Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 5, 2023

Thus my challenge to you is to start today in documenting specific goals , putting some metrics in place to measure progress, and start celebrating every bit of progress, no matter how small, along the way as follows: Convert dreams into specific written objectives. Don’t underestimate your own capability or potential.

Startup 100

Startup Mentor Education Summary 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

Here’s Why You Should Just Send the Deck I know you have your document sending tool to send your fund-raising deck to VCs and track who read your deck, which pages they read and how much time they spend on each page. No amount of tracking when she read your deck is going to truly help you get inside her head so those benefits are oversold.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

Document plans and progress, with checkpoints. Setting your own metrics, and measuring yourself , will facilitate accountability. Also, it helps to work collaboratively with your team and other teams in the organization. In this context, accountability for a successful engine will never happen.

Activity 109

Activity Organization Mentor Training 109

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. I hired a sales coach named Kai Krickle who helped me figure out how to close more deals. It doesn’t.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2016

The best entrepreneurs know what they don’t know, aren’t afraid to ask for business help, and always offer something in return. Sets goals and milestones, with metrics to track progress. Good implementers document and communicate long-term goals, and translate them into daily action items.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Metrics Ideas 106

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The days of lengthy, text-heavy, business plan documents prepared by expensive experts are behind us. Early customer feedback will position your solution, and help you make pivots before critical time and money are lost. The cost of social media done well is low. Using new tools for recruiting key players and advisors.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

If marketing is not your thing, then you need to find a partner or outside expert to help you. Build a marketing plan with deliverables and metrics. If I don’t see a documented marketing plan, with measurements driven by industry norms, I assume that you are counting primarily on your passion to assess growth.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 1, 2021

For example, in a conflict over the right branding logo , it may help to understand who and how the ultimate decision will be made, including key elements driving the decision, such as targeted customers and competition. Make sure the process is respectful of their needs as well as yours. Don’t let it be just a conflict over graphic design.

Activity 145

Activity Organization Examples Satisfaction 145

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

The key to accelerating revenue generation in a phased agreement is to document the success metrics of the landing phase. Ensure that such metrics are measurable by you (not solely by your partner) and are to the greatest extent possible, under your control.

Sales 215

Sales Outsource Development Metrics Resource 215

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

Roger Smith ) This helps explain where I normally play. My role is to work as part of the team to (1) understand related technologies and technical opportunities, (2) understand and help drive alignment around a vision of where the business should go, and (3) mesh those together to help make disciplined, proactive technical decisions.

Startup 231

Startup CTO Hire Technical Advisors Technical Review 231

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Like it or not, you are now entering the dreaded realm of specifying and documenting “formal business processes.” Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones. Here you will likely need to train others to help you, so more detail may be required in this process.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Jackson, CEO and co-founder of CapLinked (www.caplinked.com), which is developing tools to help entrepreneurs and investors connect. Eric is also author of the book The PayPal Wars: Battles With Ebay, the Media, the Mafia, And the Rest of Planet Earth , where he documented that experience. How do you do that?

Southern California 243

Southern California Entrepreneur Software Review Yammer 243

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

Generally speaking in venture capital financings the legal documents will specify that only “major investors” (a threshold set in the agreement – which can be $500,000 investor or more). There is a reason for this.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Like it or not, you are now entering the dreaded realm of specifying and documenting “formal business processes.” Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones. Here you will likely need to train others to help you, so more detail may be required in this process.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Training Outsource Metrics 92

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2013

She recommends phone interviews by you, by appointment, with structured questions, and you document results. All of these processes should be documented, and should explicitly include the customer buying process and perceptions as the base. Include planned measurements and metrics. Their perception is your reality.

Startup 105

Startup Search Engine Optimization Summary Customer 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2017

She recommends phone interviews by you, by appointment, with structured questions, and you document results. All of these processes should be documented, and should explicitly include the customer buying process and perceptions as the base. Include planned measurements and metrics. Their perception is your reality.

Search Engine Optimization 58

Search Engine Optimization Startup SEO Customer 58

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Originally created in the mid 1990’s to help with the imprecise problem of how to value early stage companies, especially those in technology, I developed what soon became known as “The Berkus Method” when published in the popular book, “Winning Angels” by Harvard’s Amis and Stevenson with my permission in 2001. Well, it had to happen.

Startup 120

Startup Examples Metrics Marketing 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2017

Enlist help and advice from the right people. When you have a problem to solve, it’s not smart to just grab the least-busy person on your team for help. Assignments should be documented and communicated, rather than assumed. Establish metrics to assure solution and prevent recurrence.

Metrics 58

Metrics Entrepreneur Examples Coach 58

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

The number is much higher for those who choose to go it alone, without help. 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

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2013

This entrepreneur gets out there and actively looks for people who can help make an idea into a business, including potential customers, suppliers, employees, investors, friends and peers. Proactively sets metrics and track goals. Effective business people work hard to align everyone in the organization toward key metrics.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 103

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

This is smart because amazing board members can be transformative with important advice and access and can also help attract other great board members (and team members). I actually think having a formal board can really help you. If your metric move immediate up-and-to-the-right? Some seed investors are amazing.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2012

She recommends phone interviews by you, by appointment, with structured questions, and you document results. All of these processes should be documented, and should explicitly include the customer buying process and perceptions as the base. Include planned measurements and metrics. Their perception is your reality.

Tips 93

Tips Search Engine Optimization Summary Startup 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

In addition, I look for do-it-yourself confidence that minimizes any dependence on outside help. Document and commit to specific goals. Define and use metrics to measure your progress. Building a specific business requires a roadmap or business plan, much like programmers needs specifications to keep them on track.

Social Network 94

Social Network Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones. Unless you are bootstrapping everything, you need to have a clear plan on what networking and documents are required to get to friends and family, angel investors, and institutional investors. Manage human resources.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2015

You can’t build a great company without help. Data – Define a handful of key metrics to free you from managing personalities, egos, subjective issues, emotions, and intangibles. Each must be documented clearly and refined regularly. People – Surround yourself with great people. It’s having the right people in the right seats.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Social Media 111

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2017

Inventors don’t always appreciate documented processes, quality controls, and metrics. Building a business is a long-term process of “making meaning,” helping people one-by-one, and overcoming obstacles that you never dreamed of when you started. The business has to evolve as it scales.

Ideas 67

Ideas Product Startup Satisfaction 67

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2012

This entrepreneur gets out there and actively looks for people who can help make an idea into a business, including potential customers, suppliers, employees, investors, friends and peers. Proactively sets metrics and track goals. Effective business people work hard to align everyone in the organization toward key metrics.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2011

She recommends phone interviews by you, by appointment, with structured questions, and you document results. All of these processes should be documented, and should explicitly include the customer buying process and perceptions as the base. Include planned measurements and metrics. Their perception is your reality.

Customer 96

Customer Custom Search Engine Optimization Summary 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2016

As the business grows, it pays to learn how to use automated financial tools, and review the key financial metrics daily. Continue to operate without documented and repeatable processes. As an entrepreneur, you need their help in managing people, processes, and finances, and they need your vision and direction to change the world.

Startup 57

Startup Training Entrepreneur Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Even if you are doing the work yourself, you need to document requirements, features, metrics, and milestones. Unless you are bootstrapping everything, you need to have a clear plan on what networking and documents are required to get to friends and family, angel investors, and institutional investors. Manage human resources.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

The days of lengthy, text-heavy, business plan documents prepared by expensive experts are behind us. Early customer feedback will position your solution, and help you make pivots before critical time and money are lost. The cost of social media done well is low. Using new tools for recruiting key players and advisors.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media News Tool 61

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

Set business goals and milestones, and use metrics to track performance. That means milestones have to be documented, measured and desired results rewarded. Continuous improvement applies to the business model as well as the product. Enable team members to run the business as their own.

Ideas 59

Ideas Technical Review Google Startup 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2016

You can’t build a great company without help. Data – Define a handful of key metrics to free you from managing personalities, egos, subjective issues, emotions, and intangibles. Each must be documented clearly and refined regularly. People – Surround yourself with great people. It’s having the right people in the right seats.

Search Engine Optimization 55

Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Entrepreneur Social Media 55

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2016

It doesn’t matter how dedicated and capable you are, there are only so many hours in a day, and as your business scales, you need to count on others for help. When the business starts to scale, you need documented processes and people with the right skills and training who can do the right work without you.

Social Network 59

Social Network Startup Demand Entrepreneur 59

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

It’s human nature to prioritize the metrics that get measured, so the simple act of keeping track is often enough to have a significant positive impact. You should document the status of your partnership negotiations so that you can easily gauge progress. As noted earlier, your Venture Value Scorecard should be updated monthly.

.Net 89

.Net Metrics Competition Template 89

socalTECH

JUNE 25, 2012

Those folks are any tool they can find to help them, any new tool they find. We're working on how quickly we can provision servers, and what those metrics are, and it's been fantastic. When I document that, I get lots of love on those things. Our goal is to help people spot what is working for them, and optimize.

Social Media 203

Social Media Startup Tool LAMP 203

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 8, 2014

Chance was recently featured on Fox News for comments on Facebook’s high profile acquisition of wearable VR company, Oculus, for an impressive $2B – and what that meant for early adopters who initially helped the company get off the ground by funding through Kickstarter. Laundry list of all necessary documentation.

Invest 83

Invest Platform Entrepreneur Paramount 83