socalTECH

FEBRUARY 20, 2013

Crowdfunder , the Los Angeles startup led by CHance Barnett, has launched another crowdfunding event aimed at the local industry, saying Wednesday that it has launched CROWDIMPACT LA , a pitching competition which will award $20,000 in a top prize to a winning social enterprise company. Deadline for entry is March 28th. READ MORE>>.

Startup 215

Startup Competition Demand Los Angeles 215

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

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. first appeared on BERKONOMICS.

Startup 156

Startup Ideas Customer Custom 156

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

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

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

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. Relevancy for an early-stage company is the discovery and understanding of the real addressable market for a product or service.

Education 151

Education Customer Custom Sales 151

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

DECEMBER 13, 2020

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 168

Customer Custom Services Startup 168

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).

Help 195

Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

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.” How frequently they’re using the product? ROI studies were published.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

Every business needs repeatable processes to grow and thrive, but modern business processes need the right people to make them efficient and productive. In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Of course, some balance is required.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. Opening relationships and creating opportunities.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Startup Sales Customer 134

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

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 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

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 55

Product Startup Summary Entrepreneur 55

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 5, 2015

A recurring entrepreneurial challenge is to determine the optimal price of a new product, especially absent a directly competitive alternative. Even sales reps will invoke a cost plus logic when negotiating with me on behalf of their customers. Anecdotally, it seems that SaaS products often behave as Giffen goods.

Pricing 100

Pricing Product Startup Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

They skimp on the design of their website, procrastinate on the rollout to make sure the product is perfect, and get so excited about technology features that they forget about creating value for customers. Working the circuit of big groups of strangers is minimally productive. Don’t waste your time following up. Marty Zwilling.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

My background is I was a sales rep in this industry for fourteen years, with Nikon. Eugene Cho: We had a seed round for less than $3M, and we did a note round with the Tech Coast Angels for $2M after we won their Quick Pitch competition, over about 150 other companies. So how was it you were able to ramp up sales so quickly?

Tech Coast Angels 124

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 124

Berkonomics

JULY 9, 2011

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 222

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 222

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It’s really a multi-step process, with the first step getting you from an idea to a viable product, and the remaining steps creating a sustainable business. Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. It’s also time to build prototypes to make the product come alive.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

My background is I was a sales rep in this industry for fourteen years, with Nikon. Eugene Cho: We had a seed round for less than $3M, and we did a note round with the Tech Coast Angels for $2M after we won their Quick Pitch competition, over about 150 other companies. So how was it you were able to ramp up sales so quickly?

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 100

Berkonomics

MARCH 6, 2014

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. Sometimes, the result is spectacular. Starting up'

Startup 176

Startup Ideas Customer Custom 176

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. You know, frenemies. When Enemies are Good.

Cloud Computing 320

Cloud Computing Competition Press Startup 320

Frank Addante

JULY 20, 2012

If you want to manage a hyper-growth company, start with a great product. The best product wins. With a great product comes great customers, and with customers comes revenue and profit, which in turn can be used to build more great products. That’s why I believe so strongly in a product-driven organization.

Product 59

Product Company Companies Organization 59

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business for 4-6 months. Is it one product line or multiple? ” The Details.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Don’t wait for the harsh reality of the demanding business world to start thinking about these tradeoffs. No one wants to put in money until you have a product, and you need money to build the product. Startups are usually founded by product or service experts who don’t enjoy the various growth phases. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 130

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021

Yet all too many succumb to the pressures of survival, driven by demanding investors or a cutthroat competitive environment. Suddenly “closing the sale,” no matter what is required, takes precedence over the grand team vision of changing the world. Misunderstood pivots. Lack of communication from the top.

Startup 128

Startup Social Media Organization Entrepreneur 128

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

There has always been tension between CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies and the retailers who sell their products to consumers. 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.

Product 296

Product Course Customer Custom 296

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 13, 2016

Well, even though that acquisition is still playing itself out on the field of battle, it appears quite clear that the new parent has directed its new subsidiary to abandon the lower end of the market and focus upon the larger sales, corporate customers, and major brands.

Resource 120

Resource Competition Examples Customer 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2018

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. Opening relationships and creating opportunities.

Startup 98

Startup Sales Entrepreneur Customer 98

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2016

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. Opening relationships and creating opportunities.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Sales Startup Customer 106

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. Design a product or service that you can sell.

Platform 118

Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Making people happy or improving usability are laudable goals, but projected product margins, volumes, and business growth are necessary realities for a successful business. Every startup demands logical changes along the way. Postulate competitive reactions and your responses.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2019

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. Relevancy for an early-stage company is the discovery and understanding of the real addressable market for a product or service.

Startup 97

Startup Education Customer Custom 97

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Barry Lieberman: My backgruond is about 35 years in technology, business development, and sales and marketing. I built my own company around marketing services, and have been around business development, marketing, custom service, and sales, and also on the consumer side of technology, a little bit a mix of the two.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2019

Image via Pexels Every business needs repeatable processes to grow and thrive, but modern business processes need the right people to make them efficient and productive. In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences.

Coach 94

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 94