Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

Southern California Edison Blog

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Productive offices get more done—their workers complete projects faster and bring in more revenue for their organizations. Below you will find several techniques managers can use to encourage office productivity: . Below you will find several techniques managers can use to encourage office productivity: .

Product 94

Product Training Software Review Technical Review 94

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

I recently found the classic sales training book “ Bootstrap Selling The Sandler Way ,” by Bill Morrison, who has 20 years in sales leadership roles, and I was amazed at how many of his sales lessons are great lessons for new entrepreneurs as well. Customers set value based on similar products found. Marty Zwilling.

Sales 139

Sales Training Startup Customer 139

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

Here are my recommendations for training and managing your team to keep their delivery memorable for customers, as well as profitable for your business: Hire team members who enjoy customer interaction. Provide training, tools, and required decision authority. That approach still is meaningful today.

Customer 147

Customer Custom Technical Review Metrics 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Invest Patents 174

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

Who are the top tech companies to work for in Los Angeles? NastyGal -- which was just about unheard of a year ago -- has rocketed to a over $100M business, driven by women's clothing, shoes, and other products. NastyGal is just one of a number of fashion-meets-technology startups to emerge in Los Angeles, which. Rubicon Project.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Company Companies Southern California 279

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Many entrepreneurs I have mentored make big mistakes in this area, by hiring low-cost friends and family, with minimal skills or training, and expecting them to have the same work ethic , passion, and business knowledge as the founder. Direct customer-facing non-technical roles should be the last ones outsourced. with experience.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2022

With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground. An agile business doesn’t wait for their current product line to fail, before planning some enhancements.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Organization Social Media Entrepreneur 151

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has forced Energica to hit the brakes on production of its battery powered machines that can reach top speeds of 168 mph. Technology from the track is transferring to production models, according to Cevolini. MotoE riders use the company’s EGO model as their base bike.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2013

We will have to build (or buy) technology in this area.” The thing is … what I see many sales execs do is burn up countless hours on mid-level campaigns that get torpedoed when the go up the organization due to lack of budget, a desire to own that core IP or other more pressing organization priorities.

Sales 375

Sales Technical Review Organization Case Study 375

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

There was no money train. Sure, we built SaaS products before the term even existed but at 31 it was hard to delineate reality from what all of the monied people around us were telling us what we were worth. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Train them fully, give them authority, make them accountable, and tie their pay to customer satisfaction. Train and coach continuously. Companies with great service routinely spend 3% to 5% of salaries training team members – experienced as well as new. Know your customers intimately.

Competition 99

Competition Services Startup Training 99

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Startup 83

Startup Technical Review Invest Patents 83

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In my experience, even in startups, longer-term strategy often gets pushed off the agenda due to current challenges. By being proactive, and empowering and rewarding your frontline employees for improving processes, you will enhance your business productivity and growth in both the short term as well as the long term.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2022

Yet I find, as a mentor and outside consultant, that many of you focus only on working conditions and compensation as the key factors determining team engagement , health, and productivity. I will summarize these here, with my insights, for your review and implementation: Physical health. Occupational satisfaction.

Technical Review 141

Technical Review Mentor Social Media Customer 141

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Train them fully, give them authority, make them accountable, and tie their pay to customer satisfaction. Train and coach continuously. Companies with great service routinely spend 3% to 5% of salaries training team members – experienced as well as new. Know your customers intimately.

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. Fables of the reconstruction.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2022

Startup investors tell me they invest in a new venture with a higher caliber of people, rather than the product or service, and I agree. In my role as a business advisor, I see successful businesses most often emerging from great teams rather than great products. Get interactive in candidate interviews.

Training 135

Training Case Study Resource Statistics 135

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. I like how she was able to motivate, train, and reward employees, including the implementation of an incentive program to get every member of the team actively involved in generating new business. Employees will lose focus on their work.”

Startup 134

Startup Training Sales Entrepreneur 134

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Invest Startup Patents 103

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

In the interests of helping you work smarter and last longer, I would like to offer my top ten list of key resource drains to avoid in early businesses and startups, based on my years of advising entrepreneurs and my own business experience: Expanding your product line too quickly for scaling. People with the wrong tools or no training.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

socalTECH

DECEMBER 22, 2020

Every year, we feature the year end reflections of founders, CEOs, investors, and others in Southern California's high tech community. It's been a tough year for many due to the pandemic; how have you or your company adapted to the business environment? What are you most looking forward to in the technology/startup world in 2021?

Capital 124

Capital Technical Review Truecar Southern California 124

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. It’s hard to write a detailed specification on an evolving new service, process, or product that embodies your core competency. But customers are not looking yet another homogeneous product or service, so be careful.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. If you as an entrepreneur are not “listening” to your online reviews, and not moving quickly to make changes, you are losing ground. An agile business doesn’t wait for their current product line to fail, before planning some enhancements.

Tips 126

Tips Technical Review Organization Social Media 126

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

In both cases, it’s easy for them to become frustrated and give up, since most have never been trained in change management, and don’t even know what questions to ask. Words alone, like “improved efficiency”, “paradigm shift,” and “breakthrough technology” won’t convince people to follow you. Make sure they match before you commit.

Startup 155

Startup Resource Metrics Technical Review 155

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2013

This is final part of a series that describes a sales methodology for technology companies or frankly many other types of companies, too. It’s why many modern technology companies prefer to sell individual products to end-buyers who can buy on their credit cards with limited need for approval from others.

Customer 324

Customer Custom Marketing Newsletter 324

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2014

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. I had never had any sales training so everything we did for the first couple of years was instinctual. I had never had any sales training so everything we did for the first couple of years was instinctual.

Sales 382

Sales Help Startup Pricing 382

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. Rinse & repeat. It takes options off of the table. You have a hunch.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

As a result, Google has become a verb, and the company is a tech giant with record growth rates and a revenue of $74.5 Continuous improvement applies to the business model as well as the product. Every team member needs the motivation, training and authority to make day-to-day decisions without review and approval.

Ideas 59

Ideas Technical Review Google Startup 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

You may have a strong product development background, but typically have minimal experience in hiring and leading team members and groups, or managing financials. Here I often find that you need to seek and work with a co-founder who can complement your technical skills with financial and marketing to start the business.

Company 99

Company Companies Technical Review Startup 99

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. In 2006, a passion to help startups grew into Tech Cocktail , a company whose mission was to showcased burgeoning companies in bars around the country. The Foundation was created in 1997 by tech pioneers, Jean and Steve Case.

Startup 138

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2018

During my early years of managing in business, I always assumed that if I hired and trained the smartest and most experienced people I could find, I would get outstanding productivity. I recently was an advisor to a very strong technical executive who insisted on “being involved” in literally every decision in his startup.

Technical Review 51

Technical Review Startup Training Netflix 51

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

Who else can provide context if your portfolio isn’t growing as quickly as your peer group, if they believe you paid too high a price on a deal, if they question your due diligence in a given situation or whatever critique they might offer? You need to embrace that there are good actors out there and bad actors. You can’t.

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

However, there is already the technology out therefrom San Luis Obispo-based Whitefox Defense (www.whitefoxdefense.com)  to both detect, and neutralize those drones. We spoke with founder and CEO Luke Fox to learn more about the company, and its technology. Explain how your technology works?

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 19, 2013

While I have some sympathy with not investing too heavily in sales people until the product has properly been tested and commercialized in the enterprise environment, in the end it’s a fact that it takes sales people to move product through large organizations. Let me explain why: 1. Successful Implementations.

Startup 403

Startup Sales Software Review Technical Review 403

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

help you integrate your product with other systems making it harder for your product to be replaced by competitors. Only Work on Projects That Support Your Core Product Effort. In the Ad Tech world PS revenue often means providing “media services” as a value-add to using your product. rollout support.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software Services Company 321

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Innovate In the early years of a startup there is a lot of kinetic energy of enthusiastic innovators looking to launch a product that changes how an industry works.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286