders who don’t know the basics of their business, especially their market and customer. They have to know their industry, know their customers, and understand what it takes to make their customers happy.”. Failing to do their homework is never a good color on anyone.

Tips 70

Tips Help Slides Technical Review 70

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2010

Their computers then cleverly merge your ads with search results only when users search words imply an interest in your products. If you sell widgets, and a user is searching for widgets, your ad will appear on the same page as the search results for widgets. This is NOT the same as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Marty Zwilling.

SEM 90

SEM Marketing Startup Search Engine Optimization 90

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 12, 2017

After the first few hundred applications, every word on the page is like Velcro across our eyeballs (which, btw, is why you should never wait until the last minute to apply to a popular accelerator program). We once received an application that ran 22 pages – of text, no graphics! Or their sales pitch?! The #EpicNovelFail.

Tips 70

Tips Startup Statistics Metrics 70

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

That’s because a company’s value is a composite of all of the quantitative and qualitative factors that comprise a company: revenues, expenses, risks, growth prospects, quality of the management team, competitive advantages, strength of the intellectual property, and so forth. Detail isn’t important; tracking your progress is.

.Net 89

.Net Metrics Competition Template 89

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

Messenger : Rob Duva , Co-Founder, COO RingRevenue, prior Director of Customer Acquisition, CallWave. Value Prop Twitter Style : “Ringrevenue’s call performance marketing platform enables ad networks, agencies, advertisers & publishers to generate more inbound sales calls.”. Who do you view as your biggest competition?

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 9, 2013

Jackson said, “We’re using the proceeds from our financing round to invest in our technology, build new features, and increase sales and support.”. Jackson added that the firm was proud of its product, and even uses its own software to manage their capital raised from investors. Speaking of the new investment, CapLinked CEO Eric M.

Draper 68

Draper Google Software Engineering Invest 68

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

The promised to follow up with: calls, using your product, talking to customers or “noodle on things.&# Will they? This is not unlike a major biz dev deal you’re trying to sign or a big sales campaign into the VP of a major company. I like to tell entrepreneurs to treat it like a sales campaign.

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

com), which offers up local, peer-to-peer sales. As eBay, we have the ability to really focus on a more, family friendly experience, and put more customer service behind our product. That''s the part of eBay and our infrastructure that give us a competitive edge. However, classifies have not yet caught up with mobile.

San Diego 100

San Diego Mobile Marketing Sites 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

When I meet with Tom offline it’s obvious that he immediately is thinking about product issues, technology trends, funding rounds, etc. Angels will largely take a product risk (they bet on the product or idea and your ability to build it). “A” The team, of course, is just as important as the product or idea.

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302