Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2019

In my view, every startup in today’s world would do well to adopt a management system with the same key objectives: Start with a customer-obsessed business model. Incorporate AI-powered data and metrics systems. They help hiring managers raise the bar for every interview.

Global 308

Global Marketing Technical Review Algorithm 308

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Business risks are not just development risks. Once a new product is launched, a key metric is the ratio of new product sales to overall sales. Set milestones and meet them.

Intellectual Property 343

Intellectual Property Metrics .Net Social Network 343

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Even if you are bootstrapping your business, and you are the only investor, you should be asking yourself the same question. Word of mouth is not adequate for marketing and sales.

Business Model 120

Business Model Angel Investor Startup Bootstrapping 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2019

A platform is a business model and capability that can be accessed and customized by external users. Institute deep metrics measuring all aspects of the customer experience. With each outside participant, the platform grows stronger and smarter, and works better for internal users as well. Accept no excuses.

Artificial Inteligence 222

Artificial Inteligence Agile Technical Review Demand 222

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

Implement a modern real business model. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. The risks you want to take are the ones that you planned for in your resources, set up metrics to measure, and manage on an ongoing basis. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Implement a modern real business model. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. The risks you want to take are the ones that you planned for in your resources, set up metrics to measure, and manage on an ongoing basis. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2023

Enjoy the personal learning and growth of new business models, more efficient processes, and existing customers who remain loyal due to your initiatives. Amazon and Jeff Bezos credit much of their growth and success to incenting innovative business “experiments.” Use metrics and data to quantify progress and return.

Metrics 279

Metrics Startup Agile Salary 279

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

Converting customer-centric advantages into business value requires a deep understanding of all the financial elements of your business, as well as customer drivers. Seek out and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Technical Review 218

Technical Review Revenue Analytics Metrics 218

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2013

Align your business model to how your customers want to buy. Start with a new understanding of the real customer need, their search process in finding you (referral, website, social media), and most desired payment model, like one-time payment versus subscription, or lease versus purchase. Don’t start from how you want to sell.

Revenue 263

Revenue Startup Technical Review Business Model 263

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2017

Align your business model to how your customers want to buy. Start with a new understanding of real customer solutions needs, their search process in finding you (referral, website , social media), and most desired payment model, like one-time payment versus subscription, or lease versus purchase.

Small Business 147

Small Business Revenue Technical Review Business Model 147

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Within the startup realm, there is a big difference between having an innovative product versus an innovative business. Some startups have a new technology, but stick to a tried-and-true business model. Others take an existing product, and give it new life with a creative business model.

Business Model 339

Business Model Metrics Global Technology 339

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 30, 2021

Establish and evaluate metrics at multiple levels. As times change, you may need new metrics, such as total experience, web site hits, and social media complaints. Be a first responder, rather than the last, to make business model and strategy adjustments to compensate. Trust your intuition and team input as weak signals.

Marketing 405

Marketing Flash Social Media Metrics 405

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Traction is evidence that your product or service has started that “hockey- stick” adoption rate which implies a large market, a valid business model, and sustainable growth. Investors want evidence that the “dogs are eating the dog food,” and your financial projections are not just a dream. Start early to work these relationships.

Hockey Stick 304

Hockey Stick Early Stage Metrics Acquisition 304

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 30, 2023

It may not be as sexy, but starting a new business which builds on an existing technology or business model is usually less risky than introducing that ultimate new disruptive technology. Many of the major business successes started this way. Many of the major business successes started this way.

Social Media 230

Social Media Business Model Equity Distribution 230

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Align your business model to how your customers want to buy. Start with a new understanding of the real customer need, their search process in finding you (referral, website, social media), and most desired payment model, like one-time payment versus subscription, or lease versus purchase. Don’t start from how you want to sell.

Technical Review 234

Technical Review Business Model Revenue Social Media 234

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 25, 2020

It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Business risks are not just development risks. Once a new product is launched, a key metric is the ratio of new product sales to overall sales. Set milestones and meet them.

Intellectual Property 360

Intellectual Property Social Network Metrics .Net 360

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

If your relish the challenges of creating an innovative solution or business model, then this is the type of work you must seek. I find many technologists fit well into this category, but most of them are frustrated by required interfacing to real customers, managing business finances, and marketing.

Metrics 272

Metrics Early Stage Finance Programming 272

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2022

Creativity and innovation are applied to increasing output and lowering costs rather than solution design and building a viable business model. Implement metrics and set objectives for every organization. Now the experiments are over, and high productivity is the objective. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Startup 343

Startup Metrics Hiring Leadership 343

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2023

validate your business model) Continuous improvement. Develop metrics with which to measure yourself and use these to incrementally expand and improve your offering as fast as the market and capital will allow. Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? Don’t stand still.

Business Plan 280

Business Plan Restful Metrics Business Model 280

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2020

It may not be as sexy, but starting a new business which builds on an existing technology or business model is usually less risky than introducing that ultimate new disruptive technology. Many of the major business successes started this way. Many of the major business successes started this way.

Startup 393

Startup Social Media Business Model Equity 393

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2023

Many new businesses have lost their credibility by not being able to deliver or having a major recall early in the growth cycle. Put operational systems and metrics in place early. Resist the urge to expand your offering during early growth with additional products, services, and business models.

Marketing 290

Marketing Leadership Differentiation Equity 290

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2011

Align your business model to how your customers want to buy. Start with a new understanding of the real customer need, their search process in finding you (referral, website, social media), and most desired payment model, like one-time payment versus subscription, or lease versus purchase. Don’t start from how you want to sell.

Customer 242

Customer Technical Review Business Model Revenue 242

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2016

Many other companies have followed a similar set of execution principles which I believe are required for business success, no matter how great the idea: Tune the business model to optimize value for all constituents. Continuous improvement applies to the business model as well as the product.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Architecture Agile Business Model 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2021

Usually the real culprit is procrastination, lack of focus, or low productivity and lack of metrics. Business people at this level recognize the magnitude of the workload and the specific tasks required for success. Moving forward into the business realities requires courage, commitment, and determination to succeed.

Leadership 410

Leadership Employee Metrics Restful 410

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2023

Entrepreneurs need to document a process of responding to a market need, sizing opportunity, assigning a specific business model, and planning for marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction. These are critical processes for any business, so they need to be implemented even before investor requests are sized or solicited.

Exit Strategy 288

Exit Strategy Metrics Operations Cost 288

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Implement a modern real business model. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. The risks you want to take are the ones that you planned for in your resources, set up metrics to measure, and manage on an ongoing basis. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Forecast 120

Forecast Startup Stock Options Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2023

Measure progress through metrics on sales, revenue, and penetration. Look for every opportunity to scale the business. Explore new business models, additional market segments, and global channels to continually grow the business by reaching new customers, solving new problems, and increasing value.

Agile 229

Agile Leadership Global Distribution 229

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Flexible business models, including value-based pricing, bundling, and custom proposals are the places to begin. To check your return on marketing investment, you need to define metrics and a formal process to evaluate progress and cost tradeoffs. Be targeted in marketing and lead generation.

Differentiation 141

Differentiation SBA Social Media Dividend 141

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

validate your business model) Continuous improvement. Develop metrics with which to measure yourself and use these to incrementally expand and improve your offering as fast as the market and capital will allow. Have you projected sales and marketing costs, cash flow, and capital requirements? Don’t stand still.

Startup 390

Startup Restful Business Plan Metrics 390

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2020

Creativity and innovation are applied to increasing output and lowering costs rather than solution design and building a viable business model. Implement metrics and set objectives for every organization. Now the experiments are over, and high productivity is the objective. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

Startup 314

Startup Metrics Hiring Leadership 314

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

With the real data from that surge, you need to take a hard look at business model realities, cost of customer acquisition, inventory costs, and other key metrics. Here is my summary of the key focus activities of that challenge for every business owner: Manage cash flow daily and plot a plan to profitability.

Silicon Valley 215

Silicon Valley Bankruptcy Metrics Valuation 215

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2020

Entrepreneurs need to document a process of responding to a market need, sizing opportunity, assigning a specific business model, and planning for marketing, sales, and customer satisfaction. These are critical processes for any business, so they need to be implemented even before investor requests are sized or solicited.

Entrepreneur 328

Entrepreneur Exit Strategy Metrics Operations 328

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

Within the startup realm, there is a big difference between having an innovative product versus an innovative business. Some startups have a new technology, but stick to a tried-and-true business model. Others take an existing product, and give it new life with a creative business model.

Business Model 226

Business Model Metrics Global Technology 226

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2020

Bill was initially the idea person and technologist, while Steve had the business and marketing experience from Proctor & Gamble to close the business equation. Create a written plan, with target milestones and metrics. Take your time in moving from your idea to a business. A full plan may be no more than 20 pages.

Elevator Pitch 315

Elevator Pitch Cofounder Dividend Leadership 315

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

This will incent earlier thinking outside the box, and help you get metrics in place to track progress, or lack of it, along the way. Keep alternative business models on the table. Smart entrepreneurs think proactively about a “ Plan B ” or obvious pivot before a crisis and they are out of money.

Intellectual Property 317

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Bootstrapping Salary 317

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2020

Too many employees these days, and even executives, are focused only on doing what they have been told, without regard to impact on the business. You can and must fix this by communicating business goals and objectives, and establishing personal metrics which only reward success.

Advisory Board 283

Advisory Board Due Diligence Retention Agile 283

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

It starts with a vision, but benefits quickly from a structured process of idea generation, evaluation, prototyping, customer feedback, and success metrics. Business risks are not just development risks. Once a new product is launched, a key metric is the ratio of new product sales to overall sales. Set milestones and meet them.

Intellectual Property 160

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Metrics .Net 160