Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

What stage? Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? I like to see how they improve their products when there are obvious holes. What kind of deals should I be doing? What price? With which other investors? Should I focus on geographies or industries?

Deal Flow 347

Deal Flow Early Stage Investment Bankers Technical Review 347

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. That’s why the CTO’s attention is on programming for the earliest stage. Hiring a hands-on lead developer might seem like the right move for an early stage startup.

CTO Hire 260

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Fractional VPE Developer 260

YoungUpstarts

MAY 21, 2020

Before rushing to build your concept to push out to consumers, it’s important to first undertake product discovery. Product discovery is the purpose of identifying the smallest amount of software needed to determine market value. Notably, this occurs prior to building the Minimum Viable Product , or ‘MVP’. How is it done?

Product 264

Product Cofounder Audience Product Development 264

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Investing has always (and will always) come with a long laundry list of liabilities that can deter even the most experienced investors from making a generous contribution to a startup or early-stage company they believe in. Measure the traction to be gained from the product or service. Secure the financial investment plan.

Early Stage 138

Early Stage Cofounder Startup Security 138

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 26, 2022

Designing new hardware products that have a positive impact on customers is no small feat. There are several elements that go into hardware product design that taps an unaddressed customer need, has the customer WOW factor, and succeeds long term in the market. Get familiar with ensuring safety and minimizing product interference.

Design 133

Design Development Team Review Product Technical Review 133

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. Still, if you’re a business leader and your developers haven’t asked you these questions, look for a Fractional CTO to help navigate the critical early stage of development.

Developer 520

Developer Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 520

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. They do the most to de-risk the early stages of a startup. Reducing Startup Risk.

Technical Cofounder 346

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 346

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Product Development 177

Product Development Cost Developer Product 177

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2011

You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. Look for ways to get some traction with a minimal product, while you are still developing the main event. In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.

Early Stage 247

Early Stage Technical Review Elevator Pitch Due Diligence 247

TechEmpower

AUGUST 14, 2023

Specifically, they should know about, and help with: Asking and answering the 53 Questions Developers Should Ask Innovators Knowing when and how to bring on development talent ( Hiring Developers Before Product/Market Fit? , Then, a month later, the product is still 90% done. And six weeks later – 90% again!

Technical Review 260

Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 260

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

We see this all the time at Forward Partners where we invest right from the idea stage and most of the companies get a first version of their product live for less than £30k (that generally includes founder salaries and time spent doing customer research). Entrepreneurs can now achieve an awful lot with very little money.

Early Stage 119

Early Stage Development Team Review Technical Review Software Review 119

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

I will tell you brief details about seed stage funding, and deal sourcing on this page, so read the conclusion until the end. The following is a condensed explanation of seed funding: Seed money is a form of early-stage financing that new businesses receive from investors in exchange for a share of ownership in the company.

Seed Stage 125

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 125

SoCal CTO

APRIL 2, 2012

The problem is you don't yet have product/market fit, and until you do, you don't really know what to build. When product vision is truly clear, then it makes sense to execute it, and hiring follows. These companies are very early-stage and definitely have not shown product/market fit. They are very early.

CTO Hire 205

CTO Hire Technical Cofounder Fractional CTO Los Angeles 205

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

It follows up on my posts discussing why early stage startups should — or should not — move to Silicon Valley. Should Early Stage Startups Move to Austin because of Customers? Early adopters, especially those who are willing to pay for novel services, are the lifeblood of lean startups.

Early Stage 54

Early Stage Austin Silicon Valley San Antonio 54

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 13, 2017

Even if failure can be educational and productive it is not an exercise to be repeated. What problem does my product/idea solve? Who are my key competitors, what is their market share and how does my product distinguish itself? I hate to fail. I would rather learn quickly from mistakes than to rely on failure!

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Silicon Valley Thailand Incubator 62

ConversionXL

APRIL 28, 2021

Wondering how to encourage users to engage with your product again and again, without constantly popping in their inboxes? But that’s just the start of building a beloved product without email marketing. When we moved them, we saw an increase in product engagement (both clicks and bounce rates). Here’s how we’ve done it.

Email 151

Email Product Marketing Cofounder 151

YoungUpstarts

MAY 1, 2020

Given that mindset, it’s only natural that most entrepreneurs jump at the first chance they get to secure early-stage startup funding. Most startups will need a viable product and proof of credibility before they can expect early-stage investors to really bite. Instead, approach your fundraising in tiers.

Early Stage 154

Early Stage Security Angel Investor Lead Investor 154

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 3, 2021

Still, you need to find some way to pull your company out of this early-stage quicksand. First, we need to address the core challenges of developing effective early-stage growth strategies for new businesses. What are the best tactics to accomplish these goals? Core Challenges to Overcome in Growth Strategies.

Early Stage 125

Early Stage PPC Retention Churn Rate 125

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Finance 320

Finance Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 320

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Technical Review 375

Technical Review Startup Dilution Early Stage 375

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

For early-stage startups, the goodwill component can easily exceed the size of all the financial elements together, or can just as easily mark a company with good financials as not investable. Research has confirmed that culture is a primary driver for financial performance, customer experience, and team productivity.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 1, 2023

As an early-stage company that just closed our seed round at $8.1 So what does an early-stage company do to avoid the doom and gloom plaguing the world of startups? Be honest with yourself VCs are now going to be looking closer at margins, cost structures and true sales, and product market fit. That includes us.

Early Stage 111

Early Stage Los Angeles Silicon Valley Cofounder 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2021

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. Rather than push non-compete agreements on your superstars, it’s more productive to create incentive systems and creative ways for them to work more independently, just for you.

CTO Hire 330

CTO Hire Fractional CTO Merger Non-Compete 330

Up and Running

APRIL 12, 2018

Things like product development, materials and packaging, performance-based bonuses, and more. In the excitement to develop a product and push it to market, an entrepreneur may overlook paying all of the necessary state and federal taxes, filing licensing paperwork and paying the appropriate fees to do so, and more. Variable expenses.

Forecast 77

Forecast Early Stage Software Review Technical Review 77

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2023

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Experience and connections in your business area. Textbook knowledge and academic degrees don’t count here.

Technical Cofounder 247

Technical Cofounder Equity Distribution Cofounder 247

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Converting your business ideas, goals and needs into a unique IT product will offer competitive advantage. This would be ideal for someone who is at the early stages of building their business and looking to stick to a limited budget. Fast processor and productivity. What you need is a custom IT solution.

Software Review 139

Software Review Developer Technical Review Customer 139

Eric Friedman

JULY 19, 2019

Many early stage investors look for financial models for 3+ years from founders to make an investment. I can’t remember an early stage team putting together a model that has been accurate for 3 years. In fact, for early stage companies you are usually wildly wrong.

Early Stage 114

Early Stage Startup Framework Revenue 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

The good news is that he is all about helping early-stage startups. Since the economic downturn started, neither angels nor VCs have given much attention to startups without a product and a revenue stream. Early-stage startup. Every startup is early-stage to someone.

Early Stage 253

Early Stage Finance Seed Stage Entrepreneur 253

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

To succeed in today’s crowded market, you need to harmonize product marketing and brand marketing. In this article, you’ll learn the difference between brand marketing and product marketing, and how to balance both to stand out above the crowd. Brand vs product marketing: Friends or foe? They rely on each other for success.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 23, 2023

The larger the company, the more they’ll separate out business development and sales, with business development focused primarily on lead generation and sales focused on sealing the actual sale of the product or service. You just have to go in and work through the mechanics of selling them on your product or service.

Government 212

Government Advisory Board Salary Early Stage 212

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

Investors often say that successfully navigating the early stages of a startup requires lots of street smarts, guts, and luck. This is generally a required quality for a successful entrepreneur, but it can turn into an unhealthy stubbornness during the scaling stage. Trusting your gut at this stage isn’t good enough.

Early Stage 235

Early Stage Startup Founder Entrepreneur 235

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

As a VC, one of the key things I’m looking for in any new investor is “product-founder fit” e.g. does this founder have an insight or advantage that makes them uniquely suited to successfully build this product and business? Founders, marketers and growth leaders?—?join join the Trust waitlist here.

Founder 424

Founder Product Cofounder Acquisition 424

OnlyOnce

DECEMBER 8, 2021

I divided my response into “early stage” and “later stage” founders. Here’s a summary of what I said about early stage founders. Next week: the later stage founder answer (link won’t be live until 12/16/2021).

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Founder Later Stage B2C 62

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Rather than hide seemingly non-productive gaps in your work to-date, investors look for logical actions, and iterative small steps that could be quick to market or quick to fail. My advice is to start your networking early with potential investors, to establish a relationship before they see you as an entrepreneur asking for money.

Intellectual Property 278

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Early Stage Venture Capital 278

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

Value factors include your related product breadth and depth, relationships with thought leaders, key vendors, and large potential customers. Building the product may be the easy part of your startup challenge. Experience and connections in your business area. Textbook knowledge and academic degrees don’t count here.

Cofounder 435

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Equity Intellectual Property 435