L.A. Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Electric vehicles are touted as the future, especially in Los Angeles where the city’s climate goals call for 80% of vehicles sold to be electric by 2028 — seven years ahead of the state’s 2035 cutoff for gasoline-powered auto sales.

Companies 306

Companies Company Los Angeles Sales 306

Berkonomics

AUGUST 10, 2023

From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is thinking of the end game, the ultimate sale of the company or even of an eventual initial public offering. There is no middle ground. Resetting your priorities Taking money from these sources involves resetting priorities over time.

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital Sales Invest Class 292

Berkonomics

JULY 26, 2018

These are so succinct, so well defined, so precise that everyone in sales and everyone involved in marketing must be able to answer these three questions without pause, and convincingly. It would pay you to work over this set of questions in a special session with sales, marketing and senior management in the room at once.

Sales 226

Sales Custom Customer Pricing 226

Berkonomics

JANUARY 12, 2023

Management undertakes a simple exercise of calculating the increased profitability of shutting down all R&D, sales and subordinate operations, and universally notes with shock the high net profit that results – from shutting down all operations except customer service to recurring customers (as in software support operations.).

Sales 296

Sales Custom Customer SaaS 296

TechCrunch LA

JULY 10, 2019

My favorite car blog Jalopnik said it best: “Cars Sales Could Be Heading Straight Into the Toilet.” ” Citing a Bloomberg report, the site explains automakers may have had the worst first half for new-vehicle retail sales since 2013. Car sales are tanking, but people still need cars. Don’t buy, lease.

Services 212

Services Truecar Sales Blogging 212

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

He did note that in the four markets where the company has gone live since launching its business in January 2019 — San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire , and Sacramento — has yielded an annualized revenue run rate of over $400 million in gross merchandise value (the total value of home sales transacted on its platform).

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

L.A. Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Playa Vista-based point-of-sale software developer Appetize Technologies Inc. has been acquired by SpotOn Transact Inc. for $415 million.

Software Development 246

Software Development Sales Software Technology 246

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

On sales I often talk about “ Why Buy Anything, Why Buy Now, Why Buy Me ” as a tool to think about a sales process. On teams I have a framework for tech teams “ CTO vs. VP Eng ” or on sales I have “ Journeymen, Mavericks & Superstars ” 5.

Startup 407

Startup Framework CTO Coach Sales 407

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

Key Functions with High Impact Generative AI is revolutionizing sales by enabling dynamic pricing and personalized customer interactions, boosting conversion rates and customer satisfaction. Post-sale, AI analyzes customer data to improve service and loyalty, making it a cornerstone of modern sales methodologies.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI TechEmpower CTO Hire Outsource Development 295

Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

Invest 296

Invest Capital Startup Entrepreneur 296

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 senior 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 6 months. COGS” represents the amount that each sale costs you.

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

Snipfeed is free to set up, but if you make sales, the company takes 15% — this percentage is inclusive of any transaction fees. Through Snipfeed’s referral program, creators can make 5% of sales from anyone they onboard to the platform (this comes out of Snipfeed’s commission). “We Image Credits: Snipfeed.

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 21, 2017

Once a company founder has tapped the funds available from his or her resources and from friends and family, if the company needs more cash for growth, the most obvious next step is to look for money from angel investors and venture capitalists, typically in the $300,000 TO $3,000,000 range.

Invest 243

Invest Sales Resource Email 243

Berkonomics

APRIL 16, 2020

Are you salespeople making few if any sales because your prospective customers are distracted by their own problems? Your competitors will most likely be conservative at just that moment and be timid in their approach to spending lots for marketing and sales.

Layoffs 218

Layoffs Sales News Marketing 218

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 27, 2020

The Los Angeles-based operations and security management software service, Replicated has raised $25 million to ramp up its staffing and scale its sales and marketing efforts. Last year, the company unveiled its tools for managing Kubernetes deployments and immediately saw sales increase.

Software 224

Software Tool SaaS Los Angeles 224

Berkonomics

MARCH 8, 2018

Otherwise, you might picture an event in which the sale of a company to be consummated a few months before full vesting could cause a board member to find ways to vote for delays or even against a sale of the company, awaiting full vesting of his or her options.

Venture Capital 256

Venture Capital Equity Sales Invest 256

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 3, 2019

Tesla said that to achieve this lower price it will shift all sales globally to online only, meaning the company will be closing many of its stores over the next few months. The stores that remain, in high-traffic locations, will be turned into information centers, Musk said on a call with reporters. There will be some layoffs as a result.

Design 272

Design Layoffs Pricing Los Angeles 272

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

For starters you have to realize that fund-raising is a sales process. A brochure is an easy out for you in the sales process without being rude. We did some outbound sales & marketing, we responded to some inbound enquiries that came “over the transom” from marketing activities and we responded to RFPs (requests for proposal).

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Berkonomics

JANUARY 6, 2022

First, the marginal exit event: Sometimes the end game or sale of the company is not a happy event for the early investors, including the entrepreneur or the founders. Most sophisticated investors will take either a promissory note or preferred stock, both of which come before founder or management stock in a sale or liquidation.

Venture Capital 156

Venture Capital Sales Pricing Equity 156

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2014

Enterprise Sales – The very first thing a potential customer does when you email or call to set up a meeting is Google you. but didn’t convert to sales. Classmates call. People give them attaboys. Press matters. You can’t measure the retention benefits but I promise it exists. Just like negative press hurts.

Press 415

Press Google Course Writing 415

Berkonomics

MARCH 28, 2024

Sometimes, there will be a conflict of interest between the people representing the various shareholder classes on a board.

Class 282

Class Coach Invest Sales 282

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2021

What you don’t need is a buyer dealing directly with your landlord to get your key asset, leaving you with no leverage and minimum value for the sale. Neither perspective is good for credibility or a fair result from your sale. Always be ready to talk about future growth plans, as an alternative to a sale.

Sales 164

Sales Activity Startup Pricing 164

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. Our goal is to produce a $10 billion+ winner and remain the market leader in this SaaS category of AI in Sales & Marketing.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

The best ones bring in more executive leadership so you can appropriate allocate resources across sales, marketing, product, engineering and support. If it’s an enterprise software company you can no longer rely on tacit knowledge to win sales campaigns. B round companies need to also look for scaling opportunities.

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 20, 2022

Far too often, I come across companies with commission structures that take into account “all” the possible permutations of profit on a sale, causing everyone to wait for an accounting person to complete a cost analysis in order to find the magic number, or for a manager to rule on percentage splits for territories or products.

Sales 177

Sales SaaS Pricing Course 177

Berkonomics

AUGUST 8, 2024

To some it is financial security, building a base of wealth created from the increased value of the enterprise at the end point of sale or at an IPO. To some, it is independence from the dictates of a boss who doesn’t appreciate that person’s talent, foresight, or abilities. Vision, risk and capital, oh my!

Startup 317

Startup Entrepreneur Course Capital 317

TechCrunch LA

MAY 14, 2020

Co-founded by Matt Lafferty and Brian Gonzalez, Curri aims to solve one of the major hurdles for local construction suppliers who miss out on sales because of an inability to deliver to contractors when they need it. The company estimates that it saves its customers roughly half the cost of deploying an in-house fleet for delivery. .

Services 217

Services Southern California Seed Funding Demand 217

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). For those of you who fit that description, nice work. There is a lot to say about retaining control.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

Summary: Send the Deck Pitch decks are sales & marketing decks and like in any sales activity, any great sales person assumes his or her competition will eventually get their deck. What should not be in your deck? Competition isn’t won or lost by your marketing decks?—?it’s

Funding 239

Funding Venture Capital IP Email 239

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

general manager ( Stefano Benatti ) — filled more orders in the first two months of 2020 than all its sales for 2019, according to Cevolini. Harley Davidson introduced its all electric $29K LiveWire in 2019, becoming the first of the big gas manufacturers to offer a street-legal e-moto for sale in the U.S. In the U.S.,

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Sonos sued Google in January of 2020, alleging patent infringement on a number of its patents, as Google's smart speakers have cut into Sonos sales. Sonos called the Google changes "half-baked" and "trivial".

Patents 180

Patents Google Santa Barbara Design 180

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

The move coincides with a number of SpaceX and Tesla-related projects in Texas, the sale of several of Musk’s Los Angeles homes as well as his disagreement with how California public officials have handled the COVID-19 pandemic. His remarks confirmed a CNBC report that Musk had told friends of his intent to move to Texas.

SpaceX 293

SpaceX Technical Review Hawthorne Los Angeles 293

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). For you who fit that description, nice work. There is a lot to say about retaining control.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Gross margin (GM) is the amount of profit you make per sale of your product or service taking into account your total costs of selling that product or service. If you have a very low gross margin (10-30%) it can be very hard to build a large, scalable business because you need to make a lot of sales to cover your operating costs.

Startup 383

Startup Companies Company .Net 383

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

The document should also contain clear buy-sell clauses, forcing any sale of shares to first be offered to the corporate treasury, then to the other founders in proportion to their holdings, and then if no interest, to outside investors.

Equity 256

Equity Class Pricing Sales 256

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 25, 2022

for each sale. It'll help the company invest in marketing, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman says: “We have demonstrated our ability to make improvements that directly translate into more sales for our sellers, as evidenced by record sales per seller in 2021. Starting on April 11th, fees will rise from 5% to 6.5%

Sales 138

Sales Startup Activity Email 138