Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

In addition, creating a business requires leading and interacting with other people, including partners, investors, and customers. Aspiring entrepreneurs are often impatient in rolling out the business, assuming the hard work was finalizing the idea, and that if you build it, customers will come.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 20, 2013

It’s a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs. So I thought I’d write a piece on how not to suck when you give a presentation. Show some energy!

Slides 399

Slides Startup Conference Writing 399

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.

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Customer 336

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. The funding rounds will also build customer confidence and they’ll help journalists feel air cover in writing your more important pieces when you brag about customers, traction, revenue or whatever. Should I Bundle it With More Juicy News?

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

Earlier this month, the annual Montgomery Summit conference was held in Santa Monica, including a special portion of the conference dedicated to the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur. We had over 400 attendees, including some who came from the core conference. I think it's a fantastic program.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

This blog started from a series of conversations I found myself having over and over again with founders and eventually decided I should just start writing them.It 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.

Competition 394

Competition Startup Writing Marketing 394

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

Help them write other stories. One day they’ll write yours. Understanding customer requirement ? Whatever amount you’re getting out and talking with prospects, customers, employees, recruits, competitors, press, investors, potential investors … it’s never enough. 50 coffee meetings.

Startup 410

Startup Writing Press Venture Capital 410

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2023

If you can’t write it down, you probably don’t understand it. Writing, audios, and videos are all great ways to do this, since these all facilitate the one-to-many multiplier. Some people learn best from conferences, while other learn best from blogs and other information online. Provide a unique point of view. Build a team.

Social Media 94

Social Media Media Ideas Writing 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

We’re expected to be at conferences, events, sales meetings and be publicly visible. Recruiting, business development, shipping product, writing blog posts, networking … it’s all the same. We are over-intro’d and at the same time under-resourced in terms of staff to handle the barrage of in-bound requests.

Activity 297

Activity Blogging Email Startup 297

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 29, 2014

Maybe they’ve hit a few set backs: They’ve struggled to raise money, they haven’t gotten press coverage or they haven’t gotten accepted to present at prestigious conferences. Do you think that every conference organizer will promptly meet your needs? It’s your job to persist. Nothing beats a warm intro.

Venture Capital 389

Venture Capital Email Startup Conference 389

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

Five-and-a-half years ago I first met Chamillionaire at a tech conference in LA. And after one meeting they started asking for his advice about marketing, customer engagement, product design, monetization – whatever. I saw him on stage at the event talking about how he used social media to engage audiences.

Conference 150

Conference Slides Social Media Summary 150

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Having paying “Customers” is what makes the cash register roar. An entrepreneur having low self worth is the number one deterrent for a potential customer not buying into what you are selling. Using your service or owning your product isn’t why a person buys, it’s the experience your customer will have. Second, how to get leads.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Marketing SEO 85

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). In a startup this is a mistake. Because great PR firms do it for a career.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. They never call, they never write, and wait for you to make the first move. You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. That doesn’t mean you have to be a social butterfly to succeed, or introverts need not apply.

Entrepreneur 140

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 140

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 3, 2013

She entered you reservation by writing in a time slot in a paper calendar and you were in. I am stunned at the speed at which the team cranked out this application while at the same time building out an entire suite of merchant solutions to help them better manage customers. After hours there was the answering machine.

Development Team Review 324

Development Team Review Course Mobile Writing 324

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2021

Yet from my own years of experience in the startup community, here are ten common steps that have worked for other entrepreneurs: Write a "job description" for that ideal partner. Take a hard look at your own business strengths and weaknesses, and write down what partner skills and experiences would best complement yours.

Startup 126

Startup High Tech Entrepreneur Writing 126

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2020

If you can’t write it down, you probably don’t understand it. Writing, audios, and videos are all great ways to do this, since these all facilitate the one-to-many multiplier. Some people learn best from conferences, while other learn best from blogs and other information online. Provide a unique point of view. Build a team.

Social Media 126

Social Media Media Ideas Writing 126

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. But just putting a customer reference list in a data room?

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 20, 2016

In 2006, I gave a keynote speech at the Newspaper Association of America’s national conference in Chicago. I remember during one leadership meeting, our Operations Manager brought it to our attention that we were writing $80,000 in Channel partner checks that month and what were we going to do about that? By Kim Shepherd.

Writing 120

Writing Sales Networking Conference 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

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. You need somebody who is thinking laterally about how to creatively get extra attention at conferences or trade-shows. In a startup this is a mistake.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

Write down your top 5 core values and review them often. Since business is generally not rocket science, relationships with peers, partners, and customers are often more important than skills. Pressure and emotion in business is often an indication of core value conflicts. Put more focus on building the right relationships.

Coach 137

Coach Training Satisfaction Mentor 137

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

I recently attended and presented at Dave McClure’s PreMoney conference in San Francisco. I wrote my version here and Scott wrote an excellent write-up of his views here. tl;dr version. This can’t all be driven by increased company performance). He said that a16z prefers to invest earlier stage in these types of businesses.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital SaaS Writing Funding 309

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 16, 2010

As the day approached I noticed that there was a conference in LA that I wanted to attend. The day before the conference I thought about rescheduling this meeting but then thought, “oh, well. I’ll honor the commitment I made.&# So I didn’t go to the conference. Customers do come first.

Startup 346

Startup Conference Century City Email 346

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Today, customers and future managers put a higher value on relationships, and expect to know you from industry conferences, social media, or recommendations from peers. As a business, you should always be looking for your next customer, as well as satisfying your current one. Walk away from a bad role or customer.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2016

For example, both need to provide exemplary customer service, build customer loyalty, and provide real value for a competitive price. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Customers can touch and see a great product, but services are a bit ethereal.

Services 61

Services Startup Training Writing 61

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

Some people do the conference circuit too much, get involved in lots of side projects and attend every entrepreneur dinner. When I go to conference I never sit in the meeting section – I always cruise the halls meeting people. You get on a plane at a moment’s notice because a senior customer agreed to meet you.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

Marketing futures can be really good for enterprise software companies where the information is passed between sales rep and potential customer in terms of near-term roadmap. In a world in which you’re encouraged to launch early and get feedback from customers you can often confuse “product launch&# with “marketing.&#.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2009

They got us invited to the Fortune CEO conference in Paris held at Versailles. We headlined at the Red Herring Europe conference (they were the equivalent of TechCrunch today). We instructed customers about how eCommerce was going to change their future. Make sure you focus on what matters – your customers.

Startup 310

Startup Press Venture Capital Journal 310

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 17, 2019

Harris writes: “The figures, dating back to 2016, paint a picture of a company desperate to meet over-ambitious autonomy targets and one that is willing to spend freely, even recklessly, to get there. I hired a pedicab during my stay and the driver confirmed my observations: they’re waiting much longer for customers now.

San Fernando 217

San Fernando Los Angeles Commerce News 217

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? I am a VC. I hand out money. How differentiated is that?

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

So I know I’m getting myself into a bit of trouble by writing this. Of course they “need&# the title to convince customers, biz dev partners and VCs that they’re to be taken seriously. They talk about the need of the CEO to be chief evangelist, speak at conference, lead executive recruiting, etc.

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

InfoChachkie

JULY 30, 2012

I always enjoy a great guerilla marketing story, such as TestFlight’s use of T-shirts and Tacos to gain Steve Jobs’ attention at Apple’s 2011 developers’ conference. Thus, I was inspired when I heard about the impact collaboration-in-the-cloud innovator Central Desktop made at the April 2012 San Francisco ad:tech conference.

Marketing 209

Marketing Conference RSS Angel 209

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2015

Thus I recommend that every entrepreneur start blogging in parallel with solution development for the following benefits: Get customer idea feedback before you commit resources. Develop an efficient and effective writing style. Start building your customer community early. Demonstrate thought leadership to potential employees.

Blogging 110

Blogging Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media 110

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

You’re writing a freaking blog post! Customer support – After my pre-breakfast meeting I had my actual breakfast meeting. But it’s mostly customer service. I run a conference – could you speak? I never get grumpy that people write. If you do randomly write me I have advice.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

It's a shame because the ability to nail these presentations at key conferences can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to influence journalists, business partners, potential employees, customers and VCs. So I thought I'd write a piece on how to not suck when you give a presentation. Most people suck at presenting to big groups.

Twiistup 124

Twiistup GRP Partners Tips UCLA 124