Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad. Traction in the marketplace.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

He did note that in the four markets where the company has gone live since launching its business in January 2019 — San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire , and Sacramento — has yielded an annualized revenue run rate of over $400 million in gross merchandise value (the total value of home sales transacted on its platform).

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Commit to a major customer.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Thus, financial projections for up to five years are a necessary element in every business plan. There is no black magic involved in predicting the future, if you use these four simple steps, with my basic rules of thumb to keep you on the right track: Determine your margin on sales. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2013

Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Use voicemail, a world-class website, and personal customer service, with small expenses, to beat your big competitors. Act big, behave small. Do it yourself. Marty Zwilling.

Equity 96

Equity Startup Summary Tips 96

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). Many accelerators have come and gone during these past five years. For you who fit that description, nice work.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Commit to a major customer.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 29, 2015

Taking money from professional investors such as angels or VCs usually requires that you agree to seek an exit for those investors in your plan, often targeting five to seven years as the ideal period for growth before a liquidity event. For some, that comfort is worth forgoing building high equity value.

Equity 120

Equity Venture Capital Course Email 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

This is the origin of the “ solution looking for a problem ” and “ if we build it, they will come ” syndromes, which result in surprise and frustration waiting for funding, and waiting for customers that don’t materialize. Business strategy allows you to change customer perceptions and responses to your product or service offerings.

Startup 92

Startup Competition IP Patents 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad. Traction in the marketplace.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Berkonomics

JANUARY 26, 2017

The most striking example was the one hundred–million–dollar purchase of one of my companies by a New York private equity investor using only five million of its cash. But I learned it again and again in my various business lives. Offering too little in an acquisition to satisfy the seller?

Pricing 120

Pricing Sales Tool Equity 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. Just because you want to start a business doesn’t mean you are entitled to outside equity, loans, or crowdfunding. Be prepared to update it regularly as customers and trends change.

Customer 125

Customer Custom Tool Writing 125

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Investors want to hear about customers with money who have a painful problem that you can solve now. Investors are looking for a concise description of your product or service without technical jargon or fuzzy marketing terms with value quantified in customer terms. What are your specific marketing and sales plans?

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2012

One of the few local funds to recently raise a fund is TVC Capital (www.tvccapital.com), which just closed TVC Capital II, a $75 million growth equity and buyout fund. Jeb Spencer: We consider ourselves a private equity firm. One issue has been a difficulty by indigenous funds to raise their own capital from their limited partners.

Acquisition 168

Acquisition Software Review Technical Review Equity 168

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

When pitching to investors, entrepreneurs always seem to start with a customer pitch, then add a slide or two about the business. In every case, the relevant pitch needs to start by highlighting a real customer problem, then outlining a new solution, with all the features and disruptive technology.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2018

Unfortunately, customers look for value in solving their problem, and new technologies alone scare them, so these solutions don’t get bought by customers, or funded. Attracting business investors is as tough as attracting customers, but it’s a different challenge. Customized marketing strategy and realistic sales plans. “If

Product 58

Product Slides Entrepreneur Invest 58

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Lead with your intent to offer the solution free to customers. Of course, customers love free, but investors hate it. Even non-profits need money to scale, but their pitch should be to philanthropists, not equity investors. Sales projections are less than one percent market penetration. Skip the hype.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Innocal Entrepreneur 98

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

The company had a lot of moving parts, and was growing really quickly, and I was number five on that accounting team. In our first year of selling, we brought on over 50 clients, and last year we had 170 customers, and we now have about 40 employees. We were about a year out from our IPO when I joined, to work inside accounting.

Startup 124

Startup Cornerstone OnDemand Software Review Woodland Hills 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Thus, financial projections for up to five years are a necessary element in every business plan. There is no black magic involved in predicting the future, if you use these four simple steps, with my basic rules of thumb to keep you on the right track: Determine your margin on sales. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Pricing Sales 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

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. Nevertheless, it’s an option that doesn’t cost you equity. Commit to a major customer.

Startup 53

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 53

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2016

Seasonal sales fluctuations eat cash. Fluctuating sales means more inventory is required to cover the ups and downs. It could be a natural disaster, like a flood or wind storm, or loss of key personnel, equipment failure, or a major customer complaint on the Internet. Even good customers don’t always pay on time.

Startup 64

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 64

socalTECH

JUNE 3, 2013

From an investment perspective, they have been very, very few defaults on residential leases over the past five years. The sales process for solar in California is, although I don''t want to say it, archaic. To date, we''ve raise money on a tax equity fund from U.S. That''s a really high cost of acquiring a customer.

Equity 234

Equity Invest Marketing Product 234

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2011

Jeff Zwelling is the co-founder of Convertro (www.convertro.com), a Los Angeles company focused on helping companies track how their marketing efforts are leading to sales conversions. That's important, because it allows marketers to re-invest and give credit to that marketing event, so they can buy more of it and get more customers.

Startup 210

Startup Marketing Customer Custom 210

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2017

As an angel investor and business advisor on new ventures, I expect to see five-year financial projections from every entrepreneur. This should ideally be a “bottoms-up” commitment from your sales team, not your own optimistic guess. For credibility, market penetration within five years should be at least 5 percent.

Pricing 57

Pricing Startup Entrepreneur Invest 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Explain how you will make money and who pays you (real customer). Marketing, sales, and partners. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Marketing, sales, and partners. Solution and benefits.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. Public relations at a startup is a sales process.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

You don’t have to fight for your equity, and no one can slow you down in decision making. Keep your focus on customers rather than investors. Spread your equity internally to build the team. Bootstrapping doesn’t mean that you don’t share equity. A limited budget makes for a better business plan.

Entrepreneur 67

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Outsource Development 67

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad. Traction in the marketplace.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. This is not the place for a detailed product specification, but an explanation of how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Marketing, sales, and partners. Solution and benefits.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Explain how you will make money and who pays you (real customer). Marketing, sales, and partners. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 30, 2012

This is the origin of the “solution looking for a problem” and “if we build it, they will come” syndromes, which result in surprise and frustration waiting for funding, and waiting for customers that don’t materialize. Business strategy allows you to change customer perceptions and responses to your product or service offerings.

Startup 99

Startup Competition IP Patents 99

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Use voicemail, a world-class website, and personal customer service, with small expenses, to beat your big competitors. Act big, behave small. Do it yourself.

Organization 111

Organization Startup Summary Entrepreneur 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

Here is how and why it works, including a customer-centric quantification of the benefits. Define the characteristics of the overall industry, market forces, market dynamics, and customer landscape. Explain how you will make money and who pays you (real customer). Marketing, sales, and partners. Opportunity sizing.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

socalTECH

MAY 5, 2009

John Tomich: We've been around for five years. Third, is we provide customer care and phone support for orders; the fourth is the software technology, the platform that powers everything. The sixth is marketing analytics, including SEM/SEO, collecting customer names, emails -- we use ExactTarget for emails, and Omniture for Analytics.

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital SEM Commerce Email 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2016

Based on some good estimates of how many new ventures have been started in the last five years, the statistical odds of any individual startup making it to this level are less than one in a million. Don’t be afraid to give up equity to get a small share of a very large pot. But, of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

Company 100

Company Companies Startup Statistics 100