Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

If you had huge customer growth but just didn’t focus on revenue that’s a different story. of course there are MUCH more sophisticated financial tools than either of these, but PEG is a short-hand many people use]. Do 20% of the customers make 80% of the revenue or do the top 3 customers represent 80% of the revenue.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2020

In the words of my friend and a CEO with whom I work, “Yeah, I know I need to make some cuts because our demand has changed, but I want to do this with a scalpel and not with an axe.” He produced a very detailed analysis of his customer base and which would be affected. It was the thoughtful response of an empathetic leader.

Demand 279

Demand Guide Customer Custom 279

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Marketing is a science devised to help drive customers to your door. These are still the driving focus behind most marketing courses, and deserve to be so. Use all the techniques you learn in marketing classes to drive demand. Higher demand results in higher prices – if there is limited supply.

Marketing 156

Marketing Demand Class Pricing 156

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

In the initial phases of any new market you’re developing a product (hopefully with a minimal set of features), getting feedback from customers, refining your product based on user feedback and then re-launching your product. In the end, of course, our productivity actually suffered. Rinse & repeat. This is total bullshit.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

Los Angeles-based Just says it uses telematics “to reward safe drivers and reduce insurer bias” by looking at factors such as how, when and where customers drive, rather than factors such as ZIP code or marital status as most traditional insurers do. Of course, Just is not the first company to offer personalized auto insurance.

Startup 203

Startup Customer Custom Los Angeles 203

Berkonomics

JUNE 11, 2015

It’s good advice; the theory being that entrepreneurs can discover the flaws in their business models sooner, make course corrections and move in a more favorable direction. In my case as a young software entrepreneur, I had a different approach: Fail Locally, one customer at a time. And I would learn customer service.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Writing Southern California 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2017

Have you ever noticed that some of your business owner friends get all the bad customers, and yours all seem fairly reasonable? I’m always amazed that, in my role as a business advisor, bad customers somehow seem to gang up on certain businesses. Being unreasonably demanding of others. Or is it the other way around?

Customer 89

Customer Custom Demand Pricing 89

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

And because I wanted Ethan to be able to attract a great team, build & iterate a product, test it with initial customers and refine his strategy before having to take the wrappers off of his company. In industry this is known as “yield management” and of course it needs to exist. So there you have it.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

And my specific response that I recommended was to say, “I can send you our standard data pack but honestly I have too many other firms asking for customized data and we simply can’t send each person custom reports. Of course you have to be careful with this. I knew she’s come see you. It’s human nature?—?

Funding 217

Funding Newsletter Venture Capital Email 217

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 29, 2020

In total, Google now offers its customers the option to host their applications in 23 regions globally; with the opening of this new region, it now has seven U.S. Earlier this year, Google also announced that it would open its regions in Jakarta, Seoul and Warsaw over the course of 2020. The Dalles, Ore.

Google 155

Google CIO Outsource Development Demand 155

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2011

Its primary goal is to focus on identifying what is truly driving demand, analytically, so that our customers can optimize their activities. Jovian's platform allows us to process and analyze campaigns in-flight, and also provide in-flight course corrections for marketers. Wes Nichols: MarketShare is an analytics company.

Social Media 235

Social Media Demand Activity Marketing 235

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

Steve's first question was, “Who are our customers?" I) took the 300 latest cards, personally wrote a questionnaire and called 300 customers. SuperMac's main customer base were color desktop professionals. All of a sudden I now had customers telling what market, how to reach them and what applications are important.

Marketing 271

Marketing Startup Sales Customer 271

Berkonomics

JULY 9, 2011

Is your product or service one that responds to a customer need, real or perceived? In general, there are three types of products or services: those a customer needs, those a customer wants, and those a customer believes he does not want or need.

Sales 222

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 222

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

Is your product or service one that responds to a customer need, real or perceived? In general, there are three types of products or services: those a customer needs, those a customer wants, an d those a customer believes he does not want or need. An example of how not to do it.

Sales 226

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 226

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Many of us learned about substitute products in undergrad economics courses. When a product is truly unique and demanded a retailer willingly promotes and sells it en masse in part because it does get margin on the good but also because it brings customers in the door who spend on other products. Ariel understood her customer?—?the

Product 296

Product Course Customer Custom 296

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

You can ask them to come and watch your videos at your owned & operated websites (O&O) where you can make higher margins as well as ask directly for more meaningful customer information such as Facebook connections, Twitter oAuths, email addresses and the like. Build Direct Relationships with Customers. And production matters.

Companies 339

Companies Company Technical Review Content 339

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The company--which is in the business of operating a content delivery network (CDN) to accelerate the delivery of web graphics, multimedia, applications, and more to end users-- recently disclosed it more than doubled its revenues in 2012, and has grown to over 230 employees--all due to a huge amount of demand for CDN services by its customers.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Unlike most university programs that are over architected and underfunded, the TMP evolved organically, based on the demands of its students and input from the local community. iCracked - Founded in 2010 by UCSB and Cal Poly-SLO graduates, iCracked is now the largest on-demand network for smartphone repair and trade-in. Am I biased?

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2019

After working in business at all levels, and consulting to entrepreneurs for years, I’m still surprised to see so many situations where things that should be easy are painful to customers, and lead to customers hating your business. Get out and meet your customers to learn what turns them on these days.

Customer 83

Customer Custom Demand Examples 83

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

While this reaction to such a valuation is understandable, to anybody who has seen the meteoric rise in consumer demand and actual revenue the valuation is much less surprising and may turn out to be quite conservative. As I like to tell people who ask about Bird, “consumers have literally voted with their feet.” Is Bird really defensible?

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

Even without B-Corp status, entrepreneurs are speaking out more on the positives to support business models that benefit not just shareholders, but customers, workforce, the environment, and the greater community. Of course, investors still require a profitable business model, and the potential for high returns.

Startup 149

Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

Oh, and if you didn’t guess, the title, “if you don’t have a discrete hypothesis you are incapable of failing” is, of course, an Eric Ries quote. 57: 00 How do you rectify company mission and customer demand. And make sure to pick up a copy of his book. There are many in this episode. Check it out.

Social Media 301

Social Media Startup Metrics Media 301

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

You need a faster and more flexible on-demand hiring strategy, based on the current gig-economy of remote freelancers, contract personnel, and specialists. Of course, as you work with contract players, explore the potential for a long-term relationship, and wait until your organization matures to pursue career positions.

Competition 168

Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2021

Every one of you business leaders I know struggles with the competing demands of finding and keeping employees motivated and satisfied, versus building and enforcing a set of repeatable processes that work. Leaders who focus on team communication are also more successful in dealing with partners and customers.

Satisfaction 154

Satisfaction Demand Resource Competition 154

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

They’ll push you on your uptime SLA, they’ll push for harsher penalties for non-compliance, they demand security reviews … heck – if you’re small enough they’ll push for “ source code deposits.” Remember that clause about your customer doing a big press announcement about the deal?

Development Team Review 293

Development Team Review Software Review Pricing Startup 293

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He wanted to build direct customer relationships to get product feedback but only 2% of customers would ever return their registration cards. So when he saw the browser it instantly dawned on him that this would be the greatest customer development tool ever. And now, of course, UberSocial, Bill’s latest project.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2022

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. I can think of at least five ways that this benefits the business, as well as customers: Products in a purpose culture more readily sell at a premium price. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Organization 143

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 143

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

Fallacy: Startup ventures tend to evolve, especially after you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. What matters is how effectively you change course after each mishap. Rationale: My idea is so mind-blowingly fantastic that I must immediately spend some of my precious capital to protect it.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Berkonomics

MARCH 26, 2020

The bottleneck itself strains to keep up with demand, often to the point of reducing its own efficiency in the process of attempting to keep up with demand. Of course, you could fit that definition. Watch for, and stamp out, all those you identify as soon as you find them.

Organization 156

Organization Demand Satisfaction Training 156

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Apparently with a physical storefront where it can convince customers of the wonders of on-demand mobility. There are plenty of people who still have never tried an on-demand electric scooter, and going through the process of renting, unlocking and riding them might be daunting to some.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 25, 2020

Another on-demand transport app is making a move into payments to expand the existing relationship with its customers (and subsequent margins that it makes from serving them). This phenomenon paired with our commitment to community resulted in Bird Pay which helps drive even more customers to local businesses.”.

Santa Monica 158

Santa Monica Startup Demand Los Angeles 158

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Of course it is super helpful if a VC can drop you in to important people for business development, recruiting, PR, sales and eventually M&A. Simply put – I’d be in search of a VC who had an intuitive sense of my product, my customers, my organizational issues, my competitors, etc. Connections? EQ and Team Leadership?

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

For many businesses you should keep your costs low & your capital raises low until you discover whether you are really on to a big idea where there is market demand. Respectfully, of course. It is true that you should mostly concern yourself with your customers, building a great product and providing excellent service.

Help 303

Help Startup Competition Framework 303

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

So, when do we know which course to take? Well, even though that acquisition is still playing itself out on the field of battle, it appears quite clear that the new parent has directed its new subsidiary to abandon the lower end of the market and focus upon the larger sales, corporate customers, and major brands. Refuse to engage?

Resource 156

Resource Competition Examples Customer 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

This is not the total opportunity out there, and not the total target market, but the subset of customers who have and will spend the money you need to cure their pain. Selling too early triggers customer defenses and drives them away. This is not just sales traction, but a proper balance between resources, product, and customers.

Education 151

Education Customer Custom Sales 151

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. I can think of at least five ways that this benefits the business, as well as customers: Products in a purpose culture more readily sell at a premium price. Doing good opens the door to a broader customer base.

Organization 128

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 128

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

Of course there’s no exact number of VCs you should meet?—?these People who believe the former believe that you should see the market demand before too many people know you’re “in market.” As a VC I of course want you to come see only me because that means I have no competition and have time to properly get to know you.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332