Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

He presented the idea at the TED conference in the mid 90′s and was literally boo’d while he was on stage. The idea actually came to him from the Yellow Pages business. He took out an ad in the Yellow Pages (it was the early 80′s, pre Internet), which cost him $1,000 / month for a half-page ad.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Of course you’ve probably known of Meg as a business leader for many years, formerly as President and CEO of Hewlett Packard and the CEO of eBay before that, but since late 2018 she has been the CEO of Quibi (joining founder Jeffrey Katzenberg as the first employee). And so it is with video. Quibi = “quick bites”).

Content 244

Content Netflix Platform Mobile 244

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. When the early teams: angels, lowercase capital & first round capital funded Uber they had no idea it would be one of the most revolutionary ideas of our time. We look at stage, geography and of course sector.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2020

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have new ideas on a regular basis, and find it hard deciding which to pursue, or try to tackle several at the same time. Every investor will tell you that they invest in the person, more than the product, because they have learned that people with focus find success.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Startup Patents Resource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2022

Based on their years of experience as successful executives and productivity consultants, they and I agree that focusing on these key positive elements will more likely get you the accountability you desire: Set clear and high standards of performance. Moran and Michael Lennington. Real accountability only comes with decision autonomy.

Coach 145

Coach Slides Social Network Metrics 145

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2017

I’m sure that every one of us who has been out in the business world for a few years can look back with perfect hindsight and name a few college courses that we should have taken. But on the business side, here is my list of useful courses that we wish existed, but as far as I know, still aren’t generally available: Basic Office Politics.

Training 57

Training Course Email Social Network 57

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

Some, of course, agree with me that BuzzFeed has been and continues to be the gold standard innovator in digital media to emulate. Of course we all had the Utopian view as technologists often do but the laws of unintended consequences takes over. For example, one product alone — Tasty — is consumed by 500 million people per month.

Buzzfeed 210

Buzzfeed Media Content News 210

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

At the time, everyone seemed to be enamored with the idea that your company had to be ‘all things to all people’. Of course, monetization of search became one of the best business models in the history of business. So, what Quigo would do is analyze a web page for Overture and tell them what they thought it was about.

Google 302

Google Startup Advertising Acquisition 302

socalTECH

MARCH 10, 2017

Robert Blatt: The first stage, in 2013, was really nailing product-market-fit. However, instead of just very rapidly scaling around that idea, we decided to really define what the business needed to look like. In 2013, Facebook local pages, Google Pages, and Yelp were not all that active.

Google 127

Google Paid Search Mobile Activity 127

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2017

I can’t change who your board members are so let me offer some thoughts on how to make your interactions with your board more productive. Of course it’s not required and many don’t do it. Most investors want to enquire about a few operating metics and this type of discussion is less productive in a group setting.

Tips 212

Tips Slides Startup Technical Review 212

Tech.Co

AUGUST 1, 2017

Once a novelty act reserved for indie band albums and curious art projects, crowdfunding is starting to play a major role in the world of startups and new products. Your campaign page should clearly highlight your track record, what you’ve already put in place to make your vision a reality, and why you are the one with the skills for the job.

Startup 93

Startup Social Media Tips Ideas 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

The size of the document should be based on your style, but 10-20 pages or slides are usually more than adequate to outline even a complex business. They can iterate and evolve their business idea with a low burn rate and minimal dependencies. Of course, building a plan is not an alternative to getting out there and doing something.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

When I meet with Tom offline it’s obvious that he immediately is thinking about product issues, technology trends, funding rounds, etc. At Sony, he didn’t feel like he could “steer the ship” and get his ideas heard so he left and started GUBA, GUBA had no seed funding. The idea needs to be simple and easy to understand.

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2016

Let me just put this more clearly for you up front – the vast majority of the Internet is used for porn so every product has this use but you probably just don’t know about it: YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook, FaceTime, Skype and of course be very careful on Google Search without “safe mode” on. So get over it.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Screening Venture Capital Guide 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2015

Image via Flickr by SideWages.com These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. Curation is humanly aggregating, filtering, and re-posting the best-of-the-best content on the web, relative to your product or service area.

Blogging 105

Blogging eBook Content Web 105

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches? More strategic.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2013

These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. According to Hubspot , websites that have blogs get twice as many inbound links, 400 percent more indexed pages, and a more than 50 percent increase in traffic, compared to websites without blogs.

Content 114

Content Marketing Startup eBook 114

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

When Sam Rosen brought me the idea of MakeSpace 3 years ago we both marveled at some obvious facts. They are the classic case of the Innovator’s Dilemma because they fundamentally can’t innovate on their product and can’t lower costs or their business craters. Growing our Product Lines. It worked perfectly.

Startup 150

Startup Pricing Marketing Product 150

Tech.Co

JANUARY 3, 2022

It's no secret that a lot of people in America (and worldwide) were forced into some pretty unfavorable conditions over the course of the pandemic, and that's not to mention the millions of people who were already in under-served communities. Investing in stock is a great idea for anyone, and you can never get started too early.

Startup 200

Startup Invest FAQ Examples 200

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Jim Semick: I’ve been launching and managing software products for 15 years now, going back to when you and I worked together at Expertcity before it was acquired by Citrix. I have always worked on early stage products. Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Example sites include StartSomeGood and the Facebook Cause page. Here people make online pledges with their credit cards during a campaign, to pre-buy the product for later delivery, if it is ever built. There is no concept of ROI other than product. Ideas crowd sourcing. Pre-order crowd funding.

Funding 99

Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 99

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 18, 2012

There is nothing wrong with researching an idea yourself, getting it started yourself, validating the idea yourself and then asking people to join you.” Mark encourages emerging entrepreneurs to be bold, yet he admits that with his first startup, he boldly pushed PR before the product was ready. Go see customers yourself.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Startup Conference Santa Barbara 272

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2011

We all make important, complicated decisions in our life and having accurate, objective data about our choices allow us to find and compare products that meet our needs. Hmmm, I actually don’t read other entrepreneurial books or blogs – except infoChachkie of course [Editor’s Note: Kevin is clearly full of it here!].

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur Competition Software Review Course 232

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Good entrepreneurs can admit when their course of action was wrong and learn from it. So we discussed his ideas several times. So over several months I went through a few iterations on his idea. They are filled with ideas and they get those ideas onto paper. Or worst case your ideas can be conveyed verbally.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

I’m sure she had no idea just how powerful that word and that concept would become. I try to remind people that raising money is about building rapport and you can’t build rapport wading through 60 pages of charts or showing 45 product features. Since of course software isn’t dead.

Startup 150

Startup Venture Capital Course Marketing 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

Maybe small amounts of money for what founders reading these pages dream of but life-changing for many. Of course you know Gangnam Style , which is now the most viewed video in history at 1.3 think Amazon) and therefore hits with high production costs were more suited to the medium. Gangnam Style Meets Torso TV. billion views.

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 27, 2012

The idea came to John Kolker at USC 1 year ago, then through start engine him and his partner were able to make their idea come to life. The idea came from Victoria Walker, a bright 11-year-old with an entrepreneurial spirit. You can also “mark your territory” and share your adventures.

Startup 73

Startup Doc Ideas Mobile 73

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2012

Example sites include StartSomeGood and the Facebook Cause page. Here people make online pledges with their credit cards during a campaign, to pre-buy the product for later delivery, if it is ever built. There is no concept of ROI other than product. Ideas crowd sourcing. Pre-order crowd funding.

Funding 96

Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 96

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2012

These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. According to Hubspot , websites that have blogs get twice as many inbound links, 400 percent more indexed pages, and a more than 50 percent increase in traffic, compared to websites without blogs.

Examples 93

Examples Content Marketing Entrepreneur 93

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. We started building the product 18 months ago so we are in better shape than 99% of start-ups. Dare I steer off the course from the tried-and-true PowerPoint ritual? Page 1: Market Size. $3 I was wrong.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. You’ll have no idea when you’re off course. If you have multiple versions of your product, how many are web vs. mobile?

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Custom 346

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Even if your product is a technological marvel, I look for balanced strength on the team in finance, marketing and operations. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2011

These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. According to Hubspot , websites that have blogs get twice as many inbound links, 400 percent more indexed pages, and a more than 50 percent increase in traffic, compared to websites without blogs.

Content 102

Content Tips Marketing Blogging 102

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

More importantly, while you may sit in the hospital waiting room or the airport and have really no idea when your loved one will be out of harm’s way or your plane will truly arrive, at MIW we call you, often more than once, immediately and the conversation usually goes like, “…our technician is on the 405, traveling 11.5

Social Media 214

Social Media Custom Customer Media 214

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 24, 2011

We all make important, complicated decisions in our life and having accurate, objective data about our choices allow us to find and compare products that meet our needs. Hmmm, I actually don’t read other entrepreneurial books or blogs – except infoChachkie of course [Editor’s Note: Kevin is clearly full of it here!].

Blogging 219

Blogging Entrepreneur Software Review Course 219

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

And of course hedge funds and growth-equity funds can’t resist trying to get earlier-stage exposure again. It is not uncommon to see a team out of Utah, Texas or for that matter Finland with 8-10 developers build iPhone apps that get 10′s of millions of downloads and doing hundreds of millions of monthly page views.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296