Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches? I am a VC.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. The days are gone when marketing was all “pushing product.” by the so-called godfather of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi.

Content 92

Content Marketing Advertising Customer 92

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2013

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 few years ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Marketing 99

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup SEM 99

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2016

They thought it was like MySpace and why did I need a MySpace page? I had blogged when I was an entrepreneur. In 2015 I opened up my Facebook page to the public. Here’s the thing: If you never try new product and new networks you’ll never learn anything. In 2008 I started VC blogging. I already have Facebook.”.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Product Startup AMA 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Yet I can assure you that people who are paranoid, or want to avoid all risks, won’t be happy as entrepreneurs, so it’s all about balancing the risk-reward scale.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Patents Ideas Sample 101

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 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 also wonder about the entrepreneur who would sign a term sheet that came from somebody they hadn’t gotten to know over time. Great entrepreneurs pivot.

Entrepreneur 291

Entrepreneur Startup Google Yammer 291

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

Entrepreneurs have always believed that their product or service must show real value to customers, but today the smart ones are even able to make their marketing valuable. The days are gone when marketing was all “pushing product.” by the so-called godfather of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi.

Marketing 106

Marketing Startup Content Advertising 106

socalTECH

APRIL 2, 2014

How can marketers make better decisions and get better results from their online marketing? Pasadena-based Smartify (www.getsmartify.com)''s CEO, Carla Bourque , recently talked to us about the company''s online marketing platform, and how it differentiates itself from a lot of other competitors in the market.

Marketing 196

Marketing Pasadena Platform Email 196

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2012

These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. You have to build a web presence with marketing content to get visibility above the 300 million other new websites created last year, and attract the customers you need.

Examples 93

Examples Content Marketing Entrepreneur 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Traction is evidence that your product or service has started that “hockey- stick” adoption rate which implies a large market, a valid business model, and sustainable growth. Free and freemium products need a solid base. Market penetration. Market penetration. First of all, a definition. Customer acquisition cost.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 121

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 9, 2013

I spoke this past week at the LeWeb conference in London, which was a superbly well run event with a very quality production team. They are also driving down the margins they make and are offering products that are initially lower functionality than their competitors. Market meet reality. An obvious example of this is oDesk.

Marketing 361

Marketing Course Pricing Networking 361

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. I have always worked on early stage products. Some of the products I’ve helped validate and launch include GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting and AppFolio.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

Talk about the market, when you say you're outside Google and Bing, explain what that means? A little history, we launched our product years ago, Search IQ. That product right now is on 2,000 publisher websites, it's sold under the SaaS model, and a lot of people on the free, ad-supported version. How has that affected you?

Advertising 203

Advertising Startup Google Commerce 203

Berkonomics

JUNE 1, 2023

Note that none of these three famous innovators were inventors like Thomas Edison, but visionaries who see a new marketplace or niche or how to reach the mass market in ways not previously attempted. How many entrepreneurs used that new Internet infrastructure to create an expansive vision of what could be?

Artificial Inteligence 156

Artificial Inteligence UCLA Web Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Yet I can assure you that people who are paranoid, or want to avoid all risks, won’t be happy as entrepreneurs, so it’s all about balancing the risk-reward scale.

Ideas 159

Ideas Tips Technical Review Patents 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2023

In the world of entrepreneurs and startups, high level relationships are everything. You need something specific from the other person – a loan, or product order, or help solving a problem. Real same-page connection (fourth floor). You can’t start a business alone. This is where most business relationships start and remain.

Startup 127

Startup Guide Networking Help 127

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 18, 2012

As part of UC Santa Barbara’s Distinguished Lecture Series, serial entrepreneur and noted venture capitalist Mark Suster recently shared his advice with a large crowd of emerging entrepreneurs. In the last six weeks, I have been pitched by five entrepreneurs under 20. But our product wasn’t ready for primetime.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Startup Conference Santa Barbara 272

InfoChachkie

JULY 16, 2012

In addition, a number of advertisers have invested significant resources into creating libraries of video content which effectively communicate brand and product attributes but are incapable of eliciting a particular action, such as: clicking to a landing page, completing a lead form, or initiating a purchase.

Custom 226

Custom Customer Entrepreneur Advertising 226

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2013

These days every new entrepreneur understands that an innovative product or service is necessary, but not sufficient, to start a business. You have to build a web presence with marketing content to get visibility above the 51 million other new websites created last year, and attract the customers you need. Marty Zwilling.

Content 114

Content Marketing Startup eBook 114

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Every entrepreneur and startup loves you, but too many forget that every potential customer is not like you. If you are a technical entrepreneur, you can count on early adopters to be first in line for your product, and they are quick to provide feedback on quality, and suggest even more features.

Startup 141

Startup Customer Custom Design 141

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

“Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well. I know the firm well and I know the entrepreneur & his business well. But if that’s all that they’re after then entrepreneurs should definitely be wary of taking these calls. So I have to imagine many other entrepreneurs felt the same. They’re flattered.

Venture Capital 294

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

Value Prop Twitter Style : “Ringrevenue’s call performance marketing platform enables ad networks, agencies, advertisers & publishers to generate more inbound sales calls.”. In today’s market, so much focus is placed on transacting business online. 10) Rob, why does the world need RingRevenue? . “In

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2020

As an entrepreneur advisor, I am surprised at how often I hear the same or very similar proposals of an incremental innovation to an existing process, versus a really new or breakthrough solution. That integration is the breakthrough that you should be looking for as an entrepreneur. He is quoted as saying, “I have not failed.

Startup 134

Startup Artificial Inteligence Ideas Entrepreneur 134

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Upon graduation from Wharton, John and Kyle launched a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product: a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf driver. Putting their expensive educations to good use, they aptly named their novelty product a "MouseDriver". It was really no longer than a page um. Do you care to hear more?

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Berkonomics

APRIL 20, 2017

Note that none of these three famous innovators were inventors like Thomas Edison, but visionaries who find a new marketplace or niche – or how to reach the mass market in new ways. How many entrepreneurs used that new Internet infrastructure to create an expansive vision of what could be?

Artificial Inteligence 256

Artificial Inteligence UCLA Web Patents 256

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

The challenge is when and how to make the switch to the entrepreneur lifestyle. As a mentor to young aspiring entrepreneurs , I often get asked for tips on a strategy to get started. Remember that investors tend to fund entrepreneurs, not ideas. You will also need business management tools, such as Quickbooks, Zoom, and Hubspot.

Startup 114

Startup Tips Coach Satisfaction 114

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2015

Many people don’t post about their experiences, but still routinely check first to see what others are saying about the brand and the product online. That means your marketing must now include shopping apps, location-based services and mobile wallets. One example of this is Nike’s shoe size page.

Customer 103

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 103

InfoChachkie

JULY 5, 2012

Coull Entrepreneurs Get More Customers. Skimlinks is an affiliate marketing tool that allows website publishers to readily monetize their online content. According to Lex ,“The next wave of online marketing is the seamless integration of contextually relevant advertisements within the content itself.

Custom 133

Custom Customer Entrepreneur Advertising 133

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. Here I make the case that entrepreneurs must stay focused on the prize, not the doubters. Entrepreneurs. ” **. It can be one of the strongest motivators.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2015

By most definitions of the term, an entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business, incorporating innovative changes to existing products, services, business models, and creating new markets. One way of identifying the right characteristics and approaches is to take a hard look at entrepreneurs who have done it.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Resource Social Network SpaceX 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2014

By most definitions of the term, an entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business, incorporating innovative changes to existing products, services, business models, and creating new markets. One way of identifying the right characteristics and approaches is to take a hard look at entrepreneurs who have done it.

Entrepreneur 114

Entrepreneur Resource Social Network SpaceX 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Investors talk to each other and they love warm introductions to up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Here investors are looking for feature problems or quality issues on the current product. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2022

Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Hedge your bets by starting several initiatives or products.

Startup 122

Startup Ideas Framework Entrepreneur 122

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

In the world of entrepreneurs and startups, high level relationships are everything. You need something specific from the other person – a loan, or product order, or help solving a problem. Real same-page connection (fourth floor). You can’t start a business alone. This is where most business relationships start and remain.

Startup 150

Startup Guide Help Course 150