Remove Customer Remove Pricing Remove Startup
article thumbnail

Helping Startups Understand Salespeople & the Sales Culture

Both Sides of the Table

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. My first startup was no different. 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. Here’s what I learned in running my first startup.

Sales 382
article thumbnail

Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not?

Both Sides of the Table

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
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

If You Don’t Respect Your Customers You Won’t Be Successful

Both Sides of the Table

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. From these meetings you can really tell the leaders that care deeply about their customers and those the look down on them. Starting with a positive. You’d be very wrong.

Customer 341
article thumbnail

Why Startups Need a Well Articulated Strategy (And How to Think About Yours)

Both Sides of the Table

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. The idea of “going deep” with customers has always shaped how I think. LEAN STARTUP MOVEMENT. My take on his argument is this: 1.

Startup 401
article thumbnail

How You Know You’ve Got the Right Startup Model?

Both Sides of the Table

Young startups claim they are going to change the world, large companies that dominate that sector scoff at how low quality these new entrants are, until l ike frogs boiling in water they come to the realization that “this s**t is real.” So what could be wrong with price transparency in the auto sector?

Truecar 338
article thumbnail

The Truth About Convertible Debt at Startups and The Hidden Terms You Didn’t Understand

Both Sides of the Table

When convertible debt first started being introduced as a “faster, cheaper way to get startups funded” they didn’t have pricing built into them. ” And some seed stage investors told me, “I prefer not to fight over price now. They’ll get priced soon enough by a VC.”

Startup 354
article thumbnail

Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? What happened? There was no money train.