Berkonomics

JULY 10, 2014

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up premoney valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. Why fight about valuation, or disappoint the founder at the outset?

Startup 179

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Venture Capital 179

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

I am fond of quoting that about 70% of my investment decision of an early-stage company is the team. And you need to be careful about giving up control to cofounders as much as VCs. I don’t think VCs care as much about co-founders & economics as people think. Be careful about board construction.

Startup 388

Startup Slides Outsource Development Sales 388

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. Outsourcing any of these critical roles is very expensive, and usually not very effective.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 123

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

The era of VCs investing in successful consumer Internet startups such as eBay led to a belief system that seemed to permeate many enterprise software startups that hiring sales or implementation people was a bad thing. But the “no sales people” mantra isn’t what I’m here to take on. I believe it’s flawed.

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

It’s always tempting to think that more product variations will satisfy more customers and lead to new sales. Unit costs are important, but don’t forget about the cash flow hit, extra storage costs, and the probability of obsolete inventory due to necessary updates or pivots. Outsourcing services that could be done in-house.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

Ready to scale is when you have a proven product and a proven business model, about to expand to new geographies and markets. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Smart entrepreneurs never outsource their core competency, and never rely on intellectual property they don’t own.

Startup 154

Startup Outsource Ideas Research 154

socalTECH

MARCH 5, 2014

You have a track record in infrastructure--can you talk about that, and why you decided to tackle the cloud? Companies were saying--we want to outsource these kinds of things, because they''re not our core competency. There are lots of folks thinking about this market. That''s the kind of decisions we are seeing every day.

Cloud Computing 217

Cloud Computing Outsource Development Outsource Startup 217

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 13, 2009

Sales – Many publishers, including Grit, encouraged newspaper boys to create new routes and expand existing ones by aggressively selling subscriptions to non-subscribers. This pay-per-newspaper formula directly rewarded the children’s sales efforts and sparked a life-long entrepreneurial fire in generations of newspaper boys.

Web 2.0 222

Web 2.0 Web Sales Outsource Development 222

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2018

As part of the lead in to the conference, and as a part of our sponsor relationship with the conference, we're running a series of interviews with speakers from the conference about their experience in the area of recurring revenues, customer service, and similar topics. We respond very quickly to all of our customers.

Customer 113

Customer Custom Services Conference 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

In my experience, there are good reasons for starting a business, and good ways to go about it in the new online world, but even entrepreneurs with good intentions often don’t have a clue on key principles to follow for this rapidly changing platform. Use the Internet to outsource staff. Generate revenue around the clock.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Case Study Software Review Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Every aspiring entrepreneur I know is talking about the fact that there are over 2,000 billionaires in the world today, and how their innovative idea could make them one of the next ones. Minimize one-time sales in your business model. Every new business has unexpected pivots and adjustments, and outsourcing is easier to manage.

Outsource Development 154

Outsource Development Social Media Software Review Customer 154

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2014

For those who haven''t heard of OneStop Internet, tell us about the business? We provide a turnkey, back end, managed service offering for brands and retailers on an outsourced basis. We are an option for brands who don''t want to build it themselves in-house, from soup to nuts, or don''t want to outsource to a single vendor.

Commerce 203

Commerce Venture Capital Internet Brands Startup 203

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Public relations at a startup is a sales process. For example, if you indicate that you will generate $1 million in sales and actually deliver $750,000, you will be viewed as having failed. Grant Exclusivity.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

I recently did a post for startups on understanding sales people. Often I’m asked by startup CEO’s about how to best build an engineering team. They care about the quality of what is build more than they care about end customers. In fact, they are passionate about automating testing overall.

CTO Hire 400

CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

socalTECH

APRIL 30, 2018

The business model, is people use this to do better marketing and sales targeting when they sell their own products. For example, if I'm a competitor to the Citrix Virtual Desktop software, from Vmware, I might want to know all of the companies who are using Citrix, so I can talk to them about how my products are better, and meet their needs.

Santa Barbara 113

Santa Barbara High Tech Outsource Development Startup 113

Tech Coast Venture Network

APRIL 21, 2010

In this way you don’t have to worry about debt as you try and get your business off the ground; you can focus on revenue increasing tasks. Don’t even think about getting money from others before you manage sale number one. Start on your own, and outsource later. Global Human Resources Outsourcing.

Outsource 100

Outsource Tips Venture Capital Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. Outsourcing any of these critical roles is very expensive, and usually not very effective.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

socalTECH

MAY 7, 2012

Fine Art America handles all of the details of fulfilling sales for images. The company's founder and CEO is Sean Broihier , who told us all about the site--and also how. First of all, tell us what Fine Art America is all about? print, in about a month metal prints, and greeting cards. from photographers and artists.

Santa Monica 258

Santa Monica Pricing Sites Sales 258

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented. Public relations at a startup is a sales process.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. Outsourcing any of these critical roles is very expensive, and usually not very effective.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

Early in a services business there is usually no profits as the company reinvests in hiring people to grow, but by $20 million in sales the company should at least be pulling in 10% profits (if not more) depending on how much is reinvested. Who are your competitors – how much do they charge?&#. It’s pure irony.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 13, 2013

Lack of understanding about your business costs is one of the biggest rookie mistakes—and, if you are a new entrepreneur, heading up a new venture, or attacking a new marketplace, you are indeed a rookie. Your sales forecast is an essential variable for cash and profit planning. Tell us about it in comments below.

Outsource Development 91

Outsource Development Outsource Startup Marketing 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work. The sales professional. A sales fanatic on the founder team helps to contain that risk. Outsourcing any of these critical roles is very expensive, and usually not very effective.

Technical Advisors 98

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 98

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 26, 2013

Public relations at a startup is a sales process. Moderate persistent can be purchased, but passion can never be outsourced. I promise I will never Tweet about that killer burrito I just ate. Creating marketing awareness requires passion and persistence, two attributes that are in short supply at most PR firms. Share and Enjoy.

Marketing 247

Marketing Entrepreneur Journal Media 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2019

In my experience, there are good reasons for starting a business, and good ways to go about it in the new online world, but even entrepreneurs with good intentions often don’t have a clue on key principles to follow for this rapidly changing platform. Use the Internet to outsource staff. Generate revenue around the clock.

Technical Review 97

Technical Review Case Study Software Review Startup 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2014

You can now skip the mandatory office space rental, with secretary and bookkeeping staff, or outsourcing. Social media facilitates marketing and sales. Today, productivity is way up, you can do most anything yourself, and you can outsource to contractors with more skill and less cost. Isn’t it time that you joined the movement?

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media Commerce 104

socalTECH

APRIL 21, 2017

This business is all about big companies, CPGs and specialty manufacturers, who are hoping to conquer direct selling through subscriptions. If you think about it today, everyone is selling through Amazon, but Amazon keeps all of that customer information. It's all about the customer relationship, experience, and psychology.

Startup 145

Startup Product Customer Custom 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2016

In my experience, there are good reasons for starting a business, and good ways to go about it in the new online world, but even entrepreneurs with good intentions often don’t have a clue on key principles to follow for this rapidly changing platform. Use the Internet to outsource staff. Generate revenue around the clock.

Startup 107

Startup Technical Review Case Study Software Review 107

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 22, 2014

You have probably already absorbed many obvious caveats about setting up your own startup; don’t blow money you don’t have on fancy equipment or splash out on expensive rental space. But what about expenses you’re tempted to cut, but shouldn’t? Outsourcing can be an extremely cost-effective solution here.

Startup 97

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Sales 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2015

Ready to scale is when you have a proven product and a proven business model, about to expand to new geographies and markets. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Smart entrepreneurs never outsource their core competency, and never rely on intellectual property they don’t own.

Startup 103

Startup Outsource Invest Ideas 103

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

They outsource the critical negotiations and “trust their advisors to handle the details.&# We had the final terms of our agreement fairly well boxed in within a range of about 5-7% on price and within 30 days on move-in date. You can’t outsource this to a recruiter. We’re both principals in a sale.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Outsource 319

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

We created Dentistry.com as a destination for consumers, and a place where they can learn about dentistry, ask questions to dentists, interact with others, and find a dentist and book an appointment, all online. Talk a little bit about your startup-within-a-corporation, and how that came aboutand how independent are you able to be?

Startup 113

Startup CitySearch Outsource Development Organization 113

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

We thought we'd talk with Chris about what Jetpack is up to. Can you explain exactly what is different about your ads? Talk a bit about your team, and the story on how you got from Buzznet to Jetpack? At Jetpack, we don't outsource production, and we manage all of the software development within Jetpack.

Buzznet 100

Buzznet Outsource Development Design HTML 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2012

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Sales/Marketing.

Sales 97

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 97

Tech Coast Venture Network

MAY 15, 2011

This is not about paying lip-service to helping small companies — it’s about the genuine representation of their needs and interests in Washington D.C.” About TCVN. As these companies grew and matured, the agenda shifted from one focused on small and medium-sized businesses to one representing more established companies.

TCVN 113

TCVN Technology AeA Press 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2014

We sat down and spoke with Patrick about the business and its pivot. Tell us about what your business is nowadays? We started looking to see if we could use technology disrupt the agency business, for companies serving the performance marketing area, the cost-per-sale area. Talk about those operations in Guatemala?

Media 162

Media Advertising Startup Platform 162

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

Ready to scale is when you have a proven product and a proven business model, about to expand to new geographies and markets. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimize leverage. Smart entrepreneurs never outsource their core competency, and never rely on intellectual property they don’t own.

Tips 111

Tips Startup Outsource Ideas 111