Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

Some objections are real and they end up becoming changes to your product, your service plan or your pricing / bundling. As a founder, when you’ve been dealing with these kinds of objections for a couple of years it becomes natural and you easily handle objections on price, product & competition without much thought.

Sales 289

Sales Startup Training Pricing 289

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I love businesses that aim to massively reduce the costs of products or services in a way that makes a product or service vastly more accessibility and in which incumbents would have a hard time competing. The other is driven by the need to increase privacy in providing its service relative to competitors using cameras.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. Train and coach continuously.

Competition 99

Competition Services Startup Training 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. Train and coach continuously.

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Young entrepreneurs and startups, in particular, often remain naively unfocused, despite their passion, of what it takes to provide the high-quality service expected. Train and coach continuously.

Startup 154

Startup Training Custom Customer 154

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.". Marketing, number one, is a service function.

Marketing 271

Marketing Startup Sales Custom 271

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

You have an open source stack, cloud services for storage, processing & management and APIs for just about anything you want. Price creep hurts investors. But it also hurts entrepreneurs – Mike asked people about what they were doing to keep prices down. We all know that. VC is different.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

How profitable is my product or service? What sized team can I afford in order to sell, market & provide service to these customers? presented pricing challenges when compared to a whole new set of offline competitors we didn’t know well. How long does it take me to pay back my original customer acquisition costs?

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

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

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.” But know that unless we do gain the traction we hope for it may make it harder to price the next round as a big up round. ” Case in point: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, SnapChat. Again, all true.

Venture Capital 412

Venture Capital Startup Funding Snapchat 412

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. It may be time to start your own home delivery service, or subscription offering, or time to acquire a struggling competitor to scale your business. Establish and evaluate metrics at multiple levels.

Marketing 162

Marketing Social Media Metrics Custom 162

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 Custom 176

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]. A location based service which incorporates social and gaming elements.

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

Tara Weingarten: We had no metrics when we started, and even now, we had a big week with 1900 uniques on one day. We did a bunch of research into services like TrueCar, and how they presented things, played with those services, and so on. It's fascinating that you have some very big sponsors, even though you're a brand new site.

Truecar 204

Truecar Writing Edmunds Sites 204

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

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 they value your product / service they’ll buy it. If they don’t value your product / service they won’t. I believe that PBW’s should have hard metrics.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

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. Everybody is now payment ready.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. Managing business growth is more than metrics. You can hire the best salespeople, have great products and define good metrics, but without decisive and innovative managers, the sales organization will not reach its full potential.

Sales 147

Sales Metrics Guide Startup 147

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. There are many ways to fall into this trap. But first, identify what those critical resources are in your company. And yet another way to make that mistake. Again, it’s about you at the center of this firestorm.

Resource 156

Resource Outsource Development Metrics Custom 156

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. What does traction really mean to investors, and how much is enough? Let me try to clarify the rules, and what it takes to win at this game. First of all, a definition.

Startup 121

Startup Metrics Custom Customer 121

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. Ask them for a meeting to review your pricing strategy with you. Growth like this, this early in a company’s lifecycle rarely happens. Already covered.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

InfoChachkie

JUNE 2, 2014

The result of her efforts is an online service that allows brides to select their bridesmaids'' gowns, within a broad range of colors, styles and price points. We keep our eye on a handful of metrics, but we’re focused on customer satisfaction. Greathouse : You have clearly come up with a compelling business model.

Design 208

Design Custom Customer Satisfaction 208

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

You need a good cook, good marketing, and first-class service. Have you set the right price for your entree, and correctly included all costs? 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. But don’t practice too long.

Startup 156

Startup Coach Metrics Marketing 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

According to most investors I know, traction is some clear evidence that the “dogs are eating the dog food” – usually meaning that you have at least one customer paying full price for your solution. If your phone app or service is free, then the number of users or downloads better be impressive and growing exponentially.

Tips 79

Tips Metrics Technical Review Custom 79

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

It’s important to define your growth strategy, document it, communicate it to your team, and align metrics and employee rewards to target goals. In most companies, maintaining momentum requires the right strategic partners and acquisitions, in lieu of short-term price adjustments and special sales.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

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. They help hiring managers raise the bar for every interview. Make your company a ground-breaking invention machine.

Marketing 123

Marketing Technical Review Custom Customer 123

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Resource Metrics Custom 129

InfoChachkie

MARCH 2, 2010

There were no price guides, standardized rating systems or baseball card stores. In addition, rigid grading systems were established by professional grading services. The advent of investors and grading services drove up the demand for near-perfect cards while suppressing the value of all other cards.

Pricing 138

Pricing Advertising Marketing Startup 138

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2012

Most then add customer service at the rollout, but very few really understand what it means to be truly customer centric, and even fewer really achieve it. Customer centricity is far more than providing excellent customer service, although that’s a step in the right direction. If not, competitors are approaching. Marty Zwilling.

Customer 90

Customer Custom Startup Pricing 90

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2021

Well-articulated goals and metrics. Always strive to increase your lead, and while competitors scramble to catch you, unleash your next breakthrough product, service, or promotion. Avoid egotistical price wars and emotional outbursts, but make competitors think you are prepared to win at all costs.

Startup 154

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Metrics 154

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

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

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Resource 121

Resource Metrics Entrepreneur Custom 121

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

For example, many investors I know tell me they look for business plans that allocate the largest portion of a requested investment to marketing, but most often see the top “ use of funds ” to be further product or service development. Of course, you can’t possibly brand yourself if you don’t know who you really are.

Marketing 133

Marketing Custom Customer Outsource Development 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

Products and services for a business need to be attuned to customer requirements, cost and quality tradeoffs, with milestones for pricing and completion. 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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

They can help you with pricing. The full financial details and metrics were in the deck. So my time was freed up to call board members in advance and walk them through our metrics and understand any concerns. Establishing Metrics & Monitoring Success (or Failures). Another thing entrepreneurs f**k up? HR & Legal.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150