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6 Due Diligence Goals When Vetting Business Partners

Startup Professionals Musings

You need to do the due diligence to make that decision before you sign away your equity. As a former startup investor, I was often involved with due diligence on founders, and I felt that founders should do the same on co-founders, as well as investors. The same benefits also apply to a joint venture.

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5 Keys to Ensuring Credibility, Trust, and Customers

Startup Professionals Musings

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I summarize the key elements of the transformation as follows: Customers are seeking control in a run-away world.

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GrubMarket raises $60M as food delivery stays center stage

TechCrunch LA

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions.

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Document Your MVP for a Developer

SoCal CTO

He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy. Me : Product definition, use cases, feature list, wireframes, comps, really whatever you have. It's the same as when I've created financial models and then have it reviewed by a hard-core CFO, sophisticated investor or similar kind of expert. Founder : Ummm. Founder : Umm.

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How to Acquire Customers by Marketing “Heroes”

Both Sides of the Table

Social proof is defined as “looking for others to guide our decisions&# and is also one of the most important techniques in acquiring customers in your company. It influenced a generation of tech marketers. The book popularized the technology adoption lifecycle curve that originally came out of Iowa State University shown below.

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Non-Technical Entrepreneurs Need the Right Partner

Startup Professionals Musings

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. I tell them that if their idea or solution is technology intensive, they clearly need technology strength on the team. It definitely works, but may be beyond your budget.

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10 Metrics To Drive Your Annual Business Review

Startup Professionals Musings

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for every startup to assess the metrics, technology, and platforms they’re using to manage the business. Customer loyalty and retention.

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