Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

Many startups fail before reaching that magic “cash-flow positive” position they have been striving for, despite seemingly reasonable financial projections. Always use a break-even analysis to measure what volume and price are required to offset total costs. A startup must ensure that the payments are collected per agreed terms.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Summary Pricing 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entree for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. Yet you may not be so sure where to start, and how to put it all together. You need a good cook, good marketing, and first-class service.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for every startup to assess the metrics, technology, and platforms they’re using to manage the business. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Custom 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Here is my selection of ten key metrics that every six-sigma joint like GE tracks without thinking, but too many small businesses only monitor haphazardly, if at all: Sales revenue.

Metrics 106

Metrics Startup Sales Statistics 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected.

Custom 92

Custom Customer Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. This is the first business process that every startup needs, that I wouldn’t expect to find for a hobby. Managing to specific goals, priorities, and a plan. Solution development and delivery.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. Today you have funders focused exclusively on “Day 0” startups or ones that aren’t even created yet. By definition?—?I’m two founders in a garage?—?(HP

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. If you are one of the many entrepreneurs who aspire to get beyond the “art of the start,” there are some proven principles to follow. Very few startups are cash-rich enough to self-finance aggressive second-stage growth.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2022

No business or startup wants to be the next Myspace, or even the next RIM (BlackBerry), where changes in the marketplace were subtle. For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box.

eBook 111

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

Good examples of startup focus before success include Google with their search engine, Facebook with friends networking, and Apple with personal computers. For larger and mature companies, the hard part seems to be giving up the familiar space that isn’t working so well anymore, so that you can focus on a new segment or opportunity.

Startup 154

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

It’s important to define your growth strategy, document it, communicate it to your team, and align metrics and employee rewards to target goals. In most companies, maintaining momentum requires the right strategic partners and acquisitions, in lieu of short-term price adjustments and special sales.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. If you are one of the many entrepreneurs who aspire to get beyond the “art of the start,” there are some proven principles to follow. Very few startups are cash-rich enough to self-finance aggressive second-stage growth.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees. Incentives should be a combination of metrics and recognition to highlight results. Today is the time to start down that road.

Custom 147

Custom Customer Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

When sales fall off, you need to dig deep for the “why,” rather than just assuming the price needs to go down. It may be time to start your own home delivery service, or subscription offering, or time to acquire a struggling competitor to scale your business. Establish and evaluate metrics at multiple levels.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Custom 162

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

At the highest level, startups must remember what Jim Barksdale of Netscape and FedEx famously said, “The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing.” Then it’s time to speed up with a set of ambitious initiatives, and finally going all out to engage all the constituents in enduring change. Realign all elements of the plan.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

Starting and running a business requires many different skills and interests, and not many of us have all of them. As you start, it’s important to take a hard look at your own drivers, matched against the critical success elements I see in every business, no matter what the domain. Start today and enjoy the learning.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Custom Customer 133

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Startup Advice. As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Large companies can be strange sometimes. Sometimes it actually does.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. This is the first business process that every startup needs, that I wouldn’t expect to find for a hobby. Managing to specific goals, priorities, and a plan. Solution development and delivery.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Custom 121

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Most experts agree that the pace of business change is increasing , and all the business owners I know are struggling to keep up, much less surpass the wealth of global competitors now entering the market. Use test marketing to identify changes before scale-up. Put operational systems and metrics in place early.

Marketing 116

Marketing Resource Training Startup 116

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2015

By definition, every startup is predictably unpredictable, since new solutions have no proven track record, startups are usually building a new market, and the world around them is changing faster than ever. The market changes faster than your startup. The money runs out before revenues start.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Marketing Satisfaction 105

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

As a tech startup grows it needs to develop more process & management if it is to scale. Some objections are real and they end up becoming changes to your product, your service plan or your pricing / bundling. More experienced sales leaders seldom compete on price. It is tacit knowledge.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2013

It''s a line from an old movie "Field of Dreams" which is still leading to the demise of too many startups, led by entrepreneurs who really started their business to build an exciting new product or service. Of course, for a price, there are many marketing organizations and gurus willing to come to your aid.

Sales 105

Sales Startup Metrics Custom 105

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. If you are one of the many entrepreneurs who aspire to get beyond the “art of the start,” there are some proven principles to follow. Very few startups are cash-rich enough to self-finance aggressive second-stage growth.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

In addition to being a thought leader within the Lean Startup Movement , Steve is also a professor at Stanford and Berkley. And then they said one thing that most marketers go their whole career never hearing, 'Listen Steve, price is irrelevant, it is speed that matters.' The first thing I did was raise our prices.".

Marketing 271

Marketing Startup Sales Custom 271

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2019

With the advent of instant communication and social media, customer service starts at the first hint of interest by you, and never ends for repeat customers. For example, the days are gone when simply replacing a purchase or giving your money back was considered premium service. Technology enhances experience, not impedes it.

Custom 84

Custom Customer Company Companies 84

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

New product startups rightfully begin with a heads-down focus on creating the ultimate product – whether it’s a new technology, a new look and ease of use, or a new low-cost delivery approach. Customer centricity is far more than providing excellent customer service, although that’s a step in the right direction. Marty Zwilling.

Custom 90

Custom Customer Services Pricing 90

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Startup 115

Startup Resource Metrics Entrepreneur 115

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

I promised to do this post as a follow-up to the session to provide additional links and information. 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.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review CTO Hire CTO Coach Software Review 338

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

What is the definition of traction for a business startup today? According to most investors I know, traction is some clear evidence that the “dogs are eating the dog food” – usually meaning that you have at least one customer paying full price for your solution. Define metrics on customer feedback and user counts.

Tips 79

Tips Metrics Technical Review Custom 79

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

No business or startup wants to be the next Myspace, or even the next RIM (BlackBerry), where changes in the marketplace were subtle. For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 113

Startup Resource Metrics Entrepreneur 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2012

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entree for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. Yet you may not be so sure where to start, and how to put it all together. then you can start writing a recipe. Don’t stand still.

Startup 96

Startup Writing Metrics Marketing 96

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

For example, many investors I know tell me they look for business plans that allocate the largest portion of a requested investment to marketing, but most often see the top “ use of funds ” to be further product or service development. Follow up and follow through with existing customers.

Marketing 133

Marketing Custom Customer Outsource Development 133

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. If you are one of the many entrepreneurs who aspire to get beyond the “art of the start,” there are some proven principles to follow. Very few startups are cash-rich enough to self-finance aggressive second-stage growth.

Startup 56

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 56

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Custom 129