TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

What does the role demand? Increasing competitive advantage? Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. Getting something to market and getting funding override any other concerns. The answer is: it depends.

CTO Hire 260

CTO Hire Develop Development Fractional VPE 260

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 26, 2022

At the time, the company raised $2 million, and Alexandrov said about the perceived competition, “The level of competition in this market in the U.S. is still manageable, which is why we have the opportunity to become leaders in the sphere of fast delivery of basic products and household goods.

Funding 246

Funding Demand Los Angeles Competition 246

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

Place your cash bets behind proven demand. The term, “demand pull – cost push” was created by the great economist, John Maynard Keynes, to describe the two primary drivers of economic inflation. Cost push: labor or parts costs increase, causing the product or service to be priced higher without adding intrinsic value.

Demand 136

Demand Resource Pricing Study 136

Berkonomics

AUGUST 16, 2018

Markets and competitors change. Over the years, I have often heard the complaint from CEO friends that they have become so swamped by the demands of their growing businesses that they feel themselves further and further from the center of their industry, no longer at the forefront of information and competitive development.

Marketing 120

Marketing Demand Media Entrepreneur 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

So the team was busy enough trying to operate a new warehouse, meet increased demand for grocery delivery and keep workers safe in the process. And it sounds like he isn’t in a rush to launch in a bunch of new markets. That’s a meaningful increase in our addressable market.” Image Credits: Good Eggs.

Southern California 318

Southern California Orange County San Diego Commerce 318

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

In one industry I know well, the dominant player with 22% market share was acquired by one of the largest companies in the technology world. What if you had abandoned that market, reallocated your resources, and focused instead upon other non–competitive geographical or industry segments? Quietly abandon a niche?

Resource 156

Resource Competition Examples Customer 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2018

New technology markets and paradigm shifts have traditionally been bad bets when seeking investors, since these were known to take decades to develop, and cost lots of money. For example, consider how many years it took for the market to move from radio to television, or fully accept personal computers on every desktop.

Marketing 92

Marketing Demand Examples Social Media 92

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. People are more demanding and have more choices than ever before.

Marketing 107

Marketing Invest SEM Startup 107

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2023

Every business owner and entrepreneur like you I work with wishes they could better predict product demand and sales, for managing inventory and long-term business planning. I was impressed with the analysis and recommendation offered in a recent book, “ Trust the Plan: Demand Management For Business Leaders, ” by Greg Spira.

Metrics 81

Metrics Demand Statistics Sample 81

Berkonomics

AUGUST 5, 2011

Markets and competitors change. Over the years, I have often heard the complaint from CEO friends that they have become so swamped by the demands of their growing businesses that they feel themselves further and further from the center of their industry, no longer at the forefront of information and competitive development.

Marketing 191

Marketing Demand Media Resource 191

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

Since 2009 we’ve been in an unequivocal bull market. You’d imagine that companies selling tons of shelfware would quickly meet their deserved fate in the market, yet the spin around a category of software can fool buyers into thinking they “must have this product to compete.” ROI studies were published.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. People love Apple’s whole customer experience, and willingly pay a premium for the product. People love Apple’s whole customer experience, and willingly pay a premium for the product. Experience using the product is only one stage.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2019

Marketing is everything these days. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. I like the guidance from marketing coach David Newman’s classic book “ Do It! Don’t fall into the marketing-speak trap. How many customers will have any idea what this means to them?

Marketing 97

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2022

Customers pay for solutions, but there is no market for ideas. A related “red flag” in a business plan is a missing competitive analysis section, or a short paragraph that essentially says, “this product has no competition.” Yet most products can be made dramatically cheaper as technologies improve.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Tips Competition 145

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2020

It is most often missed assumptions about the market, the competition, the speed of adoption, or other critical metrics you’ve researched, or selected, or even just guessed at to create your plan. Where did you get the data to drive your assumptions of market size or market share? What is your market size?

Company 156

Company Companies Metrics Resource 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2019

Is your marketing focus product-centric or customer-centric ? If you only sell products, it’s time to realize that times have changed. With a wealth of products now available, customers look for the most memorable experience , not just the best product. Omitting lifetime value beyond dollars and cents.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Metrics 85

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

First: Product risk. . Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to. One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 9, 2022

The funding, a Series C, will be used to continue expanding Boulevard’s product and engineering teams and to build out more tools targeting an ever-wider set of users in the bigger wellness and beauty sector (those product additions are typically big — it most recently added a whole new payments feature). Focusing on the U.S.

Help 195

Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 3, 2020

Most innovations come from responding to a customer’s needs, or finding a niche where products need improvement or extension. Imagine the room in which several graduate business school student groups have gathered, tasked with coming up with an idea for a business plan competition. A thought exercise. Then remove it.

Startup 156

Startup Ideas Customer Custom 156

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. They rarely highlight their marketing and relationship skills , even though, in my experience, these are more often the key to success in business than product skills.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

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. More startups are using this strategy to improve their profitability, and reduce financial risk.

Startup 149

Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. People love Apple’s whole customer experience, and willingly pay a premium for the product. People love Apple’s whole customer experience, and willingly pay a premium for the product. Experience using the product is only one stage.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2020

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. Organic milk formula product Bobbie. 2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. Runway AI user interface.

Startup 213

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 213

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

The most memorable businesses, like Starbucks and Apple, no longer sell products, they sell ‘experiences’ with a product at the center. The challenge is to transform and hardwire your entire team to think in these terms, rather than the default focus on distinct towers of product quality, closing the sale, or fixing a complaint.

Customer 106

Customer Custom Startup Competition 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. My conclusion either way is that they have no market, or haven’t looked. Both risks and opportunities in this area can arise from many aspects of your startup, before and after product development.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

Every one of you business leaders I know struggles with the competing demands of finding and keeping employees motivated and satisfied, versus building and enforcing a set of repeatable processes that work. People-centric leaders realize that the right motivated and accountable people are their real competitive advantage.

Satisfaction 154

Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs cringe when they finally realize that marketing is still king, despite the power of technology, and they are up against competitors who have a hundred times their spending power. The cost of entry to market on these is low, and marketing leverage has very little to do with the size of your budget.

Marketing 101

Marketing Startup Case Study Resource 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

I’m convinced that you can’t stay competitive that way with today’s customers, and today’s employees. It’s time to push decision making down into the organization –insisting that the people closest to the customer and the markets learn and make the decisions. Anything you or your team knows about the market today may change tomorrow.

Competition 116

Competition Organization Customer Custom 116

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2017

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. People are more demanding and have more choices than ever before.

Marketing 67

Marketing SEM Startup Blogging 67

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

These are so succinct, so well defined, so precise that everyone in sales and everyone involved in marketing must be able to answer these three questions without pause, and convincingly. It would pay you to work over this set of questions in a special session with sales, marketing and senior management in the room at once.

Sales 226

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 226

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

Marketing is everything these days. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. I like the guidance from marketing coach David Newman’s recent book “ Do It! Don’t fall into the marketing-speak trap. How many customers will have any idea what this means to them?

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2022

Every so often a promising entrepreneur seems to freeze in the oncoming headlights and gets run over by his competition. The company's market is the same. This is a problem with many product-based companies. It's difficult to create a high-demand product by guessing. The team is the same.

Ideas 155

Ideas Entrepreneur Research Demand 155

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

Her argument is that if Uber buys Grubhub (which itself once merged with Seamless) it would mean that Uber Eats / Grubhub would control half the market and that with DoorDash the two together would control 90% of the market. You lose the ability to up-sell and cross-sell products. ChowNow is simply a SaaS enablement product.

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242