Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

Startups can use social responsibility as a competitive advantage. That’s a real competitive edge that you can use in your marketing and positioning. Socially responsible products typically sell at a premium price. Customer loyalty is highest for socially conscious startups. Doing business is a human process.

Startup 149

Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

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. Yet most of the startups I see these days are providing a solution that is easier to use, more fun, or more productive.

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. Yet most of the startups I see these days are providing a solution that is easier to use, more fun, or more productive.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Customer Custom 174

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2021

I’m often surprised when you as an aspiring entrepreneur, looking for investors, tell me your solution is so innovative that you don’t have to worry about differentiating it from competitors, and customers will flock to it without a real marketing campaign. Case studies, supporting videos, and giveaways still work well in this regard.

Social Media 134

Social Media Case Study Customer Custom 134

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Salaries or hourly wages must be within reasonable limits set by the industry and matched by the competition, both regionally and for the same job classification. This one seems non-negotiable for many non-production-line workers and offers savings for both the company and employee if properly implemented and supervised.

Design 156

Design Examples Competition Pricing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

I’m not talking here about trying to be a stand-up comic, or weaving theatrical tales. Investors tell me that they invest in people, more than products. Find a place in your message for a story about the positive emotions that your solutions can generate, or the negative ones it can eliminate.

Startup 145

Startup Competition Customer Custom 145

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2023

We all face pressure in our lives, but there’s nothing like that of an entrepreneur facing customer crises and the competitive challenges of a new business. Thus, here is my own reframing of the authors generalized rules into some specifics for an entrepreneur or business leader: Reframe competitive threats to opportunities.

Entrepreneur 82

Entrepreneur Competition Press Commerce 82

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

You’d imagine that companies selling tons of shelfware would quickly meet their deserved fate in the market, yet the spin around a category of software can fool buyers into thinking they “must have this product to compete.” ROI studies were published. How frequently they’re using the product?

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

These people are like the friend in college who always tempted you by telling you about the latest party when you were at the library studying. In many instances this help is genuine, well-meaning and productive. Meeting new people is critical to business success yet you must be judicious with your time.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2022

Both are required to stay competitive. Much has been written about the trends on the customer side, but I find less specific guidance on the changes which are impacting the way we interact with peers at work. Reward shorter hours of high productivity. Peer pressure keeps productivity standards high.

Case Study 125

Case Study Platform Yahoo Social Media 125

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2020

We all face pressure in our lives, but there’s nothing like that of an entrepreneur facing customer crises and the competitive challenges of a new business. Thus, here is my own reframing of the authors generalized rules into some specifics for an entrepreneur or business leader: Reframe competitive threats to opportunities.

Startup 134

Startup Entrepreneur Competition Press 134

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

According to many studies, entrepreneurs tend to be happier , and over 80 percent of self-made millionaires are entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial thinkers see their business mission as enriching the lives of customers, rather than being a better producer of products and services. Maintain a meaningful competitive advantage.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Sales Customer Custom 117

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2023

This intent is often negated, according to new studies, by remote workers , especially parents and team members with long commutes, who are more satisfied and productive than onsite employees. Make people feel more productive by providing continuous feedback on work accomplished, process improvements, and current training.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Training Tool 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2016

I’ve spoken before about our desire at Upfront Ventures to fund really big ideas that solve hard problems, are science led and if successful will both have a positive effect on people’s lives as well as make great financial returns. We’re not Pollyannaish about this.

Company 207

Company Companies CTO Coach Funding 207

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 6, 2020

The punchline is, I'm pretty excited about this story. We originally started with subscriptions, which we still offer, but in the last six months we've also launched leases with 2- and 3-year products. Fair made its name early on subscriptions, can you talk a bit about the reason for the shift away from that?

Startup 124

Startup Pricing Platform Study 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2022

Change is about the only thing constant in the world of startups. 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. Increase change agility. In summary, change will happen.

Startup 116

Startup Training Statistics Summary 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Studies show that peer recognition programs are often more effective than bonuses or cash rewards. Customers enjoy fresh perks to give them something to talk about, and make your business stand out. Encourage employee innovation in service, just like you must always be looking for ways to improve your product offerings.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about “ growth hacking ” and why I thought it was wrong that people were hating on the term unnecessarily. If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. It’s worth a quick read. My argument is pretty simple.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

Every business I know has teams, some working collaboratively to great advantage, while others sadly operating as collections of individuals who work alone, often in competition with each other. Avoid jumping to conclusions about others. Most business successes I see required great collaboration.

Resource 106

Resource Startup Study Conference 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

In a famous Harvard study of 212 new ventures a few years ago, USC professor Noam Wasserman found that half the founders were no longer at the helm after three years, and over time 80% were forced out. Don’t wait for the harsh reality of the demanding business world to start thinking about these tradeoffs. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 130

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

So when Sam Rosen came to me with the idea of disrupting storage with a product that is priced cheaper than existing incumbents and he could build a product that is a better service I was intrigued. If you’re not even spending any time thinking about what your market could be you’re simply being lazy and unprepared.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

It’s easy to find yourself caught in the trap of just GSD (getting s**t done) and not stepping back to be thoughtful about whether you’d benefit from doing fewer things but doing those things truly well. Here’s how it goes: You have a business development group with two people. You get a lot of traffic — not always results.

Activity 164

Activity Conference Press Case Study 164

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

We talked with Noah about how the company grew out of a business plan competition at the University of Southern California, his recent funding from the Maverick Angels, as well as how the firm hopes to stand out among a crowded list of comparison shopping sites. For people who haven't heard of ExtraBux, what is the site all about?

USC 207

USC CPC Sites Startup 207

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2015

New studies indicate that a more productive approach would be adopting new good habits and behaviors that clearly move your business forward, like good time management and implementing customer recommendations. Use both competition and camaraderie. You will all get out of the office, feel better, and make more decisions.

Competition 101

Competition Entrepreneur Examples Study 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2014

New studies indicate that a more productive approach would be adopting new good habits and behaviors that clearly move your business forward, like good time management and implementing customer recommendations. Use both competition and camaraderie. business Darren Hardy entrepreneur habits productivity startup'

Competition 98

Competition Entrepreneur Examples Product 98

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2016

Rozovsky basically said that having studied 180 teams at Google over the past several years and trying to determine what made some teams perform better than others (despite every team being filled with over-achievers who work at Google) one factor stood out more than others: Creating “psychologically safe environments.”

Coach 150

Coach Technical Review Framework Google 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

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. It is often the situation that the incumbent offers a product that is vastly superior in the market in terms of performance or functionality.

Startup 376

Startup Framework Marketing Customer 376

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. Like any sale you first need to plan your “prospects” and qualify whether or not they’d be a good fit for your product?—?an

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2013

They forget that they probably became entrepreneurs, according to the recent DNA of an Entrepreneur study, for just this flexibility. Other studies show that only about 30% list money as a key benefit of running their own firm. Other studies show that only about 30% list money as a key benefit of running their own firm.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Satisfaction Study 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2014

Sponsored by VISA Business Running a small business as an entrepreneur is a never-ending challenge of new products, customers, competitors, and an unpredictable economy. They forget that they became entrepreneurs, according to the “ DNA of an Entrepreneur ” study a while back, for just this flexibility. Beat the competition.

Startup 92

Startup Tips Satisfaction Entrepreneur 92

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

I have started thinking about what the future might look like and I’ve started imagining what I call, “MMOV” or massive multiplayer online video. You should only worry about this if you’re a large, traditional media company with fat margins. Why would it? billion views. think Apple. think Apple. million views).

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380

Xconomy

OCTOBER 5, 2016

However, there is still room for competition. These drivers have become the destination for their spaces like Amazon with consumer products, Aetna with healthcare needs, and USAA for life events. – Add complementary and possibly competitor products. In its first year, Amazon Business generated $1 billion in sales.

Organization 91

Organization Customer Custom Study 91

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2012

They forget that they probably became entrepreneurs, according to a recent DNA of an Entrepreneur study, for just this flexibility. Other studies show that only about 30% list money as a key benefit of running their own firm. Other studies show that only about 30% list money as a key benefit of running their own firm.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Startup Satisfaction Study 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

You are so engaged in building and selling your product or service, that you “don’t have time” to focus on strategy and the next round of changes for the business to survive and grow. Highlight your competitive value, not your technology. before developing new products or carving out a new and untested space for your business.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Customer Custom Competition 87

socalTECH

JULY 9, 2019

in Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences from West Virginia University, and told us a bit about the fund, its investments, and his advice to entrepreneurs looking for investment from the company. For our interview today, we spoke with Chris Bostick , a Senior Associate at OCV Partners (www.ocvpartners.com). What is OCV Partners?

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital Invest SaaS Entrepreneur 113

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

Death By Competitive Analysis - Steve Blank , March 1, 2010 Trading emails with a startup CEO building an iPhone app, I asked him why potential customers would buy his product. In response he sent me a competitive analysis. It looked like every competitive analysis I had done for 20 years, (ok maybe better.)

Startup 150

Startup Software Review Competition SoCal 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2016

Studies of software teams, for example, show differences as great as ten to one in productivity between working team members. Much has been written about the external influences of office environments, motivation, and personal health impacts, but I see evidence that there are personal productivity tactics that contribute just as much.

Activity 57

Activity Study Product Email 57