Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. In fact, this article was driven by a startup press release I saw a while back, highlighting a startup’s “geo-fencing technology” as a new basis for discount coupons. They will call you back. Don’t dumb it down for social media.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. In fact, this article was driven by a startup press release I saw recently, highlighting a startup’s “geo-fencing technology” as a new basis for discount coupons. Instead of asking themselves “How and when will this generate sales?”

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2023

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. Successful entrepreneurs get the job done quickly, without breaking the bank. Martin Zwilling

Statistics 120

Statistics Research Report Newsletter 120

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Consistent with the statistics cited in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs , the large majority of John and Kyle''s classmates accepted positions at investment banks and consulting firms upon graduation. The popularity of the company''s newsletter soon began to grow at a pace that outstripped the MouseDriver''s relatively meager sales.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

I’d like to do a few posts on what life looks like on the way up and perhaps how to keep your head on straight and avoid drinking your own Kool Aid because as I often advise entrepreneurs on irrational exuberance, “ In a strong wind even turkeys can fly.” Have sales bonus plans based on more than just sales targets.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2011

Never Blame the Press. The most tempting thing for inexperienced entrepreneurs to do is to attack the press. But don’t pick a fight with the press. It’s the job of the press to hold us all to account and question our conduct, our performance, our accuracy our businesses. We live in a free society.

Startup 329

Startup Press Training Media 329

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Relinquish Press Release Capabilities.

Outsource Development 170

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 170

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

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. Given customers & sales are the lifeblood of any organization you’d imagine everybody would respect their customers. The press don’t get your financials.

Custom 341

Custom Customer Venture Capital Software Review 341

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2015

If an entrepreneur can’t build a culture of excitement and commitment at a startup, the chances of long-term success are negligible. As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked what you can do to build the right culture. Entrepreneurs who are too busy for people never get the culture they envision. Every investor knows this.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Training 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2014

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market-research data. Successful entrepreneurs get the job done quickly, without breaking the bank.

Marketing 97

Marketing Entrepreneur Statistics Research 97

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Relinquish Press Release Capabilities.

Outsource Development 124

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 124

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2016

You Need to Find Your Mojo A Chip On Your Shoulder A few years ago I wrote a blog post on entrepreneurs with a chip on their shoulders. A chip on one’s shoulder as in, “F**k the system, it’s broken and I want to fix it” is exactly the energy I look for in entrepreneurs. I think it’s an important read. Everything has gone well to date.

Startup 150

Startup Press Entrepreneur Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

Last year I wrote a blog post on entrepreneurs with a chip on their shoulders. A chip on one’s shoulder as in, “F**k the system, it’s broken and I want to fix it” is exactly the energy I look for in entrepreneurs. You got your tech press and your parents are proud. I think it’s an important read.

Startup 371

Startup Press Blogging Entrepreneur 371

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

Very, very few founders have an easy time despite what you read in the press. Put Serious Effort Into Your Pre-Game I find most entrepreneurs put all of their effort into creating a perfect deck and then asking existing investors which VCs to talk with but they put almost no effort into the real “pre-game” work. Be in Person.

Funding 238

Funding Venture Capital Startup Course 238

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

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 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? I thought I’d talk a bit about the differences I’ve experienced between being an entrepreneur & a VC – you know, from “both sides of the table.&#. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 176

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 176

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Consistent with the statistics cited in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs , the large majority of John and Kyle''s classmates accepted positions at investment banks and consulting firms upon graduation. The popularity of the company''s newsletter soon began to grow at a pace that outstripped the MouseDriver''s relatively meager sales.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2009

Hint: He was an entrepreneur. The same is true of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is so highly valued in the Western World that some people try to convince themselves that they are an entrepreneur, when in fact they would be better off at a Big Dumb Company (“BDC”). Entrepreneur Does Not Equal Inventor.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Ideas Writing Startup 153

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2020

Many entrepreneurs are so enamored with their product vision that they believe their own hype, and are convinced that the market for their solution is so huge that no one will ask them for independent market research data. Successful entrepreneurs get the job done quickly, without breaking the bank. Martin Zwilling.

Marketing 157

Marketing Statistics Research Report 157

Berkonomics

APRIL 2, 2020

Record plants were noisy, dirty places, using chemicals I can only imagine now rest somewhere in the ocean, to electroplate the “stampers” and press the records. The answer is simple, but somehow out of reach for most senior executives and entrepreneurs. A more modern example. Today the speed of obsolescence is even faster.

Southern California 177

Southern California Examples Social Network Press 177

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

TechCrunch Europe ran an article in November of last year that European startups need to work as hard as those in Silicon Valley and I echoed the sentiment in my post about the need for entrepreneurs to be maniacal about their businesses if one wants to work in the hyper competitive tech world. We were based in London.

Entrepreneur 308

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Conference 308

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

Many entrepreneurs let the early rejections get to them and it’s normal because when you hear “no” you think “what’s wrong with me!?” Founders read the tech press every day filled with stories about these $20 million fund-raisings by this firm and that firm and it sounds like everybody else is doing it except for you.

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I actually like finding entrepreneurs who are more circumspect, less braggadocios and generally more planned about their actions. Where Stealth is Bad – I do meet entrepreneurs who clearly fall on the other side of spectrum and are totally closed. That’s fine if entrepreneurs are your target market. They come and go.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

And here’s an important point that I think modern entrepreneurs often forget: Investors are “co-owners” of your business. The functions of an early-stage board are pretty obvious and well understood: Providing introductions to customers, biz dev partners, recruits, the press, other investors, etc. Mentorship.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

“I think the best VCs help drive exits alongside their entrepreneurs. This investment started with Dana Settle (Greycroft) and I each putting in $750,000 into a young company doing less than $1 million in sales and has blossomed into one of the fastest growing companies in Los Angeles if not the entire country. None have exited.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 25, 2011

You need star power of entrepreneurs surrounded by star power angels & VCs who in turn get tons of press from adoring journalists who are insiders amongst this crowd of tech cognoscenti. You can monetize via Google Ad Sales before you have enough revenue to build your own sales team. Sound familiar?

Carson 291

Carson Content Press Los Angeles 291

InfoChachkie

MAY 19, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. In Part II of this series, I suggest that entrepreneurs seek agreements in which “what is good for the goose is good for the gander.” Relinquish Press Release Capabilities. Give up Branding.

Outsource Development 193

Outsource Development IP Technical Review Entrepreneur 193

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I often get asked for the magic that has made Amazon the world's most valuable brand , from a total unknown only twenty years ago. They present a convincing story that every entrepreneur has the same potential, but most get sidetracked and bogged down by their technology, competitors, and internal organization.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Custom Customer 123

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

The advantage is that in many of our best deals we now have $50+ million invested so we can really support entrepreneurs as their businesses scale. At Upfront when we know we have a winning hand we prefer to put more capital to work, which both helps the entrepreneurs succeed and drives more aggregate financial returns for our LPs.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on startup advice but also filed under my sales & marketing posts. The only problem is that you can’t afford all of these expensive direct sales reps to go and sell it. Sort of amortizing the costs of their sales reps over more products. You decide to go out and hire a sales rep.

Startup 293

Startup Sales Marketing Product 293

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Local Press / Websites / Organizational Tools – New York has an amazing startup scene and the energy and momentum is palpable. And so you have great local tech press like Business Insider who covers the industry very well. Local press matters. Every city should have a “BuildIn” program. Maker Studios.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Press San Diego 378

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

It’s the entrepreneur’s equivalent of “ 10,000 hours.&#. Talented brand sales people? If you wait until you need to fill somebody in a roll you’re losing valuable time as an entrepreneur. It should stick in your head as a metaphor for networking. For getting outside of your comfort zone. Recruiting.

Startup 410

Startup Writing Press Venture Capital 410

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

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

All the data actually suggests with the growth of mobile, inbound sales calls will double from 30 billion to 60 billion in 3 years (source: Kelsey). Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2019

Traditionally, you just worried about the quality of the sales transaction (price, speed, service), but the “customer experience” now includes ease of pre-sale shopping, post-sale support, with a connected relationship throughout. This can save them grief, as well as reduce your own marketing and sales costs.

Custom 96

Custom Customer Coach Pricing 96

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2010

I would take all of the one-on-one conversations that I have with entrepreneurs from the things I’ve learned and just write them up for anybody to read. It might be a VP of Sales, Marketing or Technology. Or it may just be a junior programmer, sales rep or accountant. When I started blogging I had an idea. It was me.

Startup 294

Startup Press Course Writing 294