Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage angel investors. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers. Software and hardware development architects and designers.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Up and Running

APRIL 12, 2018

Employees (include salaries and benefits, like insurance and retirement contributions). Review sales goals and look to see if there are any aspects of your business in need attention, and therefore financing. For instance, if you want to increase sales, outline how this is going to happen. Known expenses. Utility bills.

Forecast 77

Forecast Early Stage Software Review Technical Review 77

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Having a carefully-developed sales strategy is crucial if you want to grow your business. Whether you’re setting up your sales strategy for the very first time, or updating your current document, here’s our top pointers for developing a clear and well-rounded plan that will help drive your business’ growth.

Sales 113

Sales Argentina Technical Review B2B 113

Hunter Walker

MAY 13, 2023

Especially in the early days of mobile/iOS engineering, if you hired strong technical talent into your early stage company, you basically created an acquisition outcome floor. .” Yes, this was the ‘fallback plan’ for many team in the web2 era and they weren’t wrong.

Early Stage 117

Early Stage Cap Table Acquisition Sales 117

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

I am fond of quoting that about 70% of my investment decision of an early-stage company is the team. But not anal if one founder who shares equity graciously with early employees who are treated as “co-founders” My idea startup team is heaving on tech personnel but also has strong product management.

Cofounder 388

Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 388

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 4, 2019

Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. What does this mean for their early stage investors? Weak revenue architecture poses the greatest near-term risk of failure for most early stage startups.

Framework 127

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 127

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

The functions of an early-stage board are pretty obvious and well understood: Providing introductions to customers, biz dev partners, recruits, the press, other investors, etc. how much energy to put into channel partners vs. direct sales. how to build an initial sales organization. how to market our products and company.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 14, 2022

While certain aspects of setting up a startup can be exhilarating, especially in the early stages of the business, there are also plenty of bumps along the road, big and small. If you are honest with your customers, clients, partners, and employees, you will earn their respect and trust. Image Source. Set realistic goals.

Startup 173

Startup Early Stage Naming Public Relations 173

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 19, 2024

Biggest Takeaway: While significant progress has been made in AI, we are still in the early stages of its development. Amanda Holmes – The Fastest and Least Expensive Way to Double Your Sales Amanda Holmes is the CEO of Chet Holmes International (CHI) which has worked with over 250,000 businesses worldwide.

Fractional CTO 76

Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review Marketing 76

techcrunch.com

AUGUST 12, 2012

Zachary Bogue And Matt Ocko Launch Data Collective, An Early Stage Fund For Big Data Startups. Data Collective has already made 46 investments from its first fund, which it calls “comparable with other seed and early stage funds” (Ocko and Bogue wouldn’t reveal fund size.). Headphones. CrunchBase.

Early Stage 70

Early Stage San Francisco Los Angeles Southern California 70

YoungUpstarts

MAY 24, 2019

Most early stage startups tend to do well in this area because entrepreneurs generally launch their startups believing they have a great product idea. What does this mean for their early stage investors? Weak revenue architecture poses the greatest near-term risk of failure for most early stage startups.

Framework 113

Framework Architecture Cleveland Early Stage 113

VC Cafe

JANUARY 14, 2022

The Israeli innovation authority deems the sector suffers from ‘ chronic employee shortage’ The battle for talent has meant that companies had to lure potential employees with billboards, influencer videos, referral schemes, etc. There are two main forms of exits for startups: trade sale/M&A or IPO.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Lock-up Period South Korea 158

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 4, 2020

But, just an importantly, they’re also in business to put food on the table for their families and employees. With people counting on them—their families and their employees’ families—they have to carry on. Our families — and the families of the employees we eventually hire—come first. Just ask yourself these seven questions: 1.

Entrepreneur 205

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Silicon Valley Bandwidth 205

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

As there was no venture capital, these early startups were funded by early sales to weapon systems prime contractors and subcontractors. Urgency and risk-taking in a startup are integral parts of the culture, felt by 100 percent of early-stage employees.

Government 312

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 312

Berkonomics

MARCH 8, 2018

Many early stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Pay early stage board members of companies that are not lifestyle businesses one percent of the fully diluted equity in the form of an option that vests over four years of service.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Vesting Stock Options Preferred Stock 102

Berkonomics

JANUARY 28, 2021

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away from deals where the entrepreneur insists on a start-up pre-money valuation that is so high, no angel could expect to make a return upon the investment, even with a reasonable sales price for the company down the road. The post Don’t get hung up on early stage valuation.

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Cofounder 62

Mucker Lab

APRIL 6, 2023

Today, a lot of the PLG SaaS tools require sales motion upfront because nobody understands those tools. Those types of tools actually require work in the initial days of the sales motion. What should an early-stage startup founder focus on if they want to implement PLG? You need a lot of education. That’s the success.

Product 78

Product CTO Hire Startup Fractional CTO 78

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

But eventually, all successful businesses will have to start taking on employees, and that’s when the fun really begins. Their responses ranged from practical tips on hiring to what to look for in a first employee. See Also: Is It Time to Hire an Employee? Or at least, that’s the assumption. Favor potential over experience.

Hiring 60

Hiring Employee Technical Review Dividend 60

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

The document should also contain clear buy-sell clauses, forcing any sale of shares to first be offered to the corporate treasury, then to the other founders in proportion to their holdings, and then if no interest, to outside investors. Each grant to new or existing employees must be approved by the board before issue.

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Equity Stock Options Vesting 102

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

In addition to being the startup entrepreneur, there are other key roles where Boomers can be a force in driving successful startups, in concert with leaders from Gen-X and Gen-Y: Early-stage Angel investors. Marketing and sales to Gen-Y customers. Software and hardware development architects and designers.

Entrepreneur 266

Entrepreneur Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor 266

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 29, 2024

And that might be in a startup, it might be as a founder of a startup, it might be as an early employee, as a startup. When I think about it, it's in the early stages of that entire co-founding team needs to be aligned on what these goals are and the fact that they do actually work toward that vision.

Entrepreneur 52

Entrepreneur Cofounder Early Stage Artificial Inteligence 52

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2010

The conversations bleed into the sales messages the next time, they wend their way into software designs and form the plan of attach against competition. I don’t like distributed development teams in early stage businesses. I prefer the first sales hires to be in the home office. What about call centers?

Distribution 335

Distribution Offshore CTO Hire Bulgaria 335

Up and Running

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Technology tools such as a CRM system can also help you get a strong understanding of your sales cycle and pipeline. Technology helps you stay accountable for some of the difficult decisions you’ll need to make, so it’s worth it to prioritize that expense early. Weigh hiring an employee versus implementing software.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Sales Cycle Early Stage Texas 149

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Running a company is distinctly different from simply having operating experience – (working in bus dev, sales or marketing.) Every potential early-stage Venture Capitalist should take a year and do it before he or she makes partner. Today, you can start a web/mobile/cloud startup for $500,000 and have money left over.

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Early Stage Technical Review Startup 333

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

A combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad. The press took notice, especially since just a few months later startups were laying off employees en-masse to cut costs. Team, product, market.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Get a company ready for sale: per due diligence work and support during the sale process. Our clients’ employees enjoy their work more and are able to make a greater impact. As you have a history of building early stage companies, what is the most important thing you tell startup founders?

Technical Review 99

Technical Review Founder Due Diligence Early Stage 99

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

They will often run all of the daily reports into them covering off for finance, sales, marketing, biz dev & HR. In an early stage start I believe it’s the CEO’s job to manage these functions. Similarly I talk to CEOs who can’t do a sales pipeline review with me. CEO’s run things.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Due Diligence 325

Steve Blank

JUNE 27, 2017

Its employees and investors don’t depend on an existing revenue stream. To protect auto dealerships in the 1920s, direct sales by an automobile manufacturer were made illegal in most states in the U.S. One of the unheralded advantages of a startup is what at first glance appears to be its weakness.

Startup 297

Startup New York City Valuation Distribution 297

Up and Running

DECEMBER 1, 2015

If you’re thinking about extending equity to an employee or a vendor (as in the example above), you should know that the topic is multi-faceted. If however you are giving a “normal employee” an incentive stock option plan (more on that later), that’s entirely different. Finding great employees first. What is equity compensation?

Equity 60

Equity Employee Stock Options Vesting 60

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Get a company ready for sale: per due diligence work and support during the sale process. Our clients’ employees enjoy their work more and are able to make a greater impact. As you have a history of building early stage companies, what is the most important thing you tell startup founders?

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Founder Due Diligence Early Stage 84

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

= profitable and companies like Amazon who chose to focus on growth > profitability were not losing money on each book sale (ie they were gross margin positive). But often this doesn’t tell the whole story because often companies are also spending money on PR and other marketing activities in order to support the sales process.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Hunter Walker

MAY 17, 2024

It’s also not an accident that, upon stepping back from being Textio’s CEO, I’ve built a sizable exec coaching practice working largely with early stage founders. By the time the pandemic started, we had brought on a couple of sales people in New York and San Francisco, but we were still 95% colocated in Seattle.

Cofounder 103

Cofounder Founder Technical Review Seattle 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

Early-stage entrepreneurs rightly keep their focus on creating an innovative product or service. After celebrating success at that level, they often find themselves ill-prepared to move to the next stage, for scaling their business into a high-performing enterprise. Switch your attention from product development to sales.

Mezzanine 368

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 368

YoungUpstarts

MAY 19, 2016

Unfortunately, we work with companies that realize the IP actually belongs to a former partner or the organization that the founders worked for during the product’s early stages. Obtain a Confidential Information and Invention Assignment Agreement as early as possible to make sure the IP is clearly (and legally) assigned.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Burn Rate IP Intellectual Property 124

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. I never built a Google-sized business but I did build an organization from scratch that grew to 120 employees in 5 countries before we sold it.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 11, 2022

Founders seem to disproportionately come from engineering, product and sales/business unit career paths. Seed Stage Startups Don’t Hire Fulltime For These Roles, And Certainly Not Senior Hires. These roles typically become FTE in your growth from 10 to 50 employees, not 1–10. Founders Often Don’t Come From These Backgrounds….

Seed Stage 102

Seed Stage Cap Table Founder Marketing 102

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

What I love about my job is getting to see teams of super-early-stage companies develop ideas that while raw have potential to make an impact on the market. It freed up Ophir to grow out our sales organization, to work more closely with agencies, to innovate on product and to raise capital. Here’s the dilemma.

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Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150