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.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 8, 2021

In a small industrial park located nearly halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, one company is claiming to have hit a milestone in the development of a new technology for generating power from nuclear fusion. ” TAE Technologies Michl Binderbauer standing next to the company’s novel fusion reactor. Follow the sun.

Technology 354

Technology Artificial Inteligence Google Orange County 354

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2009

I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. Tags: Pitching VCs Start-up Advice startup technology vc venture capital.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital Sales Startup Blogging 292

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2021

An edtech startup called Entity Academy — which provides women with training, in areas like data science and software development; mentoring; and ultimately job coaching — has raised $100 million on the heels of strong growth of its business, and an ambition to improve that ratio.

Mentor 297

Mentor Training Startup Course 297

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.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

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. We will have to build (or buy) technology in this area.”

Sales 375

Sales Technical Review Organization Case Study 375

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.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Custom 316

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

It is with this backdrop that I was really happy to learn from my friend Ethan Anderson (HBS alum & founder of RedBeacon) about an awesome program at HBS run by Tom Eisenmann called Launching Technology Ventures. That student is Erin McCann who formerly worked in sales at Google, so she has some ground to stand on in her assertions.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

Startup Exits: A Primer from msuster. I speak privately a lot about getting an exit at a startup. We also are going to talk a lot about startups getting exits and ultimately: Companies are bought, not sold. Later today I’m presenting at the annual Rincon Ventures Summit in Santa Barbara. So entry price matters a lot.

Startup 323

Startup Technology Venture Capital Santa Barbara 323

socalTECH

APRIL 5, 2019

Irvine-based Karma Automotive , the revived, startup auto maker, says it has inked an agreement with BMW AG , to use BMW's engine technology in its automobiles. Karma Automotive claims it will have its vehicles available for sale or lease by the second half of this year, although it has yet to announced its vehicles.

Technology 166

Technology Sales Startup Company 166

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2022

It’s enough to drown any business which tries to fight it or ignore it, and it’s an opportunity to ride higher and faster than even the successes of Google and Facebook, for those startups that use it as their driving force. For startups, this is an engagement opportunity worth billions of dollars. Cellphone penetration in the U.S.

Startup 126

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 126

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?”

Sales 328

Sales Custom Customer Examples 328

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2021

You can listen to the entire conversation above or via this link , but I also wanted to highlight one topic we discussed that I feel strongly about, which is how I think enterprise sales and venture fundraising are basically the same muscle. than it is to start narrowing down and doing the work to close the deal, or risking hearing a no.

Sales 375

Sales Startup Invest Funding 375

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2013

This is part of a series that describes a sales methodology for technology companies or frankly many other types of companies, too. ” But many people get secure in their sales process with just meeting / talking to the people who are the nicest to you. Unique Selling Proposition. Compelling Event. The enemy is against you.

Sales 321

Sales Organization Startup Resource 321

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. Most investors and startup professionals expand this concept of focus to apply to key issues of every aspect of strategic and tactical planning in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

This post is part of my series “ Startup Lessons &#. Elephants, Deer and Rabbits – Some thoughts on start-up segmentation. I know that this advice won’t apply to every possible startup – but I think it applies to many. So when I started my first company I naturally went for elephants.

Startup 389

Startup Custom Customer Resource 389

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Social-media advertising. Cold calling.

Custom 146

Custom Customer Marketing Startup 146

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2020

For example, you may think that disruptive smartphones were an overnight sensation, but in reality, it took huge investments by several different companies starting in 1992, including IBM, Apple, and Google, before the market really took off in 2007. Innovation doesn’t even require technology.

Startup 129

Startup Artificial Inteligence Examples Google 129

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 10, 2020

Los Angeles-based Signal Automotive , a startup which develops software for managing buying, selling, and inventory allocation for automobile dealers, has raised $20M in a funding round. Jillings is the former CEO of Telesign, and has a long history in Southern California's technology industry; he previously also was CEO of Vantage Media.

Software 124

Software Sales Southern California Equity 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. In today’s marketplace, junior staffers are often the most intimately connected to the market, technology, and the customer network.

Startup 134

Startup Training Sales Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to become the next unicorn. Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea.

Startup 154

Startup Outsource Ideas Research 154

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

TikTok is struggling to make a dent in the world of US and European ecommerce , and has now enlisted the help of a number of startups to try and reverse that trend and bring the Live Shopping craze sweeping Asia to other markets. TikTok Teams Up With Ecommerce Startups. Please verify before subscribing. A Mountain to Climb.

Social Media 148

Social Media Startup Commerce News 148

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

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s. But … Startups don’t need – shouldn’t have – COOs. I have this conversation with every startup that comes to see me and has a CEO & a COO. I think usually a COO title at a startup is an ego thing. CEO’s run things.

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2013

This is part of a series that describes a sales methodology for technology companies or frankly many other types of companies, too. No product sells itself no matter what startup companies like to think. Every company is inundated with products and technology so inertia takes over. Otherwise known as a time wasters.

Sales 322

Sales Help Organization Product 322

Tech.Co

JUNE 28, 2021

Startup tech businesses used to land on the scene with big ideas about how their tech could change the world. However, in recent years, there have been precious few startups with such grand ambitions from an early stage. But the trend for world-changing mission statements is waning in the startup sphere.

Startup 104

Startup Ideas Venture Capital Course 104

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Some entrepreneurs forget that they can’t use people the same way they use technology to build a startup. Inventors, for example, are skilled in manipulating technology, but may have little interest or experience engaging people to make an effective team. Focusing on the technology doesn’t do it. Start today.

Startup 107

Startup Technology Guide Entrepreneur 107

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. January is coming up and you know what that means. Almost every online seller will have a sales tax deadline this upcoming January.

Sales 100

Sales Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2020

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture you will love this message. Don’t start by committing more than you can afford to lose. Testing for real is the assumption behind approaches such as Lean Startup.

Startup 143

Startup Capital Resource Research 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

Almost instantly, via the Internet or on their smartphone in the store, they can find the lowest price alternative or their favorite features, without waiting for push marketing or listening to your best sales person. Great startups manage to continually improve the relationship through outstanding follow-on support and service.

Custom 124

Custom Customer Startup Course 124

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

The Boring Company , the startup founded by tech mogul Elon Musk to develop the technology to dig transportation tunnels underneath Los Angeles and other cities, has so far raised over $300K from selling hats with the company's logo on it, according to Musk. Musk, on Twitter, jokingly called the sales its "Initial Hat Offering".

Sales 124

Sales Company Companies Los Angeles 124

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Final startup grind from msuster. And the folks at Startup Grind have been kind enough to invite me to present this morning in Mountain View on the topic. And you need to be careful about giving up control to cofounders as much as VCs. PMs are a vital part of a tech startup. figure out roles. identify gaps. and so forth.

Startup 388

Startup Slides Outsource Development Sales 388

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.

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

socalTECH

APRIL 24, 2020

Carey tells us a bit about what OC4 is doing, how it invests and works with companies, and also gives startups some advice about how to approach moving forward in light of the pandemic. Carey Ransom: The way I think about it, is it is really the culmination of almost two decades of software and technology company building and investing.

Invest 124

Invest Startup Ideas Examples 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2020

Technical entrepreneurs love their technology, and often are driven to launch a startup on the assumption that everyone will buy any solution which highlights this technology. These founders all seem to be pushing their technology, rather than highlighting their solution to a painful need.

Technology 127

Technology Marketing Social Media Custom 127

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

And we’re left with a city with idyllic weather, major commerce, the media center of the world, and a great emerging technology scene. But we have a great city for building technology companies. You can find very talented technology executives. But we do have great technology developers. You don’t.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290