Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. Too much hesitation will kill any new venture, as markets move quickly and difficulties mount.

Writing 102

Writing Startup Entrepreneur Capital 102

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 such, the primary goal of your executive summary is to open the door to an in-person meeting. Entrepreneurs routinely seek my advice regarding their executive summaries.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2023

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. Too much hesitation will kill any new venture, as markets move quickly and difficulties mount.

Startup 142

Startup Capital Resource Research 142

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I know all of this because every VC knows this because we’ve all either funded companies that have marketing technology or we’ve seen a pitch with a company that does this. Your pitch deck should really be your best marketing tool Your pitch deck shouldn’t contain your deepest, darkest secrets and plans.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions. That student is Erin McCann who formerly worked in sales at Google, so she has some ground to stand on in her assertions. Specifically, 1.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

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

OCTOBER 17, 2019

Just as I was getting the swing of things the world shifted beneath my feet and the stock market went into a free fall and venture capital all but shut down for nearly a year. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 Jason was a creator and saw a market opportunity that others didn’t. Why does that matter?

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2020

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. Too much hesitation will kill any new venture, as markets move quickly and difficulties mount.

Startup 143

Startup Capital Resource Research 143

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. SEO marketing vs. social marketing. Of course it is super helpful if a VC can drop you in to important people for business development, recruiting, PR, sales and eventually M&A. Most VCs are book smart.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2013

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. What is the definition of a good business plan?

Sample 92

Sample Writing Startup Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

If you don’t have the time to write things down, or your writing skills leave something to be desired, don’t be afraid to get some help. No executive I know writes all his own contracts, but every smart one owns every one that is written for him, and understands every element.

Startup 109

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2012

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. What is the definition of a good business plan?

Sample 96

Sample Writing Summary Startup 96

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. One of them is profitability. If you don’t, somebody else WILL!”

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

When you raise money from investors you produce information that you are told they want and care about: A fund-raising deck that articulates your company strategy, plans, team, market, competitors and so forth. For starters you have to realize that fund-raising is a sales process. and then asking to take a brochure home with you.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2010

I guess let’s file this under sales & marketing advice. Since it’s already written (and since I promised not to republish on my blog other than a summary) if you’re interested please have a read over there. Summary notes and then I’ll extend: Should you blog? And don’t blog drunk.

Blogging 286

Blogging Startup Writing Summary 286

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on. An obvious example would be in sales. You’re also learning directly about the skills of your sales staff by observing them in action.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2010

This is sad, since “how to write a business plan” is a frequent topic found in every business journal, and a common title in the business section of every book store. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually understand it yourself. What is the definition of a good business plan?

Startup 91

Startup Funding Sample Writing 91

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

I must admit I discuss this very frequently with portfolio companies but hadn’t thought to write about it. As the desk-based Internet emerged it was initially sold through telecom carriers (after players like AOL and EarthLink innovated the market). I need to give credit for the topic to PR Malloy who Tweeted me this question.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2018

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. Too much hesitation will kill any new venture, as markets move quickly and difficulties mount.

Startup 94

Startup Capital Resource Research 94

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

I wrote this conundrum and the need to take charge of how the market define your skills in my much-read blog post on “ personal branding.” ” If you don’t create the message about yourself, the market will. And if you want to be a CEO one day you need the messaging to reflect that.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

I shifted my thinking a few years ago after I read Tim Ferris’s book The Four Hour Workweek (link is to a short summary I wrote). You’re writing a freaking blog post! I never get grumpy that people write. If you do randomly write me I have advice. Marketing. I think so. [I “But WAIT !!!

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. This does not mean you shouldn’t solve big, complex problems or write complex code. They are incredibly smart and a huge command of details of complex markets and systems.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Press Venture Capital 370

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I wrote the summary notes in this blog post. I talked about this in the TWiVC video but I didn’t do a good enough job of writing it up in the summary notes in the post. Something like, &# I was thinking about jumping into the demo first before discussing the market. How big is the market? Bijan is right.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Or read the quick, informative summary below the image! Here’s a summary of our interview. Big thank you to Darius Vasefi , of EyeOnJewels for the write up. o Everything is for sale but it’s the price that moves the timing. Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

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. It might be a VP of Sales, Marketing or Technology. The reality is the same. Tomorrow if possible.

Startup 294

Startup Press Course Writing 294

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

For extroverted people I recommend that entrepreneurs have an “executive summary&# slide up front that cuts to the chase. I usually say something like, “I know this market reasonably well so feel free to pick up the pace and drop from 50k feet to 5k feet. OK, I understand your market is big. Drain in quickly.

Slides 358

Slides Venture Capital Startup Summary 358

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2016

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. Too much hesitation will kill any new venture, as markets move quickly and difficulties mount.

Startup 68

Startup Capital Resource Entrepreneur 68

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

To be clear, I define a product specification as the technical definition of your product, to be used for development and testing purposes, with a quick business summary for context. Quantify the market opportunity in business terms. Include marketing, sales, and customer rollout plans. You need both to survive.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Due to competitive markets we ended up with a pretty good term sheet until we needed to raise money in April 2001 and then we got completely screwed. I’m not sure I really even need to write this at length because Nivi absolutely nailed the topic in his article “ The Option Pool Shuffle.&#.

Venture Capital 405

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Funding 405

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

You cannot be just a biz dev type, salesperson, marketing genius or whatever and divorce yourself from product. Market validation – This one is optional but important. At an angel round you can get away with no market validation. The key to getting money is that the people writing the check trust you.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

In the original version of his post, Andy writes. It’s a market, after all. Nothing was more heart warming than the photo of David Karp hugging Bijan Sabet after the sale to Yahoo! And I’ll know in 18 months whether we have product / market fit. In Summary. They see how hard she does her job.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

They know what is “market&# for your recruits in terms of base, bonus & stock options. For one, due to the way liquidation preference work sometimes they have “flat spots&# which means that they might earn the exact same amount from a $40 million sale as they would from a $50 million sale. PR firms are the same.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

As I naturally get asked all the time why we invested in Company A or Company B, I thought I’d just put forth my thesis in writing. It isn’t written by them or any marketing department – so please take it for what it is. Optimization also helps you optimize ad sales if you’re doing pure advertising.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales. Just write me). There’s no cost. 10a – 12p: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales. Just write me). There’s no cost. 10a – 12p: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales. Just write me). There’s no cost. 10a – 12p: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales. Just write me). There’s no cost. 10a - 12p: CEOFlow working session.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40