Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Get support from credible industry groups and partners. Products that can be easily produced and sold via multiple channels, including the Internet, are more easily scaled world-wide. Develop a product line and add alternate channels. Focus on a solution that is scalable world-wide.

Merger 386

Merger Acquisition Software Review Social Media 386

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Just like you can’t start a business alone, you can’t scale the business without external partners with expertise and access to specific customer sets, channels, manufacturing, and support. Business success is all about working with people, inside the company, outside with investors and partners, and always with customers.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Technical Review Leadership Metrics 284

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

This may require you selling exclusivity, doing channel development, or alliances with new partners. Premium products may have high feature value, but may push you to a new level of customer, and prevent mass market appeal. Another approach is to expand your scope geographically. Even in the face of real value, customer change is hard.

Product 354

Product Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Dividend 354

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2022

Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the team. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to communication can be overcome one by one.

Semantic 342

Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 342

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

Visit reference customers, partners, and vendors. Sales and distribution channel activity will be analyzed, as well as cost of customer acquisition, to make an independent assessment of your financial projections. Use this opportunity to validate their satisfaction and support for your company and your solution.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2014

Find customers, partners and channels early. There is nothing like a real customer pipeline to convince you that you need partners and channels, and to convince partners, channels, and investors that you are real. The planned iterations can then be applied more productively to enhance the right offering.

Agile 253

Agile Startup Social Network Software Developers 253

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Others have seized on the opportunity to restructure their business for the future, eliminate marginal processes, and find new growth partners. I recommend using digital channels, including email and social media, personalized, if possible, with promotions.

Technical Review 239

Technical Review Revenue Social Media Cost 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2013

Find customers, partners and channels early. There is nothing like a real customer pipeline to convince you that you need partners and channels, and to convince partners, channels, and investors that you are real. The planned iterations can then be applied more productively to enhance the right offering.

Agile 263

Agile Startup Social Network Software Developers 263

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

Every entrepreneur needs to know and communicate the total costs associated with their solution or product, including cost of goods sold, customer acquisition costs, capital costs, operational expenses, and partner costs. Investors will demand clear channel definitions. Key partners. Key resources.

Business Model 334

Business Model Intellectual Property Angel Investor Channel 334

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

Then companies can determine promotional effectiveness by narrowly defined customer segments, by location, or by delivery channel. Companies need the same service on partner and acquisition candidates, even vendors. Predictive advertisement targeting. Online, everyone wants to know which ad each customer is most likely to click.

Analytics 248

Analytics Retention Social Media Startup 248

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

Unfortunately, your personal assessment that you have traction probably won’t be convincing to potential investors and partners, so it’s important that you create and track your progress against some metrics. Assemble a credible inside advisory board and partners. Show validation data for business model key elements.

Advisory Board 199

Advisory Board Technical Review Metrics Business Model 199

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2010

For that, you need to implement a winning distribution channel strategy. Common channel strategies include direct to customer, distributor, and joint venture arrangements. For many markets these days, the channel owns the market. Evolve the channel strategy as you grow. Deal with channel conflict openly.

Channel 213

Channel Distribution Startup Warrant 213

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 12, 2012

Find customers, partners and channels early. There is nothing like a real customer pipeline to convince you that you need partners and channels, and to convince partners, channels, and investors that you are real. Now investors will pay attention, since scale-up funding is less risky and has a time frame.

Agile 230

Agile Entrepreneur Social Network Software Developers 230

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2019

Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the team. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to communication can be overcome one by one.

Semantic 235

Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 235

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2020

Yet, every business expert tells me that finding good business partners is just as tricky as a good marriage, minus the sex. As with personal relationships, unbalanced deals don’t work, since the dominating entity finds it hard to adapt and appreciate the value of a partner. Some executives prefer to operate in solo mode.

B2B 388

B2B Matching Partner Algorithm 388

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2021

Specify a primary customer channel for sales. Today the most common and successful channel for new ventures is online e-commerce. Other viable channels would include licensing, contracting, white labeling, and services. Highlight the strengths of the entire team and partners. Patents are a good place for you to start.

Intellectual Property 332

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Business Model Channel 332

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2019

Customers expect you to provide access via their mobile devices, as well as being responsive to sales and support questions on social media and multiple Internet channels and partners at their whim. Even small businesses can now easily be global in scope, and available 24x7 online. Company amazingly finds you based on your interests.

Customer 211

Customer Social Media Metrics Technical Review 211

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2023

Let me be a bit more specific on how follow-up trumps ideas for success in the key challenges of a startup, or any small business: Networking with investors, partners, and customers. They are too busy to follow-up on a major partner opportunity, customer inquiry, or a critical internal process that simply isn’t working.

Cofounder 389

Cofounder Startup Term Sheet Acquisition 389

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Continually add new marketing and distribution partners. Aggressively enter new markets and sales channels. If your website isn’t pulling in the growth you need, expand to Amazon and other channels. Real growth always requires real marketing. Actively listen to customer feedback, and don’t be a one-trick pony.

Startup 335

Startup Social Media Metrics Viral 335

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Use multiple social-media channels, blogging, email and voicemail to build the same image and responsiveness as larger competitors. Use your equity for key executives and business partners. You can use it best to entice new team members and partners, giving you more horsepower and commitment for the long run.

Equity 349

Equity Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity 349

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

Every entrepreneur’s first priority should be the alignment of interests across the range of constituents required for success – partners, investors, customers, vendors, and employees. If you have had to pivot from the consumer market to enterprise customers, that requires new pricing models and new sales channels.

Social Media 357

Social Media Framework Partner Metrics 357

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2021

Seek out established suppliers and channels. The challenge of a creating a new product or service is tough enough, without insisting on a new supply chain, and a new distribution channel. The most effective startups focus on their core competency, and work hard to pick the best of the rest for partners.

Non-Compete 425

Non-Compete Channel .Net Distribution 425

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2017

Business success is all about two-way communication, between you and your customers, investors, partners, and internally between team members. Social media and other channels provide the vehicles, but everyone has to be open for the process to work. Instead, find a partner with domain experience.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Stealth Lean Social Media 152

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 23, 2011

Yet, every business expert tells me that finding good business partners is just as tricky as a good marriage, without the sex. As with personal relationships, unbalanced deals don’t work, since the dominating entity finds it hard to adapt and appreciate the value of a partner. Some executives prefer to operate in solo mode.

B2B 217

B2B Partner Matching Distribution 217

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2019

Every entrepreneur needs to know and communicate the total costs associated with their solution or product, including cost of goods sold, customer acquisition costs, capital costs, operational expenses, and partner costs. Investors will demand clear channel definitions. Key partners. Key resources.

Intellectual Property 250

Intellectual Property Business Model Angel Investor Channel 250

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Then companies can determine promotional effectiveness by narrowly defined customer segments, by location, or by delivery channel. Companies need the same service on partner and acquisition candidates, even vendors. Predictive advertisement targeting. Online, everyone wants to know which ad each customer is most likely to click.

Analytics 177

Analytics Retention Social Media Campaign 177

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Thus, it needs an advantage to rise above the crowd, such as a patent and trademarks, unique market positioning or support from industry partners. Physical products often require access to existing distribution channels. Website and smartphone solutions usually require referral partners and value-added resellers.

Exit Strategy 120

Exit Strategy Technical Review Distribution Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the team. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to communication can be overcome one by one.

Semantic 261

Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 261

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2016

Secondly, you must constantly communicate suggested changes to your team, implement necessary pivots, and realign all the elements of your business, including partners, investors, and vendors. Businesses often settle on one social media or distribution channel based on initial testing, and never look back.

Social Media 120

Social Media Technical Review Metrics Channel 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2017

Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the team. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to communication can be overcome one by one.

Semantic 154

Semantic Technical Review Retention Distribution 154

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Find customers, partners and channels early. There is nothing like a real customer pipeline to convince you that you need partners and channels, and to convince partners, channels, and investors that you are real. Now investors will pay attention, since scale-up funding is less risky and has a time frame.

Agile 120

Agile Startup Social Network Software Developers 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

Here is my list of the ten most common sources of funding today, in reverse priority sequence, with some rules of thumb to channel your focus: Seek a bank loan or credit-card line-of-credit. Negotiate an advance from a strategic partner or customer. Another common example is exchanging equity for legal and accounting support.

Equity 266

Equity Startup Small Business Administration SBA 266

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2014

Then companies can determine promotional effectiveness by narrowly defined customer segments, by location, or by delivery channel. Companies need the same service on partner and acquisition candidates, even vendors. Predictive advertisement targeting. Online, everyone wants to know which ad each customer is most likely to click.

Analytics 257

Analytics Entrepreneur Retention Social Media 257

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

Use multiple social-media channels, blogging, email and voicemail to build the same image and responsiveness as larger competitors. Use your equity for key executives and business partners. You can use it best to entice new team members and partners, giving you more horsepower and commitment for the long run.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2013

Founders have to communicate their ideas and products to investors, business partners, and the rest of the team. Then, hopefully, come customers, distribution channels, and going public or merging with an attractive buy-out candidate. Fortunately these skills can be learned, and the barriers to communication can be overcome one by one.

Entrepreneur 254

Entrepreneur Semantic Technical Review Retention 254

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2023

Focus on marketing and indirect channels to get the message out quickly. Many markets already have major players, so figuring out how to make them partners is much more effective for scaling than trying to out-market them. They also don’t try to do everything in-house, since growing all the expertise you need is slow and expensive.

Hockey Stick 339

Hockey Stick Intellectual Property Non-Compete Business Model 339

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2022

Primary reasons include unanticipated customer reactions, early competitors, financials not meeting projections, and channel partner issues. Every successful business owner you know will tell you that their original plan has changed or pivoted from the original. Plan for change before the crisis.

Reputation 363

Reputation Operations Channel Business Model 363