Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

For those of us who’ve invested in early-stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem. Now we tackle the more difficult and subjective task of placing a value upon those startups that don’t fit into that mold.

Invest 306

Invest Startup Competition Email 306

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

If you aren’t yet adapting to the market and your customers, you are falling behind. In other words, change in your business has to become the accepted norm, just like it is in your market. Be proactive rather than reactive to market change. Foster a collaboration culture, rather than competition.

Competition 148

Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2020

Technical entrepreneurs love their technology, and often are driven to launch a startup on the assumption that everyone will buy any solution which highlights this technology. Instead, they need to validate a customer problem and real market need first. Customers buy solutions, not technology. Neither is positive.

Technology 127

Technology Marketing Social Media Customer 127

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2020

In reality, the business world gets tougher every day, with new entrants, new technology, and competitors more easily entering the fray from around the globe. Porter proposed his Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment which I think makes even more sense today. Way back in 1979, Michael E.

Competition 151

Competition Startup Framework Pricing 151

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

Technology is so key to every business these days that experienced business-smart but non-tech entrepreneurs are feeling deeper and deeper in the hole. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology.

Competition 174

Competition High Tech Startup Social Media 174

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

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

I cannot recommend it enough for people in the technology or media sectors. Many people bandy about the definitions of “disruptive technology&# or “the innovator’s dilemma&# without ever having read the book and almost universally misunderstand the concepts. I’ve characterized it in a chart below.

Startup 376

Startup Framework Marketing Customer 376

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2019

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. They are also seeking to find out how you handle one of the many tough questions that a new founder will get in today’s market.

Competition 120

Competition Patents Resource Invest 120

Berkonomics

JULY 6, 2017

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. Well, here is one of those, and it deals with market research first and foremost. Here’s where some intelligent market research might have saved the company and my investment. There is no competition.” Fast forward just a few years to 1996.

Competition 266

Competition Research Summary Pricing 266

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 Examples Startup Customer 170

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Compelling in the sense that you solve a real problem a target group of potential customers has with a product that is significantly better than the alternatives on that market. In my opinion no amount of clever marketing or chest beating at conferences can create a market if you don’t have an amazing product to begin with.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

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

Berkonomics

APRIL 11, 2019

An entrepreneur pitches using a deck with no slide for competition. We have no competition.”. Perhaps buyers cannot obtain attractive financing in the current market. Maybe there is advance knowledge of new technologies around the corner that makes any decision today a risky one. We investors see this all the time.

Competition 120

Competition Slides Research Sales 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

Marketing is everything these days. You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The venture is also one of the few e-motorcycle companies drawing engineering tips from competition. Technology from the track is transferring to production models, according to Cevolini. Track competition is a secondary arena for Energica. But the competition is closing in on some of the Italian EV maker’s numbers.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

While you all recognize that reacting to weak market signals is critical to staying in business and staying competitive, I find that many don’t have the skills and focus to trigger change decisions on a timely basis. New technologies drive the need for support and attachments, which could be your opportunity or loss.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Custom 162

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

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

As a startup advisor, I see too many entrepreneurs get distracted by technology or their favorite cause, and then wonder why they can’t find an investor, attract customers, or build a long-term business. These principles include the following: Free and ultra-low cost may no longer be competitive.

Marketing 124

Marketing Competition Customer Custom 124

Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2012

For those of us who’ve invested in early stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem. Prototype (reducing technology risk) $1/2 million. Strategic relationships (reducing market risk and competitive risk) $1/2 million.

Invest 321

Invest Startup Competition Email 321

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

I second his list of top innovation challenges and strategies to capitalize on untapped global startup opportunities: Create new markets rather than disrupt existing ones. Competition is not always a bad thing, and the real purpose is often to make the world a better place. Target a global market rather than a local from day one.

Capital 138

Capital Marketing Ideas Venture Capital 138

socalTECH

AUGUST 8, 2019

SUN said its new custom shared scooter has 10 inch, solid tires, 30 percent better battery capacity than what it's using now, and "all new technology" compared to its existing scooters, and is far more durable. The company said that its "vibrant yellow color" is what helps it compete with other scooter options available on the market.

Demand 124

Demand Marketing San Diego Los Angeles 124

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

It is with this backdrop that I was really happy to learn from my friend Ethan Anderson (HBS alum & founder of RedBeacon) about an awesome program at HBS run by Tom Eisenmann called Launching Technology Ventures. My list of excuses includes: product, pricing, competition and lack of sales support.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

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. Internationalization of Technology. We spoke about what succeeds early in technology market evolutions. So what did he actually say?

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

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. Yet, as a business consultant, I still find many of you business leaders relying primarily on your technology, word-of-mouth , or location to attract necessary customers.

Marketing 133

Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Of course it’s a competitive market so MCNs competing for top talent not only compete on rev share to talent but also to services that they provide talent. So as video content producers we need to understand that if we want to build mass-market video brands we need to distribute via YouTube.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2018

The insurance industry is an old industry, with a lot of contradictions--it's one where the more claims insurers pay to help customers, the less money the insurers make--and it's also one that hasn't been disrupted much yet by technology. Is it possible to use technology to replace the age-old system currently in use in insurance?

Technology 165

Technology Startup West Los Angeles Platform 165

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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

awards dinner on Thursday night I started reflected on what it would take to “change the trajectory&# for Seattle or for any regional market, really. It really wouldn’t take much to turn a great technology ecosystem into a truly electric one. As I gear up to give a keynote at the annual Seattle 2.0 No Dave S. =

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2023

In reality, the business world gets tougher every day, with new entrants, new technology, and competitors more easily entering the fray from around the globe. Porter proposed his Five Forces framework for analyzing the competitive environment which I think makes even more sense today. Way back in 1979, Michael E.

Competition 88

Competition Startup Framework Pricing 88

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

Because more technology people probably read startup blogs I’m guessing this post will come under more scrutiny. Still, I believe I’m offering an accurate representation of the ideal configuration of the main technology leaders. Your deepest thinkers on technology architecture are seldom good team leaders.

CTO Hire 400

CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Our target market is entrepreneurs, creatives, and developers. That has grown very nicely, even those we''ve not been overly aggressive with marketing. We wanted to give him that opportunity, and came up with a deal and structure which helped him but also added fuel to the fire for product and marketing and growth activity.

Software Review 238

Software Review Cloud Computing Technical Review Platform 238

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 26, 2022

At the time, the company raised $2 million, and Alexandrov said about the perceived competition, “The level of competition in this market in the U.S. At the time, the company raised $2 million, and Alexandrov said about the perceived competition, “The level of competition in this market in the U.S.

Funding 246

Funding Demand Los Angeles Competition 246

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I know all of this because every VC knows this because we’ve all either funded companies that have marketing technology or we’ve seen a pitch with a company that does this. Your pitch deck should really be your best marketing tool Your pitch deck shouldn’t contain your deepest, darkest secrets and plans. A deck is a deck.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Competition 239

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Most experts agree that the pace of business change is increasing , and all the business owners I know are struggling to keep up, much less surpass the wealth of global competitors now entering the market. Highlight the competitive edge you bring to the market. Use test marketing to identify changes before scale-up.

Marketing 116

Marketing Resource Training Startup 116