Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

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. Join a startup incubator. It always reduces risk to plan your business first.

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Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 4, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Advice. Many entrepreneurs who start technology companies are product people, technologists or savvy business people who worked previously for a larger company. Most start-up entrepreneurs have little or no sales experience. I know I didn’t. To the contrary.

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Sales Startup Platform Tips 319

Berkonomics

MARCH 24, 2016

Dave’s note: This week we welcome guest author, David Friedman, to tell us about his favorite startup CEO, and his take after interviewing her – asking for her list of attributes for startup success. . I met Kirsten Mangers several years ago after she successfully sold her startup, Webvisible. By David Friedman.

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Startup Ideas Incubator Mentor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2022

The way to start is with a sample financial model, available from many sources on the Internet, such as over 200 downloadable free from the Corporate Finance Institute website. For maximum value with the least effort, focus on only the “what ifs” that are the highest priority in your mind for your own startup. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Pricing Sample Customer 147

socalTECH

JUNE 1, 2021

Playa Vista-based iLife, a startup which is developing tools to help life insurance agents set up their own, branded "digital insurance agency", has raised $4M in a seed funding round, according to the company. The company says it has reduced the thousands of dollars typically required to start an insurance agency, to only $99.

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Sales Seed Funding Startup Tool 113

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series called “ Start-up Lessons.&#. I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. I paid up for the diploma but can’t say that I saw better results. So back to MBAs.

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Startup Venture Capital Study Course 337

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group said it will jointly develop an electric vehicle platform with Los Angeles-based startup Canoo, the latest startup tapped by the automaker as part of an $87 billion push to invest in electrification and other future technologies. Hyundai Motor Group has committed to invest $87 billion over the next five years.

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Startup Develop Development Platform 310

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Los Angeles-based electronic products retailer Newegg said on Monday that it is kicking off its Black Friday deals today, through midnight on Cyber Monday a further indication of how the holiday shopping season has blurred into a continuous stream of promotions that now start, in many cases, in October. READ MORE>>.

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NewEgg Sales Startup Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

JULY 11, 2018

Los Angeles-based electronics e-commerce site NewEgg said today that it is kicking off its annual, "FantasTech" sale on July 16th--a counter to the big Amazon Prime Day sale on the same day. According toNewegg, it will offer up a four-day sale on a wide range of the "latest and greatest" tech products.

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NewEgg Sales Startup Commerce 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

As a business advisor, I meet many business professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs who are anxious to be their own boss , or have an innovative idea to start or acquire a new business. Also, initiating a startup is quite different from taking over a thriving business, where the focus is on repeatable processes and quarterly profits.

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Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Lessons. I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. Our product releases took longer to ship than we had hoped. Our sales forecasts were revised downward – many times. It didn’t add up to me. We developed deep kinship.

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Startup Press Customer Custom 331

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

This is part of a series on sales & marketing. I previously covered how early phase sales teams should be “evangelical&# and consultative in nature. As a tech startup grows it needs to develop more process & management if it is to scale. More experienced sales leaders seldom compete on price.

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Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Yet every business requires revenue and volumes, as certainly as it requires a product to sell. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

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Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. Specifically what is often not in the DNA of founders are sales skills. The result is a lack of knowledge of the process and of sales people themselves. My first startup was no different. Sales people: Are motivated by cash.

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Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2013

One of the questions I’m most often asked by CEOs is how to hire sales people. 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. Call high, and get passed down or; B. It’s too strategic.

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Sales Technical Review Organization Case Study 375

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

Launching and growing a startup is one of the biggest missions an entrepreneur can undertake. But while competition remains fierce, the advancement and accessibility of smart solutions are making it easy than ever for startups to find their feet. VPN Startup tool: VPN Price: Free Hide.me While Hide.me

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Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

This is part of my series on Startup Advice. I love working with Aussies because their outlook on life seems very similar to what I grew up with in California. I’d like to talk about Crocodile Salesmen in 3 scenarios: 1) when YOU are selling (or someone on your team), 2) when you are trying to recruit a sales person.

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Sales Startup Venture Capital Customer 314

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

When you see startups like SpaceX and Pinterest grow from a low valuation to a billion dollars in just a few years, it’s easy to assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, you can get there as well. Of course, that means a mindset willing to give up much more equity, and taking on a whole new level of risk.

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Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2013

Every sales organization with more than a handful of reps or that is across multiple offices or time zones would benefit from having a sales methodology. But the number one reason sales stall when customers see the value in what you do is because they often don’t have a reason to buy NOW. The USP solves the, “Why Buy Me?”

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Sales Customer Custom Examples 328

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

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 8, 2013

I met fellow hustler Brian Curliss about 2 years ago at a Startup Weekend event that I was covering. It came as no surprise whatsoever when I found out that his new company MailLift was called up to the big leagues to join the 500 Startups accelerator. So what is so special about 500 Startups you ask?

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Startup CTO Coach Mentor Class 86

Berkonomics

JANUARY 12, 2023

Management undertakes a simple exercise of calculating the increased profitability of shutting down all R&D, sales and subordinate operations, and universally notes with shock the high net profit that results – from shutting down all operations except customer service to recurring customers (as in software support operations.).

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Sales Customer Custom SaaS 296

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The sales professional.

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Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!”

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Women have made great inroads into the tech world in recent years, but there remains a long way to go before we reach a truly equitable state of affairs in workforce numbers, remuneration and product development. But originally it started as a much shorter (six-week) program, was all in-person and cost $5,000.

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Mentor Training Startup Course 297

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. The cost of any new product these days must include education and rollout marketing, perhaps equal or greater than the development costs.

Product 141

Product Services Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 141

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2013

In my first enterprise software company we developed a methodology for sales that we called PUCCKA. Having a methodology instead of just going on random sales visits helped force a bit of rigor and honesty amongst team members about how well or not we thought we were doing. The best sales meetings are discussions. Click here.

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Sales Slides Startup Customer 367

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Because I’ve asked more than 100 VCs similar questions I start to notice patterns in thinking.

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Startup Framework CTO Coach Sales 407

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

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Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Each of these can go astray as follows: Your product or service hits unexpected snags.

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Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2023

Thus the subscription model (low fixed monthly payments), has become the norm for new products and services. If you are looking to start a new business in any domain, it’s definitely worth your time to check your fit for one of these models: Membership website model. Private club model. Front-of-the-line model. Surprise box model.

Startup 117

Startup Pricing Customer Custom 117

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. I can think of several related aspects of starting and running a business where follow-up, or lack of it, can make or break your startup. They expect prompt formal follow-up to questions.

Activity 133

Activity Startup Ideas Technical Review 133

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2014

The company--which originally started in Austria--set up shop here two years ago to further expand its footprint in the US, and most recently hired away the entire Los Angeles marketing team of crosstown CRM software developer Nimble. We''re now opening up in six markets. It took us many years to get to where we are.

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Sales Startup Software Customer 229

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

It also handles the back end as well by automating the posting, sale and shipment of unsold inventory while offering immediate payment to creditworthy sellers. Over the past decade, they saw the differences in relationships as brands began to start more online. Other options can be not to sell the goods online or in a certain country.

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Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2013

To bring that ability to name your own price on products, Los Angeles-based Greentoe (www.greentoe.com) recently launched, allowing consumers to name their own price to retailers of everything from electronics to baby products. We caught up with CEO and Co-founder Joe Marrapodi to hear more. What is Greentoe?

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Pricing Product Help Sales 273

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2021

Most entrepreneurs start their company with the highest of ideals, and wouldn’t dream of building one with a culture of indifference or downright unethical behavior. I‘m convinced that the underlying points are even more relevant to entrepreneurs, with some adaptation for the realities of the startup world: A switch to survival mode.

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Startup Social Media Organization Entrepreneur 128

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

I’m convinced that this “me too” or incremental thinking is one of the key reasons that ninety percent of new startups fail, and most of the investors I know won’t sign non-disclosure forms, since they claim to hear the same startup ideas over and over again. Be prepared to ship a minimum viable product and pivot.

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Startup Metrics Ideas Entrepreneur 162