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

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

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Yet in this age when customers have a thousand alternatives, and are overwhelmed by a multitude of messages, sales efforts can make or break a business. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. No pain usually means no sales.

Sales 139

Sales Training Startup Customer 139

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

One of the vivid memories I have from being a startup CEO is the feeling that most people in your company have a look in their eyes that like they can do your job as well as you. Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev. Engineering?

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 17, 2021

The Los Angeles-based company has a new residential solar plus energy storage program for homeowners in Queens that’s going to be rolled out in partnership with ConEd. We’ll cover every aspect of company building: Fundraising, recruiting, sales, product-market fit, PR, marketing and brand building.

Southern California 237

Southern California Companies Company Glendale 237

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 28, 2020

There’s a new company that’s sitting on top of some of the fastest growing consumer-facing businesses in the world — liquor and marijuana delivery — and its name is Pacific Consolidated Holdings Group. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. .”

Companies 188

Companies Company Los Angeles San Diego 188

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

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. Given customers & sales are the lifeblood of any organization you’d imagine everybody would respect their customers. Contrast that with a VC conversation I had. You can’t.

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Custom Customer Venture Capital Software Review 341

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

In fact, only 100 of the 10,000 multimillion-dollar consumer companies around the world can claim to be an “apostle brand” – one that inspires enduring trust, loyalty, and endorsement. The result is higher repeat purchases and sales without promotion. A highly motivated front line engages customers and tells your story with passion.

Companies 152

Companies Company Startup Customer 152

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Since Arrested Development is back I thought I’d resurrect Gob Bluth’s answer when he was told he needed a “business model” – he quickly figured out that he was missing one so he asked Starla, the Bluth company secretary, if she would be his business model. You need product / market fit. The money quote.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 3, 2019

It’s the fifth new car design to come from Tesla’s shop since the company was founded in 2003. Tesla said that it would begin tooling for the Model Y later this year and that the company would be producing the vehicle at its “gigafactory” in Nevada. Musk later said they would be hiring more service technicians.

Design 272

Design Layoffs Pricing Los Angeles 272

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 senior sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business 6 months. Are you looking to potentially sell the company in the next year or two?

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

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

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

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

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

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. remember: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

” The PBV, which Hyundai showcased last month at CES 2020, is a pod-like vehicle that the company says can be used for various functions in transit, such as a restaurant or clinic. The company says its goal is for “eco-friendly vehicles” to comprise 25% of its total sales by 2025. ”

Startup 310

Startup Develop Development Platform 310

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

I’ve seen too many companies go off track by a VC hell bent on the team pursuing the VCs strategy which at times is about chasing the next shiny object. Of course it is super helpful if a VC can drop you in to important people for business development, recruiting, PR, sales and eventually M&A. Connections? FourSquare.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

TechCrunch LA

JULY 10, 2019

My favorite car blog Jalopnik said it best: “Cars Sales Could Be Heading Straight Into the Toilet.” ” Citing a Bloomberg report, the site explains automakers may have had the worst first half for new-vehicle retail sales since 2013. Car sales are tanking, but people still need cars.

Services 212

Services Truecar Sales Blogging 212

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

These are so succinct, so well defined, so precise that everyone in sales and everyone involved in marketing must be able to answer these three questions without pause, and convincingly. It would pay you to work over this set of questions in a special session with sales, marketing and senior management in the room at once.

Sales 226

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 226

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The CEO of the high-performance Italian motorcycle manufacturer offered that point of optimism, as her Modena based EV company remains closed by government decree. The company — that has has a California office and U.S. The venture is also one of the few e-motorcycle companies drawing engineering tips from competition.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

One of the interesting things about being a VC is that you often see companies in transition. I also see companies as they move from having taken $1-5 million from me to their next round where they raise $8-15 million from Series B investors and sometimes I lead at this round (we’re stage agnostic but 80% of our deals are seed & A).

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2013

And a natural sales person. I worked in both before leaving to work in a software company at 17. I’ve sat through so many meetings where sales reps didn’t ask for the order. Any great sales person will ask you at the end of the meeting, “So, how’d I do? Even today. She was a hustler.

Sales 416

Sales Class Training Technical Review 416

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

When I meet other VCs I’m constantly asking how they decide which investments to make, when to pass, when to do follow-on rounds, when to sell a company vs. when to go long, etc. On sales I often talk about “ Why Buy Anything, Why Buy Now, Why Buy Me ” as a tool to think about a sales process.

Startup 407

Startup Framework CTO Coach Sales 407

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

So, in February 2020, with little to no funding left, the company completely pivoted to its current link-in-bio business. Snipfeed is free to set up, but if you make sales, the company takes 15% — this percentage is inclusive of any transaction fees. We only make money if they make money,” Ramdani said. With its $5.5

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

He did note that in the four markets where the company has gone live since launching its business in January 2019 — San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire , and Sacramento — has yielded an annualized revenue run rate of over $400 million in gross merchandise value (the total value of home sales transacted on its platform).

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. Goliath” mythology take on the titans of industry and wins. This “overnight success” was first financed in 2004.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

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

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

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 27, 2020

The Los Angeles-based operations and security management software service, Replicated has raised $25 million to ramp up its staffing and scale its sales and marketing efforts. The funding, which was led by Two Sigma Ventures and included existing investors like Plexo Capital, Amplify, and BoldStart values the company at over $100 million.

Software 224

Software Tool SaaS Los Angeles 224

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 2, 2021

The company has already worked with names as diverse as the Golden State Warriors, the Dallas Cowboys, and pop sensation Billy Eilish on embedding its interactive tools into various live events and promotions. But what started in the gaming world quickly spun out as the company slashed prices to $500 per month for its services.

Tool 315

Tool Commerce .Net Entertainment 315

Berkonomics

JUNE 29, 2017

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 243

Invest Entrepreneur Sales Startup 243

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

Key Functions with High Impact Generative AI is revolutionizing sales by enabling dynamic pricing and personalized customer interactions, boosting conversion rates and customer satisfaction. Post-sale, AI analyzes customer data to improve service and loyalty, making it a cornerstone of modern sales methodologies.

Generative AI 297

Generative AI TechEmpower CTO Hire Outsource Development 297

Berkonomics

MAY 17, 2018

This one may be like one or more you have experienced in your company. And about reinforcing the culture of the company in support of that important focus by senior management, and by all employees who see that leadership in action…. Victories that shape a company’s culture can take many forms. My personal story of celebration.

Customer 226

Customer Custom Sales Course 226

TechCrunch LA

MAY 14, 2020

Co-founded by Matt Lafferty and Brian Gonzalez, Curri aims to solve one of the major hurdles for local construction suppliers who miss out on sales because of an inability to deliver to contractors when they need it. The company estimates that it saves its customers roughly half the cost of deploying an in-house fleet for delivery. .

Services 217

Services Southern California Seed Funding Demand 217

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.

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Class Coach Invest Sales 282