Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Mostly it’s because your marketing campaigns suck. One of the masters of this in the startup technology world is Flurry.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Even the strongest relationships are often tested and broken by the stresses of a new startup.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. In the comments section a clever question popped up about whether I would have invested in myself before I became an investor. My first response mentally was, “Of course!” They choose a different path.

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2022

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. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities.

Content 146

Content Newsletter Competition Writing 146

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. For starters, once you announce your competitors instantly will start tracking you.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

With the enormous changes to our economies and financial markets?—?how how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued?

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

For example, innovative technologists often come up with a new device or app, just because they can, and assume everyone will want one. She speaks from decades of experience with innovation at big companies, as well as startups. A great innovation starts with at least three ideas. Be ready to pivot at any point in the process.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales. The idea that the course asks students to write public blog posts is a testament to its more modern teaching style. As you grow you need process-driven people.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

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. Then write it down. It’s pretty simple to do.

Customer 93

Customer Custom Marketing Tips 93

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

It’s not hard to find people willing to write the narrative that “venture capital is not an asset class” or “venture capital has performed terribly.” I hope to publish that deck and a full write up in the next 10 days in partnership with Dan Primack at Fortune (if my write up doesn’t suck, I guess ;-)).

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital Capital Startup Writing 362

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

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Start with a service you know and love. You have no shelf life, so you can’t make money while you sleep.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

PR isn’t something that can be delegated – The other thing that tech execs often want to do is to delegate the PR to their marketing person. Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

I have long advised startup companies that if you don’t control your messaging somebody else will and your potential customers will form impressions of you shaped by somebody else or by nobody at all. It is simply the most important way to proactively control your career development and how the market perceives you.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2021

Most entrepreneurs avoid setting up a board of directors for their new business unless or until they sign up an investor who demands a seat on the board. High-performing startups today are the ones that use every resource at their disposal. I recommend three or five members to start (an uneven number prevents tie votes).

Startup 145

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Writing 145

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

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

Recently I’ve been debating with a number of young startup companies that are raising money in the next few months, “what is the right about of capital to raise at a startup?&#. there may be major competitive changes in the market that makes your next funding round hard (e.g. Who started this meme?

Startup 319

Startup Venture Capital Capital Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Let’s set up a framework. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was leaving IAC to start a company. Competitive sportswoman. Somehow she was always on a flight up to Seattle or San Francisco. Didn’t I make myself clear about celebrities & startups ? She helps write press releases. Turns out she’s done this startup thing before. Does that work for you?”

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. That’s money that fuels our startup ecosystems. …But LPs Have Been Putting Out More Money Than They Are Getting Back.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. I can’t control the market. Private markets for stocks are the opposite.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2011

What could you learn from looking at your competitors or other tech startups in a different way? Are you cynical about their chances in the market just because they seem to be hot in the press and that bugs you? Or you think their startup is a passing fad and yours is the real deal? The topic of FourSquare came up.

Startup 313

Startup Press Writing News 313

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup. Market Size.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. One of them is profitability.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

There is nothing quite as thrilling in business as igniting a startup and watching it blossom. Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. Write your own Hollywood script. Do you ignore the warnings of experts?

Hollywood 120

Hollywood Writing Press Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2021

In my role as mentor to many of you aspiring entrepreneurs, I often find you convinced that all you need to start is a unique innovation or idea , and now you are ready to jump in with both feet and enjoy the ride. Remember that being an entrepreneur is all about starting and running a business, after the initial invention.

Satisfaction 135

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Startup Mentor 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2022

In these changing times, if you already have a startup, with no plan, maybe it’s time to think ahead for a change. Usually that means writing something down, since it’s hard to maintain something, or track yourself against it, if it’s not written down. Can you start where you are and relocate later? Providing minimal resources.

Startup 115

Startup Resource Training Ideas 115

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

15 years ago we were at the peak of Internet hype with the launch of many over-capitalized businesses with a market size & opportunity was limited. The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). We are in a bubble (with so many private $1bn+ valuations). Where are we today?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

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. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities.

Content 67

Content Marketing Newsletter Writing 67

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2021

If you sold your last startup for $800 million, you probably already know how to build a business, and even conservative investors won’t worry about the quality of your next business plan. Most investors tend to think of startups without a plan as expensive hobbies. Marty Zwilling.

Sample 137

Sample Writing Mentor Content 137

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2023

The challenge is to find the time and initiative to keep up with the information wave, and be able to curate the data into knowledge that must be learned, unlearned, or relearned. With this principle, real entrepreneurs start with a conviction that new learning will reveal flaws in existing models, leading to new opportunities.

Social Media 120

Social Media Startup Entrepreneur Education 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2014

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. If you want to connect with customers, put aside your writing formalities.

Startup 103

Startup Content Newsletter Writing 103