Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

I recommend you read Fred Wilson’s recent blog post about the need for a well articulated business strategy before pushing a particular business model. You need to first create a compelling product. You need product / market fit. Product / market fit is everything. They see capital raising at the success validator.

Startup 401

Startup Custom Customer Technical Review 401

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. Before that, I was running product at Spotrunner. We were quite surprised to learn about the extent of your operations here. How big is YP? Louis and Atlanta.

Technical Review 223

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 223

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

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP (www.yp.com) -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. Before that, I was running product at Spotrunner. We were quite surprised to learn about the extent of your operations here. How big is YP.com?

Technical Review 211

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 211

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2010

This is part of my ongoing Sales & Marketing Series. In the first part of this post I talked about how sales in a startup is often evangelical , requires as consultative sale and needs constant adjustments based on customer feedback. We had 4 or 5 sales reps that had been around since the early days.

Sales 286

Sales Newsletter Technical Review Activity 286

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

controlling your psychology ) you no doubt have heard me say that raising capital is a sales & marketing process. Building models to evaluate the deal and/or reviewing customer files, company financials, business plans, etc. This is Sales 101. Maybe you have some knowledge they would find valuable? Good luck with your raise!

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2010

A while back I wrote a bunch of posts on Sales & Marketing and have been meaning to get back to that theme for a while. Even if you don’t have “direct&# sales I would tell you that “everything is a sale&# including fund raising, hiring, getting press and doing business development. You learn by asking.

Sales 346

Sales Startup Technical Review Custom 346

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. We focused together on improving our sales methodology, our training and our comp plans.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Custom 316

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2017

At productboard we aim to bake best practices of product management straight into the interface, so you can improve the way you manage your products right out of the box. In the meantime, we’ll continue publishing thoughts and ideas we’ve learned from great product managers here. Why has product management be so slow to adapt?

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Metrics Ideas Product 100

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Since its 2017 inception, SpotOn has been focused on providing software and payments technology to SMBs with an emphasis on restaurants and retail businesses. But the company says its offering extends beyond traditional payment processing and point-of-sale software. Image Credits: SpotOn.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Software Review Invest Acquisition 296

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

A business is about making money, while inventions are more about spending money. According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized.

Technical Review 156

Technical Review Funding Patents Ideas 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

In reality, too many choices actually dilutes customer interest in your existing market, and makes your job of production, marketing, and support much more complex. New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

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

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

They will often run all of the daily reports into them covering off for finance, sales, marketing, biz dev & HR. Many times they also pick up product and tech, too. Often times you find the CEO who really just likes to do product or tech. If you run product then it’s easy – VP Product.

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

Who are the top tech companies to work for in Los Angeles? positions on its site, ranging from software, sales, marketing, to finance. NastyGal -- which was just about unheard of a year ago -- has rocketed to a over $100M business, driven by women's clothing, shoes, and other products. Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Company Companies Southern California 279

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. 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. Operating productivity.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Custom 100

Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2023

In this guide: Free Business Tools Best Communication Tools Best Cybersecurity Tools Best Project Management Tools Best Marketing Tools Best Financial Tools Best HR tools Best Sales Tools Next Steps: Moving Forward With a Solution Best Free Business Tools for Startups Not every startup will have a budget for smart software.

Tool 128

Tool Startup Software Review Technical Review 128

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev. The “span of control” for a growing tech startup is probably 6-9 people. You help them prioritize their objectives and review the results. You set direction.

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

In a bid to prevent the damage from those plumbing failures and also help save water, Los Angeles-based Flo Technologies (www.meetflo.com) has developed a water monitoring device and shutoff valve for your home, which is connected to your smartphone and its own app. We caught up with Gabriel to learn more about the company.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Technology Startup Artificial Inteligence 113

SoCal CTO

MARCH 4, 2010

I’ve worked with 30+ early-stage companies in all sorts of capacities (and spoken to many, many more), so I thought it might be worthwhile trying to classify the various ways that I’ve engaged in different technology roles in startups. Later he posted about his experience in Challenges of Startups.

Technical Review 170

Technical Review Technical Advisors CTO Coach Startup 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2023

The world of marketing is changing faster than technology these days. These days it is often more about being unique than being valuable. A UVP sells a product or service because it differentiates it from other products or services that are available. Build word-of-mouth into your product or service.

Marketing 107

Marketing Technical Review Startup Innocal 107

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2013

This is final part of a series that describes a sales methodology for technology companies or frankly many other types of companies, too. This post talks about the last part of the PUCCKA methodology – an Aligned Purchasing Process. Well think of it this way – you have your sales process. Unique Selling Proposition.

Custom 324

Custom Customer Marketing Newsletter 324

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 28, 2015

One of the reasons I know way more about online sales taxes than I ever thought I would is due to Rincon Venture Partners’ investment in TaxJar , one of the leaders in this emerging space. Almost every online seller will have a sales tax deadline this upcoming January. Your Sales Tax Compliance Checkup.

Sales 100

Sales Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. From these meetings you can really tell the leaders that care deeply about their customers and those the look down on them. We were talking about raising money from LPs.

Custom 341

Custom Customer Venture Capital Software Review 341

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2020

The world of marketing is changing faster than technology these days. These days it is often more about being unique than being valuable. A UVP sells a product or service because it differentiates it from other products or services that are available. Build word-of-mouth into your product or service.

Mobile 173

Mobile Marketing Technical Review Startup 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Marketing is everything these days. Marty Zwilling.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Marketing is everything these days. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2022

With the ITRC 2021 End-of-Year Data Breach Report revealing a 68 percent increase in stolen sensitive personal information, there is a growing population out there worried about all the people intent on hurting them. Market your solution and user benefits, not the mysterious technology behind it. Don’t take shortcuts on these.

Custom 137

Custom Customer Technical Review Symantec 137

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

If you are the hot-shot technical innovator that invented your solution, make sure you have an equally adept business and marketing expert to complement your skills. “If Bill Gates was the technical genius, but Steve Ballmer, from Procter & Gamble, ran the business side of the equation. Needed help can be your biggest burden.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

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

MAY 19, 2023

Every startup success is a function of great people, products, and profits. Repeat leaders think more about talent, while short-term leaders worry first about output today. Leapfrog products invent and reinvent markets. Incremental product ideas do not change markets. Focus on the customer for repeated success.

Startup 91

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Ideas 91

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

” If you don’t create the message about yourself, the market will. As I talked about in “ Is it Time to Learn or Time to Earn ” – overwhelmingly the best economics go to those that start successful companies. 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

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Andrew spoke to us about TrackStreet's brand protection software and artificial intelligence efforts. Andrew Schydlowsky: We work with manufacturers of products, things you might use, the clothes you might wear, things you use around the house, things you use in the car, and what you buy in stores, and are now buying online.

Artificial Inteligence 140

Artificial Inteligence Startup Commerce Sales 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

I find that many managers are expected to hire new team members primarily on the basis of technical qualifications and years of experience, rather communication ability, attitude, or previous customer reviews Remember that everyone will interact with customers, due to billing or delivery issues.

Custom 147

Custom Customer Technical Review Metrics 147

socalTECH

MARCH 4, 2010

We thought we'd get the background on the new effort directly from Jason Nazar , CEO and founder of Docstoc, to learn more about the new service. For those who haven't heard yet, tell us about DocStore and what it is all about? It's something like between $50M and $100M in sales per year.

Technical Review 171

Technical Review Rustic Canyon Screening Startup 171

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

Given the thousands of startups Venture Capitalists review annually, they must adopt efficient methods of quickly assessing if a person/opportunity is worth further diligence. Other patterns VCs look for include: Technical Guru with great ideas, but no management experience. Hairy Pattern Matching. Share and Enjoy.

Technical Review 244

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital RSS 244