Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Operating productivity.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Custom 100

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product." It is almost never the case that you are building an MVP to "show" to an investor the product itself.

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Metrics Venture Capital News Product 264

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

Entrepreneurs have no trouble focusing on how to build a product, and the good ones know how to find and nurture those first critical customers. What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Operating productivity.

Metrics 106

Metrics Startup Sales Statistics 106

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. He wanted to get input from me on what he's doing, and he wants to begin to ask developers what it would take to build his product. Me : Product definition, use cases, feature list, wireframes, comps, really whatever you have.

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

When they look at buying your company they often think in terms of “how long will it take until I earn back the profits to pay for my acquisition price?” They have have raised $2-3 million, built a product that has some amount of market traction and got to annualized revenues of around $1 million. ” The Details.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

Imagine the “typical&# deal – somebody comes into a VC’s office, they’ve never met, they’re highly referred by a friend and they’re pitching a product demo and a PPT. If I see your alpha product then I can judge how it develops over time. I’m personally 70% management, 30% product.

Startup 360

Startup Venture Capital Invest Slides 360

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

On the other hand, the biggest winners will turn out to be much larger than the prices people paid for them and this will happen faster than at any time in human history. We can’t wait for customers to use the product for 12–18 months and do customer interviews or look at purchase cohorts. That used to be called A-round investing.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

socalTECH

MAY 13, 2009

Irvine-based Kofax , which develops document capture software, announced this morning that it has launched a new product for monitoring its software. According to the firm, its new Kofax Monitor software provides real-time, enterprise monitoring and metrics. Pricing of the new software was not disclosed.

Product 100

Product Metrics Pricing Software 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

You need to first create a compelling product. 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. You need product / market fit. Product / market fit is everything. ” True.

Startup 401

Startup Custom Customer Technical Review 401

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

And then they said one thing that most marketers go their whole career never hearing, 'Listen Steve, price is irrelevant, it is speed that matters.' We had been pricing our graphics cards to be a low-cost provider. The first thing I did was raise our prices.". We repackaged them and branded them as different products.

Marketing 271

Marketing Startup Sales Custom 271

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I spend hours thinking about the products, competitors, market opportunities, recruiting and financing of these businesses. I am much more attracted to technical product teams than to new business concepts or commerce types. I know there will be victories, set-backs and even some fights. I feel personally committed and engaged.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

socalTECH

JULY 10, 2019

We spoke with CEO and co-founder Spencer Price to learn more about the company. Spencer Price: Halla is the only software company to dynamically profile human tastes so we can help people make better choices. Spencer Price: That's a fair question. Spencer Price: It's a bit of a circuitous route. What is Halla?

Pricing 113

Pricing Startup North Hollywood Platform 113

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. How profitable is my product or service? As an early-stage VC I love this phase.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

" Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does  —  @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric. More people aren't the answer if your core business isn't already productive. But if you raise at too high a price you make it harder to raise next round.

Software Review 242

Software Review Technical Review Pricing Metrics 242

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

If you buy into the argument that a strong board can actually help you then this post will lay out how to help you have more productive meetings by preparing properly in advance. Often board members themselves don’t do the work to say “what metrics would we like to see.” This is part of a broader series on Board Meetings.

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Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2019

Is your marketing focus product-centric or customer-centric ? If you only sell products, it’s time to realize that times have changed. With a wealth of products now available, customers look for the most memorable experience , not just the best product. Lifetime value is not intended to relate to length of life.

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Customer Custom Product Metrics 85

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

Too many founders have learned that passion and free beta products do not imply a sustainable business. Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. Marketing is everything these days. Plan for a real revenue model.

Sales 165

Sales Custom Customer Social Media 165

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Remember, investors are buying into the business, not the product. Investors are business experts, while the entrepreneur is more likely the product expert. In my experience, the team's credentials are more important than the product. Partnerships, distribution channels and pricing models should be included.

Product 103

Product Slides Custom Customer 103

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

He eventually applied his lessons learned in these experiences when he founded Zag, a company that helps consumers buy cars over the Internet at pre-negotiated prices with nearly 4,000 dealers across the country [disclosure: my firm GRP Partners is an investor in Zag]. The consumer product they’ve created is called TrueCar.

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

The minute you try to monetize now they have metrics with which to beat you up and say you’re business has limitations.” Delaying going out of business gives you way more chances at product / market fit than any other strategy I know of. ” Case in point: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, SnapChat. Again, all true.

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Venture Capital Startup Funding Snapchat 412

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

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. Incentives should be a combination of metrics and recognition to highlight results. Incent and reward employees who delight customers.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 6, 2012

Many companies do not take the time to perform such reviews, and end up paying the price in adverse rulings by courts or commissioners based upon verbal statements alone. Is it really worth the time and effort when measured from the perspective of the company and of the employee?

Metrics 153

Metrics Email Pricing Tool 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? According to most experts , business traction is evidence that somebody really wants your product. It’s business momentum, independent of whether you have a product delivered, proven the business model, or significantly penetrated the opportunity.

Metrics 57

Metrics Funding Startup Custom 57

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

BigCo calls you to review your product and decides they want to use you. A “warrant&# is a right, but not an obligation for a company to buy stock in your company at a future date and at a pre-agreed price. Let’s say you give a warrant to a channel partner to sell your product. What are Performance Based Warrants?

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

Most often it is the time of the chief architect of the product or service you provide, or of the best developers of that product. Sometimes it is the time of the CEO, which when overcommitted, prevents others from gaining access to solve critical problems or continue the flow of production.

Resource 176

Resource Outsource Development Metrics Customer 176

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2017

Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Exploit your product and service differences. You must be able to highlight these differences between your products and services, and those of your competitors.

Customer 85

Customer Custom Product Marketing 85

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

Scan for unmet needs to match new products. When sales fall off, you need to dig deep for the “why,” rather than just assuming the price needs to go down. Establish and evaluate metrics at multiple levels. As times change, you may need new metrics, such as total experience, web site hits, and social media complaints.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Custom 162

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Growth is more than simply repackaging existing products, and adding bells and whistles or slick incentives. Switch your attention from product development to sales. Managing business growth is more than metrics.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

For those patient enough to source great companies at reasonable prices and prepared to weather the next inevitable downturn, I believe firmly there will be economic rewards for discipline and patience. They compete on features, price and execution. Some will pay off, others will not. We’re online all the time and at high speed.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Traction is evidence that your product or service has started that “hockey- stick” adoption rate which implies a large market, a valid business model, and sustainable growth. Free and freemium products need a solid base. Free and freemium products need a solid base. First of all, a definition. Market penetration.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Custom Customer 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

I’m sure all you accountants will agree that fixing the mistakes listed here does not require rocket science, but I’ve seen them so often that to be forewarned is to be forearmed: Failing to factor in fixed costs when pricing. Always use a break-even analysis to measure what volume and price are required to offset total costs.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Summary Pricing 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

In reality, too many choices actually dilutes customer interest in your existing market, and makes your job of production, marketing, and support much more complex. New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Berkonomics

MAY 20, 2021

Most often it is the time of the chief architect of the product or service you provide, or of the best developers of that product. Sometimes it is the time of the CEO, which when overcommitted, prevents others from gaining access to solve critical problems or continue the flow of production.

Resource 156

Resource Outsource Development Metrics Customer 156

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Many entrepreneurs never get past their first-stage focus on their innovative product, to scaling the business globally, organizing a structure to handle thousands of employees, and concentrating their focus “on the business” rather than working “in the business.” Switch your focus from product development to sales.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 7, 2019

What metrics will you use to fairly evaluate each direct report? Many companies do not take the time to perform such reviews and end up paying the price in adverse rulings by courts or commissioners based upon verbal statements alone. In terms of time, this can be expensive and disruptive to you and your direct reports. Our conclusion.

Metrics 120

Metrics Report Email Pricing 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

Intuitively, many entrepreneurs and businesses believe that the key to faster growth and success is more products, features, and markets. It’s a tough world even for big-company generalists, who take on the complexities of product diversification. Well-articulated goals and metrics. Just ask J.C.

Startup 154

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 154

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Most of the entrepreneurs I meet as an investor and advisor have no shortage of right-brain thinking, showing vision and creativity, but often don’t realize that their potential is being limited by a balancing focus on results, metrics, and customer specifics. Show results with a minimal viable product (MVP).

Technical Review 133

Technical Review Satisfaction Metrics Startup 133