Berkonomics

APRIL 27, 2023

Everyone who manages a company, a workgroup or a sales force wants to write as many new deals as possible and is usually wary about doing anything that might threaten the positive outcome of a pending sale. Will you enforce a deadline if you could lose the sale? The post Are you a dictator about sales deadlines?

Sales 156

Sales Tool Customer Custom 156

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2014

It is the bane of every startups existence because it takes up so much time, it is so competitive to sign people and it feels like unproductive time because it’s not moving the ball forward on product, engineering, sales, marketing, biz dev, fund raising. It consumes time and energy and the payoff doesn’t come for a long time.

Press 341

Press Startup Email Sales 341

Berkonomics

JULY 23, 2020

Sometimes the end game or sale of the company is not a happy event. Especially when outside investors, venture capitalists, or angels, have put in substantial money and the sales price is less than the value of their investment. There are some questions a distressed sale brings to mind. How about outside investors?

Company 156

Company Companies Sales Venture Capital 156

Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2023

From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is thinking of the end game, the ultimate sale of the company or even of an eventual initial public offering. There is no middle ground. The newest investor has the power.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital Sales Invest Class 292

Berkonomics

JANUARY 12, 2023

Some types of businesses generate more and more recurring revenues over time, often growing to a size where recurring revenues pay all of the overhead of the company – an enviable position. There is a phenomenon I have observed time after time with mature companies receiving over 75% of their revenues from recurring sources.

Sales 296

Sales Custom Customer SaaS 296

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Growth like this, this early in a company’s lifecycle rarely happens. In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. Email updates frequently. Make your emails actionable.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2017

He was just trying to collect more data for his startup on what was happening on real estate deals that the company had been referring to brokers. However, he quickly discovered the deal data the company was collecting was not just data--but a guide to the best practices on helping brokers close more deals, quickly. It worked well.

Sales 145

Sales Startup Email Tool 145

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

To be clear, I said that most companies I see pitching have COOs & I don’t have a rule against it. I’ve had several COOs at companies in which I’ve invested. We tend to want to work with people who are focused on just one company. I expected it to be controversial and it was. Naturally some didn’t.

Startup 292

Startup CTO Hire Sales Email 292

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

Having read his latest op-ed on email I know why I erred towards the side of of not loving his book as much as some did. Apparently he’s an “organizational psychologist professor and thinks that it’s rude not to answer email. I also surmise that perhaps organizational psychologists don’t get as much unsolicited emails as some of us do.

Email 250

Email Writing Conference Mobile 250

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

When you raise money from investors you produce information that you are told they want and care about: A fund-raising deck that articulates your company strategy, plans, team, market, competitors and so forth. VCs (and LPs) have a vested interest in having more data, whether they want to invest in your company / firm or not.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

InfoChachkie

JUNE 23, 2014

Absent a human gatekeeper, you can capture a busy individual''s attention by crafting a compelling and pithy email subject line, voicemail message, Tweet, Quora or Facebook message. Review the company''s press releases, the recipient''s LinkedIn profile, etc. Some people are phone centric, while others reply primarily on email.

Networking 241

Networking Software Review Email Press 241

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2014

I’ve been having this PR discussion with three separate portfolio companies at once so I thought I’d just publish my thoughts more broadly. PR is an insanely valuable activity in early-stage companies. It’s much hard to get funded as a company nobody has heard of. Business Development - Biz Dev is hard.

Press 415

Press Google Course Writing 415

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 26, 2022

Glossier, the popular beauty brand led by former blogger Emily Weiss, let go of 80 of its corporate employees today, according to an internal email obtained by Modern Retail. The cuts, which amount to around one-third of Glossier’s corporate workforce, will primarily impact the company’s technology team. “[W]e

CTO Hire 197

CTO Hire Layoffs Commerce Email 197

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 21, 2017

Once a company founder has tapped the funds available from his or her resources and from friends and family, if the company needs more cash for growth, the most obvious next step is to look for money from angel investors and venture capitalists, typically in the $300,000 TO $3,000,000 range.

Invest 243

Invest Sales Resource Email 243

Berkonomics

JUNE 15, 2017

From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is thinking of the end game, the ultimate sale of the company or even of an eventual initial public offering. So be aware that professional investors are in your company for the eventual large profits at the liquidity event.

Venture Capital 243

Venture Capital Sales Invest Class 243

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I write about sales often both because it’s the lifeblood of any organization and because in my experience it is the area in which more startups are least experienced or inclined. I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand.

Sales 150

Sales Startup Venture Capital Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. an investment in your company.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Berkonomics

MARCH 8, 2018

Pay early stage board members of companies that are not lifestyle businesses one percent of the fully diluted equity in the form of an option that vests over four years of service. You do not pay professional investors who are serving on behalf of an investment company or VC and paid by that company.

Venture Capital 256

Venture Capital Equity Sales Invest 256

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Here’s my advice: A got an email from a young, super bright entrepreneur today. I intro’d him to the COO of a growing tech company about maybe working together. He responded by emailing the COO and asking him to lunch. And given that I travel enough and have dinners with portfolio companies, etc. Not so much.

Venture Capital 397

Venture Capital Startup Email Networking 397

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

The process for raising money from a VC is a sales process and as such much of what is taught in enterprise sales can be applied. While this post is written about raising venture capital (which I always remind entrepreneurs IS a sales process) the lessons can be applied to any sale or biz dev deal.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Sales Entrepreneur Startup 308

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 17, 2016

Everyone who manages a company or its sales force wants to write as many new deals as possible, and is usually warry about doing anything that might threaten the positive outcome of a pending sale. Deadlines are an important sales tool. The most powerful tool you have in a sales environment is a deadline.

Sales 120

Sales Tool Writing Customer 120

Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

Invest 296

Invest Capital Startup Entrepreneur 296

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

That was back when VCs weren’t so quick to respond to emails. As with tonight I got my kids to bed, did some email, caught 30 minutes of the news then sat down to type. Just like a sales person at the end of a quarter. I still have to get sales, operations, finance, HR & corp dev right to win. I did that?

Startup 391

Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 29, 2016

Some types of businesses generate more and more recurring revenues over time, often growing to a size where recurring revenues pay all of the overhead of the company – an enviable position. There is a phenomenon I have observed time after time with mature companies receiving over 75% of their revenues from recurring sources.

.Net 226

.Net Sales Customer Custom 226

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

After my board meeting I had to do an interview with a CFO candidate that one of my portfolio companies asked me to speak with. I then had to review a nefarious IP lawsuit filed against another company and help the CEO figure out whether we should just pay it or join forces with the other companies named and fight it.

Software Review 381

Software Review Startup Email Conference 381

Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2012

For those of us who’ve invested in early stage companies, especially technology startups, we have confronted a universal problem. There are many ways to project the value of a company for purposes of pricing an investment, but all rely upon the revenue and profit projections of the entrepreneur as a starting point.

Invest 321

Invest Startup Email Competition 321

Berkonomics

MARCH 28, 2024

They write in their investment documents that they will occupy a seat on the board for as long as they are invested in the company, thinking of this as a protection for their investment and tool for them to influence growth. Even venture capitalists who sit on boards where they have significant investments often forget this point.

Class 282

Class Coach Invest Sales 282

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 16, 2011

Talented brand sales people? You should always have a steady stream of “friend of the firm&# hanging around your company. You send them update emails. Hot company. Are you looking for great engineers? A smart young marketing exec? You invite them to cocktail parties. Attitude over Aptitude and also 2. Job Hunting.

Startup 410

Startup Writing Press Venture Capital 410

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

During the late 1980's, Steve accepted a senior executive role at SuperMac, a Macintosh graphics card company that Steve jokes was, “Fifth in a group of three.". Despite these abundant resources, the team's ineffectiveness was reflected by the company's dismal 11% market share. the VP of Sales the richest person in the company.

Marketing 271

Marketing Startup Sales Custom 271

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Here’s the question: This piece of wisdom came from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, during a board meeting for one of the companies where he sits as board member. Email readers, continue here…] We worry over projections and fix our budgets to match, and then we manage to the revenue and costs of the budget.

Resource 296

Resource Statistics Email Product 296

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2012

As a VC I regularly meet with companies and listen to their plans. A significant number of the companies I meet with get some form of feedback from me that: “I’m a bit worried that you’re doing too many THINGS. I always tell teams I meet with, “The scarcest resource in your company is management bandwidth.

Resource 415

Resource Startup Product Ideas 415

InfoChachkie

APRIL 7, 2014

As Capitan of the startup rollercoaster, you must manage your company''s mood swings, while doing your best to not puke (at least not while your team is watching). One of your most important duties at your venture is to communicate and celebrate your company’s small wins. Little Wins Add Up. after closing a $10,000 deal.

Startup 262

Startup Oracle Journal Email 262

Berkonomics

JANUARY 24, 2019

Usually that means one they once or recently spent time in as an employee or manager within a company where they had little or no ownership. Some of these entrepreneurs starting a new company are alumni from companies that would be a competitor to the enterprise being created or joined. Are you one of those? Digital or analog!

Company 120

Company Companies News Startup 120

Berkonomics

JANUARY 24, 2019

Usually that means one they once or recently spent time in as an employee or manager within a company where they had little or no ownership. Some of these entrepreneurs starting a new company are alumni from companies that would be a competitor to the enterprise being created or joined. Are you one of those? Digital or analog!

Company 120

Company Companies News Startup 120

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

How do you judge a company’s prospects, if a corporate business-to-business sale has to be your game? If your company’s market is huge corporations, how do you convince investors you can crack the market, and how do you deliver? Email readers, continue here.] Big corporations are just slow to act.

Startup 214

Startup Sales Product Customer 214

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

Several years ago, I became involved with a Southeast Asian company looking to expand into the United States. Had the office been located to accommodate either one, the company would have had to find replacements in the same geographical area as the office. So, can a startup exist for a reasonably long time as a virtual company?

Startup 256

Startup Class Email Tool 256

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Minor decisions, such as replacing employees who have left the company or replacing equipment needing updating, are usually considered operational in nature, and unless the business is changing direction, not relevant to this test. Let’s analyze the effect of a potential acquisition upon the value of your company.

Company 120

Company Companies Acquisition Resource 120