Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

In reality, resource constraints should be seen by startups a competitive advantage, by forcing them to develop new markets, and to think differently and act differently than existing players. Startups funded by rich uncles rarely think about productivity. Rethink or reframe the challenge. Find new ways to augment.

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2019

Image via Flickr by jardenberg Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. Even great products need great marketing “content” to fuel the ascent of their online message. Educational. People won’t flock to marketing materials.

Customer 93

Customer Custom Marketing Tips 93

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

Last week, the University of Southern California 's Viterbi School of Engineering announced that it had established a new, business plan competition, the Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition ([link] specifically aimed at students in the engineering school. Why a business plan competition, and why in engineering school?

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

Serial entrepreneur, venture investor and startup accelerator pioneer Brad Feld has notoriously mocked traditional marketing throughout his career. If you have amazing products, the marketing of those products is trivial. If you have $hitty products, the marketing is impossible. Trada – Guerilla Marketing In Action.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2019

What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology. We heard a lot of this sort of thing about Pinterest in the early days. But that doesn't help. Repudiation.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Technology Startup Social Media 87

socalTECH

OCTOBER 23, 2012

We sat down with TX Zhuo , who is heading up the firm's venture investments, about the fund and his path here after a recent stint at Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors fund in Palo Alto. Specifically, we look at digital media, healthcare IT, e-commerce, education technology and financial services. What is Karlin Ventures?

Funding 253

Funding Startup Invest Commerce 253

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 19, 2019

Mullenax told me he became interested in this market after working as a finance and operations analyst at Bonobos, where he “fell in love with the [direct-to-consumer] model.” ” He argued that the market has room for more than just “one winner or two winners or five winners.” Paul Munford.

Startup 217

Startup Seed Funding Los Angeles Competition 217

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

SEPTEMBER 17, 2023

I believe these principles, paraphrased here, should be adopted by every entrepreneur struggling to accomplish innovation in a startup in any market: Innovation can come from anywhere in the organization. Startup leadership and survival is all about execution. No technical analysis has the power of real-time user and market feedback.

Artificial Inteligence 114

Artificial Inteligence Google Startup Organization 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2017

Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. Even great products need great marketing “content” to fuel the ascent of their online message. It’s all about content that will bring the masses to your business: Highly relevant.

Content 67

Content Marketing Newsletter Writing 67

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

In reality, resource constraints should be seen by startups a competitive advantage, by forcing them to develop new markets, and to think differently and act differently than existing players. Startups funded by rich uncles rarely think about productivity. Rethink or reframe the challenge. Find new ways to augment.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency Wpromote said on Monday that it has launched a new set of scholsrships, which will go to students interested in digital marketing. According to Wpromote, the new scholarships--which will be awarded bi-annually--will total $3,000, with the first award in December of this year. READ MORE>>.

Marketing 100

Marketing Blogging Writing Los Angeles 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2022

As a business consultant with experience in large companies as well as startups, I often hear about dysfunctional management hierarchies, as well as the value provided by exceptional ones. We have all heard about the successes of flattened management organizations in the last decade at Facebook, Valve, Zappos, and others.

Outsource 133

Outsource Training Organization Social Media 133

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2023

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. In today’s information overload, marketing is everything. Use every marketing channel available.

Case Study 89

Case Study Customer Custom Study 89

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. In today’s information overload, marketing is everything. Use every marketing channel available.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Customer Custom 174

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2015

But the bigger truth is the competition is important. We will have two well-funded companies educating the market on why this market opportunity for the $24 billion US storage market is ripe for disruption. years it was hard to get other investors to see this unsexy market as ripe for innovation.

Funding 150

Funding Competition Marketing Summary 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Much has been written about product design, but designing the total experience from the front rarely happens yet. The total experience design begins with a common vision, but then must cross the borders between product, packaging, marketing, customer support, and many other disciplines. Don’t assume that early input is adequate.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

Value Prop Twitter Style : “Ringrevenue’s call performance marketing platform enables ad networks, agencies, advertisers & publishers to generate more inbound sales calls.”. In today’s market, so much focus is placed on transacting business online. Who do you view as your biggest competition? You’re right.

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2020

I believe these principles, paraphrased here, should be adopted by every entrepreneur struggling to accomplish innovation in a startup in any market: Innovation can come from anywhere in the organization. Startup leadership and survival is all about execution. No technical analysis has the power of real-time user and market feedback.

Artificial Inteligence 165

Artificial Inteligence Google Startup Organization 165

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2023

It requires an attitude of self-education, versus an assumption that someone else will provide the education. Technologies are not solutions, but understanding a technology, in the context of a customer need, will result in more competitive and long-lasting solutions. The act of communicating and writing enhances learning.

Social Media 120

Social Media Startup Entrepreneur Education 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2021

I’m certainly not saying that all of these are required, but they are certainly all worth some consideration: Get some business education, as well as technical. Remember that being an entrepreneur is all about starting and running a business, after the initial invention. Actively share info with entrepreneur peers.

Satisfaction 135

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Startup Mentor 135

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

The video of the interview will be available this week and I will talk more about it then because the interview covered so many great topics. And there was a great discussion about generational change at Venture Capital firms handled so well by Benchmark & Sequoia and how Fred is thinking about it.

Competition 150

Competition Venture Capital Invest Organization 150

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

They can make it clear that they care about the constituency there. Educate them on the benefits, educate them on safety, and provide helmets.” He explains that scooter companies have thought about expansion too purely from the standpoint of acheiving market saturation.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Much has been written about product design, but designing the total experience from the front rarely happens yet. The total experience design begins with a common vision, but then must cross the borders between product, packaging, marketing, customer support, and many other disciplines. Don’t assume that early input is adequate.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

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. What type of market, if any, is the right one? Boohoo to your complaints about scooters on sidewalks!

Los Angeles 257

Los Angeles San Pedro Santa Monica Study 257

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2022

What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology. We heard a lot of this sort of thing about Pinterest in the early days. But that doesn't help. Repudiation.

Startup 89

Startup Technical Review Technology Social Media 89

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

BlackTech Week was created in 2014, and in four short years, they’ve gained over 2700 participants, 150 speakers, and 3 pitch competitions. Having the pitches and showcase as part of the conference is a nice feature for the startups, so the whole thing isn’t just about the pitch. BlackTech Week (Miami, FL).

Startup 140

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 1, 2012

Or do you toss your hat into the ring with an already existing concept, making a clone in hopes to snatch away market share? You have to know your markets, you need to make sure you have qualified people creating the product, and you need to find something that’s going to make you stand-out in comparison to all the other noise out there.

Marketing 97

Marketing Startup Software Review Competition 97

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I was speaking recently to the team at NuOrder , an LA-based company we’re an investor in about “realism in startups” — an impromptu talk I have given to any of our portfolio companies who ask. During the Q&A I was asked about how I make investment decisions in early-stage businesses. I feel personally committed and engaged.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

These authors speak from their own wealth of experience in creating and growing technology startups, marketing, and fundraising. Street smarts are largely about people skills, which require emotional insights. Education and expertise: formal and self-learning. Intelligence and insight: book and street smarts.

Help 130

Help Mentor Paramount Technical Review 130

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2022

From my experience, and the experience of other entrepreneurs, here are the key elements you should think about as part of the process: Personal interests and aspirations. Do you believe that you have an idea for a company that you can implement better than anyone, and maintain a competitive advantage? Right idea at the right time.

Startup 115

Startup Resource Training Ideas 115

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

Explain what's special about Echo's microscopes, and what's your background? Eugene Cho: I saw this market opportunity when I realized that the larger microscope companies, like Nikon, Olympus, and so on were really only focusing their efforts on high end systems, which cost $200,000 plus. Talk about how the company is backed?

Tech Coast Angels 124

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

I’m not talking about just making incremental improvements in their products and processes, but more fundamental changes to the business model, such as the following: Announce a new market launch that fits your core competency. You didn’t wait until a new market was totally proven before entering.

Customer 143

Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

We spoke with one of those companies-- El Segundo-based ConsumerTrack (www.consumertrack.com)--which is a $30M, bootstrapped an online marketing company which is driving millions of customers to big name, financial customers. What is ConsumerTrack all about? Brett Rossman: ConsumerTrack is a performance-based, online marketing company.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

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. Online education. Far from it. Lots of it. Almost nobody believed and now look at it. 6SensorLabs.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2020

It requires an attitude of self-education, versus an assumption that someone else will provide the education. Technologies are not solutions, but understanding a technology, in the context of a customer need, will result in more competitive and long-lasting solutions. The act of communicating and writing enhances learning.

Social Media 127

Social Media Startup Education Entrepreneur 127

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

Explain what's special about Echo's microscopes, and what's your background? Eugene Cho: I saw this market opportunity when I realized that the larger microscope companies, like Nikon, Olympus, and so on were really only focusing their efforts on high end systems, which cost $200,000 plus. Talk about how the company is backed?

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 100