Hunter Walker

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

Here the focus is on Pink Stuff, a British cleaning paste, which was #CleanTok mainstreamed to a quadrupling of revenue ($125m annually) and distribution to 55 countries. As Jared notes, To hedge against this predictable outcome, more founders should adopt longer vesting cycles for themselves and the earliest (big equity) employees.

Founder Vesting 60

Founder Vesting Vesting Cap Table Founder 60

VC Cafe

JUNE 30, 2022

billion crypto fund, went particularly viral as Marc struggled to articulate the use case for Web3. It forces the founders and investors to understand where the technology can play a pivotal role in shifting control from the big tech companies to the user, and where it needs to improve, such as the negative environmental impact of mining etc.

Cloud 200

Cloud Venture Capital Cofounder Non-Compete 200

The Next Web

OCTOBER 28, 2012

One explanation is that “growth hacking” is just a catchy way to rebrand marketers, but this begs the question as to why “growth hacking” went viral in the first place. Whether free or paid, a successful distribution channel typically becomes saturated quickly as competitors jump in. Paid advertising channels follow the same pattern.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Software Review Distribution San Francisco 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

That’s why investors acknowledge that two co-founders are often better than one -- with one focusing on the technical solution, and the other focusing on defining and building the business model. The founder had simply not done the work to validate a price and customer segment. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

Business Model 120

Business Model Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2023

But the insights I see from her book and elsewhere are equally applicable to startup founders of all ages, and businesses of all ages. Viral marketing campaigns to lure new customers will cost you big money. These are chances to broaden your product line, change distribution, offer new services. Focus on your core competency.

Viral 232

Viral Revenue Distribution Campaign 232

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Initially, your staff (even if that’s just you and a co-founder) will be your greatest asset in locating and connecting with your audience. Back in 2009, Cloudera placed news of its Distribution for Hadoop launch in tech blogs and reputable news sources , and reached 1.5 Starting out, you can’t hit every network and outlet full-force.

Social Media 158

Social Media Media Viral Startup 158

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Common failures I see along these lines include: solutions that are "nice to have" but don't address painful problems; a business model that lacks a means for bringing in revenue; and a founder who has turned a blind eye toward his or her competitors. Product distribution or service delivery. An innovative marketing plan.

Exit Strategy 120

Exit Strategy Technical Review Distribution Viral 120

Haystack

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

market by launching in connection with Facebook viral invites? This all represents a huge market for engagement minutes as audio as a medium, while not inherently viral, is likely more accessible to more people in terms of literacy and in many cases faster and more efficient than reading (though not in all cases). Remember Stitcher?

Acquisition 134

Acquisition Media Audio Technical Review 134

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2020

But the insights I see from her book and elsewhere are equally applicable to startup founders of all ages, and businesses of all ages. Viral marketing campaigns to lure new customers will cost you big money. These are chances to broaden your product line, change distribution, offer new services. Focus on your core competency.

Viral 430

Viral Revenue Distribution Cloud 430

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Founders almost never have a real strategy. Founders explain failures with things like “our two main competitors did [thing] to us” or “customers didn’t understand [our point of view].” The 10,000th biggest company in the world is a very successful company, as is the two-person company where the founders each take home $300k/year.

Restful 202

Restful Founder Revenue Acquisition 202

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

You must use self-promotion early and often through viral videos, blogging, and industry leadership, to establish credibility with your customers. Be ready to complement your strengths by partnering with a complementary co-founder, distributor, or even an established competitor. Always test the relationship before signing a contract.

Marketing 333

Marketing Revenue Matching Viral 333

View from Seed

APRIL 23, 2015

However … An unfortunate side effect of this particular POTAJ is that, in many startup pitches, entrepreneurs focus so much on product or tech that they leave out one crucial, deal-making-or-breaking detail: distribution. ” Founders must address distribution in their pitches both overtly and succinctly.

Founder 120

Founder Distribution Viral Seed Stage 120

Rob Go

JULY 11, 2013

We tend to favor companies that have a “distribution advantage”. So what are some examples of distribution advantages? Legacy Distribution Power : Quite a few successful companies got a nice head start because of legacy traffic. Typically, I tend to notice two approaches to delivering product-oriented distribution wins.

Distribution 66

Distribution Vertical Viral B2B 66

The Next Web

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Founder Kevin Systrom launched Instagram with 25,000 beta users on October 6, 2010; two years later, the app continues to see massive growth, recently reporting 150 million active users. Ben Schippers is the co-founder of HappyFunCorp , a Web development company that has built sites for TeePublic , Of A Kind , Postography and Yeah TV! “If

Cost 168

Cost San Francisco New York City Ruby 168

VC Cafe

JULY 15, 2021

As a VC that invests in B2C, I often try to put myself in shoes of a founder looking to grow the audience for their new app to consumers. What are the main channels for app marketing and distribution today? Ads – targeted advertising is perhaps THE most reliable channel to market and distribute a consumer app.

Mobile 190

Mobile Social Media Distribution PR 190

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 2, 2020

Celine Halioua , founder of a company called Celevity that is developing drugs to extend the lifespan of dogs, also played a key role. Fred Turner : I'm Fred Turner, CEO and co-founder of Curative. I'm the founder and CEO of Celevity. Celine Halioua : I guess to give a little bit of context, I raised my seed as a solo founder.

Curation 60

Curation Government Los Angeles Partner 60

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

GrowthHackers founder and former Head of Growth at Dropbox, Sean Ellis , coined the term: “A growth hacker is a person whose true north is growth. In his course on Growth Mindset (part of CXL’s Growth Marketing Minidegree ), WeTheFuture.org founder John McBride describes three key components of a successful growth marketer: 1.

Retention 113

Retention Marketing Acquisition Channel 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Founded in November 2007 in New York City by Alexis Maybank and Kevin Ryan (co-founder of DoubleClick); CEO is Susan Lyne (ex-CEO Marta Stewart Living Omnimedia) Revenue estimates: $50mm in 2008; $170mm in 2009 (versus budget of $150mm); $450mm forecasted for 2010. Founded in October 2006 by Jonah Peretti (co-founder of Huffington Post).

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 24, 2020

When co-founders Hannu Rajaniemi and Nikolai Eroshenko realized their work was applicable to a coronavirus vaccine, too, they changed direction immediately. And I found a like-minded co-founder in Nikolai, Nikolai Eroshenko, whom I mentioned before. HelixNano was founded to develop cancer vaccines.

Founder 60

Founder Technical Review Leadership Software Review 60

VC Cafe

MAY 13, 2014

Danish entrepreneur and Skype funder Morten Lund said it best “any cabdriver in LA is better at marketing (than Israeli founders). Viral Projects. Some brands understand the value of building a viral project, unrelated to their core offering, with broad appeal. Distribution Hacks- [link]. Use stats.grok.se Okdork- [link].

Lean 162

Lean Viral Startup Marketing 162

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

I break the answer to that question down into three engines: Viral - this is the business model identified in the presentation as "Get Users." Here, the key metrics are Acquisition and Referral, combined into the now-famous viral coefficient. If the coefficient is > 1.0 , you generally have a viral hit on your hands.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Another called Parker Harris, the co-founder and CTO. There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. Distributed version control model – first in the industry like ours and we are filing patents. Folksonomy. Free product. Page 3: Competition.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2018

As an advisor to many new venture founders, I often hear their frustration at being told by investors “I love your idea, but come back when you have more traction.” The intent is to indicate that founder passion is not a substitute for real customers buying the product. Document and initiate a multi-faceted marketing plan.

Angel Investor 147

Angel Investor Distribution Bootstrapping Viral 147

crowdSPRING Blog

MARCH 15, 2013

The chart above shows age distribution within major social networks and online communities. Money matters: why women founders struggle in Silicon Valley | The Verge – [link]. How Solo Founders Beat The Odds and Get Into Top Accelerators | WSJ – [link]. Paid Search: Are You Wasting Your Money? – [link].

Social Media 105

Social Media Small Business Design Media 105

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

What most founders don’t realize is: Every stage of a startup requires a different set of metrics and milestones and founder skills. Knowing these will help a founder position her pitch to get investors’ attention. Founders need to keep their eye on the prize — not just the next funding round. Business Model.

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Such was my recent meeting with Seth Sternberg, founder & CEO of Meebo. And I’d recommend them to any talented startup founders out there.&#. Meebo gained traction because there’s was viral component when users wanted to tell their friend. And there you have it. Not a chance. Series A round. I totally agree.

Connecticut 286

Connecticut Cofounder Silicon Valley Web 286

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 4, 2023

Joe Flanagan, Founder, 90s Fashion World No, Too Many Lenders While the idea of sourcing capital from multiple smaller sources is an enticing one, the reality is far less pleasant. A campaign should only be used if your product has a “viral” quality to it. Inbar Madar , Founder and Business Consultant, M.I.

Startup 141

Startup Campaign Cofounder Venture Capital 141

Agile VC

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

All of us at NextView extend our congratulations to founder Hardi Meybaum and the rest of the GrabCAD team. He had a clear vision of what he hoped to achieve with GrabCAD… to make collaborative CAD design easier in our connected world, where CAD engineers and product designers are more distributed.

Boston 154

Boston Acquisition Estonia Viral 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2018

That’s why I recommend that two co-founders are often better than one -- with one expert on the technical solution, and the other with business model experience. The founder had simply not done the work to validate a price and the perfect customer segment. Save your viral campaign and major inventory buildup for later.

Product 137

Product Advisory Board Business Model Cofounder 137

Rob Go

JANUARY 12, 2015

Your product may have gotten traction due to some distribution hack or novelty factor, both of which may not lead to sustained usage and growth. Great teams fail to build a product and get early distribution successfully all the time. Great companies are often founded by first time founders who don’t seem obviously special.

B2B 28

B2B Early Stage Distribution Software Review 28

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Successful product launch campaigns have a strong value proposition, multi-channel distribution, supporting content, and other trappings common to every marketing campaign. Hugo Woodhead is the founder of Pilcro , which sells brand management software. Product launches are one phase in the product lifecycle. Image source ).

Product 110

Product Campaign Acquisition Social Media 110

ConversionXL

MAY 27, 2022

Alternatively, founder of contentlift.io Obsessing over going viral. Creative agency founder Dan Kelsall has helped many of his clients go viral. Curious about the impact of virality on revenue, he dug into demand generation campaign data. In most cases, viral posts generated less demand.

Demand 124

Demand B2B Distribution Channel 124

crowdSPRING Blog

AUGUST 6, 2017

“Acquire a new set of stories, concepts, and tools to help you digitally create, distribute, promote and price products and services.” The story behind Khan Academy is tech legend: educator Salman Khan started by posting videos on YouTube to help his cousin with her math homework and the videos went viral. ” Udemy.

Programming 73

Programming Technical Review Small Business Illinois 73

View from Seed

JANUARY 13, 2015

Great teams fail to build a product and get early distribution all the time. Great companies are often founded by first time founders who don’t seem obviously special. The observation here is that founders of great B2B companies more often than not have some demonstrable track record as operators or entrepreneurs.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage B2B Distribution Early Stage 120

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

That is why I invited the Founder & CEO, Jonah Peretti , to come talk at the 2017 Upfront Summit and make the case himself. I began asking around who the smartest people in the online media industry were and two names came up again and again — Jonah Peretti (social & viral content) and Ze Frank (social video).

Media 210

Media Los Angeles Russia Viral 210

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Business Model Affects Metrics and Exit Criteria Web-based Business Model Exit Criteria In a web-business model you’re looking for traffic, users, conversion, virality, etc – not revenue. Even startups that are dominated by technical risk have the customer validation risk of finding positive ROI distribution in a large market.

Customer Development 223

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 223

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

They realized for them this was dumb because people didn’t want to use up their credits so viral adoption wasn’t happening quickly enough. How has the viral coefficient been for you? Gregg gave us specifics on how viral adoption has worked. The viral adoption went to 15-20 per share action.

Viral 303

Viral Investment Bankers Video Business Model 303