Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. I’ve talked in the past about how I manage my own creative process. I zone out and think about how things could be different. Do you find yourself too much in email mode? And What About the Opposite?

Venture Capital 400

Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2014

We spoke with Nikolaus Kimla , the CEO of Pipeliner CRM, to learn more about the company, its move here, and its software. Tell us about Pipeliner CRM? The people we spoke with told us that CRM sucks, and sales people have to use this software, but don''t like to use it. That''s what it''s all about.

Sales 229

Sales Startup Software Customer 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2020

In my experience with entrepreneurs, there seems to a wealth of self-proclaimed “idea people” who aspire to start businesses, but only a few who are willing and able to dig in and get the job done. Only rare great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have proven to be both. Managing marketing metrics and the sales pipeline.

Ideas 122

Ideas Entrepreneur Startup IBM 122

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

I’d like to talk about Crocodile Salesmen in 3 scenarios: 1) when YOU are selling (or someone on your team), 2) when you are trying to recruit a sales person. You learn much more about how other people think when you’re asking. But how to apply “listening&# in a sales meeting? Nobody likes that.

Sales 314

Sales Startup Venture Capital Customer 314

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). There is a lot to say about retaining control. For those of you who fit that description, nice work.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

Many entrepreneurs who start technology companies are product people, technologists or savvy business people who worked previously for a larger company. Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience. But through nearly a decade of startups I learned that sales comes down to three essential elements: 1.

Sales 319

Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2023

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. Lead management performance.

Metrics 102

Metrics Demand Paramount Content 102

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

You can watch/listen to how John and Kyle turned their email newsletter into an international bestseller in the following 9-minute excerpt from John''s recent talk at UC Santa Barbara. an email) to about 35 people. If you want to be kept informed just send me an email and let me know that you''re in, and that was it.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2020

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. Lead management performance.

Marketing 174

Marketing Invest Demand Metrics 174

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 29, 2014

One of the hardest things for most entrepreneurs to know is how hard to push in situations where people tell you “no.” ” But then again most entrepreneurs fail. I’d say less than 20% of of entrepreneurs fit into that bucket. But my post isn’t for the haters.

Venture Capital 389

Venture Capital Email Startup Conference 389

Berkonomics

JANUARY 6, 2022

First, the marginal exit event: Sometimes the end game or sale of the company is not a happy event for the early investors, including the entrepreneur or the founders. Most sophisticated investors will take either a promissory note or preferred stock, both of which come before founder or management stock in a sale or liquidation.

Venture Capital 156

Venture Capital Sales Pricing Equity 156

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Those of us in the business of calculating (guessing) this mythical peak in value often make the same mistake as our entrepreneurs. He concluded that the sweet spot for valuation was in the $20–30 million sales price range, and that many, many times more deals were completed in that range than above $100 million in valuation at exit.

Pricing 156

Pricing Invest Equity Entrepreneur 156

Berkonomics

JANUARY 13, 2022

Email readers, continue here…] But what about the pause to celebrate? What most entrepreneurs fail dramatically at is to celebrate the moment. Not many founders or entrepreneurs do experience the success of a favorable sale of the business they dreamed would make them rich. Many fail multiple times.

Writing 156

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Sales 156

Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2023

But… I read several years ago that the average startup restaurant lasts only about a year. We have years of real data to call upon: data that impacts both investors and entrepreneurs. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that 50% of all businesses survive five years or more, and about one-third survive ten years or more.

Statistics 156

Statistics Startup Study Invest 156

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 30, 2021

In aviation circles, we read in our pilot magazines about “Never again!” or “I learned about flying from that.” How about the entrepreneur -founder? Professional investors rarely attach a red letter upon a failed entrepreneur. And these were emotional experiences to say the least. We ask ourselves “what if?”.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Training Invest Email 156

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2015

We come to the end of this cycle of insights with a thought about how you might view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build. Email readers, continue here…] First there comes a sense of relief, knowing that you no longer need to worry over daily cash or threats to your net worth.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Writing .Net Sales 120

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Much is also about luck and timing.

Entrepreneur 288

Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

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

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

Recently a CEO friend told me her story of a dinner including her director of business development and an executive of a major company, a candidate for a large sale. I would have been thinking about the sales relationship and the sale, and would probably have let the guy drive home, acknowledging his discomfort, and ending the dinner early.

Sales 156

Sales Conference Startup Course 156

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence. This is a very common scenario when entrepreneurs pitch VCs and frankly is a very common scenario when VCs try to raise money from LPs. everything.

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

Almost anyone who has sold a company has a story to tell about their good deal, the problems with the buyer, a last-minute change of terms, or more. Offering to reincorporate the game company as a new entity to avoid any more surprises, the entrepreneur and I negotiated 10% for my $100 thousand, with the remaining 90% for the founder.

Sales 120

Sales Web Design Web Design 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? If you’ve taken the roller coaster ride that is a startup – you know what I’m talking about. On Being an Entrepreneur. This post originally appeared on TechCrunch. Long hours.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 384

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get I’m about to offer you some fund-raising advice that flies directly in the face of what most conventional wisdom will tell you. Most entrepreneurs (and VCs raising from LPs) think this means progress. For starters you have to realize that fund-raising is a sales process.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Berkonomics

JANUARY 28, 2021

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up pre-money valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. And here’s the “why.”.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Startup Outsource Venture Capital 156

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. When it comes to multi-line systems, Nextiva X-885 is about as reliable as they come — letting businesses handle 12 lines, connect to existing softphone technology, and even manage customer relations.

Tool 128

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

You can watch/listen to how John and Kyle turned their email newsletter into an international bestseller in the following 9-minute excerpt from John''s recent talk at UC Santa Barbara. an email) to about 35 people. If you want to be kept informed just send me an email and let me know that you''re in, and that was it.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

According to Jared Belsky, President, 360i , “We see Search and Social as a 24 hour real-time consumer focus group that helps us stay on top of what consumers care about for our brands. I’ve seen some smaller retailers execute very innovative strategies, such as posting items for sale on Instagram to the first person who emails them.

Entrepreneur 210

Entrepreneur Commerce Sites Social Network 210

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

However, certain questions can be tricky for an entrepreneur to answer. Below are five common questions an entrepreneur will encounter when seeking venture funding. Handled appropriately, these questions provide investors a window into an entrepreneurs’ soul, which minimizes the chances of a future misalignment.

Entrepreneur 253

Entrepreneur Google Invest RSS 253

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Public relations at a startup is a sales process. For example, if you indicate that you will generate $1 million in sales and actually deliver $750,000, you will be viewed as having failed. Grant Exclusivity.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

InfoChachkie

JULY 16, 2012

What’s So Cool About Coull? This allows advertisers to offer affiliate publishers performance-based offers, which are compensated on a pay-per-view, pay-per-click or pay-per-sale basis. When asked about Coull, Ophir Tanz, GumGum’s CEO candidly noted that, “ GumGum believes that the future of advertising will and should be integrated.

Customer 226

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Advertising 226

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2016

The reality television show Shark Tank makes for entertaining content but many of its underlying messages are potentially detrimental to tech entrepreneurs. Thus, emerging entrepreneurs should parse fact from fantasy by watching the show with an experienced business pro. It is also an inspirational alter call to entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Entertainment Technical Review Ideas 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

As a VC and former entrepreneur let me offer you some advice. Remember that the goal of an email to a VC or an introduction from a trusted mutual connection is simply to get you the meeting. But what about the privacy / confidentiality concern? This is part of a series on how to improve your fund raising game. Compelling.

Venture Capital 261

Venture Capital Slides Email Startup 261

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

I originally conceived it as the Top 11 things that I believe “all entrepreneurs need to succeed.&# If it stuck to this theme then I would stand by my top 11. I’ll publish the final post in this series this week and then move on to my next series – sales & marketing. It will be controversial – I know.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS San Diego 267

InfoChachkie

MAY 5, 2016

Given TimeHop’s failed experiment, I was especially intrigued when I learned that a team of a dozen remote entrepreneurs hack the typical corporate structure and creates a company that generated nearly $100 million in revenue. We have separate channels for work but we also talk about fun things just like any office watercooler.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Santa Barbara Email Outsource Development 100

Berkonomics

APRIL 11, 2019

An entrepreneur pitches using a deck with no slide for competition. Professional investors laugh when they hear an entrepreneur come out with that one. It is a failed litmus test for the entrepreneur, even if the plan is for a totally new device or service that could take the world by storm. We investors see this all the time.

Competition 120

Competition Slides Research Sales 120

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Entrepreneurs with a high-profile role in their organization cannot credibly claim they were speaking "personally" when they make a divisive public comment. In particular, the Chick-fil-A Monday counter-protest resulted in a one-day sales record for the franchise. Association Guilt. million units.

Entrepreneur 203

Entrepreneur Email Sales RSS 203

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. But aside from choosing the time of day to focus on signal vs. noise, Brad’s post got me thinking about another question – what is signal and what is noise? They could chat about it with their peers or mentors.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287