Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2017

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Customer support chasm.

Customer 76

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Technical Review 76

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Customer support chasm.

Startup 150

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2023

A common initiative I hear from business owners today is their effort to improve the customer experience. To achieve real growth, business leaders need to improve both employee as well as customer experiences. Flexible – listen to allow flex hours and customization. Proactive – timely communication to build trust.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Training Tool 113

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Here’s a case study for yourself: Recently I was asked to review an offer letter for a senior director of business development. The CEO was concerned that he was offering far too much in the form of incentive compensation, with bonuses that could greatly exceed the base salary if all the bonus items were achieved.

Case Study 156

Case Study Study Email Tool 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Commit to a major customer. Apply for contests and business grants.

Develop 70

Develop Development Product Startup 70

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Applied research is still primarily scientific study, seeking to solve practical problems, but doesn’t yet focus on a commercial product. Technology pilots. Business commercialization.

Resource 102

Resource Ideas Funding Research 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2018

As an advisor to new business owners, and an occasional angel investor, I see new business proposals daily, many seeking investors to fund early research and development (R&D) of a new product idea. Funding new product research and development is just too risky, with a large time delay before any return is likely.

Research 57

Research Develop Development Funding 57

socalTECH

DECEMBER 5, 2018

FactoryFour , a startup which developing software to enable custom production of industrial goods, has raised $5M in a Series A funding, and set up shop in Culver City. The startup's Series A funding was led by August Capital, and also included existing investor Refactor Capital. READ MORE>>.

Culver City 113

Culver City Startup Study Los Angeles 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

SEPTEMBER 20, 2008

Friday, September 26, 2008 -- "Lean-Agile: Case Studies from Amazon.com and Profitline" SDSIC. More companies are adopting revolutionary new processes known collectively as Lean (reduce waste, improve quality, and time-to-market) and Agile (Scrum, XP) methodologies to develop and deliver the software their customers want, when they want it.

Case Study 100

Case Study Study Organization Software 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 30, 2023

Risk level has always been directly correlated to the number of unknowns, so eliminating even one variable will improve your odds: Eliminate one aspect of research and development. According to a classic Harvard Research study, first inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators.

Social Media 92

Social Media Study Research Satisfaction 92

socalTECH

JANUARY 12, 2009

San Diego-based Illumina, a developer of life science analysis tools, said Monday that the firm's products have been selected by Duke University Medical Center. According to Illumina, researchers at the school will use its Genome Analyzer to study resistance to HIV infection about individuals, who have been exposed but remain uninfected.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Study San Diego 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Los Angeles-based future transportation developer Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), one of two Los Angeles-based developer of Hyperloop systems, has inked a deal with the city of Abu Dhabi and its Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT), to pursue connecting the cities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Technology 100

Technology Study Los Angeles Invest 100

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 21, 2020

The company sent an email to customers Tuesday that after examining the business, the car-sharing industry and COVID-19, it decided to shutter the service permanently. Our learnings and developments from Maven will go on to benefit and accelerate the growth of other areas of GM business.”. The Verge was the first to report the story.

Los Angeles 215

Los Angeles Technical Review Email Services 215

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. Test your innovation with at least a hundred customers.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2021

I’m often surprised when you as an aspiring entrepreneur, looking for investors, tell me your solution is so innovative that you don’t have to worry about differentiating it from competitors, and customers will flock to it without a real marketing campaign. Focus your marketing on real customer value. Perception is better than reality.

Social Media 134

Social Media Case Study Customer Custom 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2023

In my search for guidance on modern business leadership studies, both scientific and actual case studies, I was impressed with a new book, “ Head and Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership ,” by Dr. Kirstin Ferguson. Develop self-awareness of your triggers. She brings a strong background in business with her academic credentials.

Case Study 112

Case Study Study Startup Examples 112

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2020

Risk level has always been directly correlated to the number of unknowns, so eliminating even one variable will improve your odds: Eliminate one aspect of research and development. According to a classic Harvard Research study, first inventors spend at least a third more on their initial technology than later innovators.

Startup 157

Startup Social Media Study Research 157

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2011

Every startup needs to understand that the customer paradigm has dramatically shifted over the past two years with pervasive social networks and smartphones. If your business doesn’t connect with your customers, individually and as a community, demanding customers will not only ignore you, but will actively keep other customers away.

Customer 91

Customer Custom Startup Networking 91

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

I like his summary of the challenges involved, real case studies, and especially his recommended building blocks to a culture of perpetual innovation in any company: Extract and instill a long-term vision in your team. Your people on the customer front lines have the input you need on institutional changes required.

Case Study 117

Case Study Outsource Development Outsource Customer 117

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2016

That’s the right place to start, but real growth and scale requires attracting customers who are not like you. For example, Starbucks found initial success with professionals aged 25 to 40 in urban areas and with moderately high income but later looked to a new market of millennials who wanted a place to sit and chat, study or work.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

If you aren’t yet adapting to the market and your customers, you are falling behind. I define business agility for my consulting clients as the ability to change your business rapidly to meet customer and environmental changes, with minimal organizational disruption and cost. Be proactive rather than reactive to market change.

Competition 148

Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2022

How good are you and everyone on your team at proactively scanning the environment for opportunities, emerging trends, and customer feedback? Imbue customer change focus. Provide direct customer contact to everyone, as well as training. Increase change agility. In summary, change will happen.

Startup 116

Startup Training Statistics Summary 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2022

Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with studying and learning from the wisdom and experience of others. This is a software distribution and pricing model in which new applications are hosted by a service provider and made available to customers over a network, rather than requiring customer hardware. Gamification.

Technology 133

Technology Cloud Computing Social Media Networking 133

Southern California Edison Blog

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

As new clients partner with us and we continue to expand our extensive fiber optic network infrastructure, it is time to refresh our brand in a way that emphasizes our mission, successes and outstanding customer-focus. As part of our customer-oriented approach to business, we are also joining social media!

Customer 45

Customer Custom Southern California Case Study 45

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2017

In this age of interactive social media, your culture image quickly spreads to customers, and determines their loyalty. Zak is the director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, and he has studied the connection between trust and performance all over the world.

Develop 58

Develop Development Claremont Mentor 58

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Applied research is still primarily scientific study, seeking to solve practical problems, but doesn’t yet focus on a commercial product. Technology pilots. Business commercialization.

Help 165

Help Research Startup Funding 165

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

A broken process or a subtle quality issue can generate a flood of customer satisfaction problems, cost overruns, and loss of market share. On tough issues, I recommend the use of brainstorming with colleagues, to expand your efforts, and develop a half-dozen alternatives. Then pick the best one.

Satisfaction 152

Satisfaction Mentor Study Startup 152

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2013

I did have the wherewithal to visit potential customers and try to understand the pain points that I thought could be solved with our solution. Steve Blank calls this “ customer development ” in which you built an initial product that is in search of “product / market fit.” This answers the question of “why buy anything?”

Sales 393

Sales Startup Resource Customer 393

Xconomy

AUGUST 22, 2016

The developer also provides rent-free space for a second EvoNexus incubator in University City (about a mile or so from UC San Diego) and a third EvoNexus incubator near UC Irvine that opened at the end of 2014. In April, a study released by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.

Develop 40

Develop Development San Diego Startup 40

Xconomy

JUNE 23, 2016

San Diego’s cybersecurity workforce has grown by nearly 15 percent over the past two years, according to a study released today by the Cyber Center of Excellence, a nonprofit industry group created to boost cybersecurity jobs and technologies in the region. The center also asked the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.

San Diego 69

San Diego Study Outsource Development Report 69

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

As noted in Pour and Stir Part I , the key to the successful execution of this strategy is managing the following equation: The cost to acquire a customer < lifetime value of a customer. Decreasing Your Customer Acquisition Costs. This is equivalent to being handed a free customer for every ten customers you acquire.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

According to one study a decade ago, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Optimize the total customer experience. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2022

Based on a classic study by the Wharton School of Business , in a survey of 11,000 MBA graduates over many years, those running their own businesses ranked themselves happier than all other professions, regardless of how much money they made. People see you as great for demanding customers and team bonding.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Organization Customer Custom 110

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2019

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Customer support chasm.

Technical Review 102

Technical Review Customer Custom Satisfaction 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Many businesses have found that raising the price of a product to give it status can win more customers than a price war. If you study the Amazon 1-click patent long enough, you’ll likely find something of your own worth patenting. Ten customer referrals is better than “no complaints.” Think the unthinkable.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2021

While I do agree that many attributes of a good entrepreneur, such as curiosity, confidence and determination, are largely determined by early-life experiences, a good education is critical in understanding the elements of creating a business and wooing customers. It’s never too early to stop studying and start doing it for real.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 149

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2021

You can project the results by assessing how well you might handle these seven key objectives: Develop a simple plan for your complex strategy. I have found that many people are great critics, or can study a problem forever. Too many CEOs today like to talk, trust their gut, but fail to listen to their team or the customer.

News 136

News Framework Demand Study 136