Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic. They help create confidence amongst your staff in your future. The funding rounds will also build customer confidence and they’ll help journalists feel air cover in writing your more important pieces when you brag about customers, traction, revenue or whatever.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

socalTECH

OCTOBER 10, 2012

One way is developing testing tools and infrastructure around that market, to help those manufacturers in their research and development, which is just what Calabasas-based GridTest Systems (www.gridtest.com) is doing. We're there to help with that. We're essentially helping people at the R&D stages.

Help 178

Help Startup San Fernando Southern California 178

socalTECH

JANUARY 18, 2011

This morning, Pasadena-based Perfect Market (www.perfectmarket.com) announced a new, $9M round of funding for the firm's technology, which is used to help publishers monetize their content. Julie Schoenfeld: When we talked last, we were focusing primarily on helping publisher monetize their archived content.

Marketing 232

Marketing Funding Content Writing 232

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). It’s a continual process. In a startup this is a mistake.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2020

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. So keep your eyes open and respond to new customers, new markets, and new partnerships.

Startup 143

Startup Capital Resource Research 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2022

If you can explain the problem to a mentor, or even write it down, you will more likely get to the root cause quickly, and avoid emotional and blame-infused responses. Listen to your customers to arrive at acceptable and marketable solutions. A good alternative is to enlist the help of a business mentor you can trust.

Startup 135

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review 135

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

You help them on stories, act as a source, develop real relationships, read their stories and eventually when you have news they’re more willing to have a conversation. If you feel you need outside help I recommend either going with a small firm local to you or an individual who is working as their own agency.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

And my specific response that I recommended was to say, “I can send you our standard data pack but honestly I have too many other firms asking for customized data and we simply can’t send each person custom reports. Of course if they did some initial work and were leaning in to make an investment then we’d spend time helping them.

Funding 217

Funding Newsletter Venture Capital Email 217

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

We spoke with one of those companies-- El Segundo-based ConsumerTrack (www.consumertrack.com)--which is a $30M, bootstrapped an online marketing company which is driving millions of customers to big name, financial customers. What is ConsumerTrack all about? Brett Rossman: ConsumerTrack is a performance-based, online marketing company.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2015

they can visit the directory of government grant alternatives, which is searchable and features more than a thousand federal programs, or more locally the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), with opportunities for high technology startups. This requires heavy research and lots of time. In the U.S.

Pricing 100

Pricing Equity Technical Review Research 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. Let me give you an example.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Having paying “Customers” is what makes the cash register roar. An entrepreneur having low self worth is the number one deterrent for a potential customer not buying into what you are selling. Using your service or owning your product isn’t why a person buys, it’s the experience your customer will have. Second, how to get leads.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Marketing SEO 85

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 28, 2018

Litan, former VP of research at the Kauffman Foundation, that these are exceptions to the rule, rather than a model to emulate. Don’t forget business writing and communication. Most universities have formal incubator and business development organizations that focus on coaching, grant writing and technology licensing.

Startup 97

Startup Writing Coach Incubator 97

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

The number is much higher for those who choose to go it alone, without help. In my experience, the key steps I look for always include the following: Testing the idea against customers who have money to spend. Writing down key parameters will force you solidify the specifics, and mentally commit to them.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2016

Litan, former VP of research at the Kauffman Foundation, that these are exceptions to the rule, rather than a model to emulate. Don’t forget business writing and communication. Most universities have formal incubator and business development organizations that focus on coaching, grant writing and technology licensing.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I try to be helpful. You’re writing a freaking blog post! Customer support – After my pre-breakfast meeting I had my actual breakfast meeting. But it’s mostly customer service. I’m a university student working on a project on entrepreneurship - could you help? If I can help I will.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2018

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. So keep your eyes open and respond to new customers, new markets, and new partnerships.

Startup 94

Startup Capital Resource Research 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2017

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. If you are active in helping others with what you know, they will be much more open to help you when you need it. Most entrepreneurs love to help others, and will be honored to help you.

Startup 75

Startup Social Network Networking Mentor 75

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2019

If you can explain the problem to a mentor, or even write it down, you will more likely get to the root cause quickly, and avoid emotional and blame-infused responses. Listen to your customers to arrive at acceptable and marketable solutions. A good alternative is to enlist the help of a business mentor you can trust.

Mentor 85

Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review Summary 85

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2015

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. If you are active in helping others with what you know, they will be much more open to help you when you need it. Most entrepreneurs love to help others, and will be honored to help you.

Startup 108

Startup Social Network Mentor Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

Litan, former VP of research at the Kauffman Foundation, that these are exceptions to the rule, rather than a model to emulate. Don’t forget business writing and communication. Most universities have formal incubator and business development organizations that focus on coaching, grant writing and technology licensing.

Writing 111

Writing Coach Incubator Entrepreneur 111

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2013

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. If you are active in helping others with what you know, they will be much more open to help you when you need it. Most entrepreneurs love to help others, and will be honored to help you.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Tips Startup Social Network 108

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

In fact 61% of all mobile searches where a customer contacts a business it is via a phone call (source: Google). Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data. I don’t want to speak to customer service reps!!

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 14, 2009

I moved into writing software to analyze audience data, and wrote a lot of computer graphics software. Along the way, I co-authored three books on one-to-one marketing ( [link] ) to help marketers learn how to built and nature relationships with their customers. Cliff, remind me about your background? What keeps you up at night?

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Networking Marketing Startup 150

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

One of the hardest things about being a blogger is drawing that line between being a business owner and writing for passion. Most bloggers wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to make a full time income from writing their blog. Who are you writing to…What are their fears, their dreams, their lifestyles? Keyword research.

Blogging 83

Blogging Email Writing Sites 83

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 1, 2011

The letters “HER” in the name Synhergy represents women and the passion that the founders hold in wanting to help women founders. In the beginning of this year Dimple decided to bring on a business partner ( Laurel Kaufman ) that helped fuel the ever-growing client base. It allows us to provide a way for our customers to stand out.

Social Media 99

Social Media Startup Media Writing 99

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

"The best way to prepare [to be a programmer] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself." They also internalize their professional failures while externalizing their team’s successes.

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. The A’s are the firms you’re going to work hardest to research, hardest to find high-quality introductions to and make the most effort to engage with.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

Sure, a great operating system is one of the things Microsoft is most known for, but there are dozens of other Microsoft products and services that help businesses grow. Microsoft Dynamics CRM has over 30,000 customers and 2 million users worldwide. It’s not just about Windows. And that’s just a few of the scenarios.

Writing 88

Writing Training Email .Net 88

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2012

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. If you are active in helping others with what you know, they will be much more open to help you when you need it. Most entrepreneurs love to help others, and will be honored to help you.

Startup 97

Startup Tips Social Network Networking 97

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

When you raise larger rounds there is more “due diligence,” which includes: calling customers, looking at financial metrics, doing cohort analysis (looking for trends like changes in churn rates), evaluating competitor positioning and understanding more of the competency of your executive team.

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

Go research it. release out the door and get some customers using it, or friendly people piloting it then at least there is some validation to the product and some people to speak to about their experiences. The key to getting money is that the people writing the check trust you. There are other ways you can get help.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2016

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. So keep your eyes open and respond to new customers, new markets, and new partnerships.

Startup 68

Startup Capital Resource Entrepreneur 68

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 6, 2012

DreamSwapp is an Android-based mobile application to help users record their dreams and share dreams with friends using social media. Research has shown that people can remember only 10% of their dreams when they wake up, and also that dreams have uses and meanings for psychological research. When was it launched and where?

Template 82

Template Social Media Media Research 82

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Measure yourself against a researched plan, or your “out of cash” brick wall will be looming before you know it. At this stage, you should start recruiting, hiring, paying, and training others to help you run your business.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

to “where can I get help writing one?” While it may be tempting, with everything that you have to do, to try to find someone else to write your executive summary, you really need to do this yourself. It’ll also help you to hone your selling skills…which you’ll need to draw on heavily to be successful at raising funds.

Summary 40

Summary Outsource Development Writing Outsource 40

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Customer service and support.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102