Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2021

This is a statement that they are willing and able (and successful) at projecting market and technology turns, not just straight-line innovations. They have the courage to make bold decisions, often contrary to conventional market research. Strive for breathtaking design, as well as function. Not afraid to kill the cash cow.

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Marketing Design Entrepreneur Ideas 157

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2021

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

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Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 139

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.

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Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

I second his list of top innovation challenges and strategies to capitalize on untapped global startup opportunities: Create new markets rather than disrupt existing ones. Design the full stack, not just a new software element. Target a global market rather than a local from day one.

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Capital Marketing Ideas Venture Capital 138

Tech.Co

MAY 9, 2024

There are thousands of grants up for grabs through government website portals, but since this type of financing is designed to support the public, their eligibility criteria tend to be quite specific. Learn more about the SBIR grant, and how to apply here. Learn more about the STTR grant, and how to apply here.

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Outsource Development Technical Review Research Writing 206

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 23, 2010

I recently wrote a post about design simplicity where I encouraged technology design teams to think about “designing for the novice, configuring for the pro&# users. We all know a thing or two about project management so they had a pretty good feel what they wanted to build. One example is Quora.

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Design Product Screening Examples 284

Tech.Co

MAY 16, 2024

In spite of these roadblocks, there are a growing number of Black-owned business grants available, designed to help close the gap and make the business landscape more diverse. Here are seven funding opportunities you should know more about if you’re serious about financially safeguarding and scaling your venture.

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Design Commerce Entrepreneur News 222

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. What excites me about this space is that there’s so much low-hanging fruit.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 22, 2010

I recently wrote about my philosophy of minimalism that “ less is more &# with the mantra “when in doubt, leave it out.&#. I’ve had a long-standing rule of thumb in product design, which I call “design for the novice, configure for the pro.&# I started saying this back in 2001/02, long before the era of Web 2.0,

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Design Startup Web 2.0 Tips 325

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2014

.” I have been weighing in slowly on the topic over the past few weeks on Twitter but have avoided writing a blog post about it until now. I have thought a lot about anonymity over the years and actually have enjoyed debating the topic with those passionate about anonymity’s benefits because of course that’s how I learn.

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Technical Review Blogging Examples Startup 329

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 26, 2010

Because if you’re truly that early / novel there’s a good chance that you’re too early and will spend lots of time / money educating the market. The “competition slide&# of your investment deck is such a great opportunity to talk about how you’re positioned (premium product vs. economical product?

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Venture Capital Slides Competition Education 313

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

And we wanted a head of global marketing. When Ethan was considering leaving Google we talked about it. I wanted them to have a market lead before others could try and build what Ethan was working on. What do we like about OpenTable? I was preparing to move back to the US from London after 11 years abroad.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

These days, building a new business is all about visibility and marketing, no matter how great or innovative a solution you bring to the table. In fact, having one marketing guru on the team alone won’t get you very far. The best way to do this is to share and celebrate small wins, together and often. Empower engagement.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2021

The best startups also see these as opportunities for brand recognition and viral marketing, to simultaneously benefit people and boost the bottom line. Markets are now hyper-connected, where communications technology and rapid transportation link all citizens of the world together. Stakeholder power. Globalization.

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Marketing Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 135

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2019

This approach, popularly known as “ glocalization ,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. But it does mean that you think about the global implications at every step of the process: Pick your company and product names carefully.

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Marketing Patents Offshore Startup 94

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 26, 2017

Since its inception, HTT recognized that creating a market around a mode of transportation that had not yet been created would take a movement. The company, along with its partners at PreistmanGoode also released the design for its passenger Hyperloop capsule at the London Design Festival.

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SpaceX Design Technology Competition 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Marketing 107

Marketing Invest SEM Startup 107

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? I’m not saying that lawyers were my screening process – simply that they knew about deals early on and they had voted with their time and pocketbooks so I knew I had a degree of filtering. What price?

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Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

I saw him on stage at the event talking about how he used social media to engage audiences. And after one meeting they started asking for his advice about marketing, customer engagement, product design, monetization – whatever. Five-and-a-half years ago I first met Chamillionaire at a tech conference in LA.

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Conference Slides Social Media Summary 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2019

Marketing is everything these days. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. I like the guidance from marketing coach David Newman’s classic book “ Do It! Don’t fall into the marketing-speak trap. Good marketing is not rocket science.

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Marketing Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 97

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

So, in a bid to better compete against a long list of competitors, the service announced a brand new site design and user interface Wednesday, which simplifies and makes it easier for users to interact with the service. View Slacker's video about its service in our video section. READ MORE>>.

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Sites Design San Diego Services 147

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 26, 2014

Online job and career sites still seem to be in another decade, when it comes to both design--and user friendliness. Can a startup gain a foothold in the competitive market by designing the right UX and user experience to make a job and career site for everyone? Los Angeles-based Workpop (www.workpop.com) thinks so.

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Design Sites Cornerstone OnDemand Startup 174

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2019

Last week, the company finally embraced the dystopian origins of the name with a brilliant, tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign introducing its new Soylent Green Mint Chocolate line complete with a spoof animation of the famous last scene of the Heston Soylent Green film. We ended up developing that for our launch in September.

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Marketing Startup Social Media Product 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

recently wrote a post talking about how some VCs meddle in operating company decisions or some executive teams are too reliant on VCs to jump in and make hard calls for them. It isn’t uncommon for CEOs to talk about biz dev deals prematurely, hint at product announcements or even hint at acquisitions.

Startup 150

Startup Sales CTO Coach Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Much has been written about product design, but designing the total experience from the front rarely happens yet. In the classic book, “ X: The Experience When Business Meets Design ,” Brian Solis details how to design the whole experience, rather than just the product. Don’t assume that early input is adequate.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Design Product 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2013

Some will be quick to chalk about “personal branding” as gimmicky or manipulative. It is simply the most important way to proactively control your career development and how the market perceives you. I was 23 and had been programming computers, designing computer networks and selling software for 10 years.

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Technical Advisors Marketing Startup Venture Capital 385

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 22, 2019

Sarah Paiji had the idea to launch the eco-friendly refillable cleaning supply retailer Blueland after hearing about the abundance of microplastics in the water she was using to dilute her child’s baby formula. Within a year of reaching out to Naqzi last April, Paiji had a product supplier and the $3 million she needed to go to market.

Design 161

Design Patents Los Angeles Ideas 161

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Most designers, at least the ones I know, hate to network and rarely do it. The key to networking in the tech world is you do not need to be the best in the world, you just need to be passionate, willing to learn and in a lot of cases be the best designer or developer that people know. We will talk about this next.

Design 91

Design Networking Social Media Google 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2022

This approach, popularly known as “ glocalization ,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate. But it does mean that you think about the global implications at every step of the process: Pick your company and product names carefully.

Patents 106

Patents Offshore Startup Demand 106

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 25, 2015

Much has been written about product design, but designing the total experience from the front rarely happens yet. In a new book, “ X: The Experience When Business Meets Design ,” Brian Solis details how to design the whole experience, rather than just the product. Make user-centered design processes iterative.

Design 61

Design Product Customer Custom 61

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Even with instant two-way communication via the Internet and mobile phones, your greatest new solution or service won’t found or properly recognized without marketing. I find that digital marketing is the most visible and effective place to start. Traditional marketing hype won’t get you the attention you need. every month.

Marketing 96

Marketing Metrics Social Media Content 96

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2013

Pharmaceutical companies spent $20 billion a year marketing their products to medical offices. We spoke with Dan Gilman , President and co-founder of the company, to learn more about the company, it''s market, and why healthcare information technology is such an interesting area for investors. What is RxVantage?

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Marketing Software Education Startup 231

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

Twenty years ago, if you started a brand, your first hire, outside of a designer, would have been a salesperson,” Murthy told TechCrunch. In terms of growth, it took Ghost about 90 days to reach its first $1 million in gross merchandise volume and then 180 dates to get to its first $1 million GMV day, Kaplan said.

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Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2016

Have you noticed that the really big startup wins in the last couple of decades have come from creating and dominating new market categories, more than just new solutions? Overtly design the ecosystem as well as product. Bold entrepreneurs put more effort into communicating the new market ecosystem value, and their natural product fit.

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Entrepreneur Marketing Design SpaceX 61

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

After operating in stealth mode for about two years, First Resonance , a company founded by former SpaceX engineers, is finally showing the world their software toolkit designed to let manufacturers make things using the processes employed by their former boss.

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SpaceX Tool Los Angeles Design 248

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

The Canoo designers have departed pretty radically from the traditional designs that other electric vehicle manufacturers have favored going with something that looks more like a VW Microbus than the sport utility vehicle that Byton is aiming for, or Tesla and Fisker’s sportscars and sedans or Rivian’s electric trucks.

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Chief Technology Officer Los Angeles Design Outsource Development 237

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2018

New technology markets and paradigm shifts have traditionally been bad bets when seeking investors, since these were known to take decades to develop, and cost lots of money. For example, consider how many years it took for the market to move from radio to television, or fully accept personal computers on every desktop.

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Marketing Demand Examples Social Media 92