Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. Customer acquisition cost. That bit is easy.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

I too often see people who are quick to make excuses, blame failures on peers or customers, or see management as the reason for their lack of productivity. Here are my key recommendations for how to prepare and what to do in more mundane business environments and organizations: Make sure your activities are aligned with business goals.

Activity 109

Activity Organization Mentor Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

As a business consultant and angel investor, I often ask for your own assessment of marketing ROI , or customer acquisition cost (CAC). Leaders and investors need to know if you have and are tapping into your key sources of relevant data, including web analytics, sales management data, and customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Acquisition Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. He has one of the first books on this subject, and he breaks the process down into nine key activities, as follows: Get focused and identify goals. That’s where the money is.

Social Media 127

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 127

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. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Actively listen to customer feedback, and don’t be a one-trick pony.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? While thinking about the parameters of traction, and how to measure it, I was impressed with a new book, “ Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth ” by Ash Maurya, a serial entrepreneur, and creator of the one-page business modelling tool Lean Canvas.

Metrics 57

Metrics Funding Startup Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2022

As a startup, you need to use your limited resources to excel at a few core things for your best customers, in order to stand out and get the momentum going. Your customers’ biggest need is not for more things. Your best strategy is to find more customers that fit the things you do best, rather than building more things.

Startup 144

Startup Social Media Metrics Customer 144

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2023

We all have our favorite metric and our passion, but keeping up with real-world changes and trends seems to be always just out of reach. In my experience, all business metrics are still used too often for people management and accountability, rather than business management. Accurate measurement of the wrong things is not helpful.

Metrics 81

Metrics Demand Statistics Sample 81

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

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. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 106

Metrics Startup Sales Statistics 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2022

Instead of sizing up new opportunities and actively courting every new customer, you start worrying about cutting costs, repeatable processes , and overtaking known competitors. As a consultant, I hate to see you lose that startup focus on innovation, change, and customers.

Startup 154

Startup Artificial Inteligence Metrics Netflix 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2022

They randomly churn for hours a day on a couple of their favorite social media platforms, with little thought given to goals, objectives, or metrics; and ultimately give up and fall back to traditional marketing approaches. Create an action plan with metrics. You spend the months influencing the influencers.

Social Media 135

Social Media Framework Media Metrics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” You have to hear your customer’s dreams, goals, passions, and aspirations.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Marketing 85

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Obviously this definition is generic, so my first recommendation is that you take the lead in defining traction metrics for your startup, and then selling your results convincingly to investors. One customer is not traction, and beta tests with a thousand customers at no cost don’t count. Customer acquisition cost.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

Here are some key strategies that I recommend to prompt you when changes to your business may be required: Look for a changing customer sense of value. You may be getting killed today by customer expectations you never worried about just a few years ago. Establish and evaluate metrics at multiple levels.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

The last thing they can afford is to waste any of these, but in my mentoring and coaching activities, I see it happening all too often. Waste in a startup is any activity that burns resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Focus on activities rather than results.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2015

Many startups and mature businesses have not yet accepted the fact that customer satisfaction and loyalty in this “always connected” age are about more than product and service quality. They are all about how customers broadcast their pleasure or unhappiness to others. Customer upsell: Sell more to existing customers.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Satisfaction Social Media 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Customer 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Actively listen to customer feedback, and don’t be a one-trick pony.

Search Engine Optimization 131

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2015

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” You have to hear your customer’s dreams, goals, passions, and aspirations.

Customer 100

Customer Custom .Net Competition 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2013

Many startups and mature businesses have not yet adapted to the fact that customer satisfaction in this “always connected” age is more than product and service quality. It’s more about which customers broadcast their pleasure or unhappiness to others. Here are four basics that always apply: Customer retention is priority number one.

Customer 97

Customer Custom Satisfaction Social Media 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2014

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” You have to hear your customer’s dreams, goals, passions, and aspirations.

Customer 98

Customer Custom .Net Competition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2023

Test specifics and potential on friends, advisors, and potential customers. To succeed in business, every passion and purpose has to be translated into real products, services, customers, and impact on the community. Measure customer value perception at every stage. Build a business plan with specific deliverables and timing.

Satisfaction 114

Satisfaction Customer Custom Social Media 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2019

But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. " He has one of the first books on this subject, and he breaks the process down into nine key activities, as follows: Get focused and identify goals. That’s where the money is.

Social Media 98

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 98

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

As a potential investor, I always think of the high rate of failure of disruptive technologies, due to the longer learning curve of customers, infrastructure change consistently required, and higher marketing costs. Before you act, shut up and listen to employees, customers, and futurists. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Metrics Resource Software Review 101

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2020

With interactive social media and video everywhere, everyone needs to feel they have a relationship with their leaders, and every brand needs leader personification for customers to relate. You need to look at everything through fresh eyes, continually ask questions not usually asked, and actively listen to contrary views.

Social Media 128

Social Media Metrics Customer Custom 128

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

It seemed an ideal way to describe a scrappy, entrepreneurial activity. What happens to careful planning, sure-fire metrics, quality test scenarios, market research, a good business plan – all in place before pulling the trigger of a new opportunity. What happens to careful planning? Ready, FIRE, aim. So, which is better for you?

Artificial Inteligence 156

Artificial Inteligence Metrics Ideas Email 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2021

For example, a few years ago, the company Beepi had a vision to build a new market for buying and selling used cars, but became overly focused on fundraising to grow fast, and ignored many customer complaints. Hypermetricemia – metrics for everything. While the idea was great, they failed on execution.

Metrics 133

Metrics Product Yahoo Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2022

Balance of passion with reality and customer feedback. A strong vision and deep insight may get your business off the ground, but long-term success requires constant data analysis, metrics, and attention to your customer feedback. The competition will improve, the market will change, and your customers will demand more.

Mentor 133

Mentor Startup Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Decide early where and when money will come from, set some milestones and metrics, and work to a plan, or be caught short. Customer support is more than handling exceptions.

Sales 165

Sales Customer Custom Social Media 165

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

While these investors, and early customers, will always argue that they found you, I’m convinced that there is no substitute for aggressive networking on your part. Ability to relate aspirations to customer needs. You need to show insights to real customers and their needs, that get beyond your passions and projections.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

I’m not suggesting that you model your startup after the complex corporate organizations you hated in your last job, but there are at least eight key functions and activities that every investor expects to find in a startup proposal with any real potential to change the world. Customer receivables collection and vendor payments.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2009

Los Angeles-based Image Metrics (www.image-metrics.com) recently landed a $6.5M, Series B funding round for the firm's facial animation products. I was introduced to Image Metrics a year before I joined, and was helping them along. Editor's note: you can see Image Metrics "Emily" demo on their web site ). I fell in love with it.

Metrics 100

Metrics Startup Sales Newsletter 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

According to most investors I know, traction is some clear evidence that the “dogs are eating the dog food” – usually meaning that you have at least one customer paying full price for your solution. Another term often mentioned is “momentum,” or growing visibility and advocacy within your customer set.

Tips 79

Tips Metrics Technical Review Customer 79

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2022

How good are you and everyone on your team at proactively scanning the environment for opportunities, emerging trends, and customer feedback? This is the ability to appropriately analyze problems, assess risks, and take responsibility for problem-dictated and market-dictated changes, while still sustaining the day-to-day business activities.

Startup 116

Startup Training Statistics Summary 116

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2016

I believe the right attributes and habits can be recognized and learned, and here are seven key ones that I find in successful entrepreneurs: Actively recruits others and solicits win-win relationships. Asks hard questions, and actively listens to critical feedback. Sets goals and milestones, with metrics to track progress.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Metrics Ideas 106