Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

Create company measures for success that go beyond financial metrics. You manage what you measure so be careful about having too narrowly defined of performance metrics. Perhaps having renewal rates with a good bonus spiff, have a component of MBO tied to usage performance metrics or spiff certain milestones like business plans.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

To keep you on a positive track with potential investors, I recommend the following logic principles, to balance your passion in presenting your vision of a new business: Make sure your plan includes some business metrics. Building a sustainable business is more like a marathon than an event.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

Overtly connect every operational problem to your strategy, rather than putting strategy on a different plane and making it only an annual event. Don’t make growth a big-bang event. In my experience, even in startups, longer-term strategy often gets pushed off the agenda due to current challenges.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. If one metric changes, it may not be significant, but someone needs to monitor whole categories for fluctuations that may be a weak signal. Broad disruptive events. Everyone notes macro changes, but the weak or secondary implications are often overlooked.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

Company grew by more than “400% each year” for past few years [assume growth metric = revenues]. Competition: Chegg (has raised $144 in debt and equity)—estimated by Steven Carpenter ( TechCrunch ) to be 10x more unique visitors than BookRenter (during peak book renting seasons) with nearly $140mm in revenues for 2010.

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Capital Metrics Competition 217

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

If angel investors are pressuring you to set up a board and if you don’t have the leverage to push back a little then I might suggest a 3-person board in which all 3 seats are appointed by the common stock and you agree to appoint one of these seats to the angel investor but perhaps make it either time based or event based.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

I hope to be asked back for next year’s event. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition. He believes that one of the financial metrics taught at business schools and reinforced by Wall Street has accelerated offshoring of industries. Liquidity is a process not an event.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2015

Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. If one metric changes, it may not be significant, but someone needs to monitor whole categories for fluctuations that may be a weak signal. Broad disruptive events. Everyone notes macro changes, but the weak or secondary implications are often overlooked.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2019

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. Relevant skills include continuous improvement of existing methods, processes and devices against a set of quality metrics.

Startup 94

Startup Training Statistics Summary 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Define metrics to measure what you want to achieve. A trusted leader knows that all negotiations with an individual are cumulative, not independent and soon forgotten events. Mistrustful leaders and organizations are preoccupied with keeping people from doing their worst. Recognize and address trust breaches immediately.

Mentor 98

Mentor News Summary Coach 98

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2017

Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. If one metric changes, it may not be significant, but someone needs to monitor whole categories for fluctuations that may be a weak signal. Broad disruptive events. Everyone notes macro changes, but the weak or secondary implications are often overlooked.

eBook 52

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 52

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2013

Changes in your organization’s core performance metrics. If one metric changes, it may not be significant, but someone needs to monitor whole categories for fluctuations that may be a weak signal. Broad disruptive events. Everyone notes macro changes, but the weak or secondary implications are often overlooked.

eBook 95

eBook Metrics Startup Examples 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Competitor positioning and sustainable competitive advantage. Of course, these should never be in a customer pitch, but investors expect an overall strategy with specific budgets, milestones and metrics. The entrepreneur needs to show a strategy for such an event, and a projected value and return to the investor.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2012

Measuring performance may seem self-evident, but many entrepreneurs mistake this task as a point-in-time or a one-time event. Metrics are required for ensuring the return to a known good baseline. Continuous innovation to maintain your competitive advantage does not mean that you can ignore current architectures and standards.

Ideas 94

Ideas Startup Summary Competition 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

As an investor you’re trying to pay the appropriate price for your perceived risks of the company succeeding and protect yourself in the event that it isn’t quite as valuable as you had hoped. while acknowledging that San Fran deals are often higher valuations due to increased competition amongst investors.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

That’s because a company’s value is a composite of all of the quantitative and qualitative factors that comprise a company: revenues, expenses, risks, growth prospects, quality of the management team, competitive advantages, strength of the intellectual property, and so forth. Liabilities: Your liabilities detract from your venture’s value.

.Net 89

.Net Metrics Competition Template 89

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2011

Measuring performance may seem self-evident, but many entrepreneurs mistake this task as a point-in-time or a one-time event. Metrics are required for ensuring the return to a known good baseline. Continuous innovation to maintain your competitive advantage does not mean that you can ignore current architectures and standards.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Summary Competition 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 7, 2017

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. Relevant skills include continuous improvement of existing methods, processes and devices against a set of quality metrics.

Startup 56

Startup Training Statistics Summary 56

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2016

After reviewing her day-by-day recommendations to improve productivity in a single week, I have extrapolated her guidance to ten productivity tips specifically for entrepreneurs to regain that competitive edge: Focus on managing yourself rather than managing others. Define clear goals and metrics for your productivity.

Tips 100

Tips Activity Startup Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Your plan should include a well-designed web site, events, press releases, and search engine marketing (SEM). Don’t forget the metrics and analytics. Above all, don’t forget to observe your competition and their social media activity. Create an integrated conventional marketing and social media strategy.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Startup Tips 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2014

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. Relevant skills include continuous improvement of existing methods, processes and devices against a set of quality metrics.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Startup Training Statistics 110

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2017

Measure your agility by putting metrics on change. Old views of change rates are no longer competitive. Smart retail stores sponsor live events, peer-help sessions, and customer demonstrations to create great experiences and opportunities for people to feel community with others that they could never find online.

Customer 52

Customer Custom Technical Review Summary 52

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

I felt this myself as we went from a few founders huddled into a tiny room to the front page of the Financial Times, an influx of VC interest, magazine covers, invitations to high-profile events and the pressures of trying to live up to this perception and the economic opportunities everybody expected. Every founder knows this.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

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. Relevant skills include continuous improvement of existing methods, processes and devices against a set of quality metrics.

Startup 93

Startup Training Statistics Summary 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

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. Relevant skills include continuous improvement of existing methods, processes and devices against a set of quality metrics.

Startup 94

Startup Marketing Training Statistics 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Based on my own years of experience in this space, I would like to highlight a critical subset of his key ingredients for success, to save you from the frustrations and setbacks we both have felt: Implement real competitive differentiation. Don’t forget seminars and events. Raise the conversion rate with effective follow-up.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Demand 56

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2010

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. Relevant skills include continuous improvement of existing methods, processes and devices against a set of quality metrics.

Startup 78

Startup Training Statistics Summary 78

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 25, 2014

Alex Taub – Social Rank , Twitter metrics and engagement tool. Short-lived but an epic way to cap off our interview; Shaq showed his competitive side when he hilarious tried swatting away Chris’s game controller out of his hand. Spontaneous Speakeasy - Oddly enough, one of my favorite events of the week.

Entertainment 99

Entertainment Google Entrepreneur Course 99

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Ask them to mention you to the press, speak about you on stage when they do public events, whatever. In Rob’s spare time he always seems to be going to a boxing class or some other competitive, physical activity. After all, you don’t ask, you don’t get. It’s a good metaphor for his board style.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

If you are deploying a freemium business model, test your upsell strategy on a portion of your users to establish concrete free-to-paid conversion metrics. The dynamic of a competitive atmosphere allowed him to sell his cars at their list price while increasing the velocity of the sales process.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Customer 236

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

How much money will airlines companies, hotel companies or event companies pay me as a referral or for booking? The metrics were good but we wondered how much better they would be when we expanded our product. Competition. How much ad revenue does TripAdvisor make? And how much do others providers make? You need a wedge.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

If the company is moderately successful, growing and has great prospects for the future than a small liquidity event will help founders & venture capitalists to be aligned. There is no way for people to keep prices down – it’s a competitive market. It is such a disconnect.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

For a similar company, with the same metrics and stage, valuations had been tiny. I think, of course, that we''re miles behind the valley, and probably behind event New York, but there''s no question this will be a highly vibrant ecosystem, and already is. We invest globally, with 20 percent of our funds outside the U.S.,

Southern California 124

Southern California SoCal Commerce Invest 124

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

The movie, “The Social Network” might have had more of an impact on creating future entrepreneurs than any other event of the past 5 years. Yes, it’s true that FOMO (fear of missing out) is driving some irrational behavior and valuations amongst uber competitive deals and well-financed VCs. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin!

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347