Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

A while back, I wrote about the importance of a “ sustainable competitive advantage ,” and outlined the business plan value and limitations of patents and competitor feature comparisons. But once you start selling products, all of these pale in comparison to your level of customer service. Exceed customer expectations.

Customer 90

Customer Custom Services Startup 90

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. A competitive advantage to a non-problem or tiny niche is not interesting to investors.

Competition 86

Competition Patents Startup Customer 86

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Today’s customers demand more than a good product; they expect a great customer experience. A few companies are leading the way, including Apple with their iPad and iPhone, offering irresistible stores with friendly experts, elegant packaging, and customer service that never ends. Experience using the product is only one stage.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

Your concept has to be understood by customers and investors in 30 seconds or less, and everyone needs to immediately see how awesome it would be, or that they would be nuts not to have it. I’m looking for the “hook” right up front, or I lose interest quickly, just like every customer and investor these days.

Startup 166

Startup Education Ideas Customer 166

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2013

As I visit the websites of many startups, as well as more mature businesses, I still too often see a “contact” page offering nothing but a sterile form for customers to submit, never to be heard from again. Customers are not all like you, and they have choices, so a “one size fits all” customer service is no longer a viable option.

Social Media 99

Social Media Customer Custom Media 99

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2022

Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. To get to the core of what’s relevant to customers, you need to know them well. Educational. The eye is just as important as the mind when it comes to customers.

Content 146

Content Newsletter Competition Writing 146

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2019

Image via Flickr by jardenberg Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. To get to the core of what’s relevant to customers, you need to know them well. Educational. Visually appealing. Make sure your paragraphs are short.

Customer 93

Customer Custom Marketing Tips 93

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

Fallacy: Startup ventures tend to evolve, especially after you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. In addition to paying the consultant, you must invest time to educate them. Thus, you have negotiating leverage as long as a legitimate, competitive threat exists. Perform China Syndrome Market Analysis.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

By spending more time educating your board on your business you get more valuable advice from them. Partly out of the fact that in 1 week I depart for England to speak at LeWeb, attend our DataSift board meeting and generally make myself available to the DataSift team to meet their customers, partners and employees. Assigns tasks.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2013

The customer gets a great price, and the retailer gets both a new customer and a new sale. You can walk into any audio/video store, including Best Buy or Home Depot, and negotiate with the sales or customer service representative. Plus, they also get to acquire a new customer. It''s almost a lead generation process.

Pricing 273

Pricing Product Help Sales 273

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2015

But the bigger truth is the competition is important. We will have two well-funded companies educating the market on why this market opportunity for the $24 billion US storage market is ripe for disruption. Healthy competition keeps you on your toes. Stay focused on your business, your market and your customers.

Funding 150

Funding Competition Marketing Summary 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Often, despite your passion and expectation, customers don’t immediately see the value and need that you see, and you have no idea why the initiative is stuck , and what could be the real customer issue or fix. Customers won’t buy what they can’t find or don’t understand. Customers need supporting approvals to fully benefit.

Product 141

Product Services Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 141

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

Linktree leads the space, securing a recent $45 million Series B raise to build out e-commerce features, but Beacons boasts competitive creator monetization tools with just a $6 million seed round in May. Now, Snipfeed enters the ring with its own $5.5 Image Credits: Snipfeed. With its $5.5

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

SoCal Tech Calendar

FEBRUARY 6, 2009

Thursday, February 12, 2009 -- Caltech Executive Education: Taking Technology Products to Market. Stand out in your competitive marketplace. Attend this 2 day course to learn how to provide customers with crystal-clear product positioning, meaningful branding, and carefully timed launch strategies. See [link] (more).

Product 100

Product Marketing Technology CalTech 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2021

For example, I believe that Starbucks surprised most people by proving that they could take a commodity business, a coffee shop, and make it a worldwide profit winner, just by justifying premium pricing with a quality product, the right locations, personalized service, and appealing to the professional customer personas.

Pricing 145

Pricing Startup Competition Examples 145

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. That means educating targeted supporters is key, even before you start to sell. A startup needs to find a voice relevant to its ecosystem.

Education 151

Education Customer Custom Sales 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Subtraction leads to simplicity, better usability, and easier education of your customers. Find new ways to augment. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

We spoke with one of those companies-- El Segundo-based ConsumerTrack (www.consumertrack.com)--which is a $30M, bootstrapped an online marketing company which is driving millions of customers to big name, financial customers. That''s when we started looking at credit repair, online education, and others.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

socalTECH

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Specifically, we look at digital media, healthcare IT, e-commerce, education technology and financial services. We don't need for you to be breakeven company, but a business with paying customers is great validation in itself. I think the right team and network are very important, as is traction, validated by customers.

Funding 253

Funding Startup Invest Commerce 253

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California. All-Star Alumni. Am I biased?

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2011

There is lots of competition in this area for serving retirement homes. Back to the website, describe who the demographics are of your customers? You mentioned earlier that the customers you are targeting tend to be pretty busy-- what's your strategy to get those customers to sign up and stay? It's fun an effective.

Study 252

Study Startup Design Tips 252

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

What I want to hear is an innovative marketing and growth strategy that will set you apart in the minds of investors, as well as customers. Today’s customer is especially attracted to companies like TOMS , who donates a pair of shoes for every pair they sell, or Patagonia, with its support for grassroots environmental groups.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

socalTECH

OCTOBER 25, 2012

I've really gotten an in-depth education about what women want when buying and selling online. RecycledBride was really the testing ground and gave us an education of the ins- and outs- of this market an dhow it works, and gave us extensive user testing. Also, as I was in the process of fundraising, the space became very competitive.

Startup 236

Startup Education Acquisition Funding 236

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Apparently with a physical storefront where it can convince customers of the wonders of on-demand mobility. Educate them on the benefits, educate them on safety, and provide helmets.” “Lime would have an opportunity to control the narrative, engage with the local community, and invest in Santa Monica.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Throughout all of this we saw a tinkerer, a problem solver and a completely obsessed leader who was competitive and wanted to win. But we were sure that Jamie would be maniacally focused on improving the product, marketing the dream to consumers and out-maneuvering the slower-moving competition. We weren’t sure.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 30, 2012

I generally encourage my UC Santa Barbara students to complete their formal education before joining or creating a startup. But it's also about operations and customer relationships." Despite the relative dominance of product-oriented innovations, they seldom create sustainable competitive advantages.

Tips 247

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Santa Barbara 247

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 8, 2011

As I note in MBA Education and Other Oxymorons entry, my roommates and I hosted a weekly poker game while attending Wharton. Amarillo’s advice is consistent with my comments in the Startup Competition ; get to know your competitors on a personal basis, while appearing as innocuous as possible. Poker is one such game.

Startup 207

Startup Entrepreneur Competition Guide 207

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2021

It seems to be more a function of mindset and principles, more than education or natural ability. Your strengths are your real competitive advantages, so focus on them. Deliver value to your customer, to accrue value in you. Value to a customer means you are solving their problem, not highlighting yours.

Education 148

Education Mentor Customer Custom 148

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Out of 41 companies who submitted their software for approval, only three were accepted--us, McGraw Hill, and Peoples Education. In terms of the software, our student learning software, we're able to provide a very customized, personalized learning experience for students. Software is set to be transformative in the space of education.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. Many businesses have found that raising the price of a product to give it status can win more customers than a price war. Think the unthinkable.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2020

The Internet is the problem, by facilitating constant change, and it’s the solution, by providing an absolutely current view of customers, trends, and best practices. It requires an attitude of self-education, versus an assumption that someone else will provide the education. Building a new business is not rocket science.

Social Media 127

Social Media Startup Education Entrepreneur 127

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

If you have a commercial/industrial customer, or a federal customer, who wants to maximize the output from their rooftop, they can use our product. In terms of costs, our focus has been on offering an install cost competitive with high end flat panels. that energy. How do you get above the noise?

Southern California 133

Southern California Design Pasadena Education 133

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 23, 2012

When enhancing your value proposition, ask the same question a newcomer would ask, "what is the best way for users to interact with the new features, irrespective of the existing customer experience?" The typical startup cannot afford a massive ad campaign to educate users as to its value proposition. " [Tweet this quote].

Startup 268

Startup Tips CTO Coach Technical Review 268

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2023

The Internet is the problem, by facilitating constant change, and it’s the solution, by providing an absolutely current view of customers, trends, and best practices. It requires an attitude of self-education, versus an assumption that someone else will provide the education. Building a new business is not rocket science.

Social Media 120

Social Media Startup Entrepreneur Education 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2014

Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. To get to the core of what’s relevant to customers, you need to know them well. Educational. The eye is just as important as the mind when it comes to customers.

Startup 103

Startup Content Newsletter Writing 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2013

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. That means educating targeted supporters is key, even before you start to sell. A startup needs to find a voice relevant to its ecosystem.

Startup 117

Startup Education Customer Custom 117

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Most entrepreneur that fail are quick to offer a litany of constraints that caused their demise – not enough money, time, customers, or support from the right players. Subtraction leads to simplicity, better usability, and easier education of your customers. Find new ways to augment. Marty Zwilling

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112