Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2023

As an investor, I always listen carefully to what an entrepreneur says, and does not say, about competition. Every business area has competition and every customer has alternatives, so a smart entrepreneur needs to acknowledge these as a positive in defining a big market, and position the features of a new solution in this context.

Competition 111

Competition Entrepreneur Patents Custom 111

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

Every entrepreneur believes that their product or service is memorable, and that every customer will quickly see the advantage over competitors. Yet true product differentiation in the eye of the customer is rarely achieved. They noted that customers’ loyalty grew with their real preference for the unique product features offered.

Competition 123

Competition Custom Customer Examples 123

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2021

The real solution is better productivity and less procrastination, to put you back in control of your business. Jan Yager, a recognized expert on the subject of time management, addressed this issue in the classic edition of her book, “ Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover.” Rest makes you more productive.

Product 153

Product Email Custom Customer 153

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev. If you hire truly talented people you end up definitionally with a lot of competitive peers who will inevitably jockey for resources and control. As CEO, do you step in? Engineering?

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

You need to first create a compelling product. Compelling in the sense that you solve a real problem a target group of potential customers has with a product that is significantly better than the alternatives on that market. You need product / market fit. Product / market fit is everything. ” True.

Startup 401

Startup Custom Customer Technical Review 401

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

For the rest of us, we need a business plan, as well as a product plan. Some of you may be convinced that your product specification communicates the product message even better than a business plan, so why be redundant? Professional investors and even customers invest in people, rather than just a product.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

Even if your company doesn’t sell high-tech products, like Zappos sells shoes, having and using the right technology in the business, for distribution, marketing, and customer support, can easily make the difference between winning and losing in today’s high-tech world.

Competition 174

Competition High Tech Startup Social Media 174

Berkonomics

JULY 6, 2017

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. In this case, the competition was not from a company but a new technology. In most cases, it is the competitor with a better product, lower price, faster service, better reputation that is the threat. There is no competition.”

Competition 266

Competition Research Summary Pricing 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Product 159

Product Technical Review Pricing Software Review 159

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Today you need that budget for market fluxuations, pandemics, and product updates. Thus they feel more fulfilled, more productive, and more in control of their lives. These days, employees are living farther and farther from your office, and their driving takes away from productive time, as well as contributing to toxic emissions.

Competition 168

Competition Startup Demand Training 168

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has forced Energica to hit the brakes on production of its battery powered machines that can reach top speeds of 168 mph. The venture is also one of the few e-motorcycle companies drawing engineering tips from competition. Technology from the track is transferring to production models, according to Cevolini.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 19, 2024

An entrepreneur pitches using a deck with no slide for competition. We have no competition. Email readers, continue here…] Doing nothing is the main competitor for most products and services, whether a compelling new idea or a seasoned product long proven to be effective. We investors see this all the time.

Competition 156

Competition Slides Sales Research 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. The cost of any new product these days must include education and rollout marketing, perhaps equal or greater than the development costs.

Product 141

Product Services Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 141

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2023

In this context, even “satisfied” is only a “meets-minimum,” and does not put you ahead of your competition. With pervasive access to social media, customers no longer differentiate poor product repair and replacement from a poor shopping experience or customer usage satisfaction. This results in more profits and growth for you.

Competition 109

Competition Services Custom Customer 109

Berkonomics

JULY 19, 2018

Dell’s response would be something like “Quality custom computers more quickly than the competition.” And in this company example, both quality and speed are the critical factors in competitive advantage. Its reputation is based upon fast food in a minute, with quality that is acceptable but not discernibly above the competition.

Competition 226

Competition Examples Custom Customer 226

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

It must be understandable, written down, and verifiable, with regular measurements and metrics to make it real, benchmarked against the competition. Leaders have found that keeping everyone on top of changes in technology, competition, and customer demands is critical to success. Make your service deliver process “happy.”

Competition 99

Competition Services Startup Training 99

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Simply, it’s offering a specific product or service to a specific group of people. You’ll have less competition. Where else are consumers going to find your product, if no one else is offering it or if other companies offer it, but haven’t found the right niche audience? Think about your product or service. This is easy.

Marketing 266

Marketing Advertising Resource Social Media 266

Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2017

Let’s examine the relationship between time, quality and competitiveness. On a larger scale, there are epoch stories of giant companies eating massive losses in a recall of product, often based upon limited testing before release. We have heard the “haste makes waste” ditty since childhood.

Software Review 243

Software Review Examples Competition News 243

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Serious investors, on the other hand, look for a professional business plan or summary first, and hardly ever look at the product plan.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. They are as good at selling you as they are at selling your product to customers. Sales people often blame the product.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

In their passion and excitement about a new product or service, entrepreneurs tend to continually narrow the scope of potential competitors, and often claim to have no direct competitors. Competition for your new hydrogen fuel auto engine is not limited to other hydrogen auto engine offerings, or even other autos.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 19, 2019

.” So the goal at Huron is to create products that can stack up against “brands on the shelves at Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom,” but without the costs and price markup associated with a big department store. Consumers can buy Huron products individually, as part of a larger kit or via subscription.

Startup 217

Startup Seed Funding Los Angeles Competition 217

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

It is perhaps the best new product of the past 5 years in terms of improving my professional life. They were a little too fierce in their competitive practices against Lyft to sign up drivers. It’s a brutally competitive world out there because there are extreme amounts of money at stake. As a consumer I LOVE Uber.

Press 418

Press Journal Startup Training 418

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

And while the grocery delivery market has become increasingly competitive, Hall argued that Good Eggs stands out thanks to the quality and breadth of its products — 70% of its products are locally sourced, and it often delivers them within 48 hours of harvesting. Image Credits: Good Eggs. Glade Brook’s J.P.

Southern California 318

Southern California Orange County San Diego Commerce 318

Berkonomics

JULY 27, 2017

Email readers, continue here…] This is not to bend this insight into a claim that a company should wait to develop new, groundbreaking products and services until a customer asks for them. All companies whether service or product-oriented must fight to gain and maintain quality of product, or fall to the bottom of the competitive heap.

Customer 243

Customer Custom Design Conference 243

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

btw: xitca-web (bench code not including dependencies) does not do 2,3,5 and still remains competitive in micro bench can be used as a reference. One of the reasons for contributing it to the Framework Benchmarks, was to verify no obvious performance regressions were introduced in the process of forking, and the results look good!

Framework 409

Framework TechEmpower Java Paramount 409

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Sure, we built SaaS products before the term even existed but at 31 it was hard to delineate reality from what all of the monied people around us were telling us what we were worth. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. Until we weren’t.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Berkonomics

JANUARY 12, 2023

The company dooms itself to a slow death over the passage of time as customers desert to newer products. And yet, there are many companies where the cost of product renewal and R&D are just too high to keep up with competition. [Email readers, continue here…] Well, there are two problems here.

Sales 296

Sales Custom Customer SaaS 296

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

Increasing competitive advantage? Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. It’s understandable - a hands-on developer can produce a product. cto , infotech , innovation , product , project , saas

CTO Hire 260

CTO Hire Development Develop Fractional VPE 260

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 26, 2022

At the time, the company raised $2 million, and Alexandrov said about the perceived competition, “The level of competition in this market in the U.S. is still manageable, which is why we have the opportunity to become leaders in the sphere of fast delivery of basic products and household goods.

Funding 246

Funding Demand Los Angeles Competition 246

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

You’d imagine that companies selling tons of shelfware would quickly meet their deserved fate in the market, yet the spin around a category of software can fool buyers into thinking they “must have this product to compete.” How frequently they’re using the product? ROI studies were published.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2015

But the bigger truth is the competition is important. market share today and are stuck with high real-estate costs, shitty customer service, bad value propositions and no ability to respond to competition because they have effectively become real-estate holding companies that store stuff for cashflow. What mistakes do people make?

Funding 150

Funding Competition Marketing Summary 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Competitive (Athlete: skier & rowed at Princeton, hates losing at everything she does). Operating experience (Helped run parts of CitySearch & UrbanSpoon, tons of product management experience, Board of Hatch Labs which helped spawn Tinder). Investment experience (5 years a VC at Battery Ventures).

Venture Capital 408

Venture Capital Startup Outsource Development CitySearch 408

Berkonomics

AUGUST 31, 2023

Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. In this case, the competition was not from a company but from a new technology. In most cases, it is the competitor with a better product, lower price, faster service, better reputation that is the threat. There is no competition.” The post Ouch!

Competition 156

Competition Research Summary Pricing 156

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

” Bill Gross, who is one of the Godfathers of the Internet, once told me, “ If you don’t design a product that is 10x better than the competition then you’ll never build anything truly big or amazing.” ” That’s what we’ve set out to build at MakeSpace. 10x the experience.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

“What was cool about our financial management product was that we were trying to use Dave as a replacement for their current bank,” says Jason Wilk, Dave’s co-founder and chief executive. Dave’s products and services have a few advantages for customers that are just getting started on the path to financial security.

Companies 262

Companies Company Startup Tips 262