Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

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Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Everyone knows that startups are risky, but they also expect that the job will be exciting and potentially very lucrative (think early employees at Facebook and Google). The truly indispensable person in a startup is a problem solver, because every startup has plenty of problems. Educate yourself one notch up.

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Startup Journal Outsource Tips 125

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Yet in this age when customers have a thousand alternatives, and are overwhelmed by a multitude of messages, sales efforts can make or break a business. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. You and the customer have to be on the same side.

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Sales Training Startup Customer 139

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. As a business adviser, I still see too many new venture founders who skimp on their marketing focus, or start too late.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2020

It may not be as sexy, but starting a new business which builds on an existing technology or business model is usually less risky than introducing that ultimate new disruptive technology. Many of the major business successes started this way. Many of the major business successes started this way.

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Startup Social Media Study Research 157

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

As a business consultant and angel investor, I often ask for your own assessment of marketing ROI , or customer acquisition cost (CAC). Leaders and investors need to know if you have and are tapping into your key sources of relevant data, including web analytics, sales management data, and customer relationship management (CRM) software.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

One of the most stressful and unanticipated challenges that comes with starting a new business is hiring and managing employees. While this approach appears to cost more on the surface, it often actually costs you less, when you consider the hidden costs of rework, poor customer satisfaction, employee management, and training required.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2022

Startup work environments are always chaos, but they can still be great environments to work in, or they can be terrible. Whether yours is terrible or great, that same tone flows out to your customers, and regulates your productivity inside. You as the founder are the starting point and definer, so you need to get it right.

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Startup Research Satisfaction Study 116

socalTECH

DECEMBER 5, 2018

FactoryFour , a startup which developing software to enable custom production of industrial goods, has raised $5M in a Series A funding, and set up shop in Culver City. The startup's Series A funding was led by August Capital, and also included existing investor Refactor Capital. READ MORE>>.

Culver City 113

Culver City Startup Study Los Angeles 113

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

One of the reasons it’s so tough is that the rules are constantly changing on what it takes to win over customers, as customer attitudes and cultures change, and competitors continually strive to “raise the bar” on product and support. Existing customers can’t envision a new concept, or new behaviors.

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Company Companies Startup Customer 152

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2013

Like most startup entrepreneurs, when I began my first company in 1999 I had no formal sales experience. I did have the wherewithal to visit potential customers and try to understand the pain points that I thought could be solved with our solution. This is a very important to do when you first start a company. Compelling Event.

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Sales Startup Resource Customer 393

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 9, 2013

The empirical evidence highlights the lack of women and minority founders in the startup world. A 2012 Dow Jones'' report entitled Women At The Wheel encompassed 15-years of data on venture-backed startups. During the period studied, only "1.3% of privately held companies had a female founder, 6.5% What Gives?

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Customer Custom Study Metrics 185

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2021

Startups are the corporations of the future, so I have long believed that entrepreneurs who study existing corporate models, rather than ignoring them with disdain, will likely profit from the exercise. That means if your new startup doesn’t plan for continuous innovation, the company may never reach corporate status.

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Marketing Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 135

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2020

Carey tells us a bit about what OC4 is doing, how it invests and works with companies, and also gives startups some advice about how to approach moving forward in light of the pandemic. We've invested in five, and have done a couple that are a little less than that, and others up to that total. What is OC4?

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Invest Startup Ideas Examples 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. A great innovation starts with at least three ideas.

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Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2023

Every entrepreneur believes in their heart that their startup is more innovative and creative than their competitors. A classic study based on intensive research, “ The Myths of Creativity ,” by David Burkas tries to demystify the processes and forces that drive innovation. Originality myth.

Ideas 127

Ideas Startup Research Incubator 127

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2021

New entrepreneurs routinely jump into a startup with a full charge of passion and energy, but often find themselves drained of both after a few months by the workload and challenges. As a result, burnout and loss of passion are consistently listed among the top causes of startup failure, according to many experts. Don’t wait.

Entrepreneur 174

Entrepreneur Startup Press Study 174

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. Many entrepreneurs who start technology companies are product people, technologists or savvy business people who worked previously for a larger company. Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience. I know I didn’t. To the contrary. Why Buy Now?

Sales 319

Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

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Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. She leveraged herself and even sold many of her possessions to get started. She started her business from a personal need.

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Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2023

Either they are never really ready to commit, study an opportunity until it has passed, or fail with tools and techniques from a bygone business era. 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.

Social Media 120

Social Media Startup Entrepreneur Education 120

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 10, 2011

Some customer segments value the DVD business and these may be more price sensitive. Some customer segments value the convenience of instantly available films. Netflix needs to segment their customers and charge each what is appropriate. We need video reel to show customers that you care. ” customer segment.

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Netflix Customer Custom Pricing 287

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. People may jump into the lifestyle to be their own boss, achieve great wealth, start a new trend, or all the above.

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Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

He’s done several startups and is a board member of the Technology Council of Southern California (which is where I met him originally). A typical day starts with email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yammer checks/updates. A day might include a discussion with a finance partner, an investor, a customer or a fusion partner.

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Acquisition Customer Custom Ideas 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2016

For too many small businesses, customer service is still seen as a “burden.” Entrepreneurs don’t realize that this burden is actually costing them over $200 billion in repeat sales, according to a recent study by the W. These days, relationships and online reviews are key drivers for over 80 percent of new customers.

Customer 56

Customer Custom Startup Satisfaction 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2023

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Look for customer-focused value creation. Building a business from a raw start is hard, risky work. Seek innovation that begets invention.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Competition 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2023

In this age of interactive social media, your culture image quickly spreads to customers, and determines their loyalty. Zak is the director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, and he has studied the connection between trust and performance all over the world. So, how do you build trust?

Claremont 101

Claremont Mentor Study Startup 101

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

A proliferation of startups is now trying to devise applications for this new class of language model , where the machine is capable of creating new text, images and videos based on simple human input. Movio’s user base is currently in the lower hundreds of thousands, with paying customers nearing 1,000.

Generative AI 182

Generative AI Marketing Artificial Inteligence Template 182

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

For what ever reason we’re wired to have amnesia during the run up and prescient memories of how we ‘knew it all along’ as soon as the slide begins. Once you understand both sides of the cycle you start to recognize signs of behavior during each phase. ROI studies were published. It’s when the game slows.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2023

In my search for guidance on modern business leadership studies, both scientific and actual case studies, I was impressed with a new book, “ Head and Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership ,” by Dr. Kirstin Ferguson. I’ve found that you can best start by asking for another perspective, whether of yourself or a team member.

Case Study 112

Case Study Study Startup Examples 112

Tech.Co

AUGUST 16, 2017

Finding potential customers continues to be a huge challenge not only for established marketing and sales teams but also for startup executives and solo entrepreneurs. A study in 2013 showed that 61 percent of marketers found it hard to generate high-quality leads. Sign up and start using this solution’s simple search interface.

Tool 81

Tool Startup Help Template 81

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

According to an MIT study a while back, only about 10% of patents granted in the United States have any meaningful commercial importance and less than one percent are of seminal importance. Look for customer-focused value creation. Building a business from a raw start is hard, risky work. Seek innovation that begets invention.

Startup 171

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2011

Every startup needs to understand that the customer paradigm has dramatically shifted over the past two years with pervasive social networks and smartphones. If your business doesn’t connect with your customers, individually and as a community, demanding customers will not only ignore you, but will actively keep other customers away.

Customer 91

Customer Custom Startup Networking 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2020

According to studies , the alternative of acquiring new customers still costs you five to seven times more than retaining existing ones. But customers today are fickle, instantly aware of every new alternative, due to the Internet and social media, and not afraid to change. Appeal to all your customer senses all of the time.

Customer 136

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 136

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2023

When entrepreneurs introduce new products to the market, their passion and conviction often leads them to assume that every potential customer will see the immediate need and value, and will quickly adopt the solution. They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again.

Case Study 89

Case Study Customer Custom Study 89

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2015

One of the reasons it’s so tough is that the rules are constantly changing on what it takes to win over customers, as customer attitudes and cultures change, and competitors continually strive to “raise the bar” on product and support. Existing customers can’t envision a new concept, or new behaviors.

Startup 104

Startup Customer Custom Social Media 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. See my article from way back “ Entrepreneurs Learn Best From Business Networking ” on how and where to get started. It should end by asking for something, to start the relationship. Give and you will receive.

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Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 140