Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2012

Since my background includes software development, I often get the question about when to build a solution in-house, versus outsourcing it to a local company, near-shore service, or off-shore organization in China, India, or Eastern Europe. Don’t outsource your core competency. It’s like giving up control of your company.

Outsource Development 89

Outsource Development Outsource Software Development Software 89

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2022

As a business consultant with experience in large companies as well as startups, I often hear about dysfunctional management hierarchies, as well as the value provided by exceptional ones. We have all heard about the successes of flattened management organizations in the last decade at Facebook, Valve, Zappos, and others.

Outsource 133

Outsource Training Organization Social Media 133

Berkonomics

JANUARY 28, 2021

Why fight about valuation, or disappoint the founder at the outset? This one is using outsourced development, support, outsourced customer relations and more. And here’s the “why.”. There is always another attractive deal at the ready, and most have reasonable expectations of valuation.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Startup Outsource Venture Capital 156

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2011

Since my background includes software development, I often get the question about when to build a solution in-house, versus outsourcing it to a local company, near-shore service, or off-shore organization in China, India, or Eastern Europe. Don’t outsource your core competency. It’s like giving up control of your company.

Outsource Development 90

Outsource Development Outsource Software Development Software 90

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2010

Since my background includes software development, I often get the question about when to build a solution in-house, versus outsourcing it to a local company, near-shore service, or off-shore organization in China, India, or Eastern Europe. Don’t outsource your core competency. It’s like giving up control of your company.

Outsource Development 51

Outsource Development Outsource Software Offshore 51

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2023

Ready to scale is when you have a proven product and a proven business model, about to expand to new geographies and markets. I see too many business plans that are really product plans for customers, touting free services and long feature lists. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Word-of-mouth does not scale.

Tips 135

Tips Invest Startup Outsource 135

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2023

Many experts are certain that successful entrepreneurs are the ones with the most inspiration (passion and dream), while others will assert that it’s about more perspiration (working harder). Here are five key ones to celebrate: Enjoy the feedback from every satisfied customer. Increasing customer focus and loyalty.

Startup 118

Startup Satisfaction Customer Custom 118

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

It wasn’t so many years ago that starting a new e-commerce business on the Internet was a complex custom development project, usually costing a million dollars or more. You can now skip the mandatory office space rental, with secretary and bookkeeping staff, or outsourcing. Work out of your home, and keep your own books.

Entrepreneur 162

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Outsource Development 162

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2014

The days are gone when a techie or a genius could build things in his garage and customers would find and buy the product, based purely on the “wow factor” of the technology. Thus customers and partners rely more and more on personal engagement with people. New technologies are everywhere today. Make it an enjoyable experience.

Customer 99

Customer Custom Startup Content 99

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2020

Many experts are certain that successful entrepreneurs are the ones with the most inspiration (passion and dream), while others will assert that it’s about more perspiration (working harder). Here are five key ones to celebrate: Enjoy the feedback from every satisfied customer. Increasing customer focus and loyalty.

Satisfaction 174

Satisfaction Customer Custom Outsource 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2013

As I visit the websites of many startups, as well as more mature businesses, I still too often see a “contact” page offering nothing but a sterile form for customers to submit, never to be heard from again. Customers are not all like you, and they have choices, so a “one size fits all” customer service is no longer a viable option.

Social Media 99

Social Media Customer Custom Media 99

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 10, 2019

Publicly traded sensor technology developer, FLIR Systems , is investing in a strategic round of funding for the outsourced drone imaging company, DroneBase. This access to valuable data will allow stakeholders to make better decisions about their most critical assets. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Training 147

Training Outsource Development Outsource Capital 147

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

Ready to scale is when you have a proven product and a proven business model, about to expand to new geographies and markets. I see too many business plans that are really product plans for customers, touting free services and long feature lists. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Word-of-mouth does not scale.

Startup 154

Startup Outsource Ideas Research 154

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. How will you reach your customers?

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2012

As I visit the websites of many startups, as well as more mature businesses, I still too often see a “contact” page offering nothing but a sterile form for customers to submit, never to be heard from again. Customers are not all like you, and they have choices, so a “one size fits all” customer service is no longer a viable option.

Social Media 91

Social Media Customer Custom Media 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2016

For too many small businesses, customer service is still seen as a “burden.” The report also indicates that customer problem experiences continue to increase, up four percent to 54 percent since the last study. These days, relationships and online reviews are key drivers for over 80 percent of new customers.

Customer 56

Customer Custom Startup Satisfaction 56

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2014

We spoke with Bryce Maddock , founder of TaskUs, about the company and how it has been providing the manpower behind a lot of LA''s technology startups. Bryce Maddock: TaskUs is the best provider in the world of customer care and back office services for emerging growth companies. So, what is TaskUs?

Startup 231

Startup Technology Outsource Santa Monica 231

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2023

Strategic partnerships in this context can take the form of joint ventures, intellectual property licensing, outsourcing agreements, or even cooperative research. If your customers would benefit by having products from both companies, you might negotiate the opportunity to include the other’s product as an add-on.

Startup 105

Startup Outsource Competition Entrepreneur 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

If you have a software development background like mine, Im sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2013

Customer service has always been reactionary, meaning someone has to wake up and answer website email requests. That’s just not savvy enough to hold today’s fickle, less loyal, and ready to jump customer. This exemplary customer service is just savvy marketing. Respect your customer’s view of usability.

Customer 89

Customer Custom Services High Tech 89

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

It’s always tempting to think that more product variations will satisfy more customers and lead to new sales. Unit costs are important, but don’t forget about the cash flow hit, extra storage costs, and the probability of obsolete inventory due to necessary updates or pivots. Outsourcing services that could be done in-house.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Berkonomics

JULY 10, 2014

Why fight about valuation, or disappoint the founder at the outset? The second story involves a founder who is using outsourced development, support, outsourced customer relations and more. There is always another attractive deal at the ready, and most have reasonable expectations of valuation.

Startup 179

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Venture Capital 179

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Every aspiring entrepreneur I know is talking about the fact that there are over 2,000 billionaires in the world today, and how their innovative idea could make them one of the next ones. I suggest looking for painful problems to solve, rather than “easier to use” or “nice to have” solutions, for customers with money.

Outsource Development 154

Outsource Development Social Media Software Review Customer 154

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Yet we have all heard stories about the high turnover, unstructured work environment, lower base pay, and unpredictable expectations from the top. You can’t outsource that one. Some people love to gripe about management, the pay scale, and career opportunities. It pays to be visible in any way that’s positive for the company.

Startup 125

Startup Journal Outsource Tips 125

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

In my experience, there are good reasons for starting a business, and good ways to go about it in the new online world, but even entrepreneurs with good intentions often don’t have a clue on key principles to follow for this rapidly changing platform. Provide website forums to help customers solve their own problems.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Case Study Software Review Startup 124

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 17, 2019

Enter TriNet, a human resources giant, which this week became the poster child for how how to make a genuine email to its customers look inadvertently as suspicious as it gets. In fact when we looked under the hood of the email, everything about it looked suspicious. Remote employees at companies across the U.S.

Email 119

Email Sites Outsource Resource 119

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

Often I’m asked by startup CEO’s about how to best build an engineering team. I know this will fall like a lead balloon to the many people who believe it is possible to have a [insert: startup incubator or technology accelerator or technology consultant or outsource firm] build your technology. I don’t believe it.

CTO Hire 400

CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2014

For those who haven''t heard of OneStop Internet, tell us about the business? We provide a turnkey, back end, managed service offering for brands and retailers on an outsourced basis. We are an option for brands who don''t want to build it themselves in-house, from soup to nuts, or don''t want to outsource to a single vendor.

Commerce 203

Commerce Venture Capital Internet Brands Startup 203

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

The most important way to sell a product for an early-stage business (or frankly any stage) is to have strong referenceable customers. How do you get referenceable customers? Your project is forked without a rollout organization, communications, measurement, integration and without turning sales into referenceable customers.

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

in Physics who talks passionately about starting a business producing nuclear powered batteries. In addition, creating a business requires leading and interacting with other people, including partners, investors, and customers. Don’t assume you can outsource the implementation decisions. You must also learn from your customers.

Ideas 126

Ideas Writing Examples Outsource 126

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2020

Strategic partnerships in this context can take the form of joint ventures, intellectual property licensing, outsourcing agreements, or even cooperative research. If your customers would benefit by having products from both companies, you might negotiate the opportunity to include the other’s product as an add-on.

Startup 126

Startup Outsource Competition Acquisition 126

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2022

With a realistic prototype, you can get more accurate feedback from customers on their real need and what they might pay, before you invest millions on the final product. You should never outsource the management of your core technology. Proceed with your wits about you. Quantify the implementation challenges.

Outsource Development 110

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 110

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

socalTECH

MARCH 5, 2014

So, how do you help ease enterprise customers into the cloud--or at least, help them use cloud technology to help them with their business goals? It''s all custom, technology agnostic, and very flexible. You have a track record in infrastructure--can you talk about that, and why you decided to tackle the cloud?

Cloud Computing 217

Cloud Computing Outsource Development Outsource Startup 217

socalTECH

APRIL 21, 2017

For people who send things out, it's a chance to be in front of your customer. This business is all about big companies, CPGs and specialty manufacturers, who are hoping to conquer direct selling through subscriptions. If you think about it today, everyone is selling through Amazon, but Amazon keeps all of that customer information.

Startup 145

Startup Product Customer Custom 145

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

Based on my experience, survival and success are both about doing the right things , and not about doing everything. Yet if that leaves you with no documented business plan or unclear strategy, most investors and even customers will walk away. Don’t forget the wealth of “gig” experts for outsourcing at a low cost.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

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. Rather than how much you charge, it’s about how the purchase will impact your buyer’s life. What have they written about?

Customer 85

Customer Custom Marketing SEO 85