Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. If I check Twitter it’s usually because I’m waiting for a meeting to start and I never write posts during the day. He’s committed to getting through every email. I read 95% of my email.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2019

What every entrepreneur needs more than anything else, after they have built an innovative new product or service, is visibility, credibility, and trust by customers, potential employees, and future business partners. Yet, most good business people I know agree, but don’t know where to start.

Writing 19

Writing Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 19

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Who's the customer? What's you believe is your biggest technology risk, if any? Do I have to write up the overview? What Is This?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Who's the customer? What's you believe is your biggest technology risk, if any? Do I have to write up the overview? What Is This?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

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

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Too Techie - Tone down emphasis on the technology underlying your venture; an interested investor will perform tech diligence at the appropriate time. What does your pain reliever look like, how is it implemented by the customer and what future products do you expect to roll out? Distribution and Sales. Share and Enjoy.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

I recall being impressed with Jeff, but I was concerned that he was creating a platform, which often requires a significant amount of capital, takes an extended amount of time to establish and can be subject to margin pressure as the enabling technologies become commoditized. Tech Diligence - Consider The Source. > -jeff.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

I wrote a version of this post four years ago but given the hectic nature of today’s tech markets I thought it was worth revisiting and updating. I wrote directly to his assistant asking why he had cancelled and made it clear that I had not attended a conference in town due to my having accepted this meeting.

Conference 369

Conference Startup Century City Email 369

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2010

Like you, I struggle to return everybody’s emails because I get too many. So I often try to stay off of email during the day. It made me laugh because the technical world has this exact phrase to talk in computing sense about the need to block out interruptions in order to complete a task.

Product 280

Product Startup Email Technical Review 280

Eric Greenspan

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

I’ve remained a skeptic about the BBB and as a result of an email I received a couple of weeks ago from them, I have raised the skepticism threat level. So here’s the email I received: Eric, My name is Chad Ratliffe emailing from the Better Business Bureau. That’s how we do business at Make It Work.

Santa Barbara 265

Santa Barbara Technical Advisors Email Technical Review 265

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Huge thank you to Steve De Long for the write up. My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while and was going to use AngelList by Nivi & Naval as the basis for my example and the perfect prompt came yesterday when I read Fred Wilson’s blog post on AngelList. Before booking a hotel I always check out Trip Advisor and read reviews. So how does this apply to you?

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2010

If you’re not familiar with the term it’s basically trying to help all of us who are deluged with technology to find ways to cope with the masses of information without having it ruin our lives. Want to take a year pursuing your dream to write a screenplay, travel through Asia, run a triathlon or start your own fashion line?

Startup 295

Startup Email Technical Review Course 295

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Traction can simply mean showing that you’re making progress with customers, product development, channel partners, initial revenue as a proof point, attracting well-known angel investors, winning industry awards / recognition. They get positive product reviews on TechCrunch, GigaOm or Paidcontent.org. They hire key staff.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

Value is created through diligent hard work. Once you prove that a substantial number of people are willing to pay more for your solution than it costs you to provide it, you can then consider licensing your underlying technology. Your commitments to investors must be significant enough to compel them to write you a check.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 19, 2010

However, not all things are perfect and there are some issues that will be brought up later in this review. Integrates SMS, Social Network Services, email, and calendar accounts. Swype, Write & Go. Opening the email box and viewing a message did go to a black screen for a few seconds before being able to view the message.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Screening RSS Web 40

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2013

No name, picture, address, or business history only convinces customers that you are hiding, located in an un-trustable country, or don’t have a clue. Publish a regular blog, contribute to relevant social networks, and write a “white paper” on your technology. Follow-up for customer satisfaction. They will exit quickly.

Search Engine Optimization 105

Search Engine Optimization Startup Advertising SEO 105

socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2010

How do you take a business you started as your own personal web site, and turn it into an online powerhouse, completely bootstrapped, from the little town of Ojai, California--not exactly known as a technology town? AOL was just coming online, it was the beginnings of email, and the beginnings of the web. It was going crazy.

Startup 242

Startup Web Design Writing Web 242

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

From devising a tweet length pitch to having an easy to remember name, each branding opportunity is a touch point for a new customer to be attracted to what you have to offer. In order to prepare for TechCrunch Disrupt 2012 I reviewed company bios via the official site and read taglines that said “cool” rather than what the company does.

Press 97

Press Startup Technical Review Email 97

socalTECH

JUNE 8, 2011

We actually built that about a year and a half ago, and are bringing that back due to overwhelming demand. But, with the economy turning south in 2008, lots of those customers went out of business. In the meantime, Groupon came along, and our media customers started to lose advertising. We were crowd sourcing artists and design.

Platform 263

Platform Training Software Review Advertising 263

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2012

No name, picture, address, or business history only convinces customers that you are hiding, located in an un-trustable country, or don’t have a clue. Publish a regular blog, contribute to relevant social networks, and write a “white paper” on your technology. Follow-up for customer satisfaction. They will exit quickly.

Search Engine Optimization 96

Search Engine Optimization Entrepreneur Sites Advertising 96

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

People buy companies for 3 primary reasons: 1) they want the management team / talent 2) they want the technology or 3) they want the market traction (revenue, customer base, profits, etc). We told the horror story of the company that originally owned the URL groupon.com and lost it due to not having a trademark.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2010

No name, picture, address, or business history only convinces customers that you are hiding, located in an untrustable country, or don’t have a clue. Publish a daily blog, contribute to relevant social networks, and write a “white paper” on your technology. Follow-up for customer satisfaction. They will exit quickly.

Tips 92

Tips Search Engine Optimization Startup Advertising 92

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 11, 2010

This month’s big question is Examples of Big Impact from Technology and I’ve taken it as an opportunity to go back and look at the elements of different projects that I’ve worked on over the years that have had a big impact. The retail store manager’s plan would be reviewed and approved by the district manager.

Satisfaction 167

Satisfaction Examples Course Technical Review 167

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. The questions that a VC mulls before writing a check are precisely the questions you should be asking yourself.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Berkonomics

JANUARY 16, 2014

All parties need to perform due diligence to ensure that the assumptions are correct, that neither partner has financial issues which could affect the partnership, and that the opposite partner has the skills to contribute to the partnership. Email readers, continue here.] Access to new technologies.

Technical Review 204

Technical Review Startup Examples Metrics 204

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

High burn-rates fueled by over investment – One of the most damning things that happened to the start-up markets in 97-00 and 05-08 was the overfunding of technology companies. This came in part due to the huge influx of money into VC but also because hedge funds and private equity shops with no VC experience wanted part of the action.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Startup Invest Funding 263

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

So I thought I’d write a post about how I drive my personal creativity. (A The key is channeling what you learn when you drive onto paper for retention purposes so you have to write it down soon afterward. I want to know how many people, their level of tech sophistication, their age and their interests.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. It really wouldn’t take much to turn a great technology ecosystem into a truly electric one. He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 13, 2011

For the next four days if you’re in the tech industry you’re going to hear a non-stop stream of information about SXSW. You may choose some where your customers aggregate, others where you hope to find biz dev partners & still others where you want to meet investors. Write them in advance and request meetings.

Conference 289

Conference Startup Technical Review Writing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2016

Next comes the more arduous process of reviewing every applicant, looking for key attributes including the following. On a business team, the ability to communicate verbally and in writing is more important than technical depth. Get it reviewed and approved by peers, including salary and perks. Good communication skills.

Technical Review 56

Technical Review Coach Training Screening 56

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

You need to be great at something: technology back-end, front-end design, usability, sales, marketing, quantitative analysis, leadership –> whatever. But if you’re not uber talented there is always a “Justin Bieber of technology&# waiting to kick your ass. To be a great entrepreneur you really do need talent.

Entrepreneur 398

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Blogging 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

. - Journalists don’t know enough about your company before the show, don’t have time for proper research, and you will be competing for their time afterward with 49+ other companies that want them to write about you. - But more broadly it got me thinking to one of the biggest mistakes tech executives get into in the first place.

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

We had email, instant messaging, group calendars, discussion boards, etc. They had a proprietary browser, their own search engine, their own content, chat rooms, email system, etc. But AOL brought online services, email, chat and discussion boards to the masses and thus educated a generation that paved the way for others.

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Startup 318

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. He launched a business called Unsubscribe, which helped consumers deal with the deluge of email lists that one gets signed up to and get rid of them all.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

No rule is ever absolute no matter how it sounds when one writes a blog. That is when no customers wanted to work with Internet startups because we as an industry had burned so many customers. I learned how to integrate customers into our product development process. We fought for every customer together.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Sales Software Review 285