Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was leaving IAC to start a company. Somehow she was always on a flight up to Seattle or San Francisco. Didn’t I make myself clear about celebrities & startups ? Turns out she’s done this startup thing before. And they’re both full time committed to their startup – Moonfrye.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Let’s set up a framework. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!”

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2013

I was never into spicy foods growing up but after living in the UK for nearly a decade and having so much great Indian food around me all of the time I developed more of a taste for it. I moved back to the US and after a stint in Palo Alto moved to LA where I started to notice Cholula sauce at some of the best Mexican restaurants I visited.

Entrepreneur 415

Entrepreneur Startup Pricing Product 415

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2021

As an advisor to new business owners, I’m accustomed to seeing primarily the simple traditional product pricing strategies , usually driven by competitor prices, or cost plus a reasonable margin. I often wonder whether you as the entrepreneur have worked as hard on your pricing strategy as you have on your innovative solution.

Pricing 145

Pricing Startup Competition Examples 145

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

What price? Before I tell you the reasons I’m concerned about investment banking intros, I should start by saying I think bankers are enormously helpful for entrepreneurs in raising money. start-ups are overvalued. The only way for a company to be overvalued is if there’s someone willing to pay that price.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

Most startups are happy to find any customer, and will hang on for dear life to every one. Only later do they realize that some of these cost more than they are worth, or lead into commitments they can’t sustain, but no business wants to violate the golden rule that every customer needs to be treated as if they were the only customer.

Customer 150

Customer Custom Startup Pricing 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

What price? I think my mentality to banker pitches was best summed up in this article about Y Combinator in which Paul Graham apparently made the following quotes. start-ups are overvalued. The only way for a company to be overvalued is if there’s someone willing to pay that price. How good they were at follow up.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

TechCrunch LA

MAY 25, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a newsletter published every Saturday that dives into the week’s most noteworthy venture deals, fundraises, M&A transactions and trends. Let’s take a quick moment to catch up. Haus, like any good consumer startup in 2019, is shipped directly to your door. Fundraising.

Startup 223

Startup Venture Capital Newsletter Tips 223

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.” Great startups manage to continually improve the relationship through outstanding follow-on support and service.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Startup Course 146

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2021

New generations of customers respond better to the “ participative ” approach, where they get to provide input via social media and the Internet. Some call it a move from always “ hunting ” for new customers in the wild, to “gardening” or nurturing loyalty and value from the ones you already have.

Customer 168

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 168

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

It’s the company that evokes fear into more startups and venture capitalists looking to fund eCommerce businesses than any other potential competitor. ” This laughable customer experience is practically parodied in real life by the popular reality TV show, “ Storage Wars.” And could we then compete?”

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

2023 hasn't been an easy year to be a startup. In fact, according to Crunchbase more than 212 startups closed their shutters in the third fiscal quarter alone – the highest number recorded in the firm's history. Yet, while many early-stage startups crumbled under the pressure, diamonds also emerged.

Startup 194

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 194

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2022

In reality, a simple Excel spreadsheet model customized around your assumptions can save you hours and avoid a wasted expense in validating alternative vendor and marketing decisions. For maximum value with the least effort, focus on only the “what ifs” that are the highest priority in your mind for your own startup.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sample Customer 147

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 2, 2021

Making money on livestreams has never been easier thanks to a suite of tools from the Los Angeles-based startup Maestro , which just nabbed $15 million in financing to grow its business. But what started in the gaming world quickly spun out as the company slashed prices to $500 per month for its services.

Tool 315

Tool Commerce .Net Entertainment 315

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

I’m sure you have all noticed how today’s customers have changed the way they shop, but I still find, as an advisor and consultant, that many of you aren’t sure how to deal with the new mode, or are still waiting for things to get back to the old normal. Convenience is in the eye of the customer, not your company.

Demand 126

Demand Customer Custom Startup 126

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. Today you have funders focused exclusively on “Day 0” startups or ones that aren’t even created yet. By definition?—?I’m two founders in a garage?—?(HP

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

For the past 5 years or so Google, Facebook and a handful of tech industry giants have been quietly buying scores of early-stage startups for their talent. And to keep up with the Jones’s it seems that Yahoo! Many buying companies price these deals on the basis of $1 million per engineer on the team for an early-stage deal.

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

This is part of a series on a Board of Directors at a Startup. High Functioning Startup Boards High-functioning boards have a tight-knit relationship between all members based on mutual trust and admiration. They are able to divide responsibilities and work to gain consensus on tough decisions that every startup inevitably faces.

Startup 269

Startup Venture Capital Layoffs Resource 269

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Thus, financial projections for up to five years are a necessary element in every business plan. Per the words of an old country song, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you will probably end up somewhere else.” If you are losing money on every unit, it’s hard to make it up in volume. Forecast sales-volume expectations.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

TechCrunch LA

MAY 3, 2022

” She grew up in Houston and went on to attend Stanford and major in engineering. The company Winters was working for sponsored her MBA to Harvard Business School, and it was there that she came up with the idea for Upgrade. All of the stylists are independent contractors and set their own pricing. Remember Mary J.

Tool 179

Tool Customer Custom Marketing 179

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Yet, as a business consultant, I often find minimal focus on improving employee engagement and assessing their customer-facing performance. 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.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

I even prefer to fund entrepreneurs who have experience some level of set-backs in their careers or startups because I think it brings a humility to decision-making that I find healthy. I say this as somebody who has lived in 6 countries and worked in 9 — having lived abroad for 11 years of my work life.

Startup 261

Startup Press Blogging .Net 261

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 14, 2019

Customers can already place an order for the Tesla Model Y, a mid-sized crossover SUV that won’t go into production until 2020. During the presentation, Musk didn’t mention that customers could order the Model Y. To get the 7-seater configuration, customers have to pay an additional $3,000.

Startup 237

Startup Los Angeles Pricing Design 237

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2020

The world keeps changing, and visible business strategies that worked well in the past, including being the premium brand or low price producer, simply don’t get the customer loyalty they once did. Today, customers are looking for real relationships, a memorable shopping experience, and satisfaction of a higher purpose.

Customer 133

Customer Custom Satisfaction Examples 133

Berkonomics

APRIL 13, 2017

Test yourself as to whether you can identify the size of your market niche, and whether you can overcome the many barriers to access customers within your niche. A strategic relationship with one or more of the largest customers? Some great ideas just cannot be made into a product at a reasonable enough price to attract customers.

Patents 291

Patents Pricing Ideas Marketing 291

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

For decades, efforts to satisfy customers have been built around demographics – capitalizing on race, ethnicity, gender, income, and other attributes. Customer personalities define customer experience, and sets what they love, and what they hate. There is no one set of exceptional experiences that will work for all customers.

Customer 158

Customer Custom Social Media Satisfaction 158

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entrée for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. Yet you may not be so sure where to start, and how to put it all together. Don’t be afraid to test your ultimate entree on customers.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

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. The start of marketing is figuring out a market need and a way to solve that need better than anybody else.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2020

Many passionate entrepreneurs fight to add more features into their new products and services, assuming that more function will make the solution more appealing to more customers. Focus is the art of limiting your scope to the key function that really matters for the majority of customers. It’s tough for an elephant to be agile.

Startup 169

Startup IBM IBM Social Media 169

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 28, 2020

million bet, alongside Siemens and a host of other investors into the Los Angeles-based electric charging startup, Amply Power. And despite the collapse in fossil fuel energy prices, Shao said that Amply’s value proposition still makes sense. “As economics go by, solar will continue to get cheaper and wind too.

Funding 267

Funding Pricing Los Angeles Customer 267

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to become the next unicorn. Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea.

Startup 154

Startup Outsource Ideas Research 154

Tech.Co

JANUARY 3, 2022

Well, another year has come and gone, and while we're yet to leave the pandemic behind, it has led to a record number of small businesses starting up. A startup for startups! Having built our own startups we know that startup models are usually wrong from day one. “We’ve been in your shoes.

Startup 185

Startup Invest FAQ Examples 185

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

His quip to suggest this is all a slight-of-hand, trickery dreamed up by marketing b *s is quite clever if misguided. The father of “Growth Hacking” appears to be Sean Ellis who wrote this widely read post, “ Find a Growth Hacker for your Startup. “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?

Technical Review 384

Technical Review SEM SEO Marketing 384

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

Los Angeles-based Just says it uses telematics “to reward safe drivers and reduce insurer bias” by looking at factors such as how, when and where customers drive, rather than factors such as ZIP code or marital status as most traditional insurers do. For its part, MetroMile charges customers a base rate plus a per mile rate.

Startup 203

Startup Customer Custom Los Angeles 203

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. This happens slowly because while public markets trade daily and prices then adjust instantly, private markets don’t get reset until follow-on financing rounds happen which can take 6–24 months.

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416