TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

We’ve heard this from startup founders, product managers, development team leads, CTOs, and others who see their product gaining traction, but simultaneously see performance falling off a cliff. User experience is suffering and it’s the worst possible time with the product taking off. So, why does this happen?

Web 200

Web Technical Advisors Framework Technical Review 200

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Maybe those references to TFA sound like bragging, or he thinks “passion for numbers” sounds silly. If having an LLM write the whole blurb seems like too much, we could also fill our empty textbox with a writing prompt: I know writing about yourself can be tough. Think about text boxes that have stymied you in the past.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence TechEmpower Tips 295

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

For the rest of us, we need a business plan, as well as a product plan. Some of you may be convinced that your product specification communicates the product message even better than a business plan, so why be redundant? Professional investors and even customers invest in people, rather than just a product.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. If you care about accessing customers, reaching an audience, communicating your vision, influencing people in your industry, marketing your services or just plain engaging in a dialog with others in your industry a blog is a great way to achieve this.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

We all know about AngelGate by now. Here’s what you need to know… As a funny coincidence I happend to have written about the topic of collusion 3 weeks prior to the fateful dinner. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2021

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking to Samir Kaji on the Venture Unlocked podcast about a wide range of topics that we as venture capitalists think about everyday, including: How to build a generational firm?—?retaining And again, just like in enterprise sales, this is all about differentiation ?—?what Let me explain.

Sales 375

Sales Startup Invest Funding 375

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Per Chris, "The top 10 most referenced companies account for the 46% of all startup references on AngelList. I promise I will never Tweet about funny one-liners or that killer burrito I just ate. . The post The Perfect Pithy And Productive Investor Pitch appeared first on John Greathouse.' Share and Enjoy.

Product 208

Product Yammer Technical Review Google 208

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 29, 2022

Authors Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Oglivie have created a framework for creation of a new product or service – one worth spending at least a cycle of time for review. Can we rapid prototype this idea into a product and try it out on potential customers? Email readers, continue here…] Let’s refer to this as managerial ideation.

Design 156

Design Framework Ideas Custom 156

Berkonomics

MARCH 19, 2020

Who would have thought about COVID 19 and public’s panic responses? How do you avoid being sideswiped by the new product you never saw coming, or by the “black swan” event no-one ever thought of that might threaten your business? And how about “Contagion” and the many books and movies about pandemics?

Email 156

Email Report Technology Custom 156

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2015

I often speak about co-founder fighting and how this ends in lawsuits but this has become much more prevalent. He regretted the decision and sued the company and the board – it’s still not totally clear to me what he was suing about. He signed a release and remained on the board. He sued anyways. It was a pure shake down.

Startup 150

Startup IP Writing Ideas 150

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2017

Your first customers for any product or service form your reference base, the important group of allies that your marketing and sales people rely upon when attempting to create buzz and make a mass market for a new product. Send flowers to the staff in the department using the product for the first time if appropriate.

Custom 243

Custom Customer Resource Sales 243

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Startup 150

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2023

More importantly, he talks about the actions required to build a network of contacts at the highest level. You need something specific from the other person – a loan, or product order, or help solving a problem. Friends to the end talk about what’s important to them and aren’t afraid to discuss private matters. Marty Zwilling

Startup 127

Startup Guide Networking Help 127

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

” Musk has talked about producing an all-electric pickup truck for years now. Musk mentioned on Twitter the desire to produce a pickup truck way back in April 2017, before the first Model 3 sedans had been handed over to customers and the CEO had entered production hell. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2019.

SpaceX 186

SpaceX Los Angeles Ideas Angel 186

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 30, 2021

In aviation circles, we read in our pilot magazines about “Never again!” or “I learned about flying from that.” How about the entrepreneur -founder? What if the hardware manufacturer had serious problems with product quality on site? And these were emotional experiences to say the least. We ask ourselves “what if?”.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Training Invest Email 156

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2018

San Diego-based Wildfire Systems , led by startup veteran Jordan Glazier , has developed software which product referrals and automatically transform them into trackable links across email, text messaging, chat, and social messaging. Those references drive trillions of dollars of commerce. Wildlink is backed by Mucker Capital.

San Diego 159

San Diego Social Media Commerce Snapchat 159

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2013

I’ve written a lot about recruiting and hiring at startups including my controversial post on whom not to hire and my rapid response to the flame war. I’ve also written extensively on sales and on which sales execs to hire and how to think about the different kinds of sales leaders. Not always, of course.

Sales 375

Sales Technical Review Organization Case Study 375

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

do but for video production,” Xu said to TechCrunch, referring to two of the top AI content helpers of today. We’ve seen how much text-to-image can do, and I expect text-to-video to bring about even greater disruption when it’s ready,” said Xu. “We are doing what Jasper and Copy.ai

Generative AI 182

Generative AI Marketing Artificial Inteligence Template 182

Berkonomics

JULY 22, 2021

First a reminder about why we hire: New hires can shore up the weak areas of a business in ways existing employees cannot – if hiring is done to fill true needs. Hiring is one of your most important duties, a way to increase the quality and productivity of your company’s staff. How about the bottom ten percent rule?

Coach 156

Coach Organization Course Email 156

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

I called an (ex) LP to tell him about her and my goals for her. Leadership is about recognizing your next generation of talent and helping lift them up. Or, maybe it’s just about getting out of the way and watching what they can achieve. Wait, What About Yves? She’s empathetic and brings great humor to her work as well.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2015

I believe it is what drives my huge bursts of creativity and productivity that what Stephen Covey called “The Urgency Addiction.” I sat down with Kati Morton (who does YouTube videos on mental health) to talk about ADD. Luckily I don’t have hyperactivity but that makes me less able to talk about that.

Startup 150

Startup Writing Class Orange County 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

After years mentoring young aspiring entrepreneurs , I am now convinced that getting along and becoming more productive with other people is a skill that any professional can learn, or accomplish via a dedicated strategy. Think about how to engage your colleague in problem-solving, which is inherently collaborative instead of combative.

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Startup Examples Satisfaction Mentor 114

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 5, 2015

A recurring entrepreneurial challenge is to determine the optimal price of a new product, especially absent a directly competitive alternative. Yet, the value of your solution will vary by customer, based on the utility each derives from your product. Anecdotally, it seems that SaaS products often behave as Giffen goods.

Pricing 100

Pricing Product Startup Custom 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2013

Workships, according to workplace expert Dr. Jan Yager, refers to those workplace relationships that haven’t yet developed into full-blown friendships, but are closer than mere acquaintances. Too many relationships never advance beyond this stage, resulting in poor communication, no cooperation, low trust, and low shared productivity.

Startup 99

Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Competition 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2022

Willingness in analysis, vision, and numbers to think about the future. Every business strategy should still be based first on a long-term business vision and goal – referred to by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their textbook “ Built to Last ” as the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). Initiating and pacing the implementation process.

Organization 118

Organization Course Patents Entrepreneur 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2023

Up-sell related products or cross endorsement. If your customers would benefit by having products from both companies, you might negotiate the opportunity to include the other’s product as an add-on. Think about the future. The industry leader arrogance has not yet set in.

Startup 105

Startup Outsource Competition Entrepreneur 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2021

This is what we refer to when we say “thinking outside the box”. Innovation is more about psychology than intellect. Productive group activity. A “downer” in a group takes the whole group down, whereas a fun person can bring the whole group to a more productive and innovative plane. Laughing tends to remove inhibitions.

Ideas 161

Ideas Study Writing Activity 161

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 2, 2022

High-technology product startups, without customers, don’t make a business. Today’s customer buying dynamics are all about “user experience,” according to Brian Solis, in his classic book “ What’s the Future of Business? ”. Learning how to craft and nurture great customer experiences around your product is critical.

Custom 122

Custom Customer Social Media Technical Review 122

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2019

For years, Los Angeles-based Soylent (www.soylent.com)--which makes all-in-one meal replacement drinks, bars, and other productsdanced around the origins of the name, which is tied to a dystopian 1973 science fiction film, Soylent Green , featuring Charlton Heston. How did you decide to finally embrace the interesting origins of your name?

Marketing 100

Marketing Startup Social Media Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

More importantly, he talks about the actions required to build a network of contacts at the highest level. You need something specific from the other person – a loan, or product order, or help solving a problem. Friends to the end talk about what’s important to them and aren’t afraid to discuss private matters.

Startup 150

Startup Guide Help Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2013

In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. For example, one CEO I know gave away his software product to the first ten customers. So how do you go about proving the business model? Get a reference customer.

Product 94

Product Pricing Custom Customer 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2020

In our personal lives we’re having to change our routines and figure out how to remain productive?—?often I find myself struggling to fully relax at bedtime, with my mind spinning about the world that lies ahead and the infinite amount of weekly decisions I’m having to process. What do we eat? Where do we shop? What is safe?

Demand 215

Demand Guide Custom Customer 215

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

Many writers have outlined the critical success factors for product companies, like sell every unit at a profit, patent the design, and continuous product improvement. The distinction between product companies and services companies is easy to see. The distinction between product companies and services companies is easy to see.

Product 91

Product Services Satisfaction Patents 91

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Develop 70

Develop Development Product Startup 70

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2013

In my first enterprise software company we developed a methodology for sales that we called PUCCKA , which I wrote about previously. This post is 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. It the second rule of sales, “Why Buy Me?”

Sales 336

Sales Startup Competition Custom 336

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

https://medium.com/media/cc969482e7abf6b75d3c0958c8ee409d/href I moved to Los Angeles in 2007 and as a VC who had built his career as a programmer, database designer, program manager, CEO then VP Products at Salesforce, I wanted to build a portfolio of software investments. Wasn’t Jonah worried about “platform risks?”

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Buzzfeed Media Content News 210

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2013

This post is about the “P” or pain. The point of PUCCKA was to develop a common methodology to make sure our whole team approaches sales with the same mindset and to give us a language to talk with each other about our prospects, as in, “have you identified your customers pain point yet?”. That is still “pain.”

Sales 367

Sales Slides Startup Custom 367