Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Often, despite your passion and expectation, customers don’t immediately see the value and need that you see, and you have no idea why the initiative is stuck , and what could be the real customer issue or fix. Customers won’t buy what they can’t find or don’t understand. Customers need supporting approvals to fully benefit.

Product 141

Product Services Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 141

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2020

It’s clear things have changed for good and the need for managing remote communities of employees, customers and partners has become ever more important. In marketing materials founders often refer to their customer base as a “community”, but there’s a huge gap between having customers and creating a community.

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Software Startup Tool Platform 234

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

Socaltech has partnered with Sutton Capital Partners with their Recurring Revenue Conference for several yars. While it was a good year for our merger and acquisition practice in the SaaS and fintech space, our most exciting news is in our merchant banking sector where we invest in and advise growth companies often for several years.

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. If you don’t have a high level of commitment and passion, you customers won’t seek you out. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2017

This morning, we have a contribution from investor and investment banker Peter Cowen of Sutton Capital Partners. Sutton Capital Partners is a technology investment banking firm and we are, investors in local SaaS/subscription companies and is well known as the host of the annual Recurring Revenue Conference.

Capital 124

Capital Southern California SaaS SoCal 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2023

For example, if you are an entrepreneur seeking investment or a cofounder, there is no substitute for networking at industry and startup conferences in your area. You need to be proactive in selecting networking opportunities that are relevant to your relationship needs, rather than waiting for available industry conferences or events.

Networking 104

Networking Mentor Conference Summary 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

We all see reports of venture capitalists who invest millions in new businesses, but be assured that these investments come only after you have a proven base business, and have a case for scaling it quickly. These are necessary to attract customers, investors, and give you a line of defense with competitors.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Your historical trading information including financials and a “customer file” which shows the history of your transactions so that investors can run “cohort” analyses Customer reference, personal references, key team members, compensation, cap table, stock option plan, etc. It doesn’t. The data room is where your process goes to die.

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

A day might include a discussion with a finance partner, an investor, a customer or a fusion partner. Building relationships, partnering with social media experts on events (SBTwestival and 140 Conference Meetup), learning at events, building a following, testing any and all formats/venues, integrating social media into our radio show.

Acquisition 170

Acquisition Custom Customer Ideas 170

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

The funding round came from Eric Schmidt via TomorrowVentures, ZIG Capital, Chris Burch via JCB Investments, Moore Venture Partners, La Jolla Holding Co., BUMP Network said its customers include large shopping malls and retailers, conference companies, medical services providers, sports companies, and others.

Networking 180

Networking San Diego Conference Software 180

socalTECH

APRIL 2, 2018

This year, we're sponsoring the Recurring Revenue Conference (www.recurringrevenueconference.com), presented by Sutton Capital Partners. Therese is one of the keynote speakers at the Recurring Revenue Conference. We have an incredibly passionate and dedicated team, and they are great advocates for the customer.

SaaS 100

SaaS Conference Custom Customer 100

socalTECH

MARCH 30, 2018

This year, we're sponsoring the Recurring Revenue Conference (www.recurringrevenueconference.com), presented by Sutton Capital Partners. Therese is one of the keynote speakers at the Recurring Revenue Conference. We have an incredibly passionate and dedicated team, and they are great advocates for the customer.

SaaS 100

SaaS Conference Custom Customer 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

Simply, this is identifying a customer need which has economic value to them if they can solve it. ” and if you can’t persuade enough potential customers they have some pain that needs fixing you probably should stick to your day job. Teams usually start with terminology that is very insular and less relevant to customers.

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Sales Startup Competition Custom 336

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Unfortunately, I see too many new entrepreneurs who let their passion for a new idea or invention blind them to the stark realities of customer need, opportunity size, or pricing and cost implications. The sooner you face these issues, the more success you will garner from investors and customers. Bandwidth is a constraint we all feel.

Startup 142

Startup Technical Review Equity Entrepreneur 142

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Just like the sky scraping investment banks of Wall Street, the technology industry tends to be a sausage party. A Silicon Valley conference is a room full of suits, with the occasional skirt suite. Explaining that customers were. So when I heard about Women 2.0 So when I heard about Women 2.0 I was overwhelmingly mistaken.

Conference 77

Conference Startup Technical Review Software Review 77

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Five-and-a-half years ago I first met Chamillionaire at a tech conference in LA. What Cham rarely tells people – he’s both private and humble – is that he started making some small co-investments with me in tech firms starting with Maker Studios where he was one of the earliest investors. They make a great pair.

Conference 150

Conference Slides Social Media Summary 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

The era of VCs investing in successful consumer Internet startups such as eBay led to a belief system that seemed to permeate many enterprise software startups that hiring sales or implementation people was a bad thing. How do you get referenceable customers? This article initially appeared on TechCrunch. I believe it’s flawed.

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 17, 2019

.” This historical look at Uber and its self-driving tech unit, Uber ATG, should be considered alongside more recent news, including that it’s in negotiations with investors, including the SoftBank Vision Fund, to secure an investment as large as $1 billion for its autonomous vehicles unit. billion investment in 2018.

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San Fernando Los Angeles Commerce News 217

socalTECH

MAY 10, 2018

Behzad Kianmahd: Cross Campus is one of the companies I invested in, as the first, lead investor, about seven years ago. How is it that you're investing in a fund out of Israel connected with Tel Aviv University? I met david through a mutual friend of ours, before we started this conference three years ago.

El Segundo 100

El Segundo Southern California Startup Santa Monica 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2014

There’s a healthy balance between allowing a design team to dream up functional requirements, talk with customers, analyze competitors and for technical projects – research the latest cool-kid tools to play with. Obviously you can’t always present at conferences to hit delivery dates or this would happen.

Software 344

Software Startup Design Course 344

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2020

Others pivoted quickly based on customer need changes, rather than just spending more money on advertising and charging ahead. Smart entrepreneurs continually test their perceptions against those of customers, outside leaders, and experts. Of course, this vision must be continually tuned by new customer trends and technology arrivals.

Startup 124

Startup Custom Customer Statistics 124

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 18, 2022

Crypto lending protocol Celsius isn’t fire burning, but it did freeze all customer withdrawals this past weekend , citing concerns about its own liquidity amid “extreme market conditions.” million in pre-seed investment from investors including Liberty City Ventures, Digital Currency Group and Coinbase Ventures. the latest pod.

Newsletter 278

Newsletter Platform Capital Marketing 278

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 Custom Customer Technical Review 401

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2010

In fact, I said as much in September 09 at a Twitter conference in LA on a panel that Guy Kawasaki was moderating. And aside from having great market power (the main reason for Twitter to own the client and the customer) advertising is one of the primary reasons that I believe Twitter needs to own the client applications.

Acquisition 287

Acquisition Develop Development Conference 287

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Though the Alliance is still committed to hosting select regional convenings like First Look SoCal and our SoCal Ecosystem Leadership Conference, we recognize that the region already is filled with numerous events targeted at start-ups and entrepreneurs. This came through loud and clear at our recent regional leadership conference.

SoCal 140

SoCal Southern California Startup Venture Capital 140

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs I advise or invest with spend considerable time on the Internet, keeping up with technology, customers, and competitors, but very few feel the need for an early personal presence. Invest your time in networking online, as well as offline. Consistently review and respond to relevant online feedback.

Product 127

Product Entrepreneur Technical Advisors Technical Review 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

You can invest small amounts in someone else’s “can’t-fail” crowdfunding campaign, or support a friend, without jeopardizing your financial future. Attend industry and investor meetings and conferences. Founders stock and stock options are worth nothing for the first few years. Test your entrepreneur instincts through crowdfunding.

Sample 126

Sample Entrepreneur Ideas Startup 126

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

I see founders who think they can be at every conference, advise multiple companies, do side investments in angel deals, leave the office at 6pm and have a balance life. Yet somehow many people think that startups intended to operate at massive, Internet scale can be casual affairs. I don’t know Mark Zuckerberg.

Competition 394

Competition Startup Writing Marketing 394

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

A firm like ours has almost 100 different investments across all the various partners so we get to see some businesses very intimately. Payback periods on customer acquisition way more important to you in the near-term.

Software Review 242

Software Review Technical Review Pricing Metrics 242

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Kathy Sierra at Business of Software 2009 - Business of Software Blog , May 4, 2010 "In the old days, getting customers was easy. Putting customers first. Legendary customer support. Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

socalTECH

MARCH 17, 2016

There has been a lot of worry recently in the high tech industry and from venture investors about "headwinds" in the technology market, particularly with valuations of "unicorn" companies dropping, investors shying away from investing in rounds, and even employees looking for safer jobs. GoToMyPC was then acquired by Citrix for $225M in 2003.

Southern California 100

Southern California Cornerstone OnDemand Technical Review SoCal 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2018

This is true of any buying process where a customer has to make a large investment decision on your software or when an investor must decide whether to give you $5 million. Do they have authority to invest? you’ve at least gotten informed about the LA market for when you do ever want to invest? Do they have influence?

Funding 189

Funding Software Review Entrepreneur Venture Capital 189

socalTECH

MARCH 19, 2019

We started focusing on that, and at the time we were doing only phone verification, but then we started adding in data analytics because of customer demand, we added in some other things like straight messaging rather than pin codes. What enabled you to get that first customer on board? We were really focused on customer acquisition.

Marina Del Rey 113

Marina Del Rey Software Review Startup Incubator 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

There is one source that was always problematic for me – intros from investment bankers. This is no criticism of the investment banking industry (although I’m sure some will read it this way) for which there are very useful purposes. They are venture bankers not investment bankers. Big difference.]. Big difference.].

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

In fact 61% of all mobile searches where a customer contacts a business it is via a phone call (source: Google). It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. People don’t want to speak to customer service reps. Not so fast.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2018

For example, as a member of an angel investment group, I sometimes do some “due diligence” on promising startups looking for funding. Unfortunately, I often find team members who are not believers, or have a different view of the customer. Facilitate participation in industry conferences and networking. The result is no deal.

Marketing 71

Marketing Tips Technical Review Social Media 71