Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2020

As I was watching the investor show, Shark Tank , on TV the other night, I was struck by how quickly and how extensively the sharks focused on the background and character of the entrepreneurs, compared to time spent evaluating their products. These can be honed over time, and can’t be easily faked.

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Mentor Metrics Customer 168

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. It’s the same for customers and products, where analytics have long proven their value.

Metrics 98

Metrics Tool Statistics Entrepreneur 98

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.” Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist. Exploit your product and service differences.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Marketing 85

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. New product process. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Ownership.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Each of these can go astray as follows: Your product or service hits unexpected snags.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Customer receivables collection and vendor payments. Solution development and delivery.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Berkonomics

APRIL 8, 2021

How do you make your product go viral? What are the elements needed to focus upon in making the attempt to take a product viral? It was as much in reaction to my getting blank stares from entrepreneurs when I asked the above question as it was for me to better understand the problem itself. Here is my list. First: Planning.

Sites 156

Sites Product Social Network Press 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2020

As an angel investor in startups, I’m a believer that smart investors invest more in you as the entrepreneur than the next billion dollar solution you are pitching. Even if you are still in school, and never started a company before, strong entrepreneur candidates can point to projects they initiated, led, that produced significant results.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Examples Metrics 124

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. 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

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 22, 2016

The Most Important Metric. We had a spirited discussion regarding a number of issues related to blowing past $10M in annual recurring SaaS revenue, in front of a sold-out crowd of about 400 entrepreneurs. Near the conclusion of our discussion, I asked each CEO to name any non-obvious metrics by which they guide their businesses.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Cornerstone OnDemand Metrics 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

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. What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” There are no guarantees in business, but it pays to learn from the experiences of entrepreneurs and business experts who have gone before you. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Customer 121

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I challenge them to think beyond what I call linear extensions to a current trend, such as another “easier-to-use” app for smartphones, a new dating site for pets, or another niche social network. Why doesn’t this product or service already exist? Great social entrepreneurs are rare.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Examples 126

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

How should you become the best marketer you can be, even if you are a first-time entrepreneur or a seasoned CEO? Interview potential customers, hold focus groups, meet with existing customers. And the first thing in marketing is to adapt your product or service to the needs of the marketplace. There’s an answer for that.

Marketing 156

Marketing Metrics Education Resource 156

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2018

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Hidalgo recommends a focus on engagement stage indicators including customers by channel, conversion ratio, and cost per revenue.

Metrics 57

Metrics Demand Marketing Paramount 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. Of course, not every entrepreneur wants to tackle this challenge. There is no free lunch.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

Almost every entrepreneur looking for outside investors has heard the annoying rejection, “You are just too early – come back when you have more traction.” That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? According to most experts , business traction is evidence that somebody really wants your product.

Metrics 57

Metrics Funding Startup Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Hidalgo recommends a focus on engagement stage indicators including customers by channel, conversion ratio, and cost per revenue.

Metrics 101

Metrics Marketing Demand Paramount 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

In my role as advisor and mentor to many new entrepreneurs, I often find myself suggesting that they think bigger. Ideas to improve the usability of an existing product, or ways to extend its audience, are not likely to be unique to you, and difficult to win over competitors. Be prepared to ship a minimum viable product and pivot.

Startup 162

Startup Metrics Ideas Entrepreneur 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. Waste in a startup is any activity that burns resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Bottlenecks to team productivity. The result is lower productivity all around. Lack of communication.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

This is why I loved Brad Feld’s recent post about the “ illusion of product / market fit.” ” This, too, is a must read for any entrepreneur. I have many investments with early traction and I the entrepreneurs I work with must tire of my constantly saying, “Are we really making a difference?

Product 150

Product Startup Metrics Technical Review 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2023

Every business owner and entrepreneur like you I work with wishes they could better predict product demand and sales, for managing inventory and long-term business planning. We all have our favorite metric and our passion, but keeping up with real-world changes and trends seems to be always just out of reach.

Metrics 81

Metrics Demand Statistics Sample 81

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 9, 2013

At Rincon Venture Partners , we have invested in several female entrepreneurs(so far), including Tracy DiNunzio, Founder and CEO of Tradesy. which serves to further diminish the perceived number of accomplished women entrepreneurs. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles!

Customer 185

Customer Custom Study Metrics 185

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved. It’s a tough job, and inexperienced entrepreneurs just don’t know where to start, and how to do it.

Competition 99

Competition Services Startup Training 99

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. Like many product managers, my background is fairly eclectic. That's where I learned I enjoyed interacting with customers and working with development teams to build and launch products. Tell me a bit about your background.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Customer receivables collection and vendor payments. Solution development and delivery.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2021

As a long-time business consultant and investor, especially to entrepreneurs, I recognize your sparkle of vision , to build the ultimate world-changing product. I found these maladies summarized well in a new book, “ Radical Product Thinking ,” by entrepreneur Radhika Dutt. Hypermetricemia – metrics for everything.

Metrics 133

Metrics Product Yahoo Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2021

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. Usually these people think they are doing a great job, and are totally oblivious to their unhappy customers or cash drain.

Startup 164

Startup Class Entrepreneur Coach 164

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

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. What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 106

Metrics Startup Sales Statistics 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2023

There are many components of an ownership thinking strategy, but here are some of the key ones from my own perspective, as a mentor and advisor to aspiring entrepreneurs and new business owners: Willing to take smart risks which lead to long-term growth. More new, repeat, and loyal customers means career success.

Startup 111

Startup Satisfaction Metrics Customer 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2023

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Using data metrics alone for decisions, without seeking the root problem and alternative solutions, kills creativity.

Marketing 119

Marketing Metrics Demand Statistics 119

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. New product process. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Ownership.

Coach 144

Coach Metrics Social Network Competition 144

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. They rarely highlight their marketing and relationship skills , even though, in my experience, these are more often the key to success in business than product skills.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Traction is evidence that your product or service has started that “hockey- stick” adoption rate which implies a large market, a valid business model, and sustainable growth. One customer is not traction, and beta tests with a thousand customers at no cost don’t count. Free and freemium products need a solid base.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 121

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Most of the entrepreneurs I meet as an investor and advisor have no shortage of right-brain thinking, showing vision and creativity, but often don’t realize that their potential is being limited by a balancing focus on results, metrics, and customer specifics. Show results with a minimal viable product (MVP).

Technical Review 133

Technical Review Satisfaction Metrics Startup 133