socalTECH

JULY 7, 2020

Pasadena-based QLess , which develops software to help manage lines and appointments, is courting retailers as they look to how to best adapt to the COVID-19 era. The company said its software eliminates the need for physical lineups, enabling mobile or home waiting for retailers. The company is led by CEO Kevin Grauman.

Software 113

Software Pasadena Mobile Customer 113

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

The Truth About the Scooter Economy?—?An Pause to think about how remarkable that truly is. This year we’re in > 100+ cities and 100+ campuses and we’re operational with street teams, better software, better bikes and a more informed ridership. link] The Truth About the Scooter Economy?—?An they were highly visible.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Venice Competition Software Review 250

socalTECH

MARCH 14, 2018

As part of our sponsor relationship with the conference, we're running a series of interviews with speakers from the conference about their experience in the area of recurring revenues, customer service, and similar topics. What's the biggest lesson you've learned about retaining and keeping your customers using the subscription model?

Customer 166

Customer Custom Conference Social Media 166

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. It’s easy to think the role of a VC is to have strong opinions about markets, trends, tech dynamics and so forth. I don’t think this is the job.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital CTO Coach Startup 150

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Zingle, a startup whose software is used by hospitality, travel, and retail industries to more easily and quickly connect with their customers via messaging, has been acquired for about $42 million in cash by Medallia, a publicly traded software company in San Francisco.

Software 95

Software Startup Satisfaction Customer 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2022

With the ITRC 2021 End-of-Year Data Breach Report revealing a 68 percent increase in stolen sensitive personal information, there is a growing population out there worried about all the people intent on hurting them. Few people are paranoid about something they want and enjoy. Don’t take shortcuts on these.

Custom 137

Custom Customer Technical Review Symantec 137

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 26, 2023

You’re fighting to put out the fires from customer complaints, or incomplete work, or are suffering from an inability to focus upon new development or new customers before cleaning up the mess inside your organization. The customer pays for all or at least 90% of the bill, perhaps holding back a retainer awaiting completion.

Resource 156

Resource Customer Custom Software 156

socalTECH

MAY 16, 2016

Los Angeles-based ChowNow , which develops tablet-based, online ordering and marketing software for restaurants, has inked a partnership with Google , to help its restaurants accept Android Pay. ChowNow said the support will be a standard feature, and will not cost additional for its current restaurant customers. READ MORE>>.

Customer 124

Customer Custom Google Los Angeles 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. It’s also one of the most accountable, with in-depth data provided by search engines about performance. You can start an SEM campaign with as little as $50 today and get results very quickly.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Marketing Startup 146

InfoChachkie

JULY 7, 2016

Note: I invest almost exclusively in b-to-b software companies. When investors do interject, demos typically become even more pedantic, as Founders feel compelled to speak expansively about specific features in an attempt address the investor’s concerns. An interface that is engaging can fool customers into trying a sub-par product.

Venture Capital 176

Venture Capital Product Software Review Technical Review 176

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

deliver profitable revenue that while on gross margins of 50% vs. software at 85-95% it is still profits to help you cover fixed costs. You don’t want to run the risk that having a PS business that takes your eye of off the ball of growing a large software business. That is the software business. rollout support.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software Services Company 321

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2018

As part of the lead in to the conference, and as a part of our sponsor relationship with the conference, we're running a series of interviews with speakers from the conference about their experience in the area of recurring revenues, customer service, and similar topics. We respond very quickly to all of our customers.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Services Conference 113

socalTECH

MAY 22, 2013

Los Angeles-based Nimble has made a major update to its social, customer relationship management software, adding a pile of new features and enhancements to the software. The startup--headed by Jon Ferrara, who also founded one of the original leaders in the CRM software space, Goldmine--said that its new Nimble 3.0

Software 189

Software Los Angeles Tool Networking 189

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

I’m going to take that thought out into the field and validate it with my customers." I’ve spoken to dozens of customers, I have a validated customer persona, built an MVP to test key behavioral hypotheses, and the data doesn’t back what you’re saying." " One was an enterprise software product.

Customer 227

Customer Custom CTO Coach Startup 227

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

So instead, we fill it with a completely custom blurb, written just for him: Hello! Thanks to his custom blurb, instead of closing his browser and feeling inadequate for the rest of the day, Mark completes his bio and becomes a happy customer. Which means better conversions and happier customers.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence TechEmpower Tips 295

Inverted Software

AUGUST 9, 2021

“I hired a software development company from India. The above quote is a real customer that ended up at our office. At Inverted software we know and have seen this all too often. We don’t just make software work; we make it shine! So what makes good software? So what makes good software? Scalability.

Software 105

Software Writing Framework Screening 105

Berkonomics

AUGUST 18, 2016

We were the only such facility on the West coast to provide and control the entire process from studio, through finished vinyl record pressings in the same building, therefore able to promise quality control others could only dream about. Start by sitting in with customer service. The benefits are immense.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Services Press 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2019

Much has been written recently about the requirement to focus today on the total customer experience, as a competitive edge or even for survival. The challenge I hear from savvy business owners and entrepreneurs operating on a shoestring is that providing a superior customer experience costs money.

Customer 96

Customer Custom Coach Pricing 96

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2022

San Diego-based nonprofit fundraising software developer Classy says that more than $1.1 billion was raised by its nonprofit customers on its platform in 2021. The company--which helps nonprofits reach out to donors--said about $30.8 million of that was in recurring donations on its platform.

San Diego 189

San Diego Platform Software Development Tool 189

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

We have made 5 online video investments in total – some we will talk about later this year. But here is the most misunderstood fact about YouTube that I think most smart business people have missed in their rush to criticize revenue splits* or CPMs. I’ve written about that, too. But think of this. But think of this.

SEM 150

SEM Content Platform Acquisition 150

Xconomy

MARCH 15, 2019

A global pharmaceutical company based in France has licensed software developed by San Diego digital health startup CureMatch that aims to help cancer doctors customize the combination of drugs they prescribe to patients based on mutations in cancer DNA. The company, which CEO Bob Manning says has raised about $2.5

Customer 76

Customer Custom San Diego Guide 76

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

However, savvy startups can leverage LinkedIn to create a customer acquisition and a churn reduction tool. Not knowing about a paper they have published, a talk they have given, or a job change they’ve made is just laziness. However, in some cases, especially with its larger customers, the company displaces a competitor.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Software Review Technical Review 100

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

Pasadena-based QLess, which develops software for managing virtual customer waiting lines, said on Tuesday evening that it has been acquired by Palisades Growth Capital, along with a syndicate of un-identified family offices. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. QLess is led by President and CEO Mark Tapling.

Equity 140

Equity Pasadena Acquisition Customer 140

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” You have to hear your customer’s dreams, goals, passions, and aspirations.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Marketing 85

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

When people talk about “online food delivery” services, chances are that they’ll think of the Uber Eats, Instacarts and Getirs of this world. “We are still the first mover in this space,” Xu said when I asked him in an interview about rivals. It is currently is the company’s biggest customer.).

Startup 249

Startup Platform Software Los Angeles 249

socalTECH

MARCH 19, 2014

So, it was a surprise when a number of smart, insider angels -- including Roy Rubin (founder of Magento, which he sold to eBay), and Dan Rose (VP of Partnerships at Facebook)--put their money behind TaxJar (www.taxjar.com), a San Diego startup developing sales tax compliance software. What is TaxJar? What''s the story behind the company?

Sales 149

Sales Software Startup Commerce 149

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

As organizations we have become more open and I believe this is great for businesses and their customers. We spent time out in the marketplace talking with customers, looking at their solutions, comparing ourselves with our competition and then squirreling ourselves away in our offices designing our next set of features.

Organization 280

Organization Customer Custom Tips 280

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

I have written about the deceiving nature of early successes before – in particular in the SaaS or B2B world leading to a phenomenon called “shelfware.” This is why I loved Brad Feld’s recent post about the “ illusion of product / market fit.” Success for many is ephemeral.

Product 150

Product Startup Metrics Technical Review 150

Berkonomics

JUNE 11, 2015

In my case as a young software entrepreneur, I had a different approach: Fail Locally, one customer at a time. 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. And I would learn customer service. I became an entrepreneur by default.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Writing Southern California 120

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Business tools — from customer relationship management ( CRM ) platforms to accounting software — help to save startups time and money by automating key processes and maximizing efficiency. Lenido Startup tool: Accounting software Price: Free Accounting software doesn't need to come at a premium. While Hide.me

Tool 128

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

There were startups and a software industry but barely. Nobody cared about our valuations any more. If they didn’t care about him they certainly didn’t care about me or Jason Lemkin or Jason Calacanis or any of us. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition. o Early on they hired 3 people from ACT software at once (more team hiring) on staff and supplement it with Agency (in LA worked with First Communications – good). To make PR big you need to find a way to “make news”.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

InfoChachkie

JUNE 30, 2014

For instance, at the time we invested in The Resumator , purveyor of software which facilitates the hiring process, the company had spent less than $10,000 on marketing. Even so, it had acquired hundreds of customers and a meaningful amount of recurring revenue due to its product''s merits, not a clever marketing campaign.

Marketing 193

Marketing Software Review Product Social Media 193

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2013

RxVantage (www.rxvantage.com), based in Los Angeles, is looking to tackle that huge market with its medical scheduling software for pharmaceutical and medical sales reps and medical offices, and is venture backed by Slater Technology Fund and Javelin Venture Partners. What was appealing about what you were doing for your investors?

Marketing 231

Marketing Software Education Startup 231

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 9, 2009

I just had an all-too common conversation with the founder of a startup who had spent more than a year working with a software development company who had produced a mess. If I’m being asked to do startup software development, I’m going to push fairly hard on key questions that the startup needs to have answered before they develop anything.

Software Development 292

Software Development Develop Development Startup 292

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2023

If you have a software development background like mine, I’m sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. If your software or your manufacturing process is your “secret sauce,” you need to keep the work in-house. The same applies to manufacturing and almost any process these days.

Software Review 114

Software Review Technical Review Outsource Development Outsource 114

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

A product at the concept stage contains feature-functionality that customers may not want or be willing to pay for, or which just might not work well enough for release to the public. This is not to state that the customer tests a new product before we do internally, although many of us are surely guilty of that error.

Customer 156

Customer Custom Writing Product 156