Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

Let’s assume you run a Customer Support software company. Do you simply begin by asking, “I’d love to understand what your objectives are in customer support? You need to identify a customer problem and talk about how your solution meets the needs of that problem. Where are your current pains?&#.

Sales 314

Sales Startup Venture Capital Custom 314

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which I like and may convince you that you don’t need a business plan at all, or at the very least will help you write a better one later: A new venture is a means, not an end. Don’t be totally driven by your own passions, the emotional enthusiasm of friends, or even third-party research.

Writing 102

Writing Startup Entrepreneur Capital 102

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

If you live somewhere where this is the case you’re better off discussing with your employer that you may from time-to-time work on private projects outside of work hours and you want their clearance in writing that this is OK. Research your market. Get customer input. Register a company. The decision is already made.

Startup 365

Startup Technical Advisors IP Ideas 365

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2009

Gartner, Forrester, Jupiter and AMR Research all had good things to say about us. We instructed customers about how eCommerce was going to change their future. It kind of reminds me a bit of how “social media experts&# are talking to customers today). Make sure you focus on what matters – your customers.

Startup 310

Startup Press Venture Capital Journal 310

Berkonomics

JULY 3, 2024

Each new customer, each mention in the press or online adds to the feeling of early accomplishment. Email readers, continue here…] This moment is not to be spoiled by such mundane warnings from advisors or consultants to plan carefully, research the market and competition, and execute the plan with tenacity and enthusiasm.

Startup 156

Startup Hollywood Writing Press 156

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). In a startup this is a mistake. In a startup this is a mistake.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 31, 2020

A company like this grows in value to its customers and to prospective buyers of the business, but without any dilution of control or ownership for the founders. The effort to write a grant request is not trivial. No dilution to shareholders or the founders. How refreshing! How grants are considered.

Equity 156

Equity Writing Education Research 156

socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2010

So, I ended up writing that first book, and Bruce helped me with the research, and that was one way we got to know each other before we were even dating. It was just us doing everything--cleaning the floors, setting up the computers, writing the curriculum, and teaching the classes. At the time, I got Lynda.com.

Startup 242

Startup Web Design Writing Web 242

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer. Second: Market risk. Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service? And fifth: Competitive risk.

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

You’re writing a freaking blog post! Customer support – After my pre-breakfast meeting I had my actual breakfast meeting. But it’s mostly customer service. I never get grumpy that people write. If you do randomly write me I have advice. Research & Development. “But WAIT !!!

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 31, 2024

One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer. Second: Market risk. Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service? And fifth: Competitive risk.

Outsource Development 294

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 294

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

If you’ve taken the steps to research your market and niche, the chances are that you’re taking your business seriously. Keep your customer in mind. Here’s a quick nod to the folks at Colour Graphics for urging me to write this insight. You’ll Think more deeply. Will this campaign reach the audience I intend?”. – Dave.

Marketing 266

Marketing Advertising Resource Social Media 266

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

We spoke with one of those companies-- El Segundo-based ConsumerTrack (www.consumertrack.com)--which is a $30M, bootstrapped an online marketing company which is driving millions of customers to big name, financial customers. What is ConsumerTrack all about? Brett Rossman: ConsumerTrack is a performance-based, online marketing company.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

There’s one attribute (coming soon) that I need to have in order to write a check but I don’t believe is vital for success. In no time after they had researched their market they were up with pilots with local TV stations in 3 key DMAs. So the whole customer development cycle is very streamlined.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS San Diego 267

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Each new customer, each mention in the press or online adds to the feeling of early accomplishment. This moment is not to be spoiled by such mundane warnings from advisors or consultants to plan carefully, research the market and competition, and execute the plan with tenacity and enthusiasm. But the excitement begins much earlier.

Press 149

Press Hollywood Writing Startup 149

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down. The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

Journalists don’t know enough about your company before the show, don’t have time for proper research, and you will be competing for their time afterward with 49+ other companies that want them to write about you. - By company 22 it’s hard to remember what any of them did. Many other great companies are not. -

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Each new customer, each mention in the press or online adds to the feeling of early accomplishment. This moment is not to be spoiled by such mundane warnings from advisors or consultants to plan carefully, research the market and competition, and execute the plan with tenacity and enthusiasm. Write your own Hollywood script.

Hollywood 120

Hollywood Writing Press Startup 120

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

"The best way to prepare [to be a programmer] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. Along with your cash, customers and employees, a healthy startup culture will prove to be one of your most precious assets. . One Of The Most Important Startup Skills. "The " [Tweet this quote].

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

As a mentor to many business professionals and owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs, I find a wealth of innovative ideas, but often less insight on what it really takes to transform ideas into an income stream that can excite new customers into long-term business success. Test your innovation with at least a hundred customers.

Ideas 145

Ideas Startup Case Study Writing 145

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer. Second: Market risk. . Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service? And fifth: Competitive risk. .

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 6, 2010

developing a product you might like to survey prospective customers without biasing their answers. But whether you’re raising money, selling to customers, looking to make an investment or whatever – listening pays more dividends than talking. I’ll likely write about other question strategies at a later time.

Startup 311

Startup Invest Course Research 311

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Having paying “Customers” is what makes the cash register roar. An entrepreneur having low self worth is the number one deterrent for a potential customer not buying into what you are selling. Using your service or owning your product isn’t why a person buys, it’s the experience your customer will have. Second, how to get leads.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Marketing SEO 85

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

Let’s say you have built a SaaS company where a large part of the early revenue comes from a few big customers or a large part of the revenue is services based vs. software based. The investor is a customer and they have money to spend but only for a limited number of companies. Let me give you an example. just don’t lead with them!

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2022

You can jump into social media with a poor brand definition, poorly focused content, unrealistic expectations of customer service, or be killed by malware or viruses. For some customers and many investors, a heavy focus on social networks and viral marketing may be a negative, rather than a positive.

Social Media 126

Social Media Media Startup Platform 126

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2021

Litan, former VP of research at the Kauffman Foundation, that these are exceptions to the rule, rather than a model to emulate. Don’t forget business writing and communication. Most universities have formal incubator and business development organizations that focus on coaching, grant writing and technology licensing.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

A business plan is the outward facing definition of the business you hope to drive with your hardware solution, with a hardware overview in the intro to highlight customer value and competitiveness. Use non-fuzzy terms to quantify customer value. Provide specifics on the customer business model.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2010

People also user our data for general market trending or academic research. Our core business is the consulting and research services, and The Numbers really acts as a portal into what we do, a source of traffic, and getting the word out about what we do. a month per user, primarily someone using it for research.

Beverly Hills 164

Beverly Hills Research Hollywood Sites 164

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2010

Our customers tend to be mostly moms, but also some dads who support their families, uncles, aunts, and their friends, but primarily moms. We do deep research on every single product we advocate for, using the criteria and condition that they create a healthy child and a healthy world. What EcoMom is all about?

Software Review 200

Software Review Commerce Startup Sites 200

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

And my specific response that I recommended was to say, “I can send you our standard data pack but honestly I have too many other firms asking for customized data and we simply can’t send each person custom reports. This is part of a series I’ve been writing on fund raising. We don’t think we work that way, we do.

Funding 217

Funding Newsletter Venture Capital Email 217

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2021

It pays only if a customer clicks through AND takes a further action (conversion), such as buying a product or filling out a web form. Keyword research and budget forecasting. PPC experts charge you to research, analyze, and estimate hit ratios, to optimize your success and set a campaign spending budget for you.

PPC 154

PPC SEO Paid Search Search Engine Optimization 154

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down. The discipline of writing down your plan is the best way to make sure you understand how to transform your idea into a business, and how to communicate it. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers.

Startup 124

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 124

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2014

Provisional filings are especially beneficial for startups because: You gain a year to write a thoughtful, defensible patent without delaying your filing date. You can describe your technology as “patent pending”, which may or may not be worthwhile, depending on your product and target customers.

IP 210

IP Patents Journal Equity 210

Berkonomics

JANUARY 16, 2014

Research and talk to existing and past customers. All agreements should be in writing and signed by all parties involved. Review long term company debt, goals, objectives and financial projections. Review financial statements – up to 3 years if available. Review tax returns – up to 3 years if available.

Technical Review 204

Technical Review Startup Examples Metrics 204

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. But I didn’t write it for you; I wrote it for myself. No Business Plan Survives First Contact With A Customer – The 5.2 call to arms.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 14, 2009

I moved into writing software to analyze audience data, and wrote a lot of computer graphics software. Along the way, I co-authored three books on one-to-one marketing ( [link] ) to help marketers learn how to built and nature relationships with their customers. Cliff, remind me about your background?

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Networking Marketing Startup 150

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

One way to mitigate this is by using early money to create a prototype, to perform market research, to complete the first generation of the product, or to deliver the service to a satisfied customer. Is the product or service possible to produce at all, let alone economically enough to compete in the marketplace? Second: Market risk.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120