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

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2017

Music, Microsoft, Atom Factory, and Warner/Chappell, and that its development and tech teams are in Beijing, with marketing, A&R, and business development based in Los Angeles. Spotlite said its executives come from such companies as Google Music, Yahoo! The company's offices in Los Angeles are listed in Walnut.

Walnut 149

Walnut Competition Yahoo Los Angeles 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

In case you hadn’t noticed, the key elements of a competitive advantage for your business have changed as businesses move online, and your domain is instantly global. As a business advisor, I have to recommend even to established companies that they review and revamp their competitive strategy now, even if it appears to be working today.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

These days, building a new business is all about visibility and marketing, no matter how great or innovative a solution you bring to the table. In fact, having one marketing guru on the team alone won’t get you very far. The most effective teams, through sharing and common interests, develop leaders at all levels. Give credit.

Marketing 130

Marketing Develop Development Startup 130

socalTECH

JULY 8, 2019

Los Angeles-based health messaging startup Curogram , a new startup developing a web-based, SMS app for the healthcare market, has been selected as a finalist for the Publicis Health Media Disruption Garage Competition, according to the company. READ MORE>>.

Competition 113

Competition Startup Advertising Web 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2020

As an investor, I always listen carefully to what an entrepreneur says, and does not say, about competition. Every business area has competition and every customer has alternatives, so a smart entrepreneur needs to acknowledge these as a positive in defining a big market, and position the features of a new solution in this context.

Competition 125

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 125

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

An example would be a drug development company needing various stages of FDA approval, substituted for “prototype” above. million), but certainly also allowing the investor to put much lower values into each test, resulting in valuations well below that amount. There is nothing wrong with changing the five tests to meet individual needs.

Invest 306

Invest Startup Email Competition 306

SoCal CTO

APRIL 25, 2017

I've removed the two words that described the market - otherwise this is verbatim. I'm working on a start up idea in the XXX market with my partner and we are currently looking for full stack developer to join us as a technical co-founder. Here is the most recent version of an all too common email inquiry from a startup founder.

Email 150

Email Startup Develop Development 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2023

As an investor, I always listen carefully to what an entrepreneur says, and does not say, about competition. Every business area has competition and every customer has alternatives, so a smart entrepreneur needs to acknowledge these as a positive in defining a big market, and position the features of a new solution in this context.

Competition 111

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Customer 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

Traditional marketing may be adequate for linear growth, but it likely won’t catapult you to Amazon’s unicorn status , or make waves in the business world. For example, I usually hear about an aggressive marketing budget, with a plan to penetrate a few big retail chains, and some videos to catch your attention on YouTube.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2022

In my experience as a business advisor, most organizations, large and small, struggle to keep up with the pace of change and competitive forces today. A question I often get is how to transform that overall team into a smooth-running machine that will keep up with the pace of market change, and competition in today’s world.

Competition 136

Competition Resource Startup Organization 136

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev. If you hire truly talented people you end up definitionally with a lot of competitive peers who will inevitably jockey for resources and control. Marketing of course often feels the opposite.

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

But LA-based performance marketing agency MuteSix didn’t wait that long to build its business around scaling DTC brands. They also have a very smart and efficient approach to creative development that was critical to helping us scale,” she wrote. (If Why do you think that performance marketing is the right fit for DTC?

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Since Arrested Development is back I thought I’d resurrect Gob Bluth’s answer when he was told he needed a “business model” – he quickly figured out that he was missing one so he asked Starla, the Bluth company secretary, if she would be his business model. You need product / market fit.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

Yet many of you are telling me that we are all missing big opportunities by not recognizing the unique challenges faced by startups in developing countries , where infrastructure is lacking, and talent is not so concentrated. Competition is not always a bad thing, and the real purpose is often to make the world a better place.

Capital 138

Capital Marketing Ideas Venture Capital 138

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. Nascent startup markets are like fine wine, they take time to develop.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The venture is also one of the few e-motorcycle companies drawing engineering tips from competition. Track competition is a secondary arena for Energica. But the competition is closing in on some of the Italian EV maker’s numbers. MotoE Worldcup racing, Image Credits: Energica. Image Credits: TechCrunch.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

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. Good marketing is not rocket science. Marty Zwilling.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

In my first enterprise software company we developed a methodology for sales that we called PUCCKA , which I wrote about previously. So I often work with teams to get them to codify the key things they do well that the competition does not. But that instant product / market fit is rare. So what’s next?

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

socalTECH

MARCH 18, 2014

Irvine-based Bitvore , a startup developing big data and intelligence-gathering software which pulls information from both public and private data sources for businesses, said this morning that it has closed a $4.5M, Series A funding round. Bitvore, led by Jeff Curie, said that it has developed a. READ MORE>>.

Software 227

Software IBM IBM Social Media 227

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. I also look for a commensurate portion of the plan describing the specific innovative marketing deliverables, beyond the traditional marketing items.

Marketing 133

Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Thus began my marketing campaign. Competitive (Athlete: skier & rowed at Princeton, hates losing at everything she does). Having been at Battery Ventures for 5 years earlier in her career has given her the investor vantage point and years of seeing booming markets and contracting ones. And the contractions always come back.

Venture Capital 408

Venture Capital Startup Outsource Development CitySearch 408

Berkonomics

JULY 4, 2013

But for most, the true sign of success and potential for even more is in the landing of a major account, one that validates the pricing, quality and competitive advantages of a company’s offering. For this reason alone, it makes sense for most of us to aim high once we have worked the kinks out of our offering with smaller customers.

.Net 235

.Net Resource Competition Customer 235

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

As I like to say, “If you’re really on to an enormous idea then other people in the market are going to spot that and want to compete with you. If you have a market lead then raising capital and making investments now will help you as others enter the market. If you don’t, somebody else WILL!”

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2011

With more competition in early-stage many VCs are investing smaller amounts at earlier stages. In the last 90′s it was impossible to charge fair prices for products & services in a market where you had 5 competitors giving away free products to acquire “eyeballs&# and fueled by an excess of venture capital.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Capital Cloud Computing Marketing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2022

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there are over 34 million registered developers in 2022.

Develop 138

Develop Development Platform Mobile 138

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Our target market is entrepreneurs, creatives, and developers. Our services range from basically any platform service to enable an entrepreneur or developer or creative, to get online with a website, or do things like set up a blog. That has grown very nicely, even those we''ve not been overly aggressive with marketing.

Software Review 238

Software Review Cloud Computing Technical Review Platform 238

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there were over 20 million registered developers in 2018.

Mobile 126

Mobile Develop Development Platform 126

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

And we wanted a head of global marketing. In the same year they won Business Insider’s Startup competition. Because I knew that Ethan was on to a powerful idea and one in which he had developed huge competence and domain knowledge in. I was preparing to move back to the US from London after 11 years abroad. Nice sweep!

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. So if you add people like me the target market is tens of millions. Far from it. Lots of it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2022

The concept of “ force multipliers ” originally was developed in military science, but certainly applies equally well to business. In my role of business advisor to startups, I often recommend these to increase initial brand identity and market penetration. Of course, such actions are equally applicable to businesses at any stage.

Marketing 119

Marketing Social Media Mentor Conference 119

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Let me start by saying that Clayton is one of the most influential people on my thoughts about markets that led to both the concept behind my first startup and my main theses in investing. We spoke about what succeeds early in technology market evolutions. As markets grow, the more open and modular systems win.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2022

I know entrepreneurs who have suffered from premature execution often associated with the ready-fire-aim quick-to-market approach. If your product is highly innovative, and speed to market is critical, you won’t get it right the first time anyway, no matter how cautiously you plan. The target market is moving in unpredictable ways.

Marketing 120

Marketing Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 120

Berkonomics

APRIL 9, 2020

If it takes eighteen months to get a new product out the door and into the market, and if a product’s gross margin is ten dollars but the corporate overhead is a million a month, it will take the sale of 67,000 more units to break even than if it were to take only six months to market. It’s all about fixed overhead and efficiency.

Competition 156

Competition Sales Marketing Product 156

Berkonomics

JANUARY 2, 2025

For example: Hire a great sales person then fail to support him or her with a good marketing effort or a properly priced quality product, and that person will be set up to fail, and for reasons you might have fixed. How do you efficiently get your offering from development to market? Then there is the third P performance.

Resource 156

Resource Product Email Competition 156

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

There are obvious reasons the industry has had less-than-desirable returns, including: massive over-funding of the sector, huge increases in inexperienced venture capitalists that took a decade to peter out, and the massive correction in the value of the public stock markets that closed many exit opportunities for half a decade.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347