Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. Train and coach continuously.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

socalTECH

MAY 8, 2015

In a world awash with on-demand startups, Los Angeles-based Serviz (www.serviz.com) stands out--not because of the market segment it is tackling, but because it was founded by two, very experienced serial entrepreneurs-- Zorik Gordon and Michael Kline. Our vision is really to become the premier provider of on-demand home services.

Services 100

Services ReachLocal Demand Startup 100

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

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

And if that new strategy is proved to be true, the five-hundred-pound gorilla in that niche just moved out of the way of many of its smaller competitors, leaving a market that will surely see a scramble for new competition in the near future. Forgotten about selected vertical markets within the niche?

Resource 156

Resource Competition Examples Customer 156

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Interestingly, that demand has grown a lot during the pandemic, with demand for new homes as much as four times higher than demand for buying “existing” homes. ” That subsequently has put more of an emphasis on the sale of older homes to meet demand.

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

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. The anecdotal evidence is growing that consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainability, and have started to demand a discount for ‘un-sustainability.’

Startup 149

Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 9, 2022

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but when it comes to getting ahold of an appointment for your hair or another treatment…that’s a different story: The bespoke nature of a lot of the work has meant that a large swathe of the professionals providing these services have stayed offline when it comes to interfacing with customers.

Help 195

Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2022

The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. We all hear about the big winners, such as the game Clash of Clans , which has now surpassed $1 billion in yearly revenue, and the smartphone version of Skype , which is making huge money through credits as an extension of the website version.

Develop 138

Develop Development Platform Mobile 138

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. SAM (Serviceable available market) which is is closer – the market you might be able to reach in your future and service effectively.

Company 156

Company Companies Metrics Resource 156

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2022

In the classic book by Christoph Lueneburger, “ A Culture Of Purpose ,” he details how to build this new culture, and why it is becoming more instrumental in bringing about success, as well as sustainability, in organizations as diverse as Unilever and Walmart. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Organization 143

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 143

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

The company used its overdraft protection service and money management display to shift customers’ focus away from the total balance that their account would show by giving them a sense of how much was actually left in their accounts once debits were included in their statements.

Company 262

Company Companies Startup Tips 262

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 3, 2020

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. The group starts with a blank sheet, and toils through idea after idea, trying to come up with a product or service that might become the next FedEx.

Startup 156

Startup Ideas Customer Custom 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. Train and coach continuously.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

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. Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2023

They need to ask customers the difficult questions, and really understand costs versus benefits, as well as competitive alternatives. They demand interactive relationships with you, and depend on the relationships you have with their friends. Building a company and selling are all about gaining commitments.

Startup 154

Startup Sales Entrepreneur Customer 154

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. Parroting a generic message that you have great service, great value, and a great selection says you have nothing unique.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Berkonomics

AUGUST 16, 2018

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. How can you do something about it?

Marketing 120

Marketing Demand Media Entrepreneur 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. We all hear about the big winners, such as the game Clash of Clans , which still pulls in over a million dollars a day, and the smartphone version of Skype , which is making money through credits as an extension of the website version.

Mobile 126

Mobile Develop Development Platform 126

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2021

The founder explains that the product or service is so “buzz-worthy” that the merits will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. Think of a brand evangelist team online as people blogging about your product, or posting links to it in every forum. Develop viral content.

Marketing 139

Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 139

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

In the classic book by Christoph Lueneburger, “ A Culture Of Purpose ,” he details how to build this new culture, and why it is becoming more instrumental in bringing about success, as well as sustainability, in organizations as diverse as Unilever and Walmart. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Organization 128

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 128

Southern California Edison Blog

APRIL 21, 2020

Network speeds are closely tied to an organization’s ability to stay productive and remain competitive and profitable at all times. As businesses expand and take on new services, technologies, and a larger workforce, they require more network capacity to support growth without sacrificing efficiency. . Use Wired Connections.

Networking 75

Networking Organization Demand Activity 75

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2011

A good many startups I know have been “successful” over a couple of years in overcoming the challenges of starting the business, including incorporation, services development, funding, and setting up operations. It’s important to stand up to competition and wear your reputation on your sleeve. Today, marketing is all about immediacy.

Tips 92

Tips Startup Services Outsource Development 92

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. Just for clarification, I characterize a product plan as a formal description of your product or service, with a quick business description at the end for effect.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Summary Product 124

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 31, 2022

From a societal perspective, I’d be more concerned about e-scooters leaving Los Angeles than Paris,” David Zipper, a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government, told TechCrunch. Boohoo to your complaints about scooters on sidewalks! Frustrated. So what if there are accidents?

Los Angeles 257

Los Angeles San Pedro Santa Monica Study 257

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

There are an awful lot of Internet music services out there nowadays--how does a startup try to compete with all that noise, and do it ad-free? Los Angeles-based Radical.FM (www.radical.fm) thinks it has a new formula for Internet streaming, and can take on Pandora and others in head to head competition. Explain what Radical.FM

Startup 237

Startup Services Advertising Content 237

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2022

Change is about the only thing constant in the world of startups. The solution is to establish and maintain a culture and processes that don’t view change as a discrete event to be spotted and managed, but as an ongoing opportunity to improve competitiveness. Imbue customer change focus.

Startup 116

Startup Training Statistics Summary 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

So a better question than asking about the quality of an idea, is asking about the quality of your plan to implement the idea. Find out if something very similar is already selling, and who your competition would be if you proceed. All the evidence says that over 99% fail to make that leap. Keep thieves away (protect it).

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 17, 2012

It is a platform that allows anyone who offers a service to advertise it for free – we promote this profile on the most popular social networks such as Twitter , Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Stumbleupon and many more. Makes talking to people about the project a lot easier with hard facts and figures behind it.

Advertising 79

Advertising Services Social Network Startup 79

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

We spoke with founder and CEO Luke Fox to learn more about the company, and its technology. Luke Fox: One of the things that I personally like to do, when we do head-to-head competitions, is roll in on the day of an event, and show how the system takes less than 15 minutes to get up and running, detecting and mitigating drones.

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

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. Reinvent the vision for change.

Course 127

Course IBM IBM Social Media 127

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 13, 2016

And if that new strategy is proved to be true, the five–hundred–pound gorilla in that niche just moved out of the way of many of its smaller competitors, leaving a market that will surely see a scramble of new competition in the near future. Forgotten about selected vertical markets within the niche?

Resource 120

Resource Competition Examples Customer 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

For example, I’m an introverted product guy who doesn’t care so much about building the personnel relationships needed to keep a motivated team. Today, customer loyalty is based on the “ total customer experience ,” as opposed to price or service alone. Pay attention to all. Ability to organize and motivate individuals into teams.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

Is your product or service one that responds to a customer need, real or perceived? In general, there are three types of products or services: those a customer needs, those a customer wants, an d those a customer believes he does not want or need. Can you, your sales people and your marketing staff answer this succinctly?

Sales 226

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 226

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

The problem with shelfware is that if you have great sales people, you have raised tons of VC money from prominent investors, you have some marquee clients and you thus likely have some great press about you it can be hard to tell true success from that which is ephemeral. I’m always paranoid about shelfware. I know, I know.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2022

First of all, the glory days of “dot.coms” are gone, when investors “didn’t care” about profitability, and all the big money was focused on user count growth. Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Design a product or service that you can sell.

Platform 118

Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118