Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Of course, that means a mindset willing to give up much more equity, and taking on a whole new level of risk. Switch your focus from product development to sales. Explosive growth to an enterprise normally requires a scalable sales model, a well-documented process with incentives, training, and metrics for tracking and management.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone. Make sure all business processes are documented and integrated. Startup equity investments imply a long-term business relationship, lasting an average of five years.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

These collective sets of documents form the basis of what somebody looking at investing would call “financial due diligence.” What happens is 18–20 firms access the data room and download all of your documents. For starters you have to realize that fund-raising is a sales process. It doesn’t. It felt like heresy.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

socalTECH

JANUARY 17, 2011

Irvine-based Kofax , a provider of document management software and hardware, said Sunday that it is selling its hardware business to a German private equity firm, and cutting staff. In addition to the sale, Kofax said it is taking a charge of $2.6M

Equity 145

Equity Software Sales Layoffs 145

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 4, 2012

At the inception of a company the entrepreneur typically focuses on product development, RandD, customer relationships and sales and marketing.Often, accounting and taxation are overlooked. In addition, we'll discuss tax filing requirements, document retention and tax pitfalls to avoid for startups. See [link] (more)

OCTANE 100

OCTANE Startup Equity Sales 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone. Make sure all business processes are documented and integrated. Startup equity investments imply a long-term business relationship, lasting an average of five years.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 123

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

This time by the efforts of Adeo Ressi to introduce a new kind of structure called “ convertible equity.” My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly.

Startup 354

Startup Pricing Equity Venture Capital 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2022

You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” and the answer better not be ambiguous. “We We are so alike, we finish each other’s sentences.” Most startups can’t afford that. It usually doesn’t work.

Startup 140

Startup Satisfaction Writing Entrepreneur 140

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2009

Everyone in the outside world is talking about how great you are but internally you know that your sales aren’t ramping, your product isn’t shipping on time, you have doubts about the quality of your code, you’re not convinced you’re doing a good job on marketing – whatever. Your solution? My advice: don’t.

Startup 327

Startup Sales Class CIO 327

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

” If you remember the three rules of sales : it’s. You can do it with equity & a price. In the document it outlines that you will issue stock at a $5m pre-money valuation and in recognition of the additional risks and commitments of early money you have allocated warrants to the first $150,000 of investors.

Pricing 294

Pricing Venture Capital Writing Equity 294

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2020

In reality, the opportunities are greater for starting with a micro-business , ideally from your special expertise or passion, with fewer than five employees, and just enough sales to comfortably support you and your team. Just because you want to start a business doesn’t mean you are entitled to outside equity, loans, or crowdfunding.

Customer 125

Customer Custom Tool Writing 125

Xconomy

JUNE 28, 2016

Whatever you call it, this document of about five pages is a summary of the terms of a deal the parties hope to close down the line. KEY COMPONENTS: What appears to be a simple, straightforward document has the potential to scuttle a deal, so it’s vital to understand the MO of an MOU. A stock sale?

Startup 57

Startup Pricing Sales Summary 57

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

What used to be an “A” round in 2011 is now routinely called a Seed round and this has been so engrained that founders would rather take less money than to have to put the words “A round” in their legal documents. You have seed rounds but you now have “pre-seed rounds.” Investments in the intersection of data, technology and biology.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

SoCal CTO

MARCH 2, 2015

This includes links to CTO Salary and Equity Trends, Technology Roles in Startups , Initial Conversation with a CTO or Technical Advisor , Finding a Technical Cofounder for Your Startup , Hiring a CTO for Your Startup and many others. You need to start by figuring out who your suspects are.

CTO Hire 150

CTO Hire CTO Coach Los Angeles Angel 150

Berkonomics

JANUARY 16, 2014

Example: salary, equity, joint venture, etc… Can the business afford it? Create roles and guidelines in the potential partnership: What role and responsibility will each of the partners have including operation, financial, sales, marketing, etc.? Compensation: What are compensation expectations? How will decisions be made and by whom?

Technical Review 204

Technical Review Startup Examples Metrics 204

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

We’re talking a skeleton crew of staff, minimal sales, and even less cash. Create a bottom-up financial forecast that uses your detailed budget and sales projections as the starting point. Protect yourself by clearly outlining confidentiality, termination provisions, and IP ownership in employee contracts and hiring documentation.

Tips 90

Tips Startup Venture Capital Outsource Development 90

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Being the leader doesn’t mean more equity, nor does it mean the leader will necessarily be CEO. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. The combination of technical insight, founder authority, and sales experience is a hard-to-beat advantage in a competitive market.

Technical Advisors 98

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone. Make sure all business processes are documented and integrated. Startup equity investments imply a long-term business relationship, lasting an average of five years.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2019

You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” and the answer better not be ambiguous. “We We are so alike, we finish each other’s sentences.” Most startups can’t afford that. It usually doesn’t work.

Startup 70

Startup Satisfaction Writing Entrepreneur 70

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 7, 2013

CapLinked also netted in new customers such as Thomson Reuters, Sun Capital, and Equity Partners, NextView Ventures and crowd-funding service AI Verified which will take advantage of its iPad compatibility, bulk uploading, and reporting tools. According to Eric M. The innovation is in line with the industry trends.

Mobile 91

Mobile Report Pricing Tool 91

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2012

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe marketing strategy, sales plan, licensing, and partnership plans. Exit strategy.

Slides 99

Slides Competition Sample Sales 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2016

Over the years, I have identified ten key principles and disciplines that every entrepreneur must understand and practice to minimize surprises and failures in this area: Failure to document cash flow projections is a disaster. Seasonal sales fluctuations eat cash. Sales volumes are still ramping up while marketing expenses are at max.

Startup 64

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 64

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 6, 2014

We’re talking a skeleton crew of staff, minimal sales, and even less cash. Create a bottom-up financial forecast that uses your detailed budget and sales projections as the starting point. Protect yourself by clearly outlining confidentiality, termination provisions, and IP ownership in employee contracts and hiring documentation.

Tips 101

Tips Startup Outsource Development Sales 101

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. 7) Hire A Consultant.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

The approach I recommend is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe marketing strategy, sales plan, licensing, and partnership plans. Exit strategy.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

socalTECH

JUNE 17, 2009

We came to it, because we'd been around private equity, and it's always surprised me how inefficient the marketplace is. The way sales are handled is as old as the 1930's securities laws. tools available, not to mention the growth and size of the private equity market--it's a 2.5 Are you transacting sales through the site yet?

Startup 124

Startup Zag Venture Capital Equity 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Since this document is outward facing, it is important to keep the terminology and tone consistent with that of your customer set, investors, and business partners. Marketing, sales, and customer experience. The details can be added later. Now let’s talk about the bases that need to be covered. Skip the acronyms and jargon.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2010

An alternative approach, which I prefer, is to build the investor presentation first, by iterating on the bullets with your team, and then fleshing out the points into a full-blown text-based business plan document. Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe marketing strategy, sales plan, licensing, and partnership plans.

Slides 94

Slides Competition Sample Sales 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2017

You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” and the answer better not be ambiguous. “We We are so alike, we finish each other’s sentences.” Most startups can’t afford that. It usually doesn’t work.

Startup 59

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Writing 59

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Revenue reporting accounts for all sales within a given accounting period. That being said, if you find yourself in any of the following situations, you will typically need to have an audit: When it is required by an equity investor. In particular, they may want to know that: Your accounts receivable will be collected in full.

Report 78

Report Equity Organization Sales 78

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2013

You really need a partner who is complementary, and can tackle the operational roles, like marketing, finance, and sales. I’ll put in the money, if you put in the sweat equity.” and the answer better not be ambiguous. “We We are so alike, we finish each other’s sentences.” Most startups can’t afford that. It usually doesn’t work.

Startup 96

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction Writing 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Marketing, sales, and partners. Describe your market penetration strategy, sales channels, pricing, and strategic partnerships. Convince investors that you have lined up sales channels, strategic partners, and a viable marketing strategy. Competing with IBM, Microsoft, and other large companies should never be minimized.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2017

This shortcut to avoid hard discussions and signed documents leads to more dysfunctional businesses and broken relationships than you could imagine. Very few people are experts in all facets of a new business, including finance, sales, marketing, and operations. Retain maximum equity by requesting minimal funding.

Entrepreneur 72

Entrepreneur Competition Customer Custom 72