Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

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. Decide early where and when money will come from, set some milestones and metrics, and work to a plan, or be caught short. Word of mouth is not adequate for marketing and sales.

Sales 165

Sales Customer Custom Social Media 165

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Obviously this definition is generic, so my first recommendation is that you take the lead in defining traction metrics for your startup, and then selling your results convincingly to investors. As an investor, I would like to see one month of sales, and see how that compares to your projections.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

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. In addition to total sales, you need to look at categories and trends at lower levels. Scan for unmet needs to match new products.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Customer 162

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

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

Switch your focus from product development to sales. Explosive growth to an enterprise normally requires a scalable sales model, a well-documented process with incentives, training, and metrics for tracking and management. Isolate marketing from sales for maximum customer focus.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2022

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

eBook 111

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 111

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. However, to be a great VC you have to hold two conflicting ideas in your head at the same time.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

Entrepreneurs need to document a process of responding to a market need, sizing opportunity, assigning a specific business model, and planning for marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction. For progress and success assessment, each of these needs some metrics defined, a training plan, and responsibility assignments within your team.

Outsource Development 115

Outsource Development Startup Competition Ideas 115

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

If you have had to pivot from the consumer market to enterprise customers, that requires new pricing models and new sales channels. Re-evaluate processes as they are today and set metrics to better represent the new sales, operational, and service needs. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? Develop metrics with which to measure yourself and use these to incrementally expand and improve your offering as fast as the market and capital will allow.

Startup 112

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 112

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

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

Switch your attention from product development to sales. Second-stage growth usually requires a formal sales model, an experienced and disciplined sales team, and a well-defined process to meet your new goals and demands. Managing business growth is more than metrics. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

Startup 97

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

With the real data from that surge, you need to take a hard look at business model realities, cost of customer acquisition, inventory costs, and other key metrics. Control costs and adjust prices to maintain your margin. Document processes and metrics for economies of scale.

Metrics 86

Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business for 4-6 months. “COGS” represents the amount that each sale costs you.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? Develop metrics with which to measure yourself and use these to incrementally expand and improve your offering as fast as the market and capital will allow.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

Entrepreneurs need to document a process of responding to a market need, sizing opportunity, assigning a specific business model, and planning for marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction. For progress and success assessment, each of these needs some metrics defined, a training plan, and responsibility assignments within your team.

Entrepreneur 131

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Startup Competition 131

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Examples 93

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

For example, when delivery costs and delays were still a major online sales hurdle, Amazon Prime membership was invented to offer free next day shipping. Incorporate AI-powered data and metrics systems. Their pricing algorithm crawls the Web daily, and adjusts prices to always match the lowest price found anywhere, offline or online.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Customer Custom 123

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

I recommend a trial run with an experiment or MVP (minimum viable product), at full price and cost, before the big bang launch, risking your investment money and a major time commitment. Bill Gates was the technical genius, but Steve Ballmer, from Procter & Gamble, ran the business side of the equation.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Funding is depleted before customer sales ramp up. Smarter entrepreneurs don’t wait for a crisis to drive change, by defining key milestones and metrics for tracking progress. Marketing and sales take more time and effort than anticipated. When people problems arise, it’s critical that you make changes as required quickly.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry. Customers today quickly get beyond these, and put a competitive priority on the experience of others, reflected in reviews and social media, and their own total experience with your sales process, delivery, returns, and support on their schedule.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2019

Too many business owners still think of “ customer support ” as an after-sale process to rectify customer problems with completed transactions. Customers expect you to provide access via their mobile devices, as well as being responsive to sales and support questions on social media and multiple Internet channels and partners at their whim.

Customer 84

Customer Custom Company Companies 84

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

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. Decide early where and when money will come from, set some milestones and metrics, and work to a plan, or be caught short. Word of mouth is not adequate for marketing and sales.

Startup 107

Startup Sales Customer Custom 107

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

Switch your attention from product development to sales. Second-stage growth usually requires a formal sales model, an experienced and disciplined sales team, and a well-defined process to meet your new goals and demands. Managing business growth is more than metrics. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

Startup 108

Startup Sales Metrics Entrepreneur 108

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

It freed up Ophir to grow out our sales organization, to work more closely with agencies, to innovate on product and to raise capital. They can help you with pricing. The last thing you want the CEO (or heads of sales, marketing, product) doing is sinking 3 days every month into preparing board packs. Timing of cash payments.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

In the case of MakeSpace we had huge initial successes in New York City as Rahul led the scaling of our drivers, our trucks and our warehouses and we figured out the right price points to beat the local competition. presented pricing challenges when compared to a whole new set of offline competitors we didn’t know well.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 10, 2011

The big price increase : 5 out of 5 stars. The remainder of this article will deal with this decision but it comes down to the different economics of DVD rentals due to “ the first sale doctrine ” which gives Netflix a complete library of films and the fact that the first-sale doctrine doesn’t apply to digital downloads.

Netflix 287

Netflix Customer Custom Pricing 287

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

Switch your attention from product development to sales. Second-stage growth usually requires a formal sales model, an experienced and disciplined sales team, and a well-defined process to meet your new goals and demands. Managing business growth is more than metrics. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

Startup 56

Startup Sales Metrics Guide 56

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

Switch your attention from product development to sales. Second-stage growth usually requires a formal sales model, an experienced and disciplined sales team, and a well-defined process to meet your new goals and demands. Managing business growth is more than metrics. Separate marketing from sales for further leverage.

Sales 96

Sales Metrics Startup Entrepreneur 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2015

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur eBook Metrics Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2018

I learned this the hard way a few years ago in a startup where customers loved our idea and the free prototype, but we couldn’t sell one for the full price needed to meet our financial projections. We simply hadn’t tested the price sensitivity in the market segment and geography that needed the features we offered.

Customer 59

Customer Custom Pricing Startup 59

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2017

Really, we're the sales and marketing arm of those companies. You have to make sure your cost of acquisition, retention rates, and conversion metrics are all in place. Then there was haggling back and forth about price. Scott Cannon: I had to go back, and really get operating metrics in place to know how to look at the business.

Startup 174

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 174

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Obviously this definition is generic, so my first recommendation is that you take the lead in defining traction metrics for your startup, and then selling your results convincingly to investors. As an investor, I would like to see one month of sales, and see how that compares to your projections.

Startup 106

Startup Metrics Customer Custom 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

Customers may be attracted to your marketing message, but investors look harder at the startup team, seeking superior expertise in the key areas of growing a business, product domain, financial, marketing and sales. Specific elements of your marketing and sales plans. Projected revenues and expenses over the strategic period.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

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. If you simply to a revenue number (say hitting $1 million in sales) and they hit it in year 1 then you’ve lost your carrot for year 2. million in sales. million in sales (e.g.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2017

For example, if it’s getting harder to charge a price premium for the product you’re marketing, or others are offering your subscription service for free, it may be time to start thinking in a new box. Another example is seeing substitute versions of a product, like eBooks, for a low price displacing hardcover books.

eBook 52

eBook Metrics Examples Startup 52