Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

The path I went down after a few years was to hire more process driven people and devolved more daily operational ownership to people running individual functions such as product management, sales management, finance, etc. One of the most obvious places where you see this is in sales & marketing.

Sales 296

Sales Pricing Startup Customer 296

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. “COGS” represents the amount that each sale costs you.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Of course, there are no guarantees, but I still see otherwise smart entrepreneurs taking shortcuts in their hiring, or jumping into business relationships based on emotion or low cost. Funding is depleted before customer sales ramp up. Keep control by writing every check personally, and manage receivable and payables tightly.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

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. You just had to be lucky, write reasonably good code and land in an industry with some legs, and of course, treat the customer well. . – Dave.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Writing Southern California 120

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

And of course we help with business development introductions and with fund raising events. I have been meaning to write this for a while as I’ve noticed that much of my board time is involved in trying to be an independent referee for founders who themselves are trying to resolve their own conflicts. What prompted this post?

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

…” I’ll write soon on my views of why I believe Instagram took off as a social network and what I think comes next. But if you raise the money at the big price (or any price) please go in with the expectation that you are going to build a large, long-term business. to justify a “strategic” price.

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

All the data actually suggests with the growth of mobile, inbound sales calls will double from 30 billion to 60 billion in 3 years (source: Kelsey). Of course that website isn’t completely up to date but it’s a great resource for seeing the overall picture. Calls are changing but not dying. 73% of those aged 12-17 do so.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

I must admit I discuss this very frequently with portfolio companies but hadn’t thought to write about it. The initial Apple/AT&T deal was of course limited to the geography in which AT&T operated and thus after its initial success Apple had a template for exclusivity agreements in other countries.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2013

Aspiring creators learn by connecting with top web filmmakers and YouTubers on a topics specific to the web: developing a web series, producing web series, writing for genres like comedy & sci-fi, directing, editing, camera, Kickstarter funding, show hosting, distribution, and marketing. How does it work? Take us through your features?

Web 93

Web USC Course Guide 93

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

I’m sitting at my computer now at 9.00pm writing this – which is an hour earlier than I normally write (there are about 8 women at my kitchen table having a book club (aka excuse to drink wine & gossip so I’m locked in another room writing. Should entrepreneurs have convertible debt or priced equity?

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

The other thing that struck me, is because it is only men, they tend to write with lots of testosterone. Their writing style, even for a mainstream publication, is they write with lots of testosterone. They write about the transmission, the brakes, and the suspension, and that creeps into all of their evaluations of cars.

Truecar 204

Truecar Writing Edmunds Sites 204

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2012

You may have already found several articles, web pages, or books about writing the perfect executive summary. They all offer a list of requirements that might take 50 pages to address, but of course they ask you to write concisely. Who is your customer, what is the price, and how much does it cost you to build one?

Summary 97

Summary Writing Competition Sample 97

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

The questions that a VC mulls before writing a check are precisely the questions you should be asking yourself. 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. Market Size.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

We had the final terms of our agreement fairly well boxed in within a range of about 5-7% on price and within 30 days on move-in date. I obviously preferred the lowest price and I wanted the latest move-in date. She told me, “start with the price you want but the move in date he wants.&#. I told my agent. She way annoyed.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Gross margin (GM) is the amount of profit you make per sale of your product or service taking into account your total costs of selling that product or service. If you have a very low gross margin (10-30%) it can be very hard to build a large, scalable business because you need to make a lot of sales to cover your operating costs.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

You may have already found several articles, web pages, or books about writing the perfect executive summary. They all offer a list of requirements that might take 50 pages to address, but of course they ask you to write concisely. Who is your customer, what is the price, and how much does it cost you to build one?

Summary 90

Summary Writing Competition Sample 90

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

He writes with a great perspective and is well worth reading. I took an advanced computer course in high school where I learned to build databases in Ashton Tate’s dBase III+ and to compile my designs using a product called Clipper. Sales is the lifeblood of every organization. I had to laugh a bit reading it.

Startup 337

Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

But of course all of these things are intertwined. But putting no time into anchoring your beliefs because you’re too busy executing sales, marketing, support, product & engineering is an easy recipe for leadership drift. Take some time to reflect on how well defined you believe your company’s sense of purpose is.

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I recently wrote a post on angel financing covering the topic of convertible notes but I realized I was thinking about the issue more from investor perspective and a very narrow topic of how to price the round. The key to getting money is that the people writing the check trust you. That’s OK. of people aren’t.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

The problem is that stakeholders, like marketing and sales, don’t know what the latest version of the roadmap is. Greathouse: Having run these groups, I know all about the inherent friction between sales and marketing with regard to lead quality, volume, etc., That causes friction internally.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Consider it a sales & marketing expense for them.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

You may have already found several articles, web pages, or books about writing the perfect executive summary. They all offer a list of requirements that might take 50 pages to address, but of course they ask you to write concisely. Who is your customer, what is the price, and how much does it cost you to build one?

Summary 55

Summary Writing Competition Metrics 55

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 6, 2014

My next pivot after writing down all the good stuff (which of course is actually usual to know) is to say, “Those are some great strengths and some of the reasons we liked Stacy so much, which is great to have confirmed by you. CFOs often know the other CFOs and same for heads of sales, marketing, tech, etc. They hold out.

Startup 302

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Report 302

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

When convertible debt first started being introduced as a “faster, cheaper way to get startups funded” they didn’t have pricing built into them. ” And some seed stage investors told me, “I prefer not to fight over price now. They’ll get priced soon enough by a VC.” Enter “the cap.”

Startup 354

Startup Pricing Equity Venture Capital 354

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

That said, when a customer posts on Facebook that you should lower your prices by 50%, perhaps this is not something you should spend too much time on. However, if your customers don’t post anything at all, good or bad, perhaps your pricing is too high overall. After writing this blog post, I found this on Facebook.

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

This article will cover two things; First, the top mistakes small business owners make that end with inquiries leading you to the exit door before making a sale. That is, of course, as long as what you are selling is the absolute best in your market.) Valu e and Exp erience versus Price and Product. Second, how to get leads.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Marketing SEO 85

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

If you have the proper mechanisms to accurately calculate your Cost Per Customer / Lifetime Value Equation, you will happily purchase as many customers from affiliates as your cash flow constraints will allow, as long as the average acquisition price is less than the customers’ average lifetime value. John is a CPA and holds an M.B.A.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

This started as a post in which I was going to write out tips to personal branding and became in stead an essay of my own branding journey. I, of course, knew nothing about business. I told her I wasn’t yet convinced that she’d make a good: product manager, designer, sales person, leader, CEO. ” Instant.

Technical Advisors 385

Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

Instead of following a proscribed course which may lead nowhere, entrepreneurial leaders such a Thiel are sparking a change in the way we think about success. An inflated sense of financial well-being can result in sloppy budgeting and accounting as you write checks here and there without pause.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

In the original version of his post, Andy writes. Nothing was more heart warming than the photo of David Karp hugging Bijan Sabet after the sale to Yahoo! So I prefer to watch what works first and pay a higher price to get in when it’s proven.” And let the entrepreneur decide the course of action.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. With Ring it became your doorbell so of course you always use it when someone’s at your door. we were sold on the concept immediately.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

Nobody commits, nobody wants to set a price, nobody wants to stick their neck out then BOOM! But if there is nothing wrong with you then please don’t let early rejections alter your course.” I have successfully used this in business development, sales, fund raising and even the press. Reid Hoffman is in? I’m in for $500k.

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

I appreciate the write-up and your continued support of this blog. Of course, monetization of search became one of the best business models in the history of business. We will white label the system, and not only that, we’ll allow you to set your own pricing.” The secret to the software sales process. Thank you, John.

Google 302

Google Startup Advertising Acquisition 302

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

maybe I own 20% of the company) or $5 million at a $20 million post (I own 25%) shouldn’t I block that sale of a company a cheap price? But of course there is more to my views. My investment philosophy is to back the best possible entrepreneurs I can and to stick by them through the growth (or sale) of the company.

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur GRP Partners Venture Capital Invest 321