Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal. If we got an offer to raise $25 million to grow would she take it or be too worried about exit price, dilution, valuation expectations, etc. If an accelerator is writing you they’re also writing 25 other VCs.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

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. Whether you are charting new territory for pricing models or technology, there is rarely a perfect solution. Explore solutions, outcomes, and options calmly.

Startup 135

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review 135

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2018

From the dollar you gave to the homeless guy on the way to meet a prospective client, to the new tie you bought to look professional, write down every single penny. Write down agreements. Get in the habit of thinking like a company founder and get promises in writing. Record every expense. Keep a monthly profit-loss.

Writing 97

Writing .Net Commerce Entrepreneur 97

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Me : Product definition, use cases, feature list, wireframes, comps, really whatever you have. You likely are writing your first one of these. In fact, let me provide an important warning: If you create these documents, don't have input from a technical resource, take it to a development shop and they provide you a price.

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2020

I’m not suggesting that you abandon traditional advertising and image building efforts, but definitely it’s time to supplement them to address the following changes that I recommend: Meeting next generation expectations is key to survival. Pushing yourself on customers by touting features and price doesn’t work anymore.

Customer 133

Customer Custom Social Media Startup 133

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

From the dollar you gave to the homeless guy on the way to meet a prospective client, to the new tie you bought to look professional, write down every single penny. Write down agreements. Get in the habit of thinking like a company founder and get promises in writing. Record every expense. Keep a monthly profit-loss.

Writing 96

Writing .Net Commerce Entrepreneur 96

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

I’ve started writing up some of those sales & marketing lessons and I plan to continue to build that section out over time. They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. Sales people will often blame your pricing.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 8, 2012

As shown below, the most impactful form of traction is when your venture repeatedly convinces rational, third-party customers to happily part with their hard-earned cash, at a market price, in exchange for your solution. In some industries, lengthy pilot tests are required before an enterprise customer will sign a definitive purchase order.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital RSS Customer Custom 265

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. I’m no great scholar on bubbles – I have more interesting things to spend my time worrying about than the exact definition , but having been around a few I have at least given them intellectual consideration. I believe that. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. ” Climate resiliency . Given the steady drumbeat of climate disasters that hit the U.S.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2013

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Sample 92

Sample Writing Startup Summary 92

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 2, 2015

I even wrote about my experiences attending Web Summit , something I rarely ever write about. After all, entry price registration question aside, they are all expensive once you factor in airfare, hotels, ground transportation, booths (if you have one), meals and – especially – time away from your day jobs?

Web 150

Web Conference Technical Review Class 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” Many pension funds are simply too large to write small checks and favor the ability to write $50-100 million checks to funds. ” Stated simply – if you seed funded Uber at $4.5m Why is this?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2012

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Sample 96

Sample Writing Summary Startup 96

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

As the authors make clear in the book’s preface, their goal is to create a “definitive guide to venture capital deals” and “demystify the venture capital financing process.” Brad and Jason have been exposing venture capitalists’ secrets since 2005, when they began writing a blog series on Term Sheets at AskTheVC. Things I Liked Less.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2013

From the dollar you gave to the homeless guy on the way to meet a prospective client, to the new tie you bought to look professional, write down every single penny. Write down agreements. Get in the habit of thinking like a company founder and get promises in writing. Record every expense. Keep a monthly profit-loss.

Startup 98

Startup Writing .Net Commerce 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

But Jason is one of the smartest thinkers in our industry so while style points in his eye-poking post might be low, he’s definitely scratching at something important. If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. They will have to negotiate price and terms.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

In essence, as a contractor, you are a consultant who is competing regularly for new work, and you constantly have to differentiate your offering from other candidates, including price. Write down some target objectives and milestones. That’s the definition of success in any business or career. Develop the courage to move on.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

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. Whether you are charting new territory for pricing models or technology, there is rarely a perfect solution. Explore solutions, outcomes, and options calmly.

Mentor 85

Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review Summary 85

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales. The idea that the course asks students to write public blog posts is a testament to its more modern teaching style.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

Kara on one side of the table showing me market sizes, competitive dynamics, product roadmaps, pricing plans for physical products with COGS and gross margins. She helps write press releases. In the most perfect sense of the definition. Didn’t I make myself clear about celebrities & startups ? Showing me designs.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

From the dollar you gave to the homeless guy on the way to meet a prospective client, to the new tie you bought to look professional, write down every single penny. Write down agreements. Get in the habit of thinking like a company founder and get promises in writing. Record every expense. Keep a monthly profit-loss.

Writing 99

Writing .Net Commerce Entrepreneur 99

socalTECH

AUGUST 30, 2011

Consumers who have a fundraising goal can upload photos, write a personal message, potentially include the names of loved ones inflicted by a disease, and hopefully tell their story, around the merchandise, which helps them become more connected to the cause and the event. Brandon Hance: It's substantial, but it depends on the item.

Pricing 247

Pricing Design Startup Ideas 247

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2010

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. What is the definition of a good business plan? Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself.

Startup 91

Startup Funding Sample Writing 91

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2010

From the dollar you gave to the homeless guy on the way to meet a prospective client, to the new tie you bought to look professional, write down every single penny. Write down agreements. Get in the habit of thinking like a company founder and get promises in writing. Record every expense. Keep a monthly profit-loss.

Writing 103

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Commerce 103

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

Investor and customer attention spans are short, and both will write you off quickly. Every investor and banker I know looks for a few more key elements in the plan and pitch that will ultimately make or break the deal, including the following: The target customer segment definition and size.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

I must admit I discuss this very frequently with portfolio companies but hadn’t thought to write about it. As a startup this is often the one true source of strong leverage in a negotiation to: Get a better price, get a longer-term commitment, get PR commitments and so forth. PR Malloy (@diddly_do_indy) June 13, 2015.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2015

By definition, every startup is predictably unpredictable, since new solutions have no proven track record, startups are usually building a new market, and the world around them is changing faster than ever. Write every check personally, rather than relying on a bookkeeper or administrative help.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Marketing Satisfaction 105

Tech.Co

MAY 26, 2020

Jeff Bezos didn't get to be the world's richest man by writing a lot of checks, and one recent way to keep Amazon's profits healthy has been to cut its affiliate commissions scheme. Amazon is unlikely to be going anywhere, but every other affiliate network and program out there will definitely be healthier.

Technical Review 129

Technical Review Buzzfeed News Networking 129

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

We had the final terms of our agreement fairly well boxed in within a range of about 5-7% on price and within 30 days on move-in date. I obviously preferred the lowest price and I wanted the latest move-in date. She told me, “start with the price you want but the move in date he wants.&#. I told my agent. She way annoyed.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

And we all know that Ron Conway is considered the savviest of angel investors and yet by definition not all of his investments succeed. lots of brand names piling on) can lead to group think and price creep. Lead investors and follow investors can both win equally but in each case you know why you personally are writing the check.

Invest 288

Invest Angel Web 2.0 SEO 288

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2015

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. Whether you are charting new territory for pricing models or technology, there is rarely a perfect solution. Explore solutions, outcomes, and options calmly.

Mentor 105

Mentor Entrepreneur Technical Review Satisfaction 105

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

A new group of investors have clustered around writing earlier-stage, smaller checks. So I wish this separate definition would go away. Price creep hurts investors. But it also hurts entrepreneurs – Mike asked people about what they were doing to keep prices down. That’s awesome. That’s all.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I recently wrote a post on angel financing covering the topic of convertible notes but I realized I was thinking about the issue more from investor perspective and a very narrow topic of how to price the round. The key to getting money is that the people writing the check trust you. I am always an advocate of setting a price.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Many people start companies arse backwards.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.” Don’t get me wrong.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92