Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. You need to have a technical genius on the team to get your startup product off the ground. The sales professional. The financial suit.

Technical Advisors 123

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 123

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entrée for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. Yet you may not be so sure where to start, and how to put it all together. Emeril Lagasse is always ready to “kick it up a notch!”

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. My first startup was no different. They are the lifeblood of many companies yet they are different than the traditional technology startup DNA so the ways that you hire, motivate, compensate and assess performance of these individuals will be different.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 23, 2021

Ironically, as a startup investor and mentor, I have seen too many failures caused by just the opposite – too much money spent too soon, taking time to get product perfection, and assuming customers will wait. How many times have you actually made up work to keep an idle person busy? Create new kinds of solutions. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 164

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Competition 164

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Thus, financial projections for up to five years are a necessary element in every business plan. Per the words of an old country song, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” If you are losing money on every unit, it’s hard to make it up in volume. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

InfoChachkie

APRIL 13, 2015

Avoid a simple pricing mistake which could sink your startup. Vendors often respond by discounting their prices at the 11th hour, in the hopes a lower price will spur a purchase. However, if you never offer price discounts to anyone, you can resist all such requests by deferring to your company “policy.”

Pricing 100

Pricing Startup Sales SaaS 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Even the strongest relationships are often tested and broken by the stresses of a new startup.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2020

One of the quickest ways to become an entrepreneur these days is to develop and publish a smartphone app. The price of entry can be less than $10,000, so the competition is huge and growing rapidly. According to Tim Cook at Apple, there were over 20 million registered developers in 2018. Look for value points to control.

Mobile 126

Mobile Develop Development Platform 126

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 5, 2015

In his premier film appearance in the blaxploitation send-up “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” Chris Rock inadvertently addresses a key pricing challenge faced by most entrepreneurs. Watch this 93-second clip and see if you can identify the pricing pitfall addressed in this humorous snippet. Price = Value. How Much For A Rib?

Pricing 100

Pricing Product Startup Customer 100

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. A Biden presidency doesn’t need a Green New Deal to make progress on climate change.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. This is the first business process that every startup needs, that I wouldn’t expect to find for a hobby. Solution development and delivery. Managing to specific goals, priorities, and a plan.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Ironically, as a startup investor and mentor, I have seen too many failures caused by just the opposite – too much money spent too soon, taking time to get product perfection, and assuming customers will wait. How many times have you actually made up work to keep an idle person busy? Create new kinds of solutions. Marty Zwilling

Resource 112

Resource Ideas Competition Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 28, 2022

Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. He outlines a three-phase process to develop the necessary business culture of energy, resilience, and openness: Nurture your current leadership strengths. Customer loyalty and trust go up for companies with a purpose culture.

Organization 143

Organization Startup Pricing Customer 143

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. This is part of a series on a Board of Directors at a Startup.

Startup 269

Startup Venture Capital Layoffs Resource 269

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2010

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free (like Twitter), to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). So what are some of the most common revenue models being used by startups today?

Pricing 98

Pricing Product Startup Competition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entree for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. Yet you may not be so sure where to start, and how to put it all together. Emeril Lagasse is always ready to “kick it up a notch!”

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Startup founders are known for their passion for their startup idea, and for their passion to kill every competitor. It provided an industry-leading graphic development interface, but was not so strong on modeling and simulation. Ability to up-sell customers with related products. We both often lost as a result.

Startup 173

Startup Outsource Development Examples Customer 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. I certainly agree that starting a business is fraught with risk, and none of us get it all right the first time.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

They are devastated when their business growth never starts or stalls, and they have no idea how to get it moving again. As an advisor to many startups, I often spend hours with business owners helping them anticipate every possible obstacle to the adoption of their solution, and developing a rollout plan to include antidotes.

Case Study 174

Case Study Startup Customer Custom 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

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

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. Today you have funders focused exclusively on “Day 0” startups or ones that aren’t even created yet. By definition?—?I’m two founders in a garage?—?(HP

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. One of them is profitability.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

These approaches allow your startup to grow more rapidly, save costs, but costly mistakes can lead to business failure. Fixed price bidding is the only effective outsourcing model.” Getting a fixed price bid works for well-defined short-term projects, like blogging or programming. Be flexible. Recognize and embrace differences.

Outsource Development 138

Outsource Development Outsource Summary Training 138

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

If you’re a startup and you don’t have a close relationship with a few law firms you’re really missing one of the most important relationships that any entrepreneur can have. Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2013

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). So what are some of the most common revenue models being used by startups today? Value model.

Pricing 116

Pricing Product Customer Custom 116

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. This happens slowly because while public markets trade daily and prices then adjust instantly, private markets don’t get reset until follow-on financing rounds happen which can take 6–24 months.

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

As a startup investor, I often see business proposals looking for funding that really look like expensive hobbies looking for donations. This is the first business process that every startup needs, that I wouldn’t expect to find for a hobby. Solution development and delivery. Managing to specific goals, priorities, and a plan.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

As a tech startup grows it needs to develop more process & management if it is to scale. Some objections are real and they end up becoming changes to your product, your service plan or your pricing / bundling. More experienced sales leaders seldom compete on price. It is tacit knowledge.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. Here is my list of key drivers that I find critical to thriving in big businesses, as well as startups: Networking to build and maintain key relationships.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 23, 2012

"I started the site when I was 19. "When you give everyone a voice and give people power, the system usually ends up in a really good place. " When asked about the competition he feared most, Bill Gates is alleged to have said, "the two guys inventing away in a garage somewhere." 1) Get A Mentor. "I

Startup 268

Startup Tips CTO Coach Technical Review 268

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2012

Most entrepreneurs expect to face the “normal” challenges of starting a business, which include finding the right opportunity, building and executing a winning plan, and financing their venture. Yet before you start, you should think about what the impact might be on your psyche, and how to neutralize these challenges in your own plan.

Startup 94

Startup Pricing Entrepreneur Training 94

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2014

But, how do you start? The old way was difficult, time consuming, and often expensive; referrals, calling up lawyers, going through initial consultations. We spoke with Michael Chasin, the company''s co-founder, about the startup. You fill out the short questionnaire, lawyers submit their price quotes, and they get hired.

Help 240

Help Startup CTO Hire Pricing 240

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

The cost of any new product these days must include education and rollout marketing, perhaps equal or greater than the development costs. Solution may require new category development time. Target audience may be limited or new due to price. Even more important than solution marketing is building your brand.

Product 141

Product Services Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 141