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. Cost of customer acquisition.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

Almost every entrepreneur looking for outside investors has heard the annoying rejection, “You are just too early – come back when you have more traction.” That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? Continued activity drives momentum and growth. Use these metrics rather than hide them.

Metrics 57

Metrics Funding Startup Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for a disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to InvoiceTracker. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales.

Startup 134

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Metrics 134

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. 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. Get attention and reach your audience.

Social Media 127

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 127

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2023

In the same way, great entrepreneurs and company leaders should no longer rely on faceless and nameless processes to drive business strategy and innovation to stay competitive. Here is my adaptation of his engagement principles for all the aspiring entrepreneurs I advise: Learn to adopt an outsider’s perspective.

Customer 140

Customer Custom Social Media Metrics 140

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2023

Every business owner and entrepreneur like you I work with wishes they could better predict product demand and sales, for managing inventory and long-term business planning. 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.

Metrics 81

Metrics Demand Statistics Sample 81

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. 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. Productive processes start with a plan, and end with metrics that measure value delivered. Waste means death.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

I see entrepreneurs every day who are trying to change the world with a new idea, and startups that are trying to survive their hyper-growth phase by changing processes to meet demand. Here are ten of the key questions that apply equally well to the world of startups and entrepreneurs, as they do to large organizations.

Startup 155

Startup Resource Metrics Technical Review 155

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. The most common proposals I hear are for yet another social networking site ( over 200 active ), or another dating site (now over 2500 in the US alone). An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. The challenge is to avoid the bad risks, while actively seeking and managing the smart risks. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Customer 121

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. Cost of customer acquisition.

Metrics 106

Metrics Startup Sales Statistics 106

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

APRIL 15, 2013

Most investors tell me that an A entrepreneur with a B idea is much more fundable than a B entrepreneur with an A idea. This entrepreneur gets out there and actively looks for people who can help make an idea into a business, including potential customers, suppliers, employees, investors, friends and peers.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2020

One of the characteristics that every good investor looks for in an aspiring entrepreneur is resilience , or the ability to learn from and bounce back after a failure. With startups, almost every entrepreneur I know has failed at least once, often several times, but never gave up, and ultimately achieved their goal.

Startup 173

Startup Mentor Activity Entrepreneur 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2014

Every entrepreneur I know is short on resources, including time, money, and skills. 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. Productive processes start with a plan, and end with metrics that measure value delivered. Waste means death.

Entrepreneur 115

Entrepreneur Resource Training Product 115

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2023

A common challenge faced by every entrepreneur is that they don’t have the bandwidth, interest or skills to do everything that is required to build their startup. Investors worry about a single entrepreneur getting overloaded, disabled or led astray, with no balancing and supporting partner.

Startup 99

Startup High Tech Entrepreneur Writing 99

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. Internal metrics are great for fixing problems, but industry experts, influencers, and customers are better indicators of future change and trends.

Startup 154

Startup Artificial Inteligence Metrics Netflix 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for that disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to Gallup. There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Ask every employee to focus on sales.

Search Engine Optimization 131

Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2013

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. As with many startup activities, you only have one chance for a great first impression. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different. Find the right tools to analyze the ROI.

Social Media 101

Social Media Media Entrepreneur Metrics 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2022

Based on my experience advising new businesses, all of the principles that he outlines, including the following subset which I generalize here, should be taken to heart by every entrepreneur: Give customers fewer things that matter more. Pick a single metric that is the focus for all growth. Less is more.

Startup 144

Startup Social Media Metrics Customer 144

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

The recent pandemic was a strong signal for change, and I see most of you entrepreneurs and business owners responding to the business changes required and new opportunities presented. Establish and evaluate metrics at multiple levels. In addition to total sales, you need to look at categories and trends at lower levels.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

I recognize that entrepreneurs tend to substitute vision and passion for formal processes, but using no discipline or process in building something new is a sure way to spend money, rather than see any return and build a self-sustaining business. Managing to specific goals, priorities, and a plan. Team building status and plan.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2012

Most investors tell me that an A entrepreneur with a B idea is much more fundable than a B entrepreneur with an A idea. This entrepreneur gets out there and actively looks for people who can help make an idea into a business, including potential customers, suppliers, employees, investors, friends and peers.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Ideas Metrics Activity 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2020

In the same way, great entrepreneurs and company leaders should no longer rely on faceless and nameless processes to drive business strategy and innovation to stay competitive. Here is my adaptation of his engagement principles for all the aspiring entrepreneurs I advise: Learn to adopt an outsider’s perspective.

Social Media 128

Social Media Metrics Customer Custom 128

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Every business owner and entrepreneur I meet in my consulting rounds dreams of finding that “ disruptive ” innovation that will supercharge their business and move it into the ranks of business unicorns (billion-dollar valuations), such as SpaceX and Apple. Define realistic metrics to keep track of progress.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Metrics Resource Software Review 101

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2023

Commonly, I find that business owners and entrepreneurs look first at solutions which solve painful problems, or have high profit margins, regardless of their own commitment to a higher purpose, such as saving the environment or helping the underserved. Test specifics and potential on friends, advisors, and potential customers.

Satisfaction 114

Satisfaction Customer Custom Social Media 114

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. Our conclusion to this dilemma.

Artificial Inteligence 156

Artificial Inteligence Metrics Ideas Email 156

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. I like to see at least 10,000 active users, or a user base, page-views, or mobile downloads that double every three months.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2021

A common challenge faced by every entrepreneur is that they don’t have the bandwidth, interest or skills to do everything that is required to build their startup. Investors worry about a single entrepreneur getting overloaded, disabled or led astray, with no balancing and supporting partner.

Startup 126

Startup High Tech Entrepreneur Writing 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2019

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. 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. Get attention and reach your audience.

Social Media 98

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 98

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2021

As a long-time business consultant and investor, especially to entrepreneurs, I recognize your sparkle of vision , to build the ultimate world-changing product. I found these maladies summarized well in a new book, “ Radical Product Thinking ,” by entrepreneur Radhika Dutt. Hypermetricemia – metrics for everything.

Metrics 133

Metrics Product Yahoo Examples 133

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. Many entrepreneurs try to do the whole job alone, or surround themselves with “yes” people, or count on family and friends to back them. Using metrics to measure results and commitments.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

In the interests of helping you work smarter and last longer, I would like to offer my top ten list of key resource drains to avoid in early businesses and startups, based on my years of advising entrepreneurs and my own business experience: Expanding your product line too quickly for scaling. Excessive support and return activities.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

The many ways that great firms can slip away from entrepreneurial thinking were highlighted in the classic book, “ Achieving Longevity ,” by Jim Dewald, based on his own experiences as a corporate executive, entrepreneur, and Dean of the Haskayne School of Business. The future is extrapolated from internal data analysis.

Startup 120

Startup Statistics IBM IBM 120

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. On the one hand, an entrepreneur should not be overly paranoid and should know the ropes that VCs and other professional investors generally will not sign NDAs to see the concept or a prototype--and even if they did, it would not provide much protection.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

So what should an entrepreneur do to convince themselves, as well as potential investors, that they have a viable business model before it is totally proven? Decide early where and when money will come from, set some milestones and metrics, and work to a plan, or be caught short. Word of mouth is not adequate for marketing and sales.

Customer 109

Customer Custom Satisfaction Sales 109