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

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Obsess About Customers, Not Colleagues Or Competitors. “We We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”. You can be customer-focused or competitor-focused. The Two Pizza Rule.

Tips 279

Tips Startup Framework Custom 279

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

Steve's first question was, “Who are our customers?" I) took the 300 latest cards, personally wrote a questionnaire and called 300 customers. SuperMac's main customer base were color desktop professionals. All of a sudden I now had customers telling what market, how to reach them and what applications are important.

Marketing 271

Marketing Startup Sales Custom 271

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

How our VC Firms Like Ours Organizing to Meet the Challenges? We can’t wait for customers to use the product for 12–18 months and do customer interviews or look at purchase cohorts. If we wanted to we could have sold > 2x the fund easily in the secondary markets with significant upside remaining. just to name a few!

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

If you do build the MVP and show it to them, they will ask you about your metrics. They really want metrics, not a product. The real question you should be asking is "When I've built this product and show you the following metrics, would you invest?" Investors demand more than that.

Metrics 264

Metrics Venture Capital News Product 264

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 22, 2016

The Most Important Metric. Near the conclusion of our discussion, I asked each CEO to name any non-obvious metrics by which they guide their businesses. He started by stating, “We track customer success.” In other words, are we measure whether or not we are truly making our customers more successful.”.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Cornerstone OnDemand Metrics 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

It is what is commonly referred to as “vanity metrics” as in, “Look at how many more followers I got us! Customers have long included some of the biggest names in social commerce and online gaming plus startups like TopSpin, Local Response, Maker Studios, StockTwits and the like. The other major pilot customer was.

Marketing 307

Marketing Technical Review Startup Tool 307

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

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

how should you organize teams in a startup? 48:30 Vanity metrics. 52:00 Actionable metrics. 57: 00 How do you rectify company mission and customer demand. what is the difference between a “pivot” or a “double dribble” (changing your business completely)? when is the right time to go big with PR?

Social Media 301

Social Media Startup Metrics Media 301

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Social media is the realm of public opinion and customer conversations. Measure customer response and action. Get the message from your customer. Project the future.

Social Media 127

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 127

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

But we do it anyway, because we believe that the short-term metrics probably aren''t indicative of the long term.”. If improperly administered, meetings become counter-productive, especially as an organization grows beyond its initial startup phase. We know this is a feature that’s good for customers. Let’s do it.’” .

Tips 223

Tips Framework Metrics Cloud Computing 223

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

Sounds simple but in practice I promise you most organization fall into the latter trap. So they create a task list of all the marketing activities an organization can do: press releases, web site updates, customer case studies, blog posts, daily Tweets, Facebook fan page, attending conferences, etc.

Activity 164

Activity Conference Press Case Study 164

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 Custom Customer 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2020

While his insights have come from large organizations, I give many of the same recommendations to every startup: Channel engagement performance. Hidalgo recommends a focus on engagement stage indicators including customers by channel, conversion ratio, and cost per revenue. Lead-stage content performance. Lead management performance.

Marketing 174

Marketing Invest Demand Metrics 174

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2014

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” You have to hear your customer’s dreams, goals, passions, and aspirations.

Customer 98

Customer Custom .Net Competition 98

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2012

Most then add customer service at the rollout, but very few really understand what it means to be truly customer centric, and even fewer really achieve it. Customer centricity is far more than providing excellent customer service, although that’s a step in the right direction. Focus on individual customer value.

Customer 90

Customer Custom Startup Pricing 90

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2015

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” You have to hear your customer’s dreams, goals, passions, and aspirations.

Customer 100

Customer Custom .Net Competition 100

SoCal CTO

MAY 21, 2012

I was recently asked by an organization, "Tony, what topics can you cover?" Many of the factors are not obvious and include building mystery to drive margin, why boring B2B companies often win but are challenging in other ways, how bootstrapping wins, integrating metrics from the start and many other similar lessons.

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Startup Metrics eHarmony 175

SoCal CTO

JULY 23, 2012

What metrics are going to be the key startup metrics and how do we get those metrics without too much cost? Unlike some larger, more mature organizations, most startups don't spend much time or effort helping grow their employees beyond the immediate needs of the startup. Get in front of customers as often as you can.

CTO Coach 231

CTO Coach CTO Hire Outsource Development Develop 231

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

JUNE 5, 2019

Too many business owners still think of “ customer support ” as an after-sale process to rectify customer problems with completed transactions. With the advent of instant communication and social media, customer service starts at the first hint of interest by you, and never ends for repeat customers.

Customer 84

Customer Custom Company Companies 84

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

As a business consultant and angel investor, I often ask for your own assessment of marketing ROI , or customer acquisition cost (CAC). Leaders and investors need to know if you have and are tapping into your key sources of relevant data, including web analytics, sales management data, and customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Acquisition Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2013

But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Jim Sterne, who has written many books on Internet advertising, marketing, and customer service, tackled this complex world of social media metrics in his book titled " Social Media Metrics."

Social Media 102

Social Media Media Entrepreneur Metrics 102

socalTECH

DECEMBER 6, 2022

says it has seen a "significant increase" in the number of cyber-attacks targeting organizations over the last 12 months. The company--which develops artificial intelligence (AI) powered cybersecurity products says its customers have seen a "dramatic increase" in attack attempts over the past year.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Orange County Metrics Software Development 113

SoCal CTO

APRIL 1, 2009

I am excited to be participating in and announcing the of: Southern California Tech Central This is a community of people in Southern California who have come together to help find and organize the best content from blogs, news sources and other web sites all around technology in So Cal.

Southern California 150

Southern California TechEmpower Technology Council Metrics 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He has grown our US operations from 1 employee (him) to a global organization of 75 employees that will finish the year with 8-digit revenues (90+% recurring) and more than 350% year-over-year growth. So naturally we’re pushing for him to drop critical information when their paths cross organically. Further Reading.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2019

But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Social media is the realm of public opinion and customer conversations. Measure customer response and action. Get the message from your customer. Project the future.

Social Media 98

Social Media Media Metrics Satisfaction 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” You have to hear your customer’s dreams, goals, passions, and aspirations.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Marketing 85

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

Frame the way you want to change the world, and make it about the customer. Start with defining and publishing innovation goals at the company level, and then ask for specific objectives from every organization. Decide what to measure and create metrics. In a large organization, online surveys and questionnaires are helpful.

Develop 135

Develop Development Startup Metrics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2022

If you aren’t yet adapting to the market and your customers, you are falling behind. I define business agility for my consulting clients as the ability to change your business rapidly to meet customer and environmental changes, with minimal organizational disruption and cost. Adopt some key metrics to measure your change agility.

Competition 148

Competition Metrics Demand Customer 148

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

These only come with the proper training, investment in tools, and focus on customer relationships. Managing business growth is more than metrics. You can hire the best salespeople, have great products and define good metrics, but without decisive and innovative managers, the sales organization will not reach its full potential.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2018

While his insights have come from large organizations, I give many of the same recommendations to every startup: Channel engagement performance. Hidalgo recommends a focus on engagement stage indicators including customers by channel, conversion ratio, and cost per revenue. Lead-stage content performance. Lead management performance.

Metrics 57

Metrics Demand Marketing Paramount 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2020

By default, innovation in every business decreases over time, and continuous innovation requires ongoing initiatives and measures of customer perceived value. Stroh, which details the principles and metrics to follow for fostering innovation in any organization. Recognize that customers care about the whole experience.

Startup 138

Startup Organization Demand Custom 138

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

So this issue becomes one to be dealt with by every manager at every level of the organization. Another is to fail to complete a contracted service for one customer and to do so multiple times, until many customers begin screaming for attention, drawing away all available talent from new, income earning tasks.

Resource 176

Resource Outsource Development Metrics Customer 176

Berkonomics

MAY 5, 2016

Many times it is a customer, an employee, or an industry conference that sparks the idea that drives you to create and express your vision of the future for your company or product line. But no enterprise can grow or succeed without the delegation of tasks and without the thoughtful use of metrics to measure progress and success.

Metrics 120

Metrics Ideas Conference Email 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2021

If customers don’t know you exist, you can’t solve their problem, they won’t buy. Getting customer attention often takes more innovation today than solving the tough technical problems. Talk to real live customers in addition to marketers. Network with local organizations and industry groups.

Technical Advisors 154

Technical Advisors Tips Marketing Case Study 154

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Custom 129