Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

It seems like everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and get rich these days. It’s really a multi-step process, with the first step getting you from an idea to a viable product, and the remaining steps creating a sustainable business. Attend trade shows and network to find the right players and pitch your product.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

InfoChachkie

JULY 4, 2011

Man or woman, the tactics deployed by Sam are applicable to any sales situation and can be put to use by any salesperson, irrespective of their gender. He is so confident in his green eggs and ham product that he cannot help but smile. He continues smiling and deploys a rudimentary sales technique. Sam-I-Am Lessons Learned.

Sales 219

Sales Entrepreneur Startup Product 219

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2018

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Selecting the right sales channels is one of the first strategic decisions that every startup faces.

Metrics 57

Metrics Demand Marketing Paramount 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. Of course, not every entrepreneur wants to tackle this challenge. There is no free lunch.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 17, 2021

The New York virtual power plant differs from other initiatives from Swell in that it provides available capacity to specific distribution circuits on the grid to reduce customer demand on circuits during network overload periods, according to a Swell spokesperson. Use code “TCARTICLE at checkout to get 20% off tickets right here.

Southern California 237

Southern California Company Companies Glendale 237

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2023

Every business owner and entrepreneur like you I work with wishes they could better predict product demand and sales, for managing inventory and long-term business planning. He is an expert on the people issues, and well as the process for predicting demand. Embody the goals and objectives of the business.

Metrics 81

Metrics Demand Statistics Sample 81

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. Sales will be the organization’s sole focus.” Again, you get what you demand and reward.

Startup 134

Startup Training Sales Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2016

In my experience in large businesses as well as years of advising startups, I see far too much focus on product skills, and too little on people and process skills. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs. Great entrepreneurs are able to think on their feet, and are always prepared.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Sales Startup Customer 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2019

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. They skimp on the design of their website, procrastinate on the rollout to make sure the product is perfect, and get so excited about technology features that they forget about creating value for customers. They will call you back.

Marketing 97

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2023

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Entrepreneurs have to be careful not to look too hard for evidence that confirms their passion and positive perspective.

Marketing 119

Marketing Metrics Demand Statistics 119

socalTECH

JULY 7, 2010

One complaint we sometimes hear from venture capitalists visiting Southern California for the first time, is the difficulty of finding experienced entrepreneurs and executives. socalTECH.com has mined its proprietary database of high tech companies and entrepreneurs and identified just a few of the repeat entrepreneurs to watch in the region.

Southern California 228

Southern California Entrepreneur SoCal Mahalo 228

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2017

Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. Sales will be the organization’s sole focus.” Again, you get what you demand and reward.

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Startup Training Sales 69

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2020

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Entrepreneurs have to be careful not to look too hard for evidence that confirms their passion and positive perspective.

Metrics 157

Metrics Demand Statistics Sales 157

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2014

Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think the most creatively, not only in their initial product or service, but more importantly all through the stages of growth from startup to maturity. Entrepreneurs have to be careful not to look too hard for evidence that confirms their passion and positive perspective.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Metrics Demand Statistics 113

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2016

In the world of on-demand driving�such as driving for Uber and Lyft--one of the biggest costs for drivers it the cost of owning, maintaning, fueling, and cleaning their vehicles. Why target the on-demand economy? When we first started, the largest demand was from government, particularly Mayor Greg Ballard in Indianapolis.

Demand 100

Demand Los Angeles Inglewood Pricing 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Pricing Sales 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. Think of value propositions as bundles of services or products that create benefits (value) for customers. Investors will demand clear channel definitions. Value propositions.

Funding 133

Funding Activity Customer Custom 133

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Selz, run by a team of around 50 in Sydney, Australia, bills itself as a one-stop-shop for small businesses to start selling products and services online. However, since Amazon closed the platform in 2015, online shopping has exploded and the coronavirus pandemic has amped-up the demand for essential (and non-essential) online shopping.

News 137

News Acquisition Platform Sales 137

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 21, 2019

A Veblen good does not adhere to the traditional laws of price and demand. As shown in the accompanying graph, below a certain price, the price/demand dynamics are consistent with conventional products – higher prices result in a lower demand. Fashion companies usually ramp production, as demand increases.

Demand 160

Demand Pricing Product Equity 160

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. They skimp on the design of their website, procrastinate on the rollout to make sure the product is perfect, and get so excited about technology features that they forget about creating value for customers. They will call you back.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

Every business needs repeatable processes to grow and thrive, but modern business processes need the right people to make them efficient and productive. In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Of course, some balance is required.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 5, 2015

In his premier film appearance in the blaxploitation send-up “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” Chris Rock inadvertently addresses a key pricing challenge faced by most entrepreneurs. A recurring entrepreneurial challenge is to determine the optimal price of a new product, especially absent a directly competitive alternative. Price = Value.

Pricing 100

Pricing Product Startup Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2016

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 55

Product Startup Summary Entrepreneur 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2022

Every business needs repeatable processes to grow and thrive, but modern business processes need the right people to make them efficient and productive. In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. Of course, some balance is required.

Coach 128

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. They skimp on the design of their website, procrastinate on the rollout to make sure the product is perfect, and get so excited about technology features that they forget about creating value for customers. They will call you back.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. Sales will be the organization’s sole focus.” Again, you get what you demand and reward.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Training Sales Technical Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Selecting the right sales channels is one of the first strategic decisions that every startup faces.

Metrics 101

Metrics Marketing Demand Paramount 101

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Examples include the Conscious Capitalism® movement, founded by John Mackey of Whole Foods, the B Team , founded by serial entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, and the Benefit Corporation (B Corp) form of business now available in 35 states. This is not just sales traction, but a proper balance between resources, product, and customers.

Education 151

Education Customer Custom Sales 151

Tech.Co

JULY 31, 2017

Being intentionally productive is something we all strive for, but often fail to achieve. Yet as an entrepreneur, you can rarely hide under the rock and pretend there’s nothing else happening around you and no one is demanding your attention. Routine work is the worst enemy of productivity. Add Simple Automations.

Snapchat 66

Snapchat Product Email Social Media 66

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

I’d like to do a few posts on what life looks like on the way up and perhaps how to keep your head on straight and avoid drinking your own Kool Aid because as I often advise entrepreneurs on irrational exuberance, “ In a strong wind even turkeys can fly.” How frequently they’re using the product?

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. Don’t wait for the harsh reality of the demanding business world to start thinking about these tradeoffs. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Statistics Equity Satisfaction 107

InfoChachkie

MARCH 2, 2015

Despite the fact that I teach entrepreneurship at UC Santa Barbara , I do not believe that entrepreneurs are created in classrooms. Instead of trying to teach students to be an entrepreneur, I expose my entrepreneurial students to tools that will help them solve real-world problems. My courses are rigorous and demanding.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Class Course Case Study 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. Of course, not every entrepreneur wants to tackle this challenge. There is no free lunch.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97