Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2021

Yet, these days, I am seeing overwhelming evidence that customer buying decisions, especially with consumers, are often based on emotional and psychological factors , including passions from others, your experience, and social relationships. Other startups use technology to provide personalized products to all customers.

Custom 172

Custom Customer Social Media Technical Review 172

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. Whenever I heard why we didn’t feel a sales process at an important customer was going well (or if we lost) I would get involved myself. They are as good at selling you as they are at selling your product to customers.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

Your customers know what they want more than you do. This week’s insight came from personal experience and from a good friend who advanced the notion of the “teacher-customer” years ago. The customer would be the first to receive the new functionality in a new release. Providing feedback to your teacher customer.

Custom 156

Custom Customer Design Conference 156

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2020

Having the best solution is a good start these days, but a solution alone is no longer enough to keep customer attention and loyalty. The most memorable businesses, like Starbucks and Apple, no longer sell products, they sell ‘experiences’ with a product at the center. Tie customer experience to all compensation and recognition.

Customer 168

Customer Custom Services Startup 168

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

GrubMarket , which provides a B2C platform for consumers to order produce and other food and home items for delivery, and a B2B service where it supplies grocery stores, meal-kit companies and other food tech startups with products that they resell, is today announcing that it has raised $60 million in a Series D round of funding.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

As a long-time business executive and adviser to entrepreneurs, I see a definitive shift away from customer trust in traditional business messages, and the executives who deliver them. I summarize the key elements of the transformation as follows: Customers are seeking control in a run-away world.

Custom 173

Custom Customer Social Media Technical Review 173

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

Key Functions with High Impact Generative AI is revolutionizing sales by enabling dynamic pricing and personalized customer interactions, boosting conversion rates and customer satisfaction. Post-sale, AI analyzes customer data to improve service and loyalty, making it a cornerstone of modern sales methodologies.

Generative AI 297

Generative AI TechEmpower CTO Hire Outsource Development 297

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2020

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. In fact, we now live in a buyer-led digital age, where the traditional media push-marketing efforts just don’t work.

Marketing 174

Marketing Invest Demand Metrics 174

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

But if you level up , raise capital and grow customers, revenue and staff – life changes. Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev. Marketing of course often feels the opposite. A larger marketing team?

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

If you are a passionate technologist , it’s easy to forget that marketing is required to sell even the most compelling solution, to cut through the information overload everyone sees today on the internet. If customers don’t know you exist, you can’t solve their problem, they won’t buy.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Good Eggs says that in the past year, revenue has grown to the nine figures (more than $100 million), hired more than 400 employees and nearly doubled its customer base. And it sounds like he isn’t in a rush to launch in a bunch of new markets. That’s a meaningful increase in our addressable market.”

Southern California 318

Southern California Orange County San Diego Commerce 318

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. Customers won’t buy what they can’t find or don’t understand. Even more important than solution marketing is building your brand.

Product 141

Product Services Technical Review Artificial Inteligence 141

Tech.Co

JUNE 22, 2021

Shopify is planning to strike a blow at Amazon by entering the affiliate marketing space. But, it also represents another swipe at Amazon's near-monopoly control of the affiliate marketing space. Why Would Shopify Expand into Affiliate Marketing? Put simply, affiliate marketing is big business. Considering Shopify?

Marketing 164

Marketing Buzzfeed Guide Platform 164

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

The second is that the retailers were constrained by their high costs of local real estate and service staff relative to the costs of centralized warehouses where goods could be stacked high, sorted by robots, managed by RFIDs and then shipped via overnight to eager, cost-conscious customers across the US. 10x the experience.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

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. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Product 159

Product Technical Review Pricing Software Review 159

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

The platform is going after marketers with a Canva-style drag-and-drop interface. Movio’s user base is currently in the lower hundreds of thousands, with paying customers nearing 1,000. That’s because the startup is hoping to capture the wave of marketers who are warming up to AI tools to assist their job.

Generative AI 182

Generative AI Marketing Artificial Inteligence Template 182

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

More people are focused on the beginning of the product lifecycle; very few are focused at the end.”. The end of the product lifecycle is where Murthy and Kaplan feel Ghost has “an enormous opportunity to help people be more efficient in that process,” Murthy added. That’s our vision.”.

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

Marketing is everything these days. You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

But LA-based performance marketing agency MuteSix didn’t wait that long to build its business around scaling DTC brands. If you have growth marketing agencies or freelancers to recommend, please fill out our survey !). Why do you think that performance marketing is the right fit for DTC?

Commerce 211

Commerce Content Marketing Startup 211

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2021

This is a statement that they are willing and able (and successful) at projecting market and technology turns, not just straight-line innovations. They have the courage to make bold decisions, often contrary to conventional market research. It gives a product structure and style, and makes it memorable and unique.

Marketing 157

Marketing Design Entrepreneur Ideas 157

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. Yet, as a business consultant, I still find many of you business leaders relying primarily on your technology, word-of-mouth , or location to attract necessary customers.

Marketing 133

Marketing Customer Custom Outsource Development 133

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

How does it meet customers’ needs? One way to approach that last question is to use this simple model: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) How will your business reach prospects? Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) How much money will your business generate from each converted customer? What does the business do?

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Slides Technical Review 260

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

The company used its overdraft protection service and money management display to shift customers’ focus away from the total balance that their account would show by giving them a sense of how much was actually left in their accounts once debits were included in their statements.

Companies 262

Companies Company Startup Tips 262

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. How profitable is my product or service? As an early-stage VC I love this phase.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

I pointed out that the storage market in the US alone is ~$30 billion / year and there is no dominant provider — the largest player has < 10% market share. Amazon took a consumer value proposition (buying books, then all retail products) and made the consumer experience significantly better, faster & cheaper.

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Funding Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Today’s customers are much more in control of their buying decision, as they have more choices and more information than ever before. Bloom’s classic book, “ The New Experts: Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers.” This is a key moment where your customer acquisition costs go way down, and your profits go way up.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Startup Course 146

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

These are so succinct, so well defined, so precise that everyone in sales and everyone involved in marketing must be able to answer these three questions without pause, and convincingly. It would pay you to work over this set of questions in a special session with sales, marketing and senior management in the room at once.

Sales 226

Sales Customer Custom Pricing 226

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.

Design 105

Design Customer Custom Product 105

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

While you all recognize that reacting to weak market signals is critical to staying in business and staying competitive, I find that many don’t have the skills and focus to trigger change decisions on a timely basis. You may be getting killed today by customer expectations you never worried about just a few years ago.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Custom 162

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. Even when they have talked to multiple developers or development firms, we’re often the first to ask basic questions like “Who are your customers?” Who are the customers?

Develop 520

Develop Development Technical Review SEO 520

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2020

So why do I see some many funding requests for products along these lines? Other countries can provide e-commerce with different business models, outsource manufacturing at low cost, and a huge market for new products. I hear this term every day, wrongly applied to new social media site, or a new productivity tool.

Custom 167

Custom Customer Startup Outsource Development 167

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

Her argument is that if Uber buys Grubhub (which itself once merged with Seamless) it would mean that Uber Eats / Grubhub would control half the market and that with DoorDash the two together would control 90% of the market. Customers were happy and restaurants focused on their in-store business.

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

When second place isn’t good enough because we live in winner-take-most markets. So if you’re going to raise venture capital and compete in large, growing, winner-take-most markets you had better be prepared for other people to want to knock you off your stool, steal your limelight, grab your customers and muck you up.

Competition 394

Competition Startup Writing Marketing 394

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Marketing is everything these days.

Custom 109

Custom Customer Satisfaction Sales 109

TechCrunch LA

MAY 21, 2020

When former Bill Clinton speechwriter and political wunderkind Andrei Cherny launched Aspiration four years ago , the upstart fintech startup was one of Los Angeles’ early entrants into a financial services market dominated by players from Europe and the financial capital of the U.S. in New York City.

Los Angeles 245

Los Angeles Customer Custom Services 245

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

The cybersecurity insurance market is expected to become a $23 billion industry by 2025, driven in part by an explosion in connected devices and new regulatory regimes under Europe’s GDPR and more recently California’s state-wide privacy law. It’s a huge move for the company, which only closed its Series B in February.

Startup 288

Startup Demand Los Angeles Customer 288

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 27, 2020

The Los Angeles-based operations and security management software service, Replicated has raised $25 million to ramp up its staffing and scale its sales and marketing efforts. ” Replicated now counts 85 customers who pay for access to the platform and for every on-premise deployment that customers develop through the platform.

Software 224

Software Tool SaaS Los Angeles 224