Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2012

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. Identify your sustainable competitive advantage, like unique benefits, cost savings, or industry ties.

Business Plan 244

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Viral Lead Generation 244

Up and Running

JANUARY 22, 2020

unpaid) channels can be a goldmine for cannabusinesses today— if you know how to do it correctly. This article will discuss how to conquer the following unpaid channels to enjoy serious returns and long-term profitability from your cannabis advertising efforts: Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Instead, leveraging organic (i.e.

SMS 101

SMS Marketing Affiliate Social Media 101

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2013

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 265

Marketing Viral SEM Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2014

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 257

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 257

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 6, 2021

Do your market research to see what type of service consumers look for in your line of work, what products are currently trending, as well as what channels of communication and type of content your consumers prefer. Come Up with a Business Plan. Creating a business plan shouldn’t be something way too time-consuming.

Social Media 173

Social Media Audience Affiliate Startup 173

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

But why not learn as well from the mistakes of others, without suffering their cost, time, and pain? In that context, I offer you my list of ten top startup failure causes, seen over and over again: No written plan. Don’t believe the old urban legend that a business plan isn’t worth the effort. Marty Zwilling.

Intellectual Property 251

Intellectual Property Startup Viral Early Stage 251

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2013

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Changes at this stage cost almost nothing. Use focus groups.

Business Model 235

Business Model Product Advisory Board Angel Investor 235

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2017

Viral marketing and word-of-mouth are not enough these days to make your product and brand visible in the relentless onslaught of new promotional media out there today. Yet in the business plans I see, the marketing content and budget are smaller than ever. There’s no business without show business. Want control?

Marketing 120

Marketing Viral Demand Channel 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2012

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Changes at this stage cost almost nothing. Use focus groups.

Business Model 248

Business Model Advisory Board Entrepreneur Angel Investor 248

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

Many entrepreneurship courses focus on teaching students “how to write a business plan.” If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I believe that: 1) a product is just a part of a startup, but understanding customers, channel, pricing, etc. This class is not about how to write a business plan.

Wiki 316

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 316

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2010

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 235

Marketing SEM Startup Viral 235

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

But why not learn as well from the mistakes of others, without suffering their cost, time, and pain? In that context, I offer you my list of ten top startup failure causes, seen over and over again: No written plan. Don’t believe the old urban legend that a business plan isn’t worth the effort.

Intellectual Property 274

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Viral Early Stage 274

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2011

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Changes at this stage cost almost nothing. Use focus groups.

Business Model 234

Business Model Advisory Board Startup Angel Investor 234

Gust

MARCH 9, 2014

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 146

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 146

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2012

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. Word-of-mouth and viral marketing are popular terms these days, but are rarely adequate to initiate a new business. Cost structure. Production.

Business Model 242

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 242

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 6, 2017

But many of these articles are noisy and few offer real, actionable insights that can help you make better business decisions. There are terrific free YouTube channels for entrepreneurs and small business owners and many online schools and sites offer free or low-cost online courses. Online learning takes many forms.

Programming 73

Programming Technical Review Small Business Illinois 73

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2011

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. Word-of-mouth and viral marketing are popular terms these days, but are rarely adequate to initiate a new business. Cost structure. Production.

Business Model 246

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 246

Gust

NOVEMBER 3, 2013

But why not learn as well from the mistakes of others, without suffering their cost, time, and pain? In that context, I offer you my list of ten top startup failure causes, seen over and over again: No written plan. Don’t believe the old urban legend that a business plan isn’t worth the effort.

Intellectual Property 183

Intellectual Property Startup Viral Early Stage 183

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. Identify your sustainable competitive advantage, like unique benefits, cost savings, or industry ties.

Elevator Pitch 226

Elevator Pitch Viral Lead Generation Metrics 226

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 6, 2017

But many of these articles are noisy and few offer real, actionable insights that can help you make better business decisions. There are terrific free YouTube channels for entrepreneurs and small business owners and many online schools and sites offer free or low-cost online courses. Online learning takes many forms.

Programming 48

Programming Technical Review Small Business Illinois 48

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 22, 2018

Among other things, the right marketing plan details your target customers, your unique selling proposition (USP), and your pricing strategy. And importantly, your marketing plan covers the "channels" you will use to get new customers (known as your "promotions strategy"). Business Plan Development Chicago IL).

Chicago 54

Chicago Marketing Search Channel 54

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 5, 2010

Many entrepreneurs work hard on the proof of concept (technical), but skip any proof of the business model (revenue flow). In other words, once they are convinced that the product works, they assume their price, sales channel, and marketing will bring in the customers. Changes at this stage cost almost nothing. Use focus groups.

Business Model 120

Business Model Advisory Board Angel Investor Channel 120

Growthink Blog

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Among other things, the right marketing plan details your target customers, your unique selling proposition (USP), and your pricing strategy. And importantly, your marketing plan covers the "channels" you will use to get new customers (known as your "promotions strategy"). Business Plan Development Chicago IL).

Chicago 109

Chicago Marketing Search Channel 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. Identify your sustainable competitive advantage, like unique benefits, cost savings, or industry ties.

Elevator Pitch 138

Elevator Pitch Viral Lead Generation Business Plan 138

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

You’ll realize you’re ready to exit the Search step when you have customer validation: You’ve found a sales channel that matches how the customer wants to buy and the costs of using that channel are understood. Startups in Search mode have little process and lots of “do what it takes.” Most startups die here.

Startup 120

Startup Lean Venture Capital Advisory Board 120

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 23, 2013

In the Udemy course, Alistair and Ben expand these basics into a description of how to create empathy, stickiness, virality, revenue, and scale. It''s a good measurement because it captures both satisfaction and virality. We often tell founders that a business plan is nonsense. It''s that the business model is complex.

Analytics 167

Analytics Lean Widget Metrics 167

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

The Founder’s gut wrongly tells them their business plan has been validated because they received an investment. You’re tinkering with your marketing and sales channels. What sources of traffic are converting, and which channels are profitable, which aren’t? How it applies to your marketing channels.

Metrics 136

Metrics Cofounder Cram Down Liquidity Event 136

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Business Model 120

Business Model Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review 120

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 1: Start with a lean plan. Instead of sitting down to write a 40-page business plan, start with a one-page pitch. It’s the fastest way to get your idea onto paper, and it’s the very first step in the lean planning process, which is much easier and more iterative than traditional business planning methods.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 12, 2022

Now it is time to note down the who, what, how, and why of the business plan. Knowing your target customer base is the most important bit of information you will need while choosing your location, deciding your budget, and planning your marketing campaign. Once you answer these questions, you will have your business goal.

Social Media 149

Social Media Business Plan Demand Channel 149

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Thus, business ecology is concerned with both ecosystem design and finding a driver of growth for that ecosystem. In a previous post , I covered the three main drivers of growth: Paid, Sticky, and Viral. Let’s look at a viral growth company, like Facebook. They’re off to cross the chasm. As soon as possible!&#

Customer 156

Customer San Francisco Viral Lean 156

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 12, 2022

Now it is time to note down the who, what, how, and why of the business plan. Knowing your target customer base is the most important bit of information you will need while choosing your location, deciding your budget, and planning your marketing campaign. Once you answer these questions, you will have your business goal.

Social Media 78

Social Media Business Plan Demand Channel 78

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2018

The reality is that successful businesses these days require an equally elegant business model, with the right marketing, delivery channel, price, and target customers, to get real traction. Here are seven steps I recommend for establishing the right business model: Validate the value of your solution with real customers.

Product 137

Product Advisory Board Business Model Cofounder 137

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

A tool like Quuu identifies relevant, shareable content to keep your social media channels active. . Lean Case provides standard business models & metrics, so you can apply a standard approach to business planning, modeling, and profitability tracking. 9) Accelerate portfolio company value.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Again, its critical to focus your marketing launch on those publications, venues, and channels that your potential partners are paying attention to. Figuring this out takes time, and few entrepreneurs have the patience to wait it out, because the business plan does such a good job of explaining what customers are going to think.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168