Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

If you are the hot-shot technical innovator that invented your solution, make sure you have an equally adept business and marketing expert to complement your skills. “If Bill Gates was the technical genius, but Steve Ballmer, from Procter & Gamble, ran the business side of the equation. Needed help can be your biggest burden.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

The second is that the retailers were constrained by their high costs of local real estate and service staff relative to the costs of centralized warehouses where goods could be stacked high, sorted by robots, managed by RFIDs and then shipped via overnight to eager, cost-conscious customers across the US.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. Train and coach continuously.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Verifying Looking for regular tech news straight to your inbox? And with direct traffic making up 71% of Caledly’s total traffic, demand for the scheduling tool is likely to remain strong into 2024. Brightwheel is a SaaS childcare management solution that provides technology to preschools. Calendly calendar screenshot.

Startup 213

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 213

socalTECH

JUNE 25, 2013

Los Angeles-based TheBouqs (www.thebouqs.com) thinks so, with its new, cut-to-order online flower delivery service for the iPad generation. The third part of this is the subscription service we offer. There are lots of online flower delivery services, in a pretty established market. What is the Bouqs? Closing this $1.1M

Services 215

Services Technical Review Startup Pricing 215

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). We feature a prominent speaker at every event.

Venture Capital 241

Venture Capital Technical Review Southern California Company 241

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. Even a million users on your social media site won’t pay the bills until you sell some advertising or a premium service. Hone your process for due diligence and integrating these new elements.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. Train and coach continuously.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2016

Selling services has always been about relationships, but the challenges of building relationships with services clients have exploded. Thus services experiences and relationships tend to be based more and more on new media and technology. Companies need service strategies that increase spontaneity to enhance experiences.

Services 54

Services Social Media Technical Review Media 54

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 7, 2015

Specifically, two high school seniors in LA, Dillon Rosenblatt and Tyler Makhani, recently built out an app called Tutors , a platform for on demand tutoring. “As a result of the immense growth and popularity of on-demand services in other major industries, it just makes sense that tutoring will follow the craze.”

Demand 128

Demand Technical Review Los Angeles Platform 128

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 27, 2023

An Intro to the Chatbot 8 Questions with Claude [Test] Claude Pricing & Tokens Explained Claude 2 and ChatGPT: Key Differences Should You Use Claude AI? As part of the latter deal, Amazon employees and cloud customers will get early access to the technology. You'll also see how Claude differs from ChatGPT in key areas.

ChatGPT 142

ChatGPT Artificial Inteligence Training Startup 142

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

My simple answer is that they keep their focus on customers, rather than technology. They present a convincing story that every entrepreneur has the same potential, but most get sidetracked and bogged down by their technology, competitors, and internal organization. They help hiring managers raise the bar for every interview.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Customer Custom 123

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. How profitable is my product or service? What sized team can I afford in order to sell, market & provide service to these customers? were more distributed.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

That said, when a customer posts on Facebook that you should lower your prices by 50%, perhaps this is not something you should spend too much time on. However, if your customers don’t post anything at all, good or bad, perhaps your pricing is too high overall. Make It Work is an extreme customer service company.

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

Once this new service became popular then the media companies could control the rules of distribution & advertising. To say that the tech elite were cynical of Hulu’s launch would be an understatement , but by the time it launched just a few months later it was getting great reviews. Why the limitation?

Hulu 292

Hulu Technical Review Content Advertising 292

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

The prices of angel deals have recently crept up, VCs have also gotten their checkbooks out again, frothy deals are happening and people are feeling bullish. Here talking about lithium-ion batteries and the early lead we’ve squandered in that market: “ With some technologies, both scaling and innovation take place overseas.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). The challenges for making money and survival in these professional services worlds are different, maybe even tougher. They expect reviews and testimonials from other clients.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Demand 56

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010

We give a huge Thank You to the following sponsors: Demand Media is a leading online media company that informs, entertains and connects millions of people every day. Founded in 2006, Demand Media is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA with offices in Bellevue, WA, Austin, TX, New York, NY and London, UK. Price: FREE.

Technical Review 58

Technical Review Software Review Santa Monica Tech Coast Angels 58

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Thus, I’m more impressed with entrepreneurs who ask me to review their implementation plan, rather than listen again to their idea. I suggest you use social media, blogging, crowdfunding, or documented research to quantify a real demand from people who can afford it, and don’t have a better alternative already out there.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 9, 2014

Bridging the Gap and Redefining “Work” Recently, we discovered an interesting NYC-based company who had a simple hypothesis: W hat if you could bring elite business consultant talent to the table without the traditional price and hurdles? Due Diligence. Marketing & Branding. Investor Decks. Training Materials.

Outsource Development 105

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review Outsource 105

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. Yet I can’t help thinking there are many predictable failures that come from a lack of basic planning.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. We short-handed this marketing mix as “ the four P’s ” – product, price, promotion and place (distribution) – this was devised in 1960 and while a little bit dated is still a useful framework. It’s worth a quick read.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

According to many observers , we can thank or blame technology for these higher expectations, providing information at the speed of light, leading everyone to expect more. The days of pushing new and marginal performers into customer service are gone. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The company--which is in the business of operating a content delivery network (CDN) to accelerate the delivery of web graphics, multimedia, applications, and more to end users-- recently disclosed it more than doubled its revenues in 2012, and has grown to over 230 employees--all due to a huge amount of demand for CDN services by its customers.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

socalTECH

APRIL 10, 2012

One of the most original, subscription startups to come out of Southern California's tech accelerator boom emerged last week, looking to disrupt not just another retail sector or e-commerce category, but something else entirely: the airline industry. Wade Eyerly: Basically, it's a flat fee, subscription, all-you-can fly private plane service.

Startup 240

Startup Mentor Technical Review Santa Barbara 240

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Seattle should be the envy of any non Silicon Valley tech community in the country. It really wouldn’t take much to turn a great technology ecosystem into a truly electric one. You need to have passionate tech entrepreneurs who want to build businesses locally. The ingredients are all here.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

socalTECH

OCTOBER 29, 2015

The easiest way to look at it, from the tech perspective, is that we are very similar to LendingClub. Brett and I sat down, and said, how can we take a tech approach and create a positive impact on the existing real estate industry, particularly in the mortgage and real estate finance industry. Where are you now with the service?

Southern California 100

Southern California Google Technical Review Manhattan Beach 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. So don’t raise money at a cheap price, but don’t get too far ahead of yourself either. Pricing high also takes exit options off the table. But if you do this early (pre VC) then the price points are pretty low. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 1, 2013

Groupon today launched its high-end restaurant service dubbed Groupon Reserve ,aimed at helping users find finest things to eat, see, do and buy. Already live, the service is available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.,

Marketing 61

Marketing Entertainment Los Angeles Tool 61

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 26, 2016

The controversial CISA bill passed in late December, despite outcry from the tech world, now means large corporations will be able to share personal online data with government agencies. For the VPN industry specifically, we will see a lot of new providers as the barrier to entry is extremely low, and demand is high.

Commerce 40

Commerce Mobile Technical Review Google 40

socalTECH

AUGUST 8, 2018

Dave Fink: Postie is a building a technology platform with a mission of making direct mail marketing behave as easily and dynamically as your favorite, programmatic channels. However, there just hasn't been the underlying technology to make it possible to pull all of that together. What is Postie? Both of us are purely digital.

CTO Hire 100

CTO Hire Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Marketing 100

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

StartupDemo is an opportunity for early stage startups to showcase their new products and/or services. Stewart Roberts , President of Orange County of Tech Coast Angels. Demand Media is a leading online media company that informs, entertains and connects millions of people every day. Be sure to tune in at 5:30pm PT.

Social Media 71

Social Media Technical Review Mixergy Tech Coast Angels 71

SoCal Delicious

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Loading… Tech. SIGNIFICANCE PASSING-MENTION. --> Tech Titans Hit the Beach As Silicon Valley moguls go on a home-buying spree in Los Angeles, theyre reshaping the real-estate landscape. The tech industry is going south. Prices are soaring in the beachfront communities tech types favor, and rents in these.

Los Angeles 44

Los Angeles Software Review Technical Review Journal 44

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

mobile, locations, layering of services, data management, portability & more]. We were on services called CompuServe and Prodigy. The Bridge Between Online Services & The Internet: AOL. AOL controlled the services, taxed companies to access users and decided what was good or bad. The Past (1985-2002).

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Startup 318

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

Fallacy: AdVentures tend to evolve once you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. Value is created through diligent hard work. Once you prove that a substantial, addressible market segment is willing to pay a price for your solution that exceeds your costs, you can consider a licensing strategy.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Tech Coast Venture Network

OCTOBER 25, 2010

The minimum level of coverage includes, among other things, emergency services, hospitalization, wellness, and maternity and newborn care. That's because employees who are facing individual fines for not having insurance will, in many cases, choose to buy it at the workplace, thereby increasing demand.

Slides 100

Slides Startup Study Resource 100