Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 26, 2010

Competition. And the reality is that if you have no competition it will likely be perceived as a negative, not positive. And the reality is that if you have no competition it will likely be perceived as a negative, not positive. Here’s some thoughts on the competition slide and also how to talk about it: Competition.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Slides Competition Education 313

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

VC firms see thousands of deals and have a refined sense of how the market is valuing deals because they get price signals across all of these deals. As an entrepreneur it can feel as intimidating as going to buy a car where the dealer knows the price of every make & model of a car and you’re guessing at how much to pay.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Here is a sample of the reading list for the course that gives you a flavor for just how modern and practical this course is. Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Berkonomics

JULY 6, 2017

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. The phone could be used for receiving incoming calls when in the restaurant, on the golf course or anywhere. In this case, the competition was not from a company but a new technology. There is no competition.” Back to 1996.

Competition 266

Competition Research Summary Pricing 266

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. Sales people will often blame your pricing. They lost the deal because your competitors dropped price. Customers seldom buy on price. Sure, you need to be competitive on price.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 17, 2010

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. I have stated previously that I love absolutes – statements with no wiggle room for gray-area responses. The phone could be used for receiving incoming calls when in the restaurant, on the golf course or anywhere. There is no competition.”

Marketing 247

Marketing Competition Research Summary 247

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2012

The vision part is fine, but successful entrepreneurs have found that the extreme uncertainty of a new product or service usually requires many course corrections, or “pivots” to find a successful formula. Channel pivots usually require unique pricing, feature, and competitive positioning adjustments. Technology pivot.

Course 109

Course Startup Platform Entrepreneur 109

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

When they look at buying your company they often think in terms of “how long will it take until I earn back the profits to pay for my acquisition price?” of course there are MUCH more sophisticated financial tools than either of these, but PEG is a short-hand many people use]. Investors value growth.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

<== Our conclusion was that this isn’t a temporary blip that will swiftly trend-back up in a V-shaped recovery of valuations but rather represented a new normal on how the market will price these companies somewhat permanently. Of course our execution against the strategy has had to change but the strategy has remained constant.

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. Sales people will often blame your pricing. They lost the deal because your competitors dropped price. Customers seldom buy on price. Sure, you need to be competitive on price.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

I call this “arming & aiming&# your sales teams where you need to standardize both the assignment of territories, industries & accounts (aiming) as well as the process of selling, the collateral, the legal agreements & pricing. We moved toward more standardized pricing (e.g. Ditto the CFO.

Sales 296

Sales Pricing Startup Customer 296

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Prior recognition and visibility in the target market is invaluable from a competitive perspective. Investors check connections.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

As the school year kicks off for college students, one of the big tasks of the year is buying books for their courses. Every price comparison out there, whether that's Google Products, Bizrate, or other sites, can find books, but you can only do it one at a time. Jonathan Simkin: Certainly, it is extremely competitive.

UCSD 185

UCSD Course Startup Sites 185

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

OPEC (the organization of petroleum exporting countries) is a cartel that was set up in the 1960′s and represents the interests of the 12 biggest oil producing countries in the world with the goal of increasing prices of oil, a good supplied in limited quantities to a world that had insatiable demand for the product.

Hulu 292

Hulu Technical Review Content Advertising 292

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

Ability to source information easily to help build a thesis around companies / industries / competition. He jumped into some portfolio company exercises to help with pricing strategies, budget templates, M&A support, marketing function reviews, etc and started to show us how valuable he was to entrepreneurs.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

They will have to negotiate price and terms. Therefore of course they need to be more selection when writing checks and can’t spread their bets across 75 deals. Of course it’s obvious that it helps the self-interested syndicate lead who gets carry if the investment is successful. And Fred points out.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

But if you raise the money at the big price (or any price) please go in with the expectation that you are going to build a large, long-term business. Raising a large round at whatever price will almost certainly take many potential buyers off the table. to justify a “strategic” price. Think about it. .”

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Pricing Social Network Acquisition 316

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Of course it makes no sense to have great people management and a crappy product. But I would posit that in order to sustainably build great products in an intensely competitive industry with skills shortages – people management is one of the most critical soft skills organizations need. And, yes, it is politics at its purest.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2019

Most entrepreneurs are quick to assert to potential investors that their product or solution will kill the competition, but unfortunately your opinion alone is not enough to convince most experienced investors. Of course, we all know there are no guarantees, and we like your passion and commitment to future results.

Competition 86

Competition Patents Startup Customer 86

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

And of course Foundry Group, Union Square and a whole host of other firms including my own. But one problem it is causing is that early-stage deal prices are creeping up again higher than historic norms. Price MUST be in a certain range. Excess capital will drive up prices in that segment and drive down returns.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

In the same year they won Business Insider’s Startup competition. In industry this is known as “yield management” and of course it needs to exist. I was standing with him when he won the TechCrunch 50 award. RedBeacon was the 3rd winner (year 1: Yammer, year 2: Mint.com) – not bad company. Nice sweep!

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury. Prior recognition and visibility in the target market is invaluable from a competitive perspective. Investors check connections.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

Berkonomics

JULY 9, 2011

Product differentiation is absolutely necessary to make a sale when there is visible competition, as there usually is in any sale. Provide a deadline after which the price will increase, the sale will end, the product will be re-allocated to another customer, or a tax credit will expire. Why buy it?”.

Sales 222

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 222

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

As a starting point I have to believe the founder has the attributes of an entrepreneur that matter most to me : Tenacity, resiliency, inspiration, perspiration, attention-to-detail, competitiveness, decisiveness, risk tolerance and integrity. Of course I also have to the concept. It’s not enough to love the founding team.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 23, 2012

Suppliers need you to be a good customer, to pay a reasonable price for goods or services, to pay your bills on time, and of course to reorder when the time comes. Good suppliers want to create solutions to your needs and distance themselves from their competition.

Course 176

Course Customer Custom Email 176

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. The phone could be used for receiving incoming calls when in the restaurant, on the golf course or anywhere. In this case, the competition was not from a company but from a new technology. There is no competition.”

Competition 156

Competition Research Summary Pricing 156

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

Product differentiation is absolutely necessary to make a sale when there is visible competition, as there usually is in any sale. Provide a deadline after which the price will increase, the sale will end, the product will be re-allocated to another customer, or a tax credit will expire. Why buy it?”. Why buy MINE? .

Sales 226

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 226

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

These are all dumb reason to invest – of course. So let’s consider a bad (but likely) scenario where either you don’t hit your targets, the market sours or competition is kicking your butt making it hard to fund raise. Each VC came on with different information, at a different price and with a different risk appetite.

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Startup Invest Pricing 314

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2014

Last year at this time I spoke at VidCon and gave this presentation in which I said YouTube was “the Walmart of Online Video” but I also commented that I felt YouTube was vulnerable to competition because their rev share to MCNs wasn’t high enough to allow MCNs to build a profitable business inside of YouTube.

Invest 291

Invest Content Media Networking 291

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 22, 2011

But of course tens of thousands of people saw the headline while probably 10% of them or less watched the video. If I’m in GroupMe’s shoes (and I’ve never met the founders) I think I’d be a seller at the price reportedly paid by Skype. Yes, the competition going forward will be strong.

Company 295

Company Companies Gogii Google 295

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Of course we have to believe that there is a viable market, a differentiated product offering and a chance to build something defensible but if you do those basics right you still get crushed without an amazingly talented founder. With Ring it became your doorbell so of course you always use it when someone’s at your door.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2021

You have figured out how to undercut your competitor’s price, and still hold your margin. 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 160

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 160

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2011

Of course we know that this is already happening as web services are now driving significant portions of the Internet and people are driving toward a future Semantic Web. Stock you’re tracking goes below your purchase price? But of course not everybody has. Major congestion on your normal route to work?

News 324

News Web Email Startup 324

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

Of course, investors still require a profitable business model, and the potential for high returns. Startups can use social responsibility as a competitive advantage. That’s a real competitive edge that you can use in your marketing and positioning. Socially responsible products typically sell at a premium price.

Startup 149

Startup Organization Customer Custom 149

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. Capital of course drives scale advantages and when you have “winner take most” markets it also has a way of scaring away some investors from investing in the 3–5th “me too” competitors. Are the scooters safe?

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2012

Formal training courses. The result is a sinking feeling after some time that you are no longer vital and competitive in your own domain. Daily attendance is mandatory in order for the business to succeed and be profitable, and the so-called freedom is hard to find. Vacations and time-off don’t happen for years.

Startup 94

Startup Pricing Entrepreneur Training 94

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Of course I have. He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving. And of course you need a mature venture capital industry. This article originally ran on TechCrunch. I’m in Seattle this week. Can’t list them all.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317