Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

Perhaps the most misused terms I see these days from entrepreneurs involve CAC (customer acquisition costs) and LTV (life time value) and a lack of understanding these critical components is driving many companies to premature failure. CAC is often measured incorrectly and doesn’t often doesn’t capture the true costs of acquisition.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

I have seen many teams pour tons of money, time and effort into PR strategies without thinking about how product tweaks could drive more consumption, more retention and more referrals. It’s why some companies are testing whether building applications on KIK might lead to better customers acquisition. Doesn’t.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

Customer Acquisition. Those two things together would lower your acquisition costs nearly in half to $6.11. Ironically, there are times where it may actually pay to INCREASE your customer acquisition costs. Retention / Churn. Measuring customer acquisition is clearly not enough because not all customers stick around.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

Equally, the streaming business has got to accelerate content acquisition, focus on customer retention, improve streaming technologies to make it better for users / worse for competitors, and they’ve got to continually improve the UI.

Los Angeles 329

Los Angeles Revenue Retention Acquisition 329

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

But the press (and I suspect many of the senior execs of these companies) don’t really explore the corrosive downside of these acquisition. If I don’t commit to millions of dollars of acquisitions I will … die? So I thought I would. And will investors allow a deal to happen in the first place. We get the mechanics.

Liquidation Preference 357

Liquidation Preference Early Stage Retention Lock-up Period 357

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

Remote teams can be higher retention for staff. Both can hurt you in an acquisition. You need to understand motives of buyer (talent, product, revenue, strategic purchase) and where you fit in. People hate to acknowledge that location of team matters. Often it does. Outsourcing can be cheap.

Technology 323

Technology PR Startup IPO 323

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

When they look at buying your company they often think in terms of “how long will it take until I earn back the profits to pay for my acquisition price?” They got a bigger office space so their employees would feel comfortable and they could improve employee retention. Let’s look at years 3-5 of the two companies.

Startup 418

Startup Revenue Technical Review Flash 418