Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity. You don’t have to be a heavily funded later stage startup to get access to “big data,” customer analytics, and metrics dashboards. Angel groups, accelerators, and incubators are pervasive.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Simple metrics and your personal knowledge of the industry can’t keep up with all the relevant competitive forces. Short-term earnings per share may be low, even as revenues and cash burned are high. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem. Find funders who seek long-term returns. Money-making is different in the digital age.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm Global IPO 355

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

You must have a strong Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) with a clear strategy for spending, and metrics to gauge results. In addition, research shows that companies that fail to align their marketing and sales departments have less ROI, and lose 10% or more of their revenues per year. Buyer behavior is difficult to predict and quantify.

Acquisition 250

Acquisition Cost Customer Sales Cycle 250

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity. You don’t have to be a heavily funded later stage startup to get access to “big data,” customer analytics, and metrics dashboards. Angel groups, accelerators, and incubators are pervasive.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

Many startups see initial revenue from customers, and love the fast growth, but fail to anticipate the cost of early vendor payments, monthly overhead costs, and later taxes. A required metric is average days to payment compared to expectations. Considering the job done once a client has been invoiced.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2018

Hidalgo recommends a focus on engagement stage indicators including customers by channel, conversion ratio, and cost per revenue. You need to track what content is resonating with your prospective customers, through metrics including submit rate by content offer, elasticity, velocity, cost, and ultimately revenue by content program.

Demand 144

Demand Metrics NPV Net Present Value 144

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. It’s your job as a leader to be the model high performer, quantify the team view with metrics, and expand awareness to the best outside competition and new tools.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2021

But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. He suggests you begin with the “big three” business objectives of higher revenue, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction. Get attention and reach your audience.

Social Media 319

Social Media Media Metrics Advertising 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

That should make you wonder - how do you measure traction in a metric? While thinking about the parameters of traction, and how to measure it, I was impressed with a new book, “ Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth ” by Ash Maurya, a serial entrepreneur, and creator of the one-page business modelling tool Lean Canvas.

Metrics 143

Metrics Advisory Board Startup Lean 143

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2023

We all have our favorite metric and our passion, but keeping up with real-world changes and trends seems to be always just out of reach. In my experience, all business metrics are still used too often for people management and accountability, rather than business management. Accurate measurement of the wrong things is not helpful.

Metrics 204

Metrics Demand Analytics Leadership 204

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. Here is my selection of ten key metrics that every six-sigma joint like GE tracks without thinking, but too many small businesses only monitor haphazardly, if at all: Sales revenue.

Metrics 266

Metrics Retention Acquisition Salary 266

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2020

Hidalgo recommends a focus on engagement stage indicators including customers by channel, conversion ratio, and cost per revenue. You need to track what content is resonating with your prospective customers, through metrics including submit rate by content offer, elasticity, velocity, cost, and ultimately revenue by content program.

NPV 436

NPV Net Present Value Conversion Ratio Marketing 436

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2012

But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Jim Sterne, who has written six books on Internet advertising, marketing, and customer service, tackled this complex world of social media metrics in his book titled " Social Media Metrics."

Social Media 245

Social Media Metrics Media Startup 245

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2019

It starts with continually optimizing your business model, using analytics on all the data, and creating and using metrics to measure your performance and progress to date. Turn value creation (revenue) into value capture (profit). Focus on user counts, or revenue alone, won’t make a long-term business.

Technical Review 218

Technical Review Revenue Analytics Metrics 218

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2017

Kristin Zhivago, in her classic book “ Roadmap to Revenue ,” makes the point that the selling system is broken, since sellers no longer sell the way customers are buying. Build and deploy a revenue growth action plan. Include planned measurements and metrics. The Internet and smartphones have changed everything.

Small Business 147

Small Business Revenue Technical Review Business Model 147

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Great marketing is required to generate revenue and grow every business, especially new businesses which have no brand recognition nor loyal customer base. Usually these are described as revenue growth drivers, as outlined in a new book, “ The Revenue Accelerator: The 21 Boosters to Launch Your Startup ,” by Dr. Allan Colman.

Marketing 333

Marketing Revenue Matching Viral 333

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2023

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Of course, that has be a repeatable event, with enough revenue to sustain the business. Plan for a real revenue model. No matter how good your cause, it takes real money to sustain a business.

Business Model 273

Business Model Customer Angel Investor Bootstrapping 273

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Hidalgo recommends a focus on engagement stage indicators including customers by channel, conversion ratio, and cost per revenue. You need to track what content is resonating with your prospective customers, through metrics including submit rate by content offer, elasticity, velocity, cost, and ultimately revenue by content program.

Metrics 120

Metrics NPV Net Present Value Conversion Ratio 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

You need to communicate quantified and updates goals quarterly, including the metrics to assess progress and success. Waiting for a crisis, like a revenue shortfall, or customer dissatisfaction, is a sure way to disaster. Define stretch goals and challenge your team to deliver. Traditional mission statements are not enough.

Technical Review 211

Technical Review Channel Social Media Metrics 211

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Obviously this definition is generic, so my first recommendation is that you take the lead in defining traction metrics for your startup, and then selling your results convincingly to investors. Average transaction size and revenue per customer. Free and freemium products need a solid base. Start early to work these relationships.

Hockey Stick 304

Hockey Stick Early Stage Metrics Acquisition 304

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2023

Rather than a focus on salary and perks, your focus is on customers, revenue, and operations. Use metrics and data to quantify progress and return. Unfortunately, continuing to perform without collecting business data or measuring customer metrics is a recipe for failure. Your personal goal is to succeed in business.

Metrics 279

Metrics Startup Agile Salary 279

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2023

I agree with the classic book by Ros Taylor, “ Creativity at Work: Supercharge Your Brain and Make Your Ideas Stick ,” which outlines some key psychological impediments to creative business thinking and change: Just use the data metrics. Avoid the tendency to fix blame and look for excuses. Failure to learn.

Marketing 299

Marketing Metrics Differentiation Demand 299

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

There is no magic lever for growth, so several initiatives are required, with metrics to assess value returned. Resist the urge to delegate accounting decisions, under the assumption that incoming revenue takes the pressure off. Ask every employee to focus on sales. Personally optimize every cash flow transaction.

Startup 335

Startup Social Media Metrics Viral 335

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2022

They randomly churn for hours a day on a couple of their favorite social media platforms, with little thought given to goals, objectives, or metrics; and ultimately give up and fall back to traditional marketing approaches. Create an action plan with metrics. You spend the months influencing the influencers.

Social Media 338

Social Media Framework Media Conversion Ratio 338

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Obsessive sales – must meet revenue goals. As your startup starts to generate returns, you will recognize the pressure of quarterly revenue goals, with qualified big customer prospects needing just one more small change to close. Hypermetricemia – metrics for everything.

Dilution 334

Dilution Metrics Acquisition Revenue 334

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2022

Sometimes you have to be willing to jeopardize current revenue streams to penetrate new markets or technologies. As companies grow, they tend to become more structured, to the point of discouraging risk by team members, and using metrics to identify mistakes and allocate bonuses.

Artificial Inteligence 385

Artificial Inteligence Startup Metrics Agile 385

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Define key metrics to measure progress and success. Set milestones and targets for revenue, profitability, and market share, and use these to manage the business, as opposed to hours worked and gut instinct. Use comparable metrics for managing team member results.

Intellectual Property 245

Intellectual Property Social Media Angel Investor Metrics 245

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 11, 2010

But very few are talking about how to measure your results, and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment. Jim Sterne, who has written six books on Internet advertising, marketing, and customer service, tackled this complex world of social media metrics in his recent book titled " Social Media Metrics."

Social Media 212

Social Media Metrics Media Advertising 212

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2021

How do you convince investors that your business model will really work, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses? Of course, that has be a repeatable event, with enough revenue to sustain the business. Plan for a real revenue model. No matter how good your cause, it takes real money to sustain a business.

Business Model 414

Business Model Angel Investor Bootstrapping Revenue 414

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2012

Kristin Zhivago, in her book “ Roadmap to Revenue ,” makes the point that the selling system is broken, since sellers no longer sell the way customers are buying. Build and deploy a revenue growth action plan. Include planned measurements and metrics. The Internet and smartphones have changed everything. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 234

Technical Review Business Model Revenue Social Media 234