Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

They don’t realize that these are still rare, require a large risk, and may not be the best way to keep up with change in the market. As an alternative, I usually recommend more incremental innovation , derived from recognized market changes, done on a regular basis, without the big-bang expectation.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Metrics Resource Software Review 101

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

As a business consultant and angel investor, I often ask for your own assessment of marketing ROI , or customer acquisition cost (CAC). Everhart distills his leadership insights from many decades in one of the largest business-to-business marketing agencies, working with companies across the country.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Acquisition Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

Exactly what is that customer experience that every modern marketer is talking about, and how do you measure it? Show how production workflow software expands customer reach, streamlines processes and reduce costs, rather than merely introducing the latest technology. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.”

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Marketing 85

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

If you are the hot-shot technical innovator that invented your solution, make sure you have an equally adept business and marketing expert to complement your skills. “If Pivot early, as required, to tune your features and marketing to meet the market and technical realities. The market is unpredictable and changes fast.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

socalTECH

JULY 10, 2017

Tim Grace , who co-founded San Diego-based PointPredictive with Frank McKenna and Joe Jackson, is a startup veteran, who sold BasePoint Analytics to CoreLogic in 2009, and is a former executive from HNC Software. We talked with Tim about how they're now applying this to a new market. What is PointPredictive?

Artificial Inteligence 124

Artificial Inteligence Software Review San Diego .Net 124

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

get the attention of the market they choose. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. The list goes on and on.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

Startups in a world of massive markets can be confusing. The law of large numbers, platforms that can make your company blow up unexpectedly and the trendy nature of tech markets can be deceiving. This is why I loved Brad Feld’s recent post about the “ illusion of product / market fit.” Not vanity metrics.

Product 150

Product Startup Metrics Technical Review 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

It's the same as when I've created financial models and then have it reviewed by a hard-core CFO, sophisticated investor or similar kind of expert. And in the case of defining mobile/web/software, there is even more variability in terms of form and format. I'm never trying to embarrass someone. I know how it feels.

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2020

I second his list of top innovation challenges and strategies to capitalize on untapped global startup opportunities: Create new markets rather than disrupt existing ones. Design the full stack, not just a new software element. With a singular focus on building unicorns, very rapid growth has been a key metric.

Ideas 124

Ideas Venture Capital Software Review Technical Review 124

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

He came to work in our offices at Upfront Ventures as an EIR and immediately began building software to improve how storage was picked up, photographed, scanned and routed to a warehouse. What sized team can I afford in order to sell, market & provide service to these customers? How profitable is my product or service?

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

9 Reasons Why Many Smart People Go Nowhere - Life Beyond Code , March 29, 2010 You would have met many smart people who live a mediocre life. It’s the old – 5% of massive market gives us a big number. Employed with a side of startup - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , March 8, 2010 Advice on how to balance the two.

Startup 150

Startup Software Review Competition SoCal 150

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

Most often at the earliest point in the life of a startup, the dominant need is certainly to produce product to get something in the market, get funding, etc. I provided a whole set of questions that I go through with founders before Startup Software Development – Do Your Homework Before You Develop Anything. What options do we have?

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

get the attention of the market they choose. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. The list goes on and on.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2018

For our interview this morning, we caught up with Scot Lawrie , the President and technical Co-founder of Los Angeles-based Coverfly (www.coverfly.com), and John Rhodes , Coverfly's head of Marketing and Business Development, to learn a bit more about the early stage, bootstrapped startup focused on Hollywood script writers. What is Coverfly?

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Hollywood Platform Competition 100

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Los Angeles-based Signal Sciences (www.signalsciences.com), which develops web application firewall software, just inked a big, $35M series C funding round a few weeks ago, and now has plans to dramatically expand its hiring in Los Angeles. Were really focused on funding go-to-market and scaling out our marketing efforts.

Startup 113

Startup Funding Technical Review Software Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 23, 2018

Luckily, I had always been a “hands-on” professional, and I had learned the pragmatics of people leadership, marketing, management tools, and funding. Simply defining yourself as a marketing specialist, designer, or project leader minimizes the stigma of the consultant role. Adopt a project-based revenue model with metrics.

Social Media 56

Social Media Software Review Customer Custom 56

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

Conventional Wisdom dictated that the proliferation of unauthorized recordings would supplant the market for concert tickets and commercial releases. Old School Software Distribution Is Doomed. On December 10th, 1993, a small group of software developers in Shreveport, Louisiana changed the software world.

Entrepreneur 230

Entrepreneur Software Review Allegis Metrics 230

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

As I like to say, “If you’re really on to an enormous idea then other people in the market are going to spot that and want to compete with you. If you have a market lead then raising capital and making investments now will help you as others enter the market. If you don’t, somebody else WILL!”

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

It says that selling an airplane ticket for $500 and getting paid a $5 fees by the airlines (1% gross margin) is not the same thing as selling $500 of software that you built (>90% gross margin). Market Size. Marketing with long payback is precisely what requires venture capital. MakeSpace provides physical storage.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Steve Reich

JUNE 11, 2012

MindBodyOnline is a terrifically succesful SaaS company, based in San Luis Obispo, that provides scheduling and transactional software for Yoga studios, hair salons, and spas. MBO is very metrics driven, and their shareholder reports are dense with detailed, disciplined reporting that remind you that Rick is former Naval officer.

Customer 97

Customer Custom Software Review SaaS 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

get the attention of the market they choose. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. The list goes on and on.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

It allows you to share private and confidential information about your company, and have a dialog with your investors, within a walled garden where you can put the documents you need for diligence. For investors, it gives them a dash board of key metrics, and ensures those investors stay in the loop. Who would find this most useful?

Southern California 243

Southern California Entrepreneur Software Review Yammer 243

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2017

get the attention of the market they choose. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. The list goes on and on.

Sites 59

Sites Startup Technical Review Oracle 59

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

It’s a very personal topic and I’d like to offer you a framework to decide for yourself, based on the following factors: How Long is it Taking to Raise Capital at Your Stage in the Market? Go hard and hope that the market will validate your innovation even if the price may be higher than the market may want to bear.

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2013

get the attention of the market they choose. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. The list goes on and on.

Startup 102

Startup Technical Review Oracle Entrepreneur 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2017

That fosters a lack of attention to new markets and new competitors, instead of an eagerness to learn and innovate. Some things need to be done whether we like them or not; for example, daily cash-flow analysis and business metrics. Make your business a continuous learning process. Experience without learning is wasted effort.

Software Review 57

Software Review Technical Review Startup Press 57

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

We have been using LinkedIn for both sourcing recruits and reviewing backgrounds for recruits. Mobile Internet Apple Facebook ► 2009 (32) ► December (3) Startup Software Developers Startup Software Development – Do Your Homework Be. Early Stage Marketing and Branding – Farida Fotouh.

Blogging 150

Blogging CTO Coach CTO Hire Southern California 150

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Once you build it, they will now ask you about the key metrics that they need proven in order to see if you really are a good investment. The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business. " Once you have the metrics defined, it focuses your effort. Review the code being built.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review CTO Hire CTO Coach Software Review 338

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

MediaScience, a market research company based in Austin, TX, tries to detect hidden attitudes among members of test panels by capturing their facial expressions, eye movements, heart rate, and other biometric characteristics. But if adults want to immerse themselves in the battle of opinions, there’s a new app on the market.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review News Social Media Startup 40

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

Given likely market changes, how will we design and build so that the systems can respond to marketplace changes? What existing systems will we leverage, what programming languages, software development methodologies, web application frameworks, revision control systems, etc.? What options do we have? How do we balance those options?

CTO Coach 231

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Develop 231

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Often board members themselves don’t do the work to say “what metrics would we like to see.” Any great board member should tell you, “please don’t create any performance metrics or materials that analyze the business that you’re not already creating for your own management’s use.” Sometimes they don’t even know.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

There are obvious reasons the industry has had less-than-desirable returns, including: massive over-funding of the sector, huge increases in inexperienced venture capitalists that took a decade to peter out, and the massive correction in the value of the public stock markets that closed many exit opportunities for half a decade.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. The collapse of the IPO market and dysfunctional math in the venture capital community has stacked the odds against you. Not that I blame you! Here’s why.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217