Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

The cost of entry has never been lower, with new tools to create your own website , and free social media to get your message out everywhere. By far, the majority of new businesses I know are self-funding (bootstrapped) from your own savings and prior assets. Test your plan to get feedback from real customers.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Scott, published a classic book that I still recommend, ” The New Rules of Lead Generation ,” highlighting the changes wrought by the internet and social media. Social-media advertising.

Marketing 114

Marketing Invest Social Media SEM 114

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

They don’t realize that according to statistics from Startup.co , almost 60 percent are funded with personal savings and credit, and another 25 percent get their money from friends and family. That leaves only about fifteen percent that actually get their funding from investors, through crowdfunding, banks, angels, and venture capitalists.

Funding 173

Funding Tips Startup Statistics 173

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

Entrepreneurs looking for investor funding often fail to realize that all money comes with strings. For example, if you have watched the Shark Tank TV series, you probably noticed that the Sharks always ask the entrepreneurs for their intended “use of funds.” Funding for founder salaries at this stage is a red flag.

Tips 91

Tips Funding Startup Invest 91

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2020

So why do I see some many funding requests for products along these lines? I hear this term every day, wrongly applied to new social media site, or a new productivity tool. Professional investors know all of these too well, and are sometimes hesitant to fund any innovation that is deemed to be too disruptive.

Customer 167

Customer Custom Startup Outsource Development 167

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2011

You need all these before you start looking for funding. Significant differences will confuse your customers, and open the door to imitators and scam artists. Social media accounts. Immediately go to relevant social media sites and grab the same name, even if you never plan to use the accounts.

Social Media 94

Social Media Media Patents IP 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

You may feel good when that first burst of customers arrives, but don’t assume that “ word of mouth ” and those early adopters will grow your business to match your dreams of success. In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. They won’t find you.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 26, 2022

In numerous interviews throughout the past two years, Weiss and other executives have emphasized the company’s focus on its direct-to-consumer online shipping model and obsession with iterating the customer experience based on feedback. billion valuation from Lone Pine Capital, Sequoia, Forerunner Ventures and others.

CTO Hire 197

CTO Hire Layoffs Commerce Email 197

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. Is Funding a Worthy Announcement? There are reasons you may delay funding announcement but rarely reasons not to announce.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2019

Today’s customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making a decision is a challenge. You may think this is only important to your marketing and sales people, but in reality it doesn’t matter how great your product or technology might be, you won’t succeed if you don’t understand your target customer decision process.

Customer 107

Customer Custom Sales Social Media 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

If you really want to start a business your way without a boss or professional investor hovering over you, then just fund it yourself or through friends and family, and grow it organically. Use multiple social-media channels, blogging, email and voicemail to build the same image and responsiveness as larger competitors.

Equity 139

Equity Social Media Startup Summary 139

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2023

The Internet is the problem, by facilitating constant change, and it’s the solution, by providing an absolutely current view of customers, trends, and best practices. The Internet is the source of data for alternative views, and social media allows direct customer interactions to test these views.

Social Media 120

Social Media Startup Entrepreneur Education 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Actively listen to customer feedback, and don’t be a one-trick pony.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2022

Too many customers have long felt distanced from many successful brands, seeing them as closed and mysterious environments, focused only on profits and killing competitors. They may not have noticed the wave of “open businesses,” spawned by the Internet and social media. Shared leadership (member and customer led).

Organization 126

Organization Social Media Examples Customer 126

socalTECH

AUGUST 9, 2017

Los Angeles-based Funraise , the developer of a software platform which helps nonprofits manage their fundraising efforts, has raised $3M in a seed funding round. The funding was lead by Toba Capital, the investment firm founded by Quest Software founder Vinny Smith. READ MORE>>.

Software 100

Software Seed Funding Social Media Platform 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

They are looking for startups that have a sustainable advantage over direct and indirect competitor offerings, as well as obvious value to customers living without your product today. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days. Investors check connections.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

If customers don’t know you exist, you can’t solve their problem, they won’t buy. Getting customer attention often takes more innovation today than solving the tough technical problems. If you can’t state clearly why your startup is the only choice, then it’s time to regroup before spending your hard-fought funding.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2013

San Diego-based Vionic , a developer of technology for helping companies create social media deals and promotions, said Wednesday that it has raised $900,000 in a funding round. The funding came from angel investors. vionic social offers venture capital angel media software advertising' READ MORE>>.

Social Media 183

Social Media San Diego Venture Capital Advertising 183

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Establishing your brand with interactive social media. Early customer feedback will position your solution, and help you make pivots before critical time and money are lost. The cost of social media done well is low.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

socalTECH

JULY 16, 2012

With the proliferation of social media, how do you--as a brand--manage all of those various websites, content, and media? Los Angeles-based Fliptu (www.fliptu.com), headed by Jeremy Gocke , thinks it has this figured out, by providing a central place to access a brand's content, across social networks. What is Fliptu?

Social Media 268

Social Media Media Social Network Seed Funding 268

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

I frequently work on networking through the social web and building new relationships that will foster knowledge gathering or business growth. A day might include a discussion with a finance partner, an investor, a customer or a fusion partner. I'd rather invest time investing in social media to drive traffic to our site.

Acquisition 170

Acquisition Customer Custom Ideas 170

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

Every entrepreneur’s first priority should be the alignment of interests across the range of constituents required for success – partners, investors, customers, vendors, and employees. If you have had to pivot from the consumer market to enterprise customers, that requires new pricing models and new sales channels.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2023

I recommend that every entrepreneur and small business investigate and implement as many as possible of his seven new business force multipliers that I will paraphrase here: Information sharing through social media networks. Crowdsourcing for funding and ideas. Nurture dedicated customer advocates and fans.

Social Media 106

Social Media Software Review Course Networking 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2018

The cost of rolling out a business has never been lower – it only takes a few hundred dollars to incorporate a Limited Liability Corp (LLC) online, create your own website, use social media to get attention, and you are in business. Validate your solution with a prototype and real customers.

Funding 73

Funding Social Media Slides Platform 73

socalTECH

AUGUST 9, 2018

According to TaskUs, the funding round values the company at $500M. TaskUs has made its name providing much of the back end customer service and business process outsourcing for many, on-demand and Internet companies, across the ride sharing, social media, online food delivery, e-commerce and other areas. READ MORE>>.

Outsource 100

Outsource Santa Monica Social Media Commerce 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

They don’t realize that according to statistics from Startup.co , almost 60 percent are funded with personal savings and credit, and another 25 percent get their money from friends and family. That leaves only about fifteen percent that actually get their funding from investors, through crowdfunding, banks, angels, and venture capitalists.

Statistics 98

Statistics Entrepreneur Funding Social Media 98

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 31, 2015

We think of media advertising as either paid or free – placed by paying a fee or by a PR firm or by you at no placement cost, especially when you provide editorial content beneficial to the publisher. Owned media comes from the databases you own, such as your company’s web site, email. Happy New Year from Dave and BERKONOMICS.

Social Media 120

Social Media Newsletter Advertising Media 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2019

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. On the social media side, the stakes are just as great.

Press 96

Press Entrepreneur Social Media Training 96

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2017

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. On the social media side, the stakes are just as great.

Media 55

Media Social Media Startup Training 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

If you ask them for a reason, most will insist that they couldn’t get funding, or they ran out of money too early. With the success of Facebook and Twitter, I still see new social media startups almost every day, with most destined to fail. Actually, great new customer solutions lead to great platforms, not the other way around.

Entrepreneur 125

Entrepreneur Netflix Social Media Startup 125

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2016

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Scott, published a book a while back that I like, ” The New Rules of Lead Generation ,” highlighting the changes wrought by the internet and social media. Social-media advertising.

Customer 60

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 60

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 2, 2022

Shein has shown the world how combining social media marketing, data analytics, and China’s well-oiled supply chain has created a $100 billion fast fashion behemoth. As of last September, Cider had raised $130 million in funding and crossed the $1 billion valuation point. Cider has racked up roughly 7.4

Startup 217

Startup Los Angeles Social Media Venture Capital 217

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 24, 2021

You need all these before you start looking for funding. Significant differences will confuse your customers, and open the door to imitators and scam artists. Social media accounts. Immediately go to relevant social media sites and grab the same name, even if you never plan to use the accounts.

Startup 145

Startup Patents IP Social Media 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. On the social media side, the stakes are just as great.

Training 93

Training Media Entrepreneur Social Media 93

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

If you really want to start a business your way without a boss or professional investor hovering over you, then just fund it yourself or through friends and family, and grow it organically. Use multiple social-media channels, blogging, email and voicemail to build the same image and responsiveness as larger competitors.

Social Media 169

Social Media Startup Equity Summary 169