Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

A while back, I wrote about the importance of a “ sustainable competitive advantage ,” and outlined the business plan value and limitations of patents and competitor feature comparisons. But once you start selling products, all of these pale in comparison to your level of customer service. Continuous customer service innovation.

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Customer Custom Services Startup 90

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.

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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. Subtraction leads to simplicity, better usability, and easier education of your customers. Find new ways to augment. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2012

People are tired of being serviced like a commodity by a faceless computer robot. Educate your customers on your business. Do everything you can to show your customers how they can cut their own costs and yours too, like online service. Don’t let customer service slip. Ask your suppliers for help in maintaining margins.

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Customer Custom Startup Competition 104

Southern California Edison Blog

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Telecom carriers looking to stay competitive should continue strengthening their network infrastructure and adding greater flexibility to their service offerings to provide reliable and high-performance connectivity for their customers. Offer Greater Service Flexibility. Post-Pandemic Consumer Trends In The Telecom Industry.

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Networking Layoffs Customer Custom 98

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

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. Others include the marketing awareness and education stage, online and in-store shopping stage, setup stage, support, and upgrade considerations.

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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. The education will be invaluable in setting up your own business, managing a team, and learning how to deal with constant challenges. Find your level of passion early.

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Satisfaction Entrepreneur Startup Mentor 135

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. Healthy competition keeps you on your toes. I still believe in competition. What mistakes do people make?

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2019

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. A couple of years ago, I saw a classic primer on the key elements of great online content that I like, in “ Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition ,” by Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com.

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Customer Custom Marketing Tips 93

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 18, 2019

How did we go from collaboration to competition, from consensus to dissention, from a reliable digital resource to an amplifier of questionable information? This enabled many aspects of the dark side to emerge (fraud, invasion of privacy, fake news, denial of service, etc.). We are currently still suffering from those shifts.

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UCLA Social Media Social Network Santa Barbara 253

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. Driving funding to early-stage startups and small businesses is what we do here and being a part of the Startup of the Year Competition was a no-brainer for us. BlackTech Week (Miami, FL).

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Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

Southern California Edison Blog

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

Dark fiber allows large enterprises, educational institutions, media companies, and government agencies to leverage the high bandwidth capabilities. These tailored services allow a variety of industries to exceed business requirements and goals as well as stay competitive in their respective spaces. So what is dark fiber?

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Networking Education Technical Review Organization 49

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

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. Others include the marketing awareness and education stage, online and in-store shopping stage, setup stage, support, and upgrade considerations.

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Customer Custom Design Product 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

If one of your core values is exceeding your customer expectations for quality and service, and your potential partner ascribes to the low cost, high profit mantra, a successful partnership is highly unlikely over the long-term. Thus you should do the same or more due diligence on educational background, previous work, and references.

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Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2021

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. Budget relatively small “educational investments” at early stages, to learn from a target firm without a full commitment, or without leading either partner astray.

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Organization CTO Hire Startup Outsource Development 132

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

As a starting point I have to believe the founder has the attributes of an entrepreneur that matter most to me : Tenacity, resiliency, inspiration, perspiration, attention-to-detail, competitiveness, decisiveness, risk tolerance and integrity. I work with two companies that aim to change education but both are indirectly aiming to do so.

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Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Southern California Edison Blog

DECEMBER 8, 2021

were denial of service (DOS) attacks. Educate team members about how to recognize and respond to phishing attempts. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks. A third option is managed wavelength services , which allow startups to keep their data private because the connection isn’t shared with any other customers.

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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.

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Startup Education Customer Custom 97

SoCal Tech Calendar

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010

The Sustainable Business Council of Los Angeles (SBCLA),a non-profit organization which provides a professional networking and education forum for SouthernCalifornia businesses and individuals working with sustainable products, services, and processes.

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Southern California Guide Los Angeles Education 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2014

Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition. Keep these balanced and aligned between people (customers, employees) and process (quality, service, revenue), and keep the scope realistic (eliminating world hunger is too broad).

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Entrepreneur Competition Technical Review Oracle 103

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

Tech companies have spent the past decade or more developing innovations that can be applied to old-world industries like agriculture, construction, energy, education, manufacturing and transportation and logistics. Wander is one-such service providing high speed wireless internet in Los Angeles. Sick of your ISP?

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Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2017

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. A couple of years ago, I saw a classic primer on the key elements of great online content that I like, in “ Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition ,” by Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com.

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Content Marketing Newsletter Writing 67

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

By drawing on the current network of drivers and the app technology it already has in place, UberEATS could be a major competitor for food delivery services such as DoorDash. This were done in a complementary fashion to provide support and education, and not undermine sales. Remember when you were a startup?

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Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 28, 2012

A while back, I wrote about the value of Michael Porter’s Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment, and using every opportunity to highlight and emphasize your relative advantages, whether they be price, features, or bargaining power. Continuous customer service innovation. Exceed customer expectations.

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Customer Custom Startup Organization 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020

In addition to their focus on purpose, Whole Foods continues to target high-income, educated city-dwellers who are health- or eco-conscious. Many companies still measure and reward employee productivity on internal processes, such as service calls closed per hour or revenue generated, rather than delighted customers.

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Customer Custom Satisfaction Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2014

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. A couple of years ago, I saw a modern-day primer on the key elements of great online content that I like in “ Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition ,” by Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com.

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Startup Content Newsletter Writing 103

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2009

According to Illumina, it will offer complete coverage of the human genome sequence for under $50,000, and will also create a "social community" focused on education and exchange of information for people who have had their genome sequenced. Illumina's equipment is used by many of those firms, and others, for the gene sequencing process.

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San Diego Education Google Competition 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2013

Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition. Keep these balanced and aligned between people (customers, employees) and process (quality, service, revenue), and keep the scope realistic (eliminating world hunger is too broad).

Startup 103

Startup Competition Technical Review Oracle 103

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 31, 2022

Despite that apparent hunger, two scooter operators – Lyft and Spin – recently exited the Los Angeles area, blaming a lack of favorable regulations and too much competition, which apparently made it difficult to turn a profit. No major city in the world that introduced a shared e-scooter service has permanently banned them,” she said. “In

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Los Angeles San Pedro Santa Monica Study 257

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2012

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. Not too long ago, I saw a modern-day primer on the key elements of great online content in “ Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition ,” by Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com. Educational.

Content 99

Content Startup Newsletter Writing 99

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Using that, and a partnership model where we go into schools and partner with them to provide SAT and ACT service, we've been able to build up a private tutoring service from basically nothing. Out of 41 companies who submitted their software for approval, only three were accepted--us, McGraw Hill, and Peoples Education.

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Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 21, 2012

As a former educator, I understand the complexity of the bureaucratic processes of secondary and post-secondary education systems. That is why I am amazed and extremely excited at how fast Pathbrite is storming through the education system and slugging home-runs. Entrepreneur Nuggets.

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Education Web 2.0 Course Platform 63

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

The Raza Development Fund created a new $1M loan fund from money remaining from a 2013 JPMorgan Chase grant from the PRO Neighborhoods competition. CHASE for BUSINESS is everything a business needs in one place, from expert advice to valuable products and services. Phoenix photo: Kevin Dooley. The post JPMorgan Chase Invests $2.2

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Invest Entrepreneur News Tips 70

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 12, 2015

One of these bright lights is Santa Barbara-based HG Data - developers of the world's largest competitive-intelligence database. <Note: Diversity on all levels, be it ideas, education, background, gender, ethnicity or otherwise, is critical to our growth. The Power of a Diverse Workforce.

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Company Companies Santa Barbara Education 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2018

For example, Facebook added WhatsApp as a cross-platform messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP) service to enhance the self-sustaining growth their social media platform before any downturn. For example, even the giant Amazon acquired Whole Foods as a growth entryway into the competitive grocery and food industry.

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Examples IP Acquisition Social Media 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2013

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.

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Startup Education Customer Custom 117

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2011

Everyone assumes their product or service is so great that “word-of-mouth” will carry the day for them. I just finished a modern-day primer on the key elements of great online content in “ Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition ,” a new book by Michael Stelzner, founder of SocialMediaExaminer.com.

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Content Startup Newsletter Writing 94