TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

It also handles the back end as well by automating the posting, sale and shipment of unsold inventory while offering immediate payment to creditworthy sellers. More people are focused on the beginning of the product lifecycle; very few are focused at the end.”. That’s our vision.”. Last week, Syrup Tech raised $6.3

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2023

Ready to scale is when you have a proven product and a proven business model, about to expand to new geographies and markets. A software product is a classic example of a scalable solution, since it costs real money to build the first copy, but unlimited additional copies can be quickly cloned for almost no incremental cost.

Tips 135

Tips Invest Startup Outsource 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2020

Business success is all about meeting the needs of the modern buyer, who is more informed, has access to more choices, and is ever smarter about making purchasing decisions. Selecting the right sales channels is one of the first strategic decisions that every startup faces. Return on investment for demand generation.

Marketing 174

Marketing Invest Demand Metrics 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Yet in this age when customers have a thousand alternatives, and are overwhelmed by a multitude of messages, sales efforts can make or break a business. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. No pain usually means no sales.

Sales 139

Sales Training Startup Customer 139

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

This is part of a series on sales & marketing. I previously covered how early phase sales teams should be “evangelical&# and consultative in nature. The first post on scaling sales dealt with “aiming&# your sales teams – making sure they were focused on the right opportunities.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2013

Every sales organization with more than a handful of reps or that is across multiple offices or time zones would benefit from having a sales methodology. The second post was about the “U” or Unique Selling Proposition , which in industry terms is often called a USP. The first post covered the topic of “P” or pain.

Sales 328

Sales Customer Custom Examples 328

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Indeed, while the rules and technologies for lead generation have changed, Forrester and other experts still see it as the most effective way for businesses with limited budgets to maximize their return on marketing investment (ROI). It’s also one of the most accountable, with in-depth data provided by search engines about performance.

Marketing 114

Marketing Invest Social Media SEM 114

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2020

Carey tells us a bit about what OC4 is doing, how it invests and works with companies, and also gives startups some advice about how to approach moving forward in light of the pandemic. I've also invested in those companies. How far along are you in terms of making investments? What is OC4?

Invest 124

Invest Startup Ideas Examples 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. I agree with YouTube (that they provide more (hosting, ad sales, etc.)

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Our interview today is with Amos Schwartzfarb , the author of Sell More Faster: The Ultimate Sales Playbook for Start-Ups , which comes out tomorrow, Wednesday. We caught up with Amos to learn about his new book, and to gain some tips for startup entrepreneurs on how to figure out when you're actually ready to scale your sales team.

Sales 113

Sales Startup Custom Development Framework 113

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

I recently wrote a post talking about how some VCs meddle in operating company decisions or some executive teams are too reliant on VCs to jump in and make hard calls for them. Here is where I see this really play out: Product Management. Most CEOs fancy their own product skills and like to weigh in on priorities. I did this.

Startup 150

Startup Sales CTO Coach Course 150

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2013

In real life, you can just about bargain a price for anything you want to buy--a car, a house, even that new stereo from your local electronics store. Joe Marrapodi: GreenToe is a name your own price marketplace for products. However, rather than travel services, it''s for products. But, online, that''s not the case.

Pricing 273

Pricing Product Help Sales 273

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2010

This is part of my ongoing Sales & Marketing Series. In the first part of this post I talked about how sales in a startup is often evangelical , requires as consultative sale and needs constant adjustments based on customer feedback. We had 4 or 5 sales reps that had been around since the early days.

Sales 286

Sales Newsletter Technical Review Activity 286

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). Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally generated funds.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. Most VCs did well academically and had enough career success that a venture firm was willing to give them an investment role or they were able to raise their own fund.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital CTO Coach Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. I had been thinking a lot about this recently because I’m often asked the question of “what I look for in an entrepreneur when I want to invest?” I had invested in myself for years.

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

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). It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. Much more data in the full post.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

We spoke with Meredith Finn a new Partner at March Capital--who headed up that the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur sessions this year--to hear more about her perspectives on investments, what the Rise of the Female Entrepeneur was all about, March's interests in artificial intelligence and more.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. We operate at scale and speed unprecedented in human history.” * I first wrote about the changes to the Venture Capital ecosystem 10 years ago and this still serves as a good primer of how we arrived at 2011, a decade on from the Web 1.0

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. I know we spoke about it this week. 10 is the new 3.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

In other news we announced the closing of $61 million in funding at Maker Studios , which I’ll talk publicly about soon. But as sweet as that success has been (we invested pre-revenue in a small team) today my even more important news was the further expansion of our partner ranks. I wrote about that decision here.

Invest 340

Invest Venture Capital Startup News 340

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Existing investors DST Global, 01 Advisors, Dragoneer Investment Group, Franklin Templeton and Mubadala Investment Company too doubled down on their investments in SpotOn, joining new backers Wellington Management and Coatue Management. We are deeply invested in growing the business together. Image Credits: SpotOn.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Software Review Invest Acquisition 296

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

The rest of the purchase price was concocted from a brew of zero-coupon bonds (where the face value is many times the invested amount until the reduced cost bonds mature thirty years later), and borrowing using the target company’s accounts receivable and other assets as collateral for a loan to purchase the company.

Pricing 156

Pricing Sales Examples Tool 156

socalTECH

MARCH 19, 2014

Sales tax compliance is not a typical sexy startup area. So, it was a surprise when a number of smart, insider angels -- including Roy Rubin (founder of Magento, which he sold to eBay), and Dan Rose (VP of Partnerships at Facebook)--put their money behind TaxJar (www.taxjar.com), a San Diego startup developing sales tax compliance software.

Sales 149

Sales Software Startup Commerce 149

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

Bob is heavily focused on ROI (and team/product). Can you raise $750K - $1M with no future investments planned? And I’m really wondering about that. I’m a regular reader/listener of the Frank Peters Show that talks about Angel Investing. See investment criteria #1 from TCA.

Invest 205

Invest Angel Tech Coast Angels Pasadena Angels 205

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2014

I have been saying privately for years now that I believe online video will evolve into fragmented distribution (my next online video post) and vertical production. They have production facilities in Mexico where they have been creating lower-cost video for traditional TV for many years and they pivoted this facility to producing for YouTube.

Invest 291

Invest Content Media Networking 291

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

In the past year, it’s seen one of the most profitable venture-backed exits of any tech ecosystem (with the $4 billion sale of Honey to PayPal) and investors are minting billion-dollar companies in the region at a torrid pace. How much is Upfront focused on investing in the local LA ecosystem versus less geographically focused? .

Los Angeles 277

Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Indecisive prospects diffuse a startup''s focus and slow down its sales velocity. The first step to increasing your company''s sales velocity is to eliminate the word “Pilot” from your salespeople''s lexicon. product, geography, customer segment, etc.). More Than Syntax. Maybe” is much worse than a timely “No.”

Sales 215

Sales Outsource Development Metrics Resource 215

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

for each sale. It'll help the company invest in marketing, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman says: “We have demonstrated our ability to make improvements that directly translate into more sales for our sellers, as evidenced by record sales per seller in 2021. Starting on April 11th, fees will rise from 5% to 6.5%

Sales 153

Sales Startup Activity Email 153

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 29, 2021

The company was founded seven years ago by CEO Jeff Applebaum, but a focus on providing healthy QSR brands and going after the $325 billion food delivery space came about three years ago. Our technology and Salted Analytics product helps us grow at the rate we want to and still maintain customer experience,” Applebaum said.

Funding 186

Funding Los Angeles Invest Examples 186

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. From these meetings you can really tell the leaders that care deeply about their customers and those the look down on them. We were talking about raising money from LPs.

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

InfoChachkie

JUNE 30, 2014

Entrepreneur and noted investor Brad Feld unwittingly echoed Franks approach to marketing when, during a discussion with me , he declared, " …companies should… focus on building amazing products. If you have amazing products, the marketing of those products is trivial. Don’t tell me what you are, just be it and show me.”.

Marketing 193

Marketing Software Review Product Social Media 193

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2016

Entrepreneurs who are looking to attract investors need to develop and pitch a plan -- preferably written -- that answers every potential investor question about your startup before it is asked. Investors want to hear about customers with money who have a painful problem that you can solve now.

Invest 108

Invest Startup Slides Equity 108

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Companies sometime run out of cash in the midst of their increasing success, and often find that sources of loans or investment are not freely flowing at the moment of need. Competitors, seeing a successful development of a niche, flock into the competitive void with products or services built with a fresh view of the current environment.

Pricing 156

Pricing Invest Equity Entrepreneur 156

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 28, 2015

One of the reasons I know way more about online sales taxes than I ever thought I would is due to Rincon Venture Partners’ investment in TaxJar , one of the leaders in this emerging space. Almost every online seller will have a sales tax deadline this upcoming January. Your Sales Tax Compliance Checkup.

Sales 100

Sales Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

That great productivity drain that we somehow all buy into. about their marathon 4-hour sessions to get to zero inbox or somebody else claiming email bankruptcy ( definition if you don’t know it already ). Here’s the thing: I actually do care about responding to people. ” Brilliant! . ” Brilliant!

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314