A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 11, 2010

WhenBusy is a bootstrapped startup that lets people schedule meetings with you in currently-available time-slots without you having to share your calendar [disclosure: I'm an advisor]. Does Apple win the hearts (yes, hearts ) of millions because of their obsession with design or because of their development APIs?

Software Review 261

Software Review Technical Review Viral Software Developers 261

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 27, 2015

It’s no wonder that our own customers told us that “website” was the #1 intended purpose for their shiny new logo design. Whether you just launched a new website, or are looking to give your online presence a more professional look, here are our top 4 tips for designing a logo that looks great online, no matter what the platform: 1.

Design 100

Design Social Media Channel Bootstrapping 100

Tim Keane

MARCH 9, 2011

Can you bootstrap your way to positive cash flow?   If the answer is relatively soon, then bootstrapping is a very serious consideration.    Even if it isn’t soon, early bootstrapping can reduce risk and increase chances for success, resulting in more aligned interests for entrepreneurs and investors.

Finance 83

Finance Bootstrapping Startup Equity 83

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 10, 2010

Then Kristen Becker presented Kir Devries , an e-commerce site that offers a well-edited collection of unique goods for practical everyday living that have been sourced due to their impeccable craftsmanship, unique design and style, and their "good factor" in the moderate price range.

Cloud 115

Cloud Silicon Valley Incubator Finance 115

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 13, 2019

Is it cheaper for them to design and experiment with their own technology from scratch, or to acquire something existing and proven? Whether a brand new bootstrapped startup or corporate giant, your altitude, sustainability, and traction has everything to do with your team. Think about a Google or Apple acquisition of Tesla.

Intellectual Property 102

Intellectual Property IP Acquisition Startup 102

ConversionXL

MARCH 31, 2021

Cash flow is a matter of life or death when bootstrapped and pre-funding. As you guys at [COMPANY] are creating lots of ads with similar imagery, I thought you might be interested in learning how to run experiments and automate new ad combinations without the hefty design fees. Cheers, [SIGNATURE].

Audience 127

Audience Non-Compete Distribution Channel 127

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Increasingly, seed rounds occur after some sort of pre-seed or at least some period of bootstrapping. Some early customer acquisition data may also be determined by spending against an offering that is described but doesn’t actually exist. The other priority is to generate the most cost-effective signals of market demand possible.

Seed Stage 180

Seed Stage Bootstrapping Demand Early Stage 180

Austin Startup

AUGUST 2, 2018

Moreso, she writes about building inclusivity into software design, and her experience as a Latina in Tech. Workshops included topics of price-setting, customer acquisition and legal considerations when starting a business. Her writing appear in VICE, Techcrunch and I’m a big fan of her Twitter/Medium articles.

Austin 57

Austin Software Review Technical Review Entrepreneur 57

OnlyOnce

JULY 9, 2013

Chapter 4: Telling the Story to Your Team…Defining Your Mission, Vision and Values, The Top-down Approach, The Bottom-Up Approach, The Hybrid Approach, Design a Lofty Mission Statement. Chapter 21: When and How to Raise Money…When to Start Looking for VC Money, The Top 11 Takeaways for Financing Negotiations.

Startup 95

Startup Advisory Board Elevator Pitch Forecast 95

ReadWriteStart

JULY 18, 2011

He says that one is too lonely, two is good and three is a great number if they can combine their skills to cover design, development and distribution. The first stage is bootstrapping, where you raise between $50k and $100k and you try to make that money last as long as you can. How to Hack the Investment World. The stages of funding.

Investment Bankers 153

Investment Bankers Technical Review Cofounder Due Diligence 153

www.thestartup.eu

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Home RSS About Contact Advertise Partners How to bootstrap a Startup with less than $10k. Entrepreneurs, which by definition are stubborn entities are therefore finding creative and cheap ways to bootstrap their startups. Let’s break down their costs: Logo design: a simple contest on 99designs with a $300 prize.

Bootstrapping 49

Bootstrapping Italy Sweat Equity Europe 49

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

For instance, if your company is only a few weeks old and you have zero customers and your product offering is still in design, don’t expect someone to hand over $10 million to fund your efforts. Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all these stages and the investment implications.

Investment Bankers 241

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 241

The Next Web

DECEMBER 6, 2013

Drew Myler is Interaction Designer at Signal , a Chicago-based provider of mobile marketing technology. A company lives and dies by its revenue stream, especially when trying to bootstrap the business. A year ago, we wanted to see more traction with online acquisition. Design & Dev Entrepreneur' Pricing a product is so.

Churn Rate 136

Churn Rate Product Chicago Bootstrapping 136

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2010

For instance, if your company is only a few weeks old and you have zero customers and your product offering is still in design, don’t expect someone to hand over $10 million to fund your efforts. Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all these stages and the investment implications.

Investment Bankers 231

Investment Bankers Venture Capital Startup Initial Public Offering 231

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MAY 1, 2012

Why the obsession with raising money, what if you don’t want a huge company, what if you want to bootstrap, don’t you know raising money isn’t a measure of correctness or success, … I agree! For example, the average cost of customer acquisition diminishes. You spend less on marketing/advertising/acquisition.

Customer 320

Customer Revenue Acquisition Cofounder 320

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Our wheelhouse is bootstrapped (or lightly capitalized) SMB SaaS. Pied Piper Inc needs funding to accelerate customer acquisition for its SaaS solution. In 2019 we partnered with several revenue-based lending providers, effectively creating a marketplace. “. Bigfoot Capital. Key elements: . “We

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Up and Running

AUGUST 5, 2015

The new industry wages undervalued her skills and years of experience; “For designers, it was getting tougher,” she says. “They didn’t want them to just design web pages and page layouts they wanted administrative and secretarial skills as well, which I felt would demean the profession.”.

Trinidad 60

Trinidad Software Review Small Business Administration Small Business 60

Gust

DECEMBER 23, 2011

Or is it still possible to bootstrap and build a company organically? But this just illustrates the point that all sorts of businesses built on personal expertise – design skills, niche knowledge, industry relationships, etc. A gigantic percentage of startup literature concerns how to raise capital.

Intellectual Property 127

Intellectual Property Balance Sheet Dilution Bootstrapping 127

techcocktail.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

Designer – Good design can make or break a product so make sure you have someone who can think about and drive all design aspects of your business – from brand/logos, the appearance of the product and marketing materials.

San Francisco 44

San Francisco Startup PHP San Diego 44

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 8, 2019

On the heels of seeing the 10% influencer base increase the referrals process yielded, the team at Intellifluence pushed to create a brand-to-brand referral program as well, intent on creating user acquisition flywheels wherever possible. What makes me really proud though is we’ve been 100% bootstrapped for our 3.5

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Technical Review Vertical Las Vegas 120

Gust

NOVEMBER 22, 2011

For instance, if your company is only a few weeks old and you have zero customers and your product offering is still in design, don’t expect someone to hand over $10 million to fund your efforts. Obviously, if you bootstrap your business, you can avoid all these stages and the investment implications.

Venture Capital 171

Venture Capital Investment Bankers Angel Investor Initial Public Offering 171

Hunter Walker

JANUARY 15, 2017

I’ve spent most of my corporate career in online acquisition marketing and while the numbers always start out nice, there will always be a ceiling of how much profitable marketing one can do through the web. We don’t have a budget that has to be spent so I wanted to think outside of online acquisition. It is a hard, hard road.

Marketing 48

Marketing Design Acquisition Bootstrapping 48

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 16, 2012

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Competitive Differentiation that Matters – [link] 7 Rules for Bootstrapping a Business – [link]. Secrets of the acquisition process from EA and Zynga – [link].

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design Media 94

abovethecrowd.com

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

We learned from Periscope’s founder, Kayvon Beykpour, about Scott’s role as a trusted advisor and confidant in the company’s earliest stages, culminating in Periscope’s acquisition by Twitter and subsequent integration. Adding a new partner is a significant event for Benchmark.

Partner 40

Partner Early Stage Venture Capital Bootstrapping 40

The Next Web

AUGUST 5, 2013

B: No, the business is bootstrapped. B: Because the business was designed with some very heavy constraints in place. Talent acquisition. B: I’m working on a SaaS tool that foos bars. A: Oh cool, where are you guys based? B: Well, it’s just me, I’m actually traveling, not based anywhere. A: Have you raised money? A: Like what?

Chile 122

Chile Canada Bootstrapping IPO 122

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

Their product development team is hard at work on a next-generation product platform, which is designed to offer a new suite of products – but this effort is months behind schedule. People talk about funding funding funding, bootstrapping, etc., In fact, this company hasn’t shipped any new products in months.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

ConversionXL

MAY 27, 2022

Bootstrapped startup Omnisend carved out a $19 million niche in an already saturated vertical. Lead generation strictly focuses on designing valuable offers that prospects would get in exchange for their contact details (typically an email address). Leads then get scored (prioritized based on purchase intent indicators) and nurtured.

Lead Generation 107

Lead Generation Demand Audience eCommerce 107

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! 21 Reasons To Bootstrap Your Startup | ZoomShift – crowdspring.co/M5SXUd. Amazon is surprisingly quiet/inactive when it comes to acquisitions | Re/code – crowdspring.co/1dhwOrm.

Social Media 95

Social Media Small Business Design Media 95

Spencer Fry

JUNE 29, 2011

We're all familiar with the idea of viral user acquisition: Your current users invite other users to use your service. A micro site is a landing page designed around a specific demographic and type of user. You'll still need to have optimized your service with free user acquisition before paying to acquire them.

Philippines 77

Philippines Viral Bootstrapping Europe 77

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 6, 2011

This curriculum is based on the various questions entrepreneurs have asked me over these 64 sessions, spanning financing, positioning, customer acquisition, marketing, sales, channel, and various other early stage, startup-related issues. Very cool concept, designed by an energy scientist, upon which J.J.

Vertical 115

Vertical Web San Francisco Entrepreneur 115

Up and Running

MARCH 24, 2015

You’ll also want to customize your look through WordPress themes or graphic design. The site 99 Designs has a logo and website starter package that lets you get a full package for $499. 99Designs has multiple packages to choose from whether you’re looking for a logo design or a flyer. Total spent: $667.99. Your marketing.

New York City 60

New York City Web New York San Francisco 60

VC Cafe

JANUARY 22, 2021

Amazon Corporate Development – Notable acquisitions include Whole Foods ($13.7B), smart doorbell system Ring ($1.2B, 2018) and autonomous mobility technology Zoox ($1.2bn). Digital courses are generally 10-20 minutes long and are designed to help you build foundational knowledge for more than 70+ AWS services and solutions.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Incubator 174

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

They should be built organically, bootstrapped, and get to sustainability. I can easily see them creating T-shirt designs and such on Adarsh's site. (I Our primary discussion was about the company's customer acquisition, and I suggested using events at various college and high school campuses to build up buzz.

Incubator 116

Incubator Silicon Valley Idaho Entrepreneur 116

The Next Web

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Since we bootstrapped Backblaze, early on we would have months when the company did not have enough cash from sales to buy the additional servers it needed. The last is a designer. Shoulder – not to cry on, but to lean on. When things have to happen, your co-founders are the ones who will step up.

Cofounder 143

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Kenya Dilution 143

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 11, 2014

” So I’m looking at it, and the first thing I think is the design is simple. Edwin: Would I be able to attract other people if the design would be different? Jason: Some people think the design matters a lot more than that. I think this looks like no designer made this, right? And that’s probably good.

Technical Cofounder 220

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Software Review Management 220

The Startup Toolkit

JANUARY 23, 2017

Beyond the standard acquisitions , plus the classic option of earning profits to pay dividends, you’ve got a couple other ways to get paid. If a genius designer starts a design agency doing genius stuff, they can never really sell or step away from it because their product is too entangled with the founder’s own skills.

Merger 20

Merger Equity Startup Dividend 20

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 4, 2010

These posts and videos are about logo design , web design , startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Small Business Marketing: Website Design Best Practices and Tips – [link]. Optimizing your Customer Acquisition Funnel – [link].

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92