SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Think of these as the big upfront questions: Who are the customers? Please be able to provide me with a few specific examples of different types of customers, what they need, what the system will do for them. What are your key Startup Metrics ? Do you transact immediately or on delivery of some product or service?

Develop 396

Develop Development Startup SEO 396

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 4, 2011

Think of these as the big upfront questions: Who are the customers? Please be able to provide me with a few specific examples of different types of customers, what they need, what the system will do for them. What are your key Startup Metrics ? Do you transact immediately or on delivery of some product or service?

Develop 384

Develop Development Startup SEO 384

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

I like the summary of the competitive reality in a new book, “ Rethinking Competitive Advantage: New Rules for the Digital Age ,” by Ram Charan, who relates a wealth of current experience from global clients: Customers expect a personalized experience. Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Custom 142

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

I was running the largest deals in the media and entertainment video area across many different Google products. I worked with the head of each product area, such as YouTube, on how to drive more value for our large partners. We have our product in the market, and launched our beta in January. One of our customers is Inc.

Google 233

Google Content Startup Venice 233

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

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Traction is evidence that your product or service has started that “hockey- stick” adoption rate which implies a large market, a valid business model, and sustainable growth. One customer is not traction, and beta tests with a thousand customers at no cost don’t count. Free and freemium products need a solid base.

Startup 106

Startup Metrics Custom Customer 106

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

In my experience, the key steps I look for always include the following: Testing the idea against customers who have money to spend. Prepare your marketing story for customers and investors. Start by developing an “elevator pitch,” that you can deliver in thirty seconds to hook a potential customer or investor.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

They are tasked with “getting deals done” so they race around talking to tons of potential partners inking anything from channel sale deals , product integration, international distribution agreements, co-marketing arrangements, M&A discussions, etc. Here’s how it goes: You have a business development group with two people.

Activity 164

Activity Conference Press Case Study 164

socalTECH

OCTOBER 16, 2008

Los Angeles-based magnify360, a provider of web page optimization tools, has lauched a new product for optimizing Google AdWords advertising, the firm announced today. magnify360 provides software which automatically adapts web pages to individual visitors, to tailor and personalize the web content those users see.

Advertising 100

Advertising Tool Yahoo Google 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2019

Before you know it, you will have a ten-slide pitch that you can use to gauge interest from potential customers, as well as friends, family, and early investors. Suddenly you will find that writing a ten-to-twenty page business plan with details is easy rather than daunting. Set target date milestones and metrics to gauge progress.

Ideas 99

Ideas Slides Writing Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Startups should begin by selecting just a few of the vast array of social media offerings out there, and customize based on results. Ask yourself where are the influencers in your market, the majority of your target customers, and what type of interaction will be most productive to your business?

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Startup Tips 108

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

Maybe it’s just another example of nature abhorring a vacuum, but I prefer to think it’s a natural evolution of the pervasive social networking communities where people relate to, and expect to interact with businesses and products they like. You can’t force people to treat customers well if they feel ill-used themselves.

Startup 101

Startup Tips Education Custom 101

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 22, 2016

Less than a month ago, Snapchat opened custom on-demand geofilters to everyone. Industry news was excited, but for how amazing of a product they are, custom Snapchat geofilters have remained stunningly under the radar. So what’s exciting about this new product? This product is literally too good to pass up.

Custom 40

Custom Customer Snapchat Design 40

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 7, 2009

My initial conversations normally focus on the core of the business, important Startup Metrics , probably marketing strategy (ex. SEO for Startups and Negative Customer Acquisition Costs ) and, of course, the product itself. Normally the product is defined as a web site. I talk to a lot of founders of startups.

Web 150

Web Sites Email HTML 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

Founders soon learn that customers only spend real money for solutions rather than ideas. A good execution requires a plan and the right people, combined to create operational excellence and exceptional customer value. Smart entrepreneurs architect a value chain that includes customers, partners and vendors, based on market dynamics.

Ideas 59

Ideas Technical Review Google Startup 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2017

Having a website won’t help if customers can’t find it. They expect to find you on the first result page from search engines, and position ranking is driven by relevant keywords, new content on a regular basis, and inbound and outbound site links. Use social media to actively engage with your customers.

Social Media 57

Social Media Search Engine Optimization Startup Custom 57

InfoChachkie

APRIL 30, 2012

One of the immersion techniques Guy promotes is to offer a hands-on trial, in which the prospective customer can touch, feel and experience your product before purchasing it. A/B testing requires marketers to leave their egos and emotions at the door and allow quantifiable metrics to drive their decisions. Gender Bias.

Study 243

Study Advertising Research Custom 243

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 12, 2017

After the first few hundred applications, every word on the page is like Velcro across our eyeballs (which, btw, is why you should never wait until the last minute to apply to a popular accelerator program). We once received an application that ran 22 pages – of text, no graphics! Q: Tell us about your customers/users ….

Tips 70

Tips Startup Statistics Metrics 70

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

It forces the founder to spend time in front of customers. And if you’re lucky and hit product/market fit straight out of the gate – awesome. Money when you find product / market fit is an extreme differentiator. Overfunding after product / market fit is essential to competing and winning. Your CAC stinks.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

It’s human nature to prioritize the metrics that get measured, so the simple act of keeping track is often enough to have a significant positive impact. The Venture Value Scorecard is a one-page summary of your company’s achievements and assets: the factors that contribute to the value of your organization.

.Net 89

.Net Metrics Competition Template 89

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

Of course there are scenarios where a written business plan is not critical, but I haven’t seen one yet where a well-written 15-page document, or at least a 10-slide pitch, is a negative. There is no substitute for knowing your customers first hand, and iterating on a minimum viable product to find the most marketable solution.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

In fact, a business plan is needed more by you than investors, as the blueprint for your company, team communication, and progress metrics. Every plan must start with the problem you are solving, not a description of your company and product. Clearly define the customer, channel, and revenue model associated with this solution.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

If you buy into the argument that a strong board can actually help you then this post will lay out how to help you have more productive meetings by preparing properly in advance. There are too many pages. Often board members themselves don’t do the work to say “what metrics would we like to see.” It passes the weight test.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 9, 2014

This was a chance to blow open the story on their companies, to address a room full of potential investors, mentors, partners, customers, and press. To learn more about all the companies, be sure to visit 500 Startups’ official demo day page. They showed very impressive average customer repurchases.

Startup 111

Startup Mobile Commerce Education 111

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

You need to first create a compelling product. 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. You need product / market fit. Product / market fit is everything. ” True.

Startup 401

Startup Custom Customer Technical Review 401

socalTECH

JANUARY 15, 2009

We also allow the users to have a custom URL, for example, resumebucket.com/joshstomel. We also blend in ads with our job results page. So, we've recently started encouraging users of ResumeBucket to remove their name and their personal contact info from their resume, and instead force users to use the contact form on the page.

Startup 140

Startup Yahoo Sites Oversee.net 140

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

It is what is commonly referred to as “vanity metrics” as in, “Look at how many more followers I got us! Customers have long included some of the biggest names in social commerce and online gaming plus startups like TopSpin, Local Response, Maker Studios, StockTwits and the like. The other major pilot customer was.

Marketing 307

Marketing Technical Review Startup Tool 307

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 12, 2008

Matthew Graczyk is founder of angel-backed Zubican (www.zubican.com)--saw a problem, which was the difficulty of finding suppliers for products for businesses--and decided to solve the problem, with a site specifically targeted at helping B2B buyers and sellers connect. We've also got SEO feed pages. build in three different ways.

SEO 100

SEO Advertising Gogii Tech Coast Angels 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2013

Real job performance is more a function of productivity than hours worked anyway. On a regular basis, at least once a quarter, you need to take a hard look at all your key metrics. Continuous improvement is the key to quality production. Improve customer service. Find a stress reliever. Quality improvements.

Startup 93

Startup Tips Entrepreneur Metrics 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

In an over-funding environment companies are encouraged to eschew revenues in a land grab to acquire eyeballs, clicks, page views or whatever other vanity metrics give VCs the false comfort that they’re sitting on a gold mine. The Exit Problem. We’re online all the time and at high speed.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2019

More and more customers these days are doing their own marketing research, scanning internet reviews and feedback from friends, rather than trusting messages that you push out through advertising. Update your website to make it totally customer-focused. Provide memorable total customer experience relationships.

Marketing 94

Marketing Social Media Technical Review Custom 94

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

Metrics availability. 0160; If I need $250,000 to get to 100 customers, or $1 million to get to X, and I can raise both amounts from either Angels or VCs, where do we turn? Customer Care Today. These are the top linked domains from Facebook pages. Customer Validation needs to have the CEO actively involved.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217