Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

An Insider’s Perspective “Bird Zero” that are custom designed by the company There is a story arc of the electric scooter market that took the world by storm in 2018, was second-guessed late in the year and has quietly re-emerged as a powerful force of growth where few really appreciate the speed and scale of what has happened.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Venice Competition Software Review 250

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Yet, in the interest of full disclosure, and an honest intent to save future entrepreneurs some grief and money, I would remind you that starting any business has key dependencies on at least five major elements, including product design and delivery, the right people on the team, adequate funding, a sizable market opportunity, and marketing.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2022

With a realistic prototype, you can get more accurate feedback from customers on their real need and what they might pay, before you invest millions on the final product. Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Quantify the implementation challenges. Show investors that you are committed, and past the idea stage.

Outsource Development 110

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

Of course, every risk level can be mitigated by a good plan that addresses the issue, offers a credible action plan, and will convince you, as well as investors and customers, that what looks like a risk to many is actually a sustainable competitive advantage for your startup. Huge ramp-up time and money required.

Invest 98

Invest Sites Technical Review Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2021

Others are really marketers out to make money fast, and believe that they can entice customers to any offering. These are the ultimate chess players in the game of business, always looking to be two or three moves ahead of the competition. Picture the graphic designer, the IT expert, or the independent accountant or attorney.

Entrepreneur 134

Entrepreneur Framework Mentor Web 134

Berkonomics

APRIL 30, 2015

Of course money motivates. Salaries or hourly wages must be within reasonable limits set by the industry and matched by the competition, both regionally and for the same job classification. And there are some industries where tools such as stock options are considered mandatory for a company to be competitive. What a title.

Design 120

Design Competition Pricing Sales 120

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Over the course of the first few months I saw a few people out on the street taking Birds and then a steady uptick in riders. That has allowed the company to launch in many markets, build amazing applications, design future versions of the scooter and monetize while many companies are still just drawing up their go-to-market plans.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 2, 2020

With a realistic prototype, you can get more accurate feedback from customers on their real need and what they might pay, before you invest millions on the final product. Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Quantify the implementation challenges. Show investors that you are committed, and past the idea stage.

Outsource Development 124

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Of course, every risk level can be mitigated by a good plan that addresses the issue, offers a credible action plan, and will convince you, as well as investors and customers, that what looks like a risk to many is actually a sustainable competitive advantage for your startup. Huge ramp-up time and money required.

Startup 126

Startup Sites Technical Review Social Media 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 1, 2021

Of course, any highly emotional and unmanaged conflict can certainly lead to chaos and a dysfunctional organization. For example, in a conflict over the right branding logo , it may help to understand who and how the ultimate decision will be made, including key elements driving the decision, such as targeted customers and competition.

Activity 145

Activity Organization Examples Satisfaction 145

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). When to start PR?

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Apparently with a physical storefront where it can convince customers of the wonders of on-demand mobility. The design could hint at what Lime wants to do with its retail store branding. This, of course, comes with risks too, as electric scooters can be dangerous to the novice or uncoordinated.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2019

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. As a business advisor and investor in new startups, I see how difficult it is to make any process work, no matter how well designed, if the team is dysfunctional.

Coach 94

Coach Organization Mentor Startup 94

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Here are some observations I have from this exposure: If a company moves from strength-to-strength with predictable outcomes, easy financings, low staff turn-over, limited competitive threats then the composition of the board probably doesn’t matter as much. I call these “filibuster” boards.

Startup 269

Startup Venture Capital Layoffs Resource 269

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2019

Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. That means it solves a real problem for real customers who are ready and able to spend real money. The number of current potential customers is large and growing.

Snapchat 74

Snapchat Startup Course Yahoo 74

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

I also have a very good friend who is a UX designer, and she really had a great eye for the brand we wanted to build. We stumbled upon another person, who is still our main creative director and designer. We''re now releasing a brand new look to our collection, with new stories and impacts and people, and of course amazing products.

Commerce 140

Commerce Help UCLA Organization 140

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

In the same year they won Business Insider’s Startup competition. And because I wanted Ethan to be able to attract a great team, build & iterate a product, test it with initial customers and refine his strategy before having to take the wrappers off of his company. I think it’s a beautifully designed site and product.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

If you had huge customer growth but just didn’t focus on revenue that’s a different story. of course there are MUCH more sophisticated financial tools than either of these, but PEG is a short-hand many people use]. Do 20% of the customers make 80% of the revenue or do the top 3 customers represent 80% of the revenue.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

A few years ago, before the Internet was pervasive, before everyone carried a smartphone and before do-it-yourself software tools were available for free, it was difficult to reach a critical mass of new customers without spending a million dollars on a website, custom software and television advertising.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Outsource Development 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2013

Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. Love that sustainable competitive advantage. Working on that unique design, or completing the breakthrough for an innovative patent, are moments of inspiration that you will never forget, especially if they become your competitive edge.

Startup 100

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

If you look at the structure of the travel industry above – of course we know that the hotel industry is fragmented while the airline industry is reasonable consolidated. But I’m investing on the assumption you will be successful, of course. The top 5 players combined control less than 25% of the market.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2012

Truly satisfied customers are a joy to every business person. Love that sustainable competitive advantage. Working on that unique design, or completing the breakthrough for an innovative patent, are moments of inspiration that you will never forget, especially if they become your competitive edge.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Ideas 102

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2013

Learning experience includes: on-demand online video tutorial courses, live video-conference workshops, as well as individual online consultations, live workshops, and group programs. Mike’s work in sales, marketing, distribution, and business development is essential to customer acquisition, growth, and scalability. What inspired you?

Web 93

Web USC Course Guide 93

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Of course, every risk level can be mitigated by a good plan that addresses the issue, offers a credible action plan, and will convince you, as well as investors and customers, that what looks like a risk to many is actually a sustainable competitive advantage for your startup. Huge ramp-up time and money required.

Sites 81

Sites Technical Review Social Media Entrepreneur 81

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

Play around with clean, bold design. You don’t always know what customers are going to go crazy for until you show them something new and gauge their reaction. While functionality is imperative, especially in the tech space, thoughtful design is equally as important. Website design: Less is more! You need to be a unicorn.

Guide 105

Guide Startup Marketing Template 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2017

In addition, today’s customers judge a company by perceived people relationships through social media, phone conversations, and sales experiences. As a business advisor and investor in new startups, I see how difficult it is to make any process work, no matter how well designed, if the team is dysfunctional.

Entrepreneur 78

Entrepreneur Coach Organization Mentor 78

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

It makes it easier to persuade others to join you, it alerts other angels & VCs that you’re a company to be on their radar screen, it helps potential customers know that you may be worth doing business with and it builds you up to announce other milestones down the line. Should I Bundle it With More Juicy News?

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

In the initial phases of any new market you’re developing a product (hopefully with a minimal set of features), getting feedback from customers, refining your product based on user feedback and then re-launching your product. Quora is one of the better designed new products of the past few years in my opinion. Rinse & repeat.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. Another factor that impacts a patent’s value is its type, of which there are essentially two: utility patents and design patents. Utility patents generally offer more protection than design patents and are thus usually more valuable.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2015

With a realistic prototype, you can get more accurate feedback from customers on their real need and what they might pay, before you invest millions on the final product. Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Quantify the implementation challenges. Show investors that you are committed, and past the idea stage.

Ideas 107

Ideas Outsource Development Startup Tool 107

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2016

Of course, every risk level can be mitigated by a good plan that addresses the issue, offers a credible action plan, and will convince you, as well as investors and customers, that what looks like a risk to many is actually a sustainable competitive advantage for your startup. Huge ramp-up time and money required.

Startup 104

Startup Entrepreneur Sites Technical Review 104

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

As eBay, we have the ability to really focus on a more, family friendly experience, and put more customer service behind our product. That''s a major differentiator in the way we''ve designed this. Of course, we have technology to help us with that, but we offer human intervention to make sure that transactions go smoothly.

San Diego 100

San Diego Mobile Marketing Sites 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2013

Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. That means it solves a real problem for real customers who are ready and able to spend real money. The number of current potential customers is large and growing.

Startup 96

Startup Course Yahoo Funding 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2017

Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. That means it solves a real problem for real customers who are ready and able to spend real money. The number of current potential customers is large and growing.

Snapchat 55

Snapchat Startup Course Yahoo 55

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2014

With a realistic prototype, you can get more accurate feedback from customers on their real need and what they might pay, before you invest millions on the final product. Time is money, and may be your primary competitive advantage. Quantify the implementation challenges. Show investors that you are committed, and past the idea stage.

Outsource Development 105

Outsource Development Startup Ideas Tool 105

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2010

This post is designed mostly for non-technical founders. Of course I’m generalizing. They care about the quality of what is build more than they care about end customers. As you head into the phase where you’ve had real customers paying real money for a period of time you’ll have a whole new set of issues.

CTO Hire 400

CTO Hire Fractional VPE Startup Outsource Development 400

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 2, 2011

Their slideshow presentations addressed a number of questions about their products including target demographics, customer needs, marketing avenues, financial/revenue streams, leading competitors, and etc. Seek out similar academic competitions and programs. Don’t take no for an answer. Find a hero.

Technical Review 82

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review USC 82