Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Data helps avoid predetermined (and often erroneous) approaches to solving your people problems. Use data analysis and metrics to measure for results. Data, however, removes guesswork, biases, and anecdotal reasoning that can throw decision efforts off course. Working on the wrong problem or assumption.

Metrics 98

Metrics Tool Statistics Entrepreneur 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

There are of course many Seed VCs who take board seats, don’t over-commit to too many deals and try to help with “company building” activities to help at a company’s vulnerable foundations. at this scale it’s easier for us to help fund a seed extension. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. It was a way to make it hard for your competition to compete. We wanted new things to exist and to solve new problems and to see our creations come to life.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

Back when we were all trying to figure out the real value of traffic on the web, we investors – and acquiring companies – got a bit crazy with metrics used to value acquisitions and investments. And the most logical one seemed to be “eyeballs” or number of unique users finding their way to the site or registering for the service.

Metrics 207

Metrics Sites Advertising Web 207

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. In addition to helping manage the board Chris also helps represent the interests of the angel investors / common stock holders. Assigns tasks. Assign away.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

No amount of tracking when she read your deck is going to truly help you get inside her head so those benefits are oversold. Summary: Send the Deck Pitch decks are sales & marketing decks and like in any sales activity, any great sales person assumes his or her competition will eventually get their deck. A deck is a deck.

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Sometimes they rush to raise cash because they don’t have a well articulated product / market fit and they think having more money will help them have more time to prove the business. The team has stated it and has built metrics around key goals for future success. They see capital raising at the success validator. ” True.

Startup 401

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 401

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

I believe, though, that they need to be taught more in the context of helping people develop meaningful careers that position them to succeed financially in the changing world in which we live. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition. He spoke about ROCE (return on capital employed).

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

Rather they should get a part-time Acting CTO who can help close the gap. Bottom line – if as you recognize this gap, then reach out to get a slice of a CTO who can help bridge the gap. How do we need to structure the systems to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition? What are the biggest areas of technical risk?

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

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. But hope it helps you think about how one investor approaches his job. Early stage.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

But to help with the explanation I’d like to put down some markers of typical Internet pre-money valuations done in major US markets (San Fran, NY, LA, etc.) while acknowledging that San Fran deals are often higher valuations due to increased competition amongst investors. Use competition to make sure you get a fair price.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

How do we need to structure the systems to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition? What metrics are going to be the key startup metrics and how do we get those metrics without too much cost? I believe you will find lots of CTOs quite willing to help you as a mentor. How can we address this risk?

CTO Coach 231

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Develop 231

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

That’s certainly one function of every board but if your board is your “brain trust” and the people you can most use as a sounding board to help you make the toughest decisions in your company and if its the one group truly privy to your most confidential information and your hardest choices then it’s a shame if you don’t get more value.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

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. Incentives should be a combination of metrics and recognition to highlight results. Incent and reward employees who delight customers.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2011

We have a very sophisticated, analytics and software platform that over half the Fortune 50 are now using, to help guide how they invest in marketing and sales activities and investments. Essentially, we help them learn how to get more with less, and also how to consider new investments in things like social media, mobile marketing, or video.

Social Media 235

Social Media Demand Activity Marketing 235

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

MakeSpace (as he named it) would help you get your excess goods into low-cost warehouses. In the case of MakeSpace we had huge initial successes in New York City as Rahul led the scaling of our drivers, our trucks and our warehouses and we figured out the right price points to beat the local competition.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2017

Pick a single metric that is the focus for all growth. Today’s world is full of metrics leading to business growth, including customer logins, revenue per customer, retention, and average solution price. Revenue and competitive position followed. Less is more. How many do you already practice today?

Competition 65

Competition Social Media Metrics Customer 65

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

They also have a very smart and efficient approach to creative development that was critical to helping us scale,” she wrote. (If In today’s highly competitive ad environment, both content and data are kings. Have you worked with a talented individual or agency who helped you find and keep more users?

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Consultants Don’t Pivot, Founders Do - Steve Blank , May 13, 2010 Consultants can help startups leverage their limited resources. The topic was VC signaling in seed rounds — and how these signals help or hurt your ability to raise money in the next round. At best I think business plan competitions are a waste of time.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

Decide what to measure and create metrics. In a large organization, online surveys and questionnaires are helpful. Design your invisible competitive advantage. Remember that every specific competitive advantage is temporary – every product or service becomes a commodity over time. You only get what you measure.

Develop 135

Develop Development Startup Metrics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2021

Waste in a startup is any activity that burns resources, but creates no value or competitive advantage in the eyes of customers. Trying to do too many things with too few resources, usually means the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition. Hire real help and learn to delegate.

Startup 161

Startup Resource Training Entrepreneur 161

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. Early customer feedback will position your solution, and help you make pivots before critical time and money are lost. The cost of social media done well is low.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

If you have a market lead then raising capital and making investments now will help you as others enter the market. So while the simplest way that people often evaluate stocks is by P/E ratios (price-to-earnings), one also needs to look at other metrics such as the PEG (price-to-earnings-growth). [of ” The Details.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2022

As an entrepreneur, what steps can you take to help your business not only survive the data hurricane, but to thrive under these new and challenging conditions? Data enable: use metrics and measurements. Extend data metrics into non-traditional channels, such as email, internal social media, and customer collaboration platforms.

Startup 126

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 126

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

He has set up an office, a process & people around him that are helpful to entrepreneurs in need of hands-on skills in a mass service way. Helped get the first security to ever be sold over the internet with a credit card. Helped acquire BuyDirect from CNET – later sold to Beyond.Com. I am impressed with his approach.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2022

Pick a single metric that is the focus for all growth. Today’s world is full of metrics leading to business growth, including customer logins, revenue per customer, retention, and average solution price. Revenue and competitive position followed. Less is more. How many do you already practice today? Marty Zwilling.

Startup 144

Startup Social Media Metrics Customer 144

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

This is smart because amazing board members can be transformative with important advice and access and can also help attract other great board members (and team members). I actually think having a formal board can really help you. This is the norm and unless you have a hugely competitive round it’s not worth fighting.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Capitalism is fundamentally about timing, since market competition is about finding opportunities before others. Mithril is struggling to compete against ferocious competition in the growth-stage equity market. If there was a process or bidding war or something resembling a competition, he would just walk,” the employee said.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2023

In the same way, great entrepreneurs and company leaders should no longer rely on faceless and nameless processes to drive business strategy and innovation to stay competitive. Focus on two or three pertinent metrics in any situation. Unbundle projects into smaller elements, and personalize the top couple of metrics for each team.

Customer 140

Customer Custom Social Media Metrics 140

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

If you are not sure of your best fit, like many people I know, I just found help in a new book, “ The 6 Types of Working Genius ,” by Patrick Lencioni. I like his model and examples from the field to help you identify the type of work that is your forte, and will likely bring you joy and energy, rather than frustration and burnout.

Activity 108

Activity Satisfaction Metrics Startup 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2020

In the same way, great entrepreneurs and company leaders should no longer rely on faceless and nameless processes to drive business strategy and innovation to stay competitive. Focus on two or three pertinent metrics in any situation. Unbundle projects into smaller elements, and personalize the top couple of metrics for each team.

Social Media 128

Social Media Metrics Customer Custom 128

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

In my experience advising businesses, large and small, I have often been surprised by the level of complacency and general malaise I find in the ranks, with a resultant direct loss of productivity and competitiveness. Develop metrics to monitor work intensity. Let that be part of their job satisfaction.

Satisfaction 108

Satisfaction Metrics Competition Examples 108

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

Decide what to measure and create metrics. In a large organization, online surveys and questionnaires are helpful. Design your invisible competitive advantage. Remember that every specific competitive advantage is temporary – every product or service becomes a commodity over time. You only get what you measure.

Startup 97

Startup Metrics Competition Organization 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2015

As an entrepreneur, what steps can you take to help your business not only survive the data hurricane, but to thrive under these new and challenging conditions? Data enable: use metrics and measurements. Extend data metrics into non-traditional channels, such as email, internal social media, and customer collaboration platforms.

Startup 106

Startup Social Media Entertainment Metrics 106

socalTECH

JANUARY 15, 2009

Our startup interview this morning is with Josh Stomel , founder of ResumeBucket (www.resumebucket.com), a new web site that is focused on helping people share their resumes with the world. I went on to Oversee.net, and helped to build that company from 60 to 250 employees. Is this at all competitive with LinkedIn?

Startup 140

Startup Yahoo Sites Oversee.net 140

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

That is, once you invest in a company, you''re a shareholder, and you help that company for the course of its life. We try to help the companies get to a place where we would, as investors, also want to invest in them. Companies ar really hard, and improbable to begin with, and without people around to help you, it''s even harder.

Incubator 187

Incubator Southern California Startup Ideas 187

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

And you can have ulterior motives like helping people or being involved with “cool stuff.&# If you’re investing other people’s money you’re a professional money manager. There is no way for people to keep prices down – it’s a competitive market. It is such a disconnect.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308