Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

The first chasm is getting the customer requirements right, product or service, to satisfy a real need that a large number of customers will pay real money to satisfy. It takes focus to resist adding a long list of features that seem to make the opportunity larger, but dilute to focus of both you and potential customers.

Marketing 238

Marketing Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 238

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2010

The first chasm is getting the customer requirements right, product or service, to satisfy a real need that a large number of customers will pay real money to satisfy. It takes focus to resist adding a long list of features that seem to make the opportunity larger, but dilute to focus of both you and potential customers.

Startup 227

Startup Technical Review Dilution Early Stage 227

YoungUpstarts

MAY 6, 2019

According to Lee M Von Kraus, PHD and a mentor at Clarity.fm, “Early stage startups are usually pre-money startup that are bootstrapping the early development of a product.”. Product development. Initial product development usually consists of prototyping and MVP. Prototyping. Further Customer Acquisition.

Startup 113

Startup Technical Cofounder Merger Early Stage 113

Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

We developed a kick-ass investor pitch and we started pitching it to family, friends, angel investors, and even venture capitalists for feedback. of our company in exchange for the $300K, and my business partner and I each diluted from 50% ownership down to 33.3% ownership and never dilute. We set off to raise our money.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

In addition, I’ve noted a few multi-product lending firms, e.g., Kapitus and United Capital Source , which provide RBI as one of many structural options to companies seeking capital. . We have a special program if you are pre-seed and need product development. Alternative Capital. “ You qualify if you have $5k+ MRR.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 7, 2023

They include an expense account, company car, profit sharing, 401k contributions, medical coverage for dependents, free life insurance, educational payments, extra vacation, relocation expenses, paid trips to industry association meetings, or a small override on revenue from new products developed under the candidate’s watch.

Stock Options 62

Stock Options Stock Salary Dilution 62

Mike Michalowicz

OCTOBER 1, 2022

Business check point: Are you diversifying your offering, or diluting your company’s impact? Sometimes the more offerings you provide, the more risk for brand dilution, which ends up weakening your business. Not only can your products be less impactful, but the cost or resources to provide them may not result in sustainable profit. .

Dilution 78

Dilution Reputation Product Development Community 78

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 27, 2011

And, oh by the way, we also really like the idea of the 1M/1M entrepreneurs building valuation and negotiating leverage through these business development efforts, instead of signing off large chunks of their company in form of equity early on. Recordings of previous roundtables are all available here.

Dilution 114

Dilution Revenue Finance Entrepreneur 114

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 18, 2014

One of its primary goals was to galvanize product development by discovering often-unstated customer needs and creating solutions for them. Unfortunately, Toyota diluted that system in its drive for global expansion and global sales leadership. Make it a duty to dissent (even when you have to shoot down a HiPPO).

Employee 162

Employee Operations Global Dilution 162

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

If you are able to raise money from credible sources at a reasonable dilution percentage then I personally favor getting the round done now and building your business. How much dilution am I going to have to take now? So if you can take 27% dilution for $1.5 25% dilution). But this is the exception, not the rule.

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Berkonomics

MAY 13, 2021

There is a fine line between loading the company with too much debt and diluting the shareholders too early with additional equity investments. Here, most experienced board members can help to streamline the process of product development, manufacture, channel management and marketing. The post Extending your Runway!

Dilution 62

Dilution Equity Channel Product Development 62

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2014

Typically they can be used to fund product development and commercialization that would otherwise require outside investors. To the investors, it means less dilution and lower overall risk. In the US, many entrepreneurs see grants as “free money,” since they are not loans and don’t have to be repaid.

Seed Money 242

Seed Money SBIR Dilution Government 242

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 12, 2017

They include an expense account, company car, profit sharing, 401k contributions, medical coverage for dependents, free life insurance, educational payments, extra vacation, relocation expenses, paid trips to industry association meetings, or a small override on revenue from new products developed under the candidate’s watch.

Employee 97

Employee Stock Options Dilution Salary 97

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Anyone who has worked in a real-world product development team can tell you how utopian that sounds. Yet we were very worried about having to re-implement every last feature that modern IM clients had developed: away messages, file transfer, voice and video, etc. Every time you listen to customers, you fear diluting your vision.

Advisory Board 151

Advisory Board Customer San Francisco Lean 151

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Typically they can be used to fund product development and commercialization that would otherwise require outside investors. To the investors, it means less dilution and lower overall risk. In the US, many entrepreneurs see grants as “free money,” since they are not loans and don’t have to be repaid.

Government 230

Government Equity Cost SBIR 230

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 30, 2014

loading the company with too much debt, and diluting the shareholders too early with additional equity investments. Process: Here, most experienced board members can help to streamline the process of product development, manufacture, channel management and marketing. There is a fine line between. Depending upon others Growth!'

Dilution 94

Dilution Equity Channel Product Development 94

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 8, 2013

The second a brand lets its management be outsourced to someone else, the brand is at risk of diluting itself. Ryan Currie is a product manager at BizShark.com , with 5 years experience in online marketing and product development. Thinking Aloud Bizshark branding business advice business strategy Kardashians'

Dilution 203

Dilution Open Source .Net Web 203

Berkonomics

MARCH 21, 2019

Later stage investors sometimes look for less, since the business has already proven its capability to stay in the game and has already completed its product development cycle, eliminating more risk for the investor. So, you’ve got to play with the numbers to determine your level of comfort.

Hockey Stick 63

Hockey Stick Liquidity Event Valuation Balance Sheet 63

Gust

MAY 11, 2014

Typically they can be used to fund product development and commercialization that would otherwise require outside investors. To the investors, it means less dilution and lower overall risk. In the US, many entrepreneurs see grants as “free money,” since they are not loans and don’t have to be repaid.

Seed Money 164

Seed Money SBIR Dilution Government 164

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Pre-seed tends to be about developing an MVP and generating early traction. Seed is about showing initial product market fit. That’s yet another reason for micro funds to move earlier in the fundraising timeline.

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 24, 2009

All successful media companies had at their heart a series of editors, producers, and agents tasked with discovering and developing new talent. When I reviewed a recent product development book, it immediately shot up to Amazon sales rank 300. Look at the stories of the current generation of aging superstars in any industry.

San Francisco 113

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Distribution 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2011

Typically they can be used to fund product development and commercialization that would otherwise require outside investors. To the investors, it means less dilution and lower overall risk. In the US, many entrepreneurs see grants as “free money,” since they are not loans and don’t have to be repaid.

Government 221

Government SBIR Dilution Database 221

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 15, 2009

If youre looking for resources on getting started, see " Continuous deployment in 5 easy steps ") The goal of continuous deployment is to help development teams drive waste out of their process by simultaneously reducing the batch size and increasing the tempo of their work. How severely is failure punished?

Continuous Deployment 167

Continuous Deployment Software Review San Francisco Lean 167

David Teten

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Should you co-found your company with a software development shop? I’ve talked with a number of software development shops who are eager to get into the business of cofounding companies, i.e., getting product revenue and equity instead of just consulting revenue. Vlad is also the CEO at DarwinApps , a software development shop.

Software Developers 60

Software Developers Software Development Software Review Technical Cofounder 60

YoungUpstarts

JULY 23, 2012

I learned that most juices of exotic “superfruits” like pomegranate or cranberry are often diluted with “fillers” like apple, pear or grape juice. The sections on POM Wonderful, the billion dollar global business focused on 100% pomegranate juice, were especially enlightening.

Ruby 159

Ruby Fiji America Dilution 159

ConversionXL

AUGUST 30, 2018

It slows product development. But your silo—whether product design or marketing or web development—isn’t the only one that needs or benefits from a user research culture. Only a company-wide user research culture enables iterative testing throughout the product design process. It costs money. It has no clear ROI.

Design 111

Design Framework Product Development Technical Review 111

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 17, 2015

That’s still true in less developed parts of the world, but in San Francisco and increasingly in London there are multiple sources of venture capital working very hard to find good investments and entrepreneurs sitting on quality opportunities have lots of options. The opportunity for investors is to help fill the gaps.

Early Stage 60

Early Stage Venture Capital San Francisco Silicon Valley 60

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

Unless every aspect of product development is covered by founders who are only receiving equity, there are other parts of building a product that will require hiring highly qualified people. So the amount of dilution a company will take on still remains the same over the life of the company. By definition, yes.

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

Seeing Both Sides

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Developing expertise in raising capital is more than a necessary evil, it's a competitive weapon. If you have a stronger balance sheet than your competition, you can push off monetization decisions and focus on product-market fit. Being an entrepreneur is a really hard and lonely journey.

Balance Sheet 42

Balance Sheet Entrepreneur Dilution Portfolio 42

Startup Lessons Learned

AUGUST 14, 2013

It would be a blanket approach and, ultimately as you suggested, dilute the messaging and demonstrate a lack of focus. How does lean content integrate into the rest of the lean product development cycle? Plus, UX designers and developers love it when they already have the "right" content done. Steph: For me, it leads.

Lean 167

Lean Conversion Audience Design 167

Berkonomics

MAY 26, 2010

They include an expense account, company car, profit sharing, 401k contributions, medical coverage for dependents, free life insurance, educational payments, extra vacation, relocation expenses, paid trips to industry association meetings, or a small override on revenue from new products developed under the candidate’s watch. .

Employee 54

Employee Liquidity Event Stock Options Salary 54

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

If you have a technical background and you are focused on product development, consider a co-founder with a sales and marketing background that can focus on selling your world class product. Having too many co-founders will only lead to your eventual dilution. Be sure to leave plenty of equity for investors.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

I learned how to better run a product management process. I learned how to integrate customers into our product development process. I learned how to establish a technology center in India and how to manage disparate development teams (and this has drive my thoughts also about what does NOT work.).

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Hiring Software Review Stock Options 285

Early Growth Financial Services

MARCH 1, 2013

Admittedly, bootstrapping has its downside: the biggest drawback being the limit to how quickly you can get your product/service to market and how fast you can execute at a larger scale. Also, without VC funds, you will have less resources to focus on product development.

Bootstrapping 55

Bootstrapping Venture Capital Startup Product Development 55

The Next Web

OCTOBER 3, 2012

I have heard many founders — even in the first few months of product development — expect to raise seed rounds, pay themselves salaries, etc. You may not have even discovered whether a product or market is worth pursuing, but you will have already invested in scaling that pursuit.

Cofounder 155

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Technical Review Software Review 155

blog.nahurst.com

JULY 19, 2010

I assume both cofounders will be diluted equally as more employees and investors get involved. 2a] Has paying customers -10%: If the company already has paying customers, the non-technical cofounder has already eliminated a huge risk for the business; someone wants the product. [2b] Especially a company based on your vision.

Technical Cofounder 43

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Equity Salary 43

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

what are the most crucial steps to be taken by a new tech startup when outsourcing major part of the tech to IT firms or outsourcing “product development” eg new social media website project? Near shoring development with your team (ex: your team is based in Canada / India) is cool, but not outsourcing.

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44