Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Yet, as a business consultant, I often find minimal focus on improving employee engagement and assessing their customer-facing performance. For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Of course it’s a competitive market so MCNs competing for top talent not only compete on rev share to talent but also to services that they provide talent. Building direct customer relationships with viewers (who want to tune into your channels). Selling at smaller retailers will net you fewer customers and higher margins.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2023

With interactive social media and video everywhere, everyone needs to feel they have a relationship with their leaders, and every brand needs leader personification for customers to relate. Interact with employees and customers on a regular basis. Never be too busy to talk to real customers. by Steven D.

Customer 140

Customer Custom Social Media Metrics 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Display ads on mobile devices, including video and audio, also offer a new opportunity to reach target customers. Some consider direct mail very expensive or dead as a lead-generation tool.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Marketing Startup 146

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 30, 2014

In order to support all of these teams, there are several on-campus startup competitions every year, from the Silicon Beach USC competition to the New Venture Seed Competition, with prize funds to help build the companies. The post HipTraveler | Taking Startup Competitions by Storm appeared first on TechZulu.

Competition 104

Competition Startup USC Southern California 104

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

As a startup advisor, I see too many entrepreneurs get distracted by technology or their favorite cause, and then wonder why they can’t find an investor, attract customers, or build a long-term business. These principles include the following: Free and ultra-low cost may no longer be competitive.

Customer 103

Customer Custom Competition Netflix 103

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2010

In the first part of this post I talked about how sales in a startup is often evangelical , requires as consultative sale and needs constant adjustments based on customer feedback. Or the sales decks will all be customized by your “feet on the street&# and won’t resemble the way you THINK your company is being positioned.

Sales 286

Sales Newsletter Technical Review Activity 286

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Two years after the Los Angeles-based fintech startup Dave launched with a suite of money management tools to save consumers from overdraft fees , the company is now worth $1 billion thanks to a nascent banking practice that had investors lining up. Chime now has 5 million customers and introduces overdraft alternative.

Company 262

Company Companies Startup Tips 262

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

Customer empowerment is moving so fast nowadays that many of us are running to just catch up. Blame the Internet for this rise in customer expectations. But don’t close your eyes to the fact that your customers have grown to expect your products or services in the form of…. WHAT I want, WHEN I want, and WHERE I want.’.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Demand Email 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

As a startup advisor, I see too many entrepreneurs get distracted by technology or their favorite cause, and then wonder why they can’t find an investor, attract customers, or build a long-term business. These principles include the following: Free and ultra-low cost may no longer be competitive.

Customer 101

Customer Custom Competition Netflix 101

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2014

There’s a healthy balance between allowing a design team to dream up functional requirements, talk with customers, analyze competitors and for technical projects – research the latest cool-kid tools to play with. We’ve all been involved with projects that seem to drift and drift and make progress.

Software 344

Software Startup Design Course 344

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. Image Credits: Snipfeed. With its $5.5

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

One of the companies recognized in Qualcomm's QPrize annual business plan competition has scored a series A funding, four years after being named a finalist in the Qualcomm effort. Singapore-based Capillary Technologies , a developer of mobile customer relationship management (CRM) tools, said it has raised $15.5M

Funding 168

Funding San Diego Competition Mobile 168

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

We talked with Noah about how the company grew out of a business plan competition at the University of Southern California, his recent funding from the Maverick Angels, as well as how the firm hopes to stand out among a crowded list of comparison shopping sites. Noah Auerhahn: Our difference, is we're customer centric.

USC 207

USC CPC Sites Startup 207

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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2020

It’s clear things have changed for good and the need for managing remote communities of employees, customers and partners has become ever more important. In marketing materials founders often refer to their customer base as a “community”, but there’s a huge gap between having customers and creating a community.

Software 234

Software Startup Tool Platform 234

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 was standing with him when he won the TechCrunch 50 award.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2013

Many startups and mature businesses have not yet adapted to the fact that customer satisfaction in this “always connected” age is more than product and service quality. It’s more about which customers broadcast their pleasure or unhappiness to others. Here are four basics that always apply: Customer retention is priority number one.

Customer 97

Customer Custom Satisfaction Social Media 97

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2015

Many startups and mature businesses have not yet accepted the fact that customer satisfaction and loyalty in this “always connected” age are about more than product and service quality. They are all about how customers broadcast their pleasure or unhappiness to others. Customer upsell: Sell more to existing customers.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Satisfaction Social Media 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

Here’s Why You Should Just Send the Deck I know you have your document sending tool to send your fund-raising deck to VCs and track who read your deck, which pages they read and how much time they spend on each page. Competition isn’t won or lost by your marketing decks?—?it’s What should not be in your deck? A deck is a deck.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

As I talk to many of you in my role as business advisor, I still often hear the concern for maximum return to the business and stakeholders, more than a passion for sustainably enriching the lives of your customers and team. This applies to your own team, as well as customers. Make every customer experience memorable.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Here are some of the tools in the Swiss Army Knife that your team needs to be armed with to scale: (this article was originally posted on GigaOm in a shorter format.). This document was important both for giving customers confidence as well as protecting our liability in the case of outages.

Sales 296

Sales Pricing Startup Customer 296

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

Therein lies the advantages of free markets and competition and if we really believed it were that easy to buy off your largest competitor and be a monopolist we’d all be surfing on AOL TimeWarner portals. Customers were happy and restaurants focused on their in-store business. they just put up with the food delivery company fees.

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Whether it be for publications, social marketing, or even those once-necessary postal mailers, we have tools now that were not available just a few years ago. You’ll have less competition. Keep your customer in mind. So, let’s up our marketing knowledge first with a few short answers to marketing questions….

Marketing 266

Marketing Advertising Resource Social Media 266

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Further, based on results from the annual Sierra-Cedar HR Systems Survey , businesses that use data and tools in their people management, rather than traditional manual processes, see a 79% higher return than other organizations, suggesting the time is ripe for relying on data and analytics. Working on the wrong problem or assumption.

Metrics 98

Metrics Tool Statistics Entrepreneur 98

Berkonomics

AUGUST 13, 2011

One of the most valuable tools in an executive’s arsenal is the use of the question chain in planning meetings or to analyze scenarios that might result from an action. As a result, his was the only company among the competition to continue to service his medical industry customers when just such an event occurred.

Develop 191

Develop Development .Net Competition 191

socalTECH

JUNE 9, 2014

According to OpenX, the new product combines real-time-bidding (RTB) and ad network demand into a single auction system, which can help publishers maximize their advertising yield and increasing competition for their inventory. OpenX said that such customers as YP, TVGuide.com, and the New York Observer are already using the product.

OpenX 159

OpenX Product Advertising Demand 159

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

There is nothing more pure than building a product, putting it out in the world and seeing paying customers using your product and in some cases loving it. As companies get this initial customer feedback on their product they start to have to ask harder questions about unit economics: How much does it cost us to acquire a new customer?

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

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

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

It’s building a product that is substantially differentiated, and, as Bill Gross, one of the most prolific tech entrepreneurs of our era says, “ It needs to be 10x better than the competition ” (because if you shoot for that then in competitive markets you might achieve 3x. Rebelling is simply a form of snobbery.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 20, 2012

Rapidly and repeatedly hiring star employees is a competitive advantage. Although this is a core competency that must be honed over time, there is a cadre of SaaS hiring tools that the world’s leading tech companies deploy to their advantage. Job Syndication And Customized Job Boards. Right Candidates For The Right Jobs .

SaaS 209

SaaS Tool Startup Screening 209

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2019

Is your marketing focus product-centric or customer-centric ? With a wealth of products now available, customers look for the most memorable experience , not just the best product. Amazon is very customer-centric, but it can make all the difference in retail as well as online. Status factors are more important than demographics.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Metrics 85

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

As a startup advisor, I see too many entrepreneurs get distracted by technology or their favorite cause, and then wonder why they can’t find an investor, attract customers, or build a long-term business. These principles include the following: Free and ultra-low cost may no longer be competitive.

Marketing 124

Marketing Customer Custom Competition 124

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

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 2, 2009

Twitter is the new CRM (customer relationship management) channel. The volume of Tweets is enormous and growing at a rapid pace so tools are emerging to help brands manage this information. Tools (covered at the end of the post) are emerging to help us to automate this process given the sheer volume of Tweets we must now monitor.

Social Network 235

Social Network Writing Tool Startup 235

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. Marketing, recruiting, building data products & tools, event management, analyzing the portfolio, etc. And all the platform stuff.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

As a CEO you never stop needing to go on sales calls (or to work the phones in telesales or customer support) and ceasing to do this as your company grows because you’re focusing on investors, recruiting, PR or whatever is a mistake. I also make visits to senior level customers of portfolio companies with which I’m involved.

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308