Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

Ask your customer why you lost. Write things down. We helped the write out their requirements for a system. Two weeks after winning the deal and well into implementation planning we released a new version of our software. They hired a consultant to help them with the review. Specifically: 1. Be gracious.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

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. I made a point to call ten of our customers randomly every day, and ask questions--such as what other products they were interested in, what was challenging, what products they liked to buy from us.

Software Review 200

Software Review Commerce Startup Sites 200

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

As I look back at insights I might share, I wade through the trite suggestions of ‘work hard’ and ‘treat the customer well.’ I had to be successful at my new software company. My sales tax payments were due in the next few days, and I didn’t have the money. Frank Peters made his money writing software for Wall Street.

Startup 204

Startup Software Review UCLA Sales 204

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Who's the customer? Unfortunately, we are web, mobile, software, database guys. Do I have to write up the overview? What Is This?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Who's the customer? Unfortunately, we are web, mobile, software, database guys. Do I have to write up the overview? What Is This?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2010

It makes no sense to meet in August or December due to travel schedules of most investors. For the record, this is not a secret, coded messages to companies for which I am on the board! . They mostly understand your company, your customers, your competitors and your market but never as precisely as you do. That’s it.

Startup 301

Startup Venture Capital Software Review Email 301

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

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!” If you had huge customer growth but just didn’t focus on revenue that’s a different story. One of them is profitability.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Jackson added, “FinTech has traditionally lagged behind the innovation that’s happening in other areas of enterprise software. 25 Years of Writing Code. The firm says its customers benefit from closing deals faster, exchanging files securely, and being able to manage more deals at any given time.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Traction can simply mean showing that you’re making progress with customers, product development, channel partners, initial revenue as a proof point, attracting well-known angel investors, winning industry awards / recognition. It is code word for “I’m not ready to invest for whatever reason … I need more proof.&#.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

If you have a software development background like mine, I’m sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. If your software or your manufacturing process is your “secret sauce,” you need to keep the work in-house. Customer-facing services, like call centers, should rarely be outsourced.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Huge thank you to Steve De Long for the write up. A deep dive into the Foundry Group investment philosophy including an interesting discussion of their investing Themes. “… our lens is: Internet Software Companies anywhere in the U.S. If you are outside internet software we are not going to invest. Is that when it became big?

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Unlike an unregistered copyright, which you gain automatically by expressing an idea in written form, you cannot gain intellectual property protection by simply being the first person to describe an idea in writing. As noted in Roping In The Legal Eagles , you have the responsibility to write the layman’s description of your patent claims.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The company--which is in the business of operating a content delivery network (CDN) to accelerate the delivery of web graphics, multimedia, applications, and more to end users-- recently disclosed it more than doubled its revenues in 2012, and has grown to over 230 employees--all due to a huge amount of demand for CDN services by its customers.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

socalTECH

OCTOBER 30, 2008

to the business of script writing, and is looking to combine a free online tool for writing scripts with matching those scripts with content producers. Sunil Rajaraman: We provide free, web-based screenwriting software to aspiring writers and professionals in the community. What's Scripped? That is the way to attract writers.

Content 138

Content Writing Software Review Hollywood 138

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. When I first met the team in San Diego they had only been working on their software for 5 months. The exact same team had worked on 2 previous customer service startups (and 1 non-CS product).

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS San Diego 267

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

The company provides SAT, ACT, and other similar test preparation courses and related software. I had worked as a tutor for Princeton Review, and Jake for Kaplan. We thought, we could put out a better product than Kaplan or Princeton Review, which would be more compelling, and also would tie in a strong social mission.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

People buy companies for 3 primary reasons: 1) they want the management team / talent 2) they want the technology or 3) they want the market traction (revenue, customer base, profits, etc). We told the horror story of the company that originally owned the URL groupon.com and lost it due to not having a trademark. they take time!!

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

No rule is ever absolute no matter how it sounds when one writes a blog. That is when no customers wanted to work with Internet startups because we as an industry had burned so many customers. But in these years I learned how to sell software – necessity is the mother of all invention. I never built Google.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Sales Software Review 285

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

If you have a software development background like mine, Im sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. If your software or your manufacturing process is your secret sauce, you need to keep the work in-house. The same applies to manufacturing and almost any process these days.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

This means selling at least 5-10 customers in advance, before it is even built. Offer the customers a discount for buying in advance. Ask for is code samples. arcticempire.ca – mobile app development & code review based in Canada, Ask for Josh.

CTO Hire 81

CTO Hire Outsource Development Develop Development 81

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

We helped the write out their requirements for a system. Two weeks after winning the deal and well into implementation planning we released a new version of our software. How could a company like ours be so callous as not to support their software (even one more than 4 years out of date)? we would support 6.0

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

However, its unique-for-the-industry monthly subscription model has helped it maintain healthy profits from its loyal customer base in 2023. Writesonic Writesonic is an AI writing tool designed to help writers overcome writers block and level up their skills. Organic milk formula product Bobbie. Writesonic Library screenshot.

Startup 194

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 194

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

to develop some sweet inventory-planning software. Murthy and Kaplan intend to use the debt offering as a factor relationship to act as an intermediary and purchase receivables for brands that don’t have access to those kinds of relationships due to it being a nonfrequent sale for some brands. Syrup Tech bags $6.3M

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. Hardware + Software The world is filled with investors who will tell you, “We don’t do hardware.”

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 12, 2019

For example, I come from a software background, and back in the early PC days, it could easily cost half a million dollars for a team of professionals to produce a commercial product. Now, with powerful high-level tools and open source software, winning smartphone apps can be built by a good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

Startup 105

Startup Software Review Technical Review Social Media 105

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

He listed all of the product releases that were up coming, the customers that were in the pipeline and where he saw his competition moving. A key deal not only helps you raise venture capital but it can help attract employees, garner press attention, help with product focus & importantly drive customer adoption and/or revenue.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. Regularly follow reviews and influencers in your industry. Ask the right questions, and listen to your customers.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Technical Review Software Review 57

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

As I naturally get asked all the time why we invested in Company A or Company B, I thought I’d just put forth my thesis in writing. He’s a natural leader, appropriately competitive, very customer focused and a pleasure to work with. I’ll explain in detail below. He knows the ad management and ad network businesses.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

socalTECH

JULY 22, 2016

Rufus Labs is one of a number of hardware startups which have started to proliferate in the community, due to low cost hardware, 3D printing, and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Plus, they don't collect data, and use really old, limited software. When we talk to customers, we hear about these pain points.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Startup Software Review CTO Hire 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

If you were a newly minted, venture-backed consumer Internet company you had to have a deal with AOL to reach your customers. Was it massively better software, better companies, better markets? Third-party software companies will start to offer features to websites to actually drive social features. It was mostly timing.

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Startup 318

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Board meeting gets scheduled Nobody thinks too much about it until a week or two before Management team has a last-minute scramble to pull materials together Management is super focused on its daily work of … winning customers, signing biz dev, shipping product … so this prep is a last minute “fire drill” and is seen as a slight distraction.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

I am in the middle of writing up some of my thoughts on this and will post about it and let you know. We have been using LinkedIn for both sourcing recruits and reviewing backgrounds for recruits. Technology Advisor Technology Roles in Startups Pricing Customer Acquisition Sunk Costs and More -.

Blogging 150

Blogging CTO Coach CTO Hire Southern California 150

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2018

For those not familiar with the writing process in Hollywood works, fill us in? We saw that there were a lot of talent discovery programs out there, such as screenwriting fellowships, labs, film festivals, workshops, and writing competitions. That's been our focus, on centralizing talent discovery on the platform.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Hollywood Platform Competition 100

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 19, 2012

The industry had seen unprecedented growth in the past decade due to a combination of factors, one of which was the United States’ economic recession. Due to the combination of these factors, marketers began to more heavily fund digital platforms. A study conducted by Rice University’s Jesse H. Getting Mobile-Ready.

Mobile 85

Mobile Software Review Statistics Technical Review 85

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

Tech Diligence - Consider The Source. Rather, we value entrepreneurs' time and thus our diligence generally includes introducing them to potential customers and partners. The difference is that VoiceXML does not leverage customers' knowledge of web development. Similar to VoiceXML, the standard for the past 5-yrs.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. It’s like people arguing that there’s a beautiful beach house in 2006 that represents great long-term value due to scarcity of similar property. customers who paid for services often get burned. I believe that. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2016

If you have a software development background like mine, I’m sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. If your software or your manufacturing process is your “secret sauce,” you need to keep the work in-house. Customer-facing services, like call centers, should rarely be outsourced.

Outsource Development 53

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 53