Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

Think about it – if you’re using MailChimp and make let’s say $100 in sales for every send. 3) Your business model seems flawed OR is not the right fit I talked a lot about unit economics and sales cycles in my last post. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad business – in fact, it could be a very good business for you.

Sales Cycle 48

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 48

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

Marketing first. For example, if you are running affiliate ads for hotels, you might get 3-5% on a sale. But if this is a generic hotel, then there are likely other affiliates who are doing paid marketing to try to get users to their sites / apps to convert users as well. Sales cycles matter though.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

Hippoland

AUGUST 8, 2018

Marketing first. For example, if you are running affiliate ads for hotels, you might get 3-5% on a sale. But if this is a generic hotel, then there are likely other affiliates who are doing paid marketing to try to get users to their sites / apps to convert users as well. Sales cycles matter though.

Founder 48

Founder Sales Cycle Affiliate Retention 48

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

For a startup, having great sales DNA is a wonderful asset. This is the magic of sales: by learning about each customer in-depth, they can convince each of them that this product would solve serious problems. But here’s where a truly great sales artist comes in. They are closing orders.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 16, 2010

The big enterprise software companies almost all bootstrapped their way to profitability before they got their first external investors (typically via an IPO). But this discipline also means that the product fit to market tends to be very good - you don't end up with solutions looking for problems. Founding teams must be balanced.

Software 127

Software Startup Architecture Bootstrapping 127

Tim Keane

APRIL 14, 2008

As one example, think about forecasting sales based on market potential and competition, rather than simply on historical results by salesperson. If we see that our total accounts are underpenetrated in one market, can we test how much it costs and how long it takes to acquire new ones? Add another sales capability?

Ireland 60

Ireland Wisconsin Forecast Sales Cycle 60

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

I’ll give you an example with my own startup LaunchBit and how our understanding of the problem and the customer became more refined over time: V1: Helping online marketers get customers profitably. V2: Helping online marketers who have previously bought ads in email lists get customers profitably. You charge a high enough (i.e.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

Hippoland

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

I’ll give you an example with my own startup LaunchBit and how our understanding of the problem and the customer became more refined over time: V1: Helping online marketers get customers profitably. V2: Helping online marketers who have previously bought ads in email lists get customers profitably. You charge a high enough (i.e.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Business Model B2B Email 48

mashable.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Since there are hundreds of new apps coming on the market every year, we figured it was time for an update. Bootstrap – Online bookkeeping software that lets you track sales and expenses, organize your records for tax time, and more. NetBooks – Marketing, sales, inventory and financial control in one place.

Software Review 78

Software Review Social Media Social Network Software 78

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

The important lesson in order to gain market share was that in order for new users to try Microsoft Excel, they had to be able to work with the files their coworkers were creating. It helps with sales cycles because customers know that they can switch away if they so choose. Marketing materials. Pricing information.

Software Review 285

Software Review Software St. Louis API 285