Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

I’m super excited to announce that GRP Partners led the investment in Ethan Anderson’s new company MyTime (link has LA-based merchants but will give you a good feel for the product). And we wanted a head of global marketing. ” So Ethan went to work as a product manager at Google Video. He was seeking $500k.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

You need to be great at something: technology back-end, front-end design, usability, sales, marketing, quantitative analysis, leadership –> whatever. So they set out a grass route’s effort to go directly to the market. You have to build a product that people really love. And they have done hundreds of them.

Entrepreneur 398

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Blogging 398

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2010

Probably every one of you who has a business and a website have been approached through email or personal contact, and asked to spend money on Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Search engine marketing is simply buying advertising for your business from Google or another search engine company. Popular keywords have higher costs.

SEM 90

SEM Marketing Startup Search Engine Optimization 90

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 21, 2010

One of the investment themes I’ve been focused on in the past 3 years has been Performance-Based Marketing. When I started investing the US advertising market was $300 billion with only 10% of it ($30 billion) of it being online and measurable. I believe that many social networks confused this idea. Early evidence is good.

Advertising 284

Advertising Invest RSS CPC 284

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2009

all the other folks out there that will try to enter the same market) the barriers have been dropping over the last few years. Fantastic post by Christian Gammill - Startup Delta Force… From a competitive perspective (e.g. How’s that for duality.

Startup 150

Startup SEM IP SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. How many through SEM? If you have multiple versions of your product, how many are web vs. mobile? Only one guy in the room knew – their tech lead.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Customer 346

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2013

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 106

Marketing Startup Social Media SEM 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2014

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 102

Marketing Funding Social Media SEM 102

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2010

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 94

Marketing Startup Social Media SEM 94

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

You don’t need to invent an innovative product to be a real entrepreneur. They are not the generalists required for new product startups. Here are a few examples: Marketing specialists. Many of these new entrepreneurs were regular employees a few years ago, focused on a skill specialty. It shouldn’t be a huge transition.

Entrepreneur 89

Entrepreneur Services Product Search Engine Optimization 89

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2013

Scott Morrow is an Internet and startup veteran, having run such companies as Oversee.net and ThisNext, and headed up product marketing for IAC/Citysearch. When I first came on board, we were not very sophisticated with our search engine marketing. We grew our SEM and improved our ROI. Scott Morrow: There were two things.

Pricing 256

Pricing Sites Marketing SEM 256

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. We discussed in the video why they don’t price this money but give it as convertible debt) they don’t make announcements to the market. They also avoid Reg D.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Startup Advertising Redpoint 285

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2015

Social media is now one of the key marketing tools, but not the only one, so the challenge is to manage the resource tradeoffs effectively by constantly assessing payback versus cost. Create an integrated conventional marketing and social media strategy. Manage your expectations, and analyze every marketing channel.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Startup Tips 108

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 24, 2013

For about 50 years, (…cough M) Ad Men, or marketing and sales individuals, have been the kings of organizational hierarchy … and then came the Internet of things and engineers took over the throne. If you build it, they may not come : So, you’ve launched your product, and people use it and seem to like it.

Hulu 111

Hulu Startup Social Media Organization 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2010

Every time I see a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends.

Marketing 56

Marketing SEM Blogging Design 56

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

You don’t need to invent an innovative product to be a real entrepreneur. They are not the generalists required for new product startups. Here are a few examples: Marketing specialists. Many of these new entrepreneurs were regular employees a few years ago, focused on a skill specialty. It shouldn’t be a huge transition.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Services Search Engine Optimization Startup 106

socalTECH

MAY 5, 2009

The second, is we provide fulfillment services, such as product shipments. The fifth is product photography--we actually have an in-house photo studio, including doing things like Photoshop and color correction. We're all technology guys in the way, and were not in the apparel space. Do you have specific plans for the raise?

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital SEM Commerce SEO 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2012

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Do basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) yourself. Sales and marketing costs. Manufacturing cost and lead times.

Startup 102

Startup Search Engine Optimization SEM Social Network 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Do basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) yourself. Sales and marketing costs. Manufacturing cost and lead times.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Search Engine Optimization SEM 94

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

I was in advertising and marketing, working in Newport Beach on the Mazda account. Billy Fried: We first tested it in California, which was our launch market a year and a half ago. The idea was to have tent poles up in the most important leisure markets. Bill Fried: I'm a serial entrepreneur. It's down in Laguna Beach.

Activity 164

Activity Startup Sites Web 164

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

This panel, featuring Sean Percival, Tony Adam, Alex Becker, Josh Ochs, and Erica Forette, will discuss how the idea of “search is social” will affect online marketing strategies. Tuesday - Sept 21st - 6PM - Location-Based Marketing: To Check-in or Not to Check-in? It’s nothing short of a new frontier in digital marketing.

Social Media 65

Social Media Media Tech Coast Angels Orange County 65

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2010

I come from a high-tech software background, and only a few years ago, it would cost at least a million dollars ($1M) for a team of professionals to produce any commercial software product. Do basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) yourself. Sales and marketing costs. Manufacturing cost and lead times.

Startup 50

Startup High Tech Search Engine Optimization SEM 50

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Here are a few examples: Marketing specialists. As your business starts up, you need marketing programs, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), a modern “pull” strategy based on social networks, and lead generation. This world changes rapidly and needs a highly focused specialist to keep up.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Startup SEM 48

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2013

Their computers then cleverly merge your ads with search results when users search words imply an interest in your products. 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. This is NOT the same as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Paid Search 90

Paid Search PPC Organization SEO 90

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Email marketing. Direct mail marketing. Social-media advertising.

Customer 146

Customer Custom Marketing Startup 146

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

This entry focuses on how you can minimize your cost per customer acquired by systematically establishing the infrastructure necessary to track the results obtained from a variety of online and offline marketing vehicles. Ultimately, your overall customer acquisition costs should calculated as an average of a variety of marketing channels.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2021

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Marketing 139

Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 139

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Email marketing. Direct mail marketing. Social-media advertising.

Marketing 114

Marketing Invest Social Media SEM 114

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Marketing 107

Marketing Invest SEM Startup 107

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2013

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a few years ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Marketing 99

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup SEM 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2012

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a few years ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Marketing 95

Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 95

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Lately I’ve been having to say things I thought I’d never have to remind people, like, “getting to positive gross margin in several territories is a very low bar to claim success” or “profitable excluding marketing costs” is not actually a real thing. Market Size. MakeSpace provides physical storage.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2011

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a couple of years ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Marketing 90

Marketing Startup SEM Blogging 90

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

In product business it is often measured over multiple purchases and assumptions are made about the repeat rates and in the enterprise or services world LTV can be based on churn rates, which are notoriously hard to predict in an early-stage business. If you can’t raise — you’re dead. End of story. LTV is imprecise.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2016

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Email marketing. Direct mail marketing. Social-media advertising.

Customer 60

Customer Custom Marketing Social Media 60

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2014

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Email marketing. Direct mail marketing. Social-media advertising.

Startup 99

Startup Social Media SEM Advertising 99

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

Social media marketing. Search engine marketing (SEM). This popular form of Internet marketing seeks to increase website ranking in search engine results. No SEM plan means you are missing a huge marketing opportunity. Viral marketing. Viral marketing costs real money, but is often worth it.

SEM 95

SEM Search Engine Optimization Blogging PPC 95