Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

The stakes are high – you are asking an investor for money, a customer for an order, or another executive for a partnership. Badly written letters, long rambling or emotional emails, or an obvious lack of spell checking will brand you as a poor business risk before the message is even considered. Tailor writing to your audience.

Writing 90

Writing Content Email Tips 90

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Another mistake many consultants make is to charge by the hour, and customers lose track and lose confidence as things change. Speak to people, rather than write a document every time you want a change. Have "customers", not "clients." This is a minor semantic point, but an important one to the customer.

Startup 150

Startup Slides Email Customer 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

Here’s Why You Should Just Send the Deck I know you have your document sending tool to send your fund-raising deck to VCs and track who read your deck, which pages they read and how much time they spend on each page. What should not be in your deck? I would likely open up your deck, read it again and begin contemplating your company again.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

Your historical trading information including financials and a “customer file” which shows the history of your transactions so that investors can run “cohort” analyses Customer reference, personal references, key team members, compensation, cap table, stock option plan, etc. It doesn’t. The data room is where your process goes to die.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2013

I’ve been writing a series on a simple methodology that we used at my first enterprise software company. Simply, this is identifying a customer need that has economic value to them if they can solve it. This solves the customer question, “Why Buy Anything?”. You can’t quantify the value of email yet everybody needs it!”.

Sales 328

Sales Customer Custom Examples 328

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 17, 2016

Everyone who manages a company or its sales force wants to write as many new deals as possible, and is usually warry about doing anything that might threaten the positive outcome of a pending sale. Do so within the offer document and with a personal comment with delivery of the offer. Deadlines are an important sales tool.

Sales 120

Sales Tool Writing Customer 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2020

Too many of you business owners think success only means being the next Amazon, or you stress yourself out trying to be everything to every customer. Understand and write down every expense, and budget for required costs, especially initial inventory and accounts receivable delays. Meticulously manage cash inflow and outflow.

Customer 125

Customer Custom Tool Writing 125

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

With the sudden death of its founder, Gerald Cotton, customers are owed an estimated $190 million due to a missing password only he knew. A huge amount of cryptocurrency is believed to be stored on a device that is now inaccessible, leaving customers in the dark as to what has happened to their funds. Earlier Troubles for QuadrigaCX.

News 161

News Customer Custom Commerce 161

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

In writing anything positive about any of the companies I’m not suggesting that it means that I prefer them to any of their competitors. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. They have done 3 startups in the customer support space and one that wasn’t.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2013

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. In simple terms, it is a document which describes all the what, when, where, and how of your business for you, your cohorts, and potential investors. No problem.

Sample 92

Sample Writing Startup Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2014

Another mistake many consultants make is to charge by the hour, and customers lose track and lose confidence as things change. Speak to people, rather than write a document every time you want a change. Have "customers", not "clients." All aspects of customer service apply.

Startup 102

Startup Slides Email Customer 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2012

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. In simple terms, it is a document which describes all the what, when, where, and how of your business for you, your cohorts, and potential investors. No problem.

Sample 96

Sample Writing Summary Startup 96

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

There’s one attribute (coming soon) that I need to have in order to write a check but I don’t believe is vital for success. My first company launched in 1999 and we were offering a SaaS document management in the cloud (we were called ASPs back then). So the whole customer development cycle is very streamlined.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS San Diego 267

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

It’s a key skill for success in every business role, from accountant to customer support. Whether it’s a frustrated employee, or a dissatisfied customer, what you first hear is usually someone yelling with emotion or talking so fast that you don’t know what they are talking about. Put the decision in writing to prevent ambiguity.

Startup 101

Startup Satisfaction Training Entrepreneur 101

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2011

Another mistake many consultants make is to charge by the hour, and customers lose track and lose confidence as things change. Speak to people, rather than write a document every time you want a change. Have "customers", not "clients." All aspects of customer service apply.

Startup 93

Startup Customer Custom Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2013

It’s a key skill for success in every business role, from accountant to customer support. Whether it’s a frustrated employee, or a dissatisfied customer, what you first hear is usually someone yelling with emotion or talking so fast the you don’t know what they are talking about. Put the decision in writing to prevent ambiguity.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Training Customer 107

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2010

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. In simple terms, it is a document which describes all the what, when, where, and how of your business for you, your cohorts, and potential investors. No problem.

Startup 91

Startup Funding Sample Writing 91

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2012

Another mistake many consultants make is to charge by the hour, and customers lose track and lose confidence as things change. Speak to people, rather than write a document every time you want a change. Have "customers", not "clients." All aspects of customer service apply.

Startup 85

Startup Slides Email Customer 85

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2016

I’m not suggesting that formal legal documents are always required, but agreements without some paper or email trail are easily forgotten or misconstrued. Trade secrets need to be documented and dated, and business plans labeled as confidential. Reveal “secret sauce” before filing intellectual property.

Startup 62

Startup Patents Entrepreneur Writing 62

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2012

It’s a key skill for success in every business role, from accountant to customer support. Whether it’s a frustrated employee, or a dissatisfied customer, what you first hear is usually someone yelling with emotion or talking so fast the you don’t know what they are talking about. Put the decision in writing to prevent ambiguity.

Tips 116

Tips Satisfaction Training Entrepreneur 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2010

Another mistake many consultants make is to charge by the hour, and customers lose track and lose confidence as things change. Speak to people, rather than write a document every time you want a change. Have "customers", not "clients." All aspects of customer service apply.

Startup 90

Startup Slides Email Customer 90

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 17, 2019

An email subscription is coming! The new information, gleaned from recently unsealed court documents , provides new insight into the company’s past activities and what that might mean for its upcoming IPO. Email me or send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec. As I’ve written before, consider this a soft launch.

San Fernando 217

San Fernando Los Angeles Commerce News 217

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

It’s a key skill for success in every business role, from accountant to customer support. Whether it’s a frustrated employee, or a dissatisfied customer, what you first hear is usually someone yelling with emotion or talking so fast the you don’t know what they are talking about. Put the decision in writing to prevent ambiguity.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Training Customer 92

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. Many people start companies arse backwards.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Jason Nazar

AUGUST 15, 2013

The Viral Loop / User Email. You can search Technorati to find the most popular blogs on the web across various categories.Make sure to reach out to bloggers personally and build a relationship.Leave comments on their posts, link to them from your site… do that and when you approach them to write about you, you’ll find a welcomed reception.

Web 61

Web Social Media Content Sites 61

Jason Nazar

JANUARY 14, 2009

The Viral Loop / User Email. Leave comments on their posts, link to them from your site… do that and when you approach them to write about you, you’ll find a welcomed reception. Make a list of the journalists writing the articles, they’re easy to find on Linkedin and Facebook. Search Engines. Referring Traffic / Press.

Web 62

Web Social Media Content Sites 62

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 10, 2012

And it really genuinely worked… until Cunningham found himself in a flurry of emails regarding partnerships, more videos, and customer requests for selections. I started to document what I was actually taking to the streets and it turned out really not much.” Taken from Readitfor.me. At first we did a 30 day trial.

Startup 76

Startup Social Media Content Web 2.0 76

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 13, 2010

Start by writing a draft of your reference. Pursue references from a variety of sources, including customers, suppliers, subordinates, etc. It will also reduce the number of errant phone calls and email exchanges your Referencers will have to administer on your behalf. six months).

Startup 113

Startup .Net Organization Networking 113

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 13, 2011

With all these companies vying for attention & others just here to soak up the vibe I thought I’d write a much broader piece on how startups can make the most of their attendance at conferences & events. Feel good in knowing that while they’re at the latest conference, you can be back home stealing all their customers !

Conference 289

Conference Startup Technical Review Writing 289

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2010

They mostly understand your company, your customers, your competitors and your market but never as precisely as you do. Here’s what I recommend: Create a Google spreadsheet listing your top customer prospects, biz dev prospects and other companies you would like to meet. They will likely forward your email to their partners.

Startup 301

Startup Venture Capital Software Review Email 301

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2009

This post covers the first out of 10 that I’ll write about. The moderator asked the question, “if an entrepreneur writes an email to a VC and doesn’t hear back what should they do?&# This VC responded, “Move on. If you fold at the first un-returned email what hope to you have as an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneur 338

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Google 338

Berkonomics

JANUARY 16, 2014

Email readers, continue here.] Research and talk to existing and past customers. It is highly recommended that legal document are created and/or reviewed by a business transaction attorney. All agreements should be in writing and signed by all parties involved. Access to new markets.

Technical Review 204

Technical Review Startup Examples Metrics 204

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I write about sales often both because it’s the lifeblood of any organization and because in my experience it is the area in which more startups are least experienced or inclined. I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand.

Sales 150

Sales Startup Venture Capital Funding 150

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

500 Hats , January 10, 2010 Developing new startup ideas - Chris Dixon , March 14, 2010 Batch Processing Millions and Millions of Images - Code as Craft , July 9, 2010 jQuery Plugin: Give Your Characters a NobleCount - The Product Guy , March 23, 2010 How do the sample Series Seed financing documents differ from typical Series A financing documents?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

The best proof of a soft circle is whether an angel will email someone else (refer another investor) and start off that email with “I’m investing in…”. Clarity for the team that is building the product, clarity for the customer who’s using the product, and clarity when you’re marketing the product. Topics of the day.

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

Microsoft Office ended up beating its competitors because it was able to read and write to file formats other than its own. Lesson: You dn’t want your customers to feel locked into using your software. It helps with sales cycles because customers know that they can switch away if they so choose. Defensibility in Software.

Software Review 285

Software Review Software Blogging Startup 285