Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. If the majority of your time is in recovery mode, your whole startup is likely a bad risk.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. If the majority of your time is in recovery mode, your whole startup is likely a bad risk.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

A common pain of startups after an exhilarating first surge of early adopters is a long and frustrating plateau of slow growth, where it seems like nothing you do will get your business to profitability. Others do far too little, assuming the viral effect and word-of-mouth will soon kick in, and sales will suddenly grow exponentially.

Startup 335

Startup Social Media Metrics Viral 335

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 21, 2013

Creators of new products in environments of extreme uncertainty, startups face enormous risks. As a startup owner, what can you do to improve your chances? Through rapid experimentation, short product development cycles, and rigorous measurements of the right metrics, they can ascertain what customers really want.

Lean 193

Lean Technical Review North America Startup 193

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

I’m convinced that this “me too” or incremental thinking is one of the key reasons that ninety percent of new startups fail, and most of the investors I know won’t sign non-disclosure forms, since they claim to hear the same startup ideas over and over again. Collaborate with experts and people with experience.

Stealth 406

Stealth Startup Metrics Viral 406

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. If the majority of your time is in recovery mode, your whole startup is likely a bad risk.

Forecast 120

Forecast Startup Stock Options Technical Review 120

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

What metrics do we use to see if we learned enough in Customer Discovery ? I gave my boilerplate answer, “I’m a product guy and I tend to invest and look at deals that have measurable revenue metrics. However the Customer Development Model and the Lean Startup work equally well for startups on the web.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2022

As with many startup activities, you only have one chance for a great first impression. For some customers and many investors, a heavy focus on social networks and viral marketing may be a negative, rather than a positive. Return-On-Investment metrics are not new, but the tools are different.

Social Media 315

Social Media Media Startup Analytics 315

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2013

If you’re running a startup, working for one, or just considering turning an idea into a company, calling your work life “busy” is a severe understatement. Here are five essential, efficient ways to eliminate guesswork and make your startup a success on social media. Startup Example: Zappos. Startup Example: Cloudera.

Social Media 158

Social Media Media Viral Startup 158

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. If the majority of your time is in recovery mode, your whole startup is likely a bad risk.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

Brandanew

MAY 29, 2015

Startups need PR, publicity and proof of visibility for investors and while you may have a PR agency, many struggle with producing enough or high quality content. How To Ensure Your Startup Team Is Growth Hacking Not Copying. Is Your Startup Marketing Team Copy-pasting Content? . Is Your Startup Amassing Fake Followers?

Curation 100

Curation Social Media Viral Startup 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

Startups in a world of massive markets can be confusing. Or app companies that went viral due to spammy friend requests to download in an app store only to have a community backlash and subsequent crash. His point is that you should figure out the metrics that TRULY matter in your business and hold yourself accountable to these.

Product 150

Product B2B Warrant Technical Review 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I asked some of the same questions I ask in my Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions and then I get to a very common conversation: Me : Do you have specs? For example, if you are trying to determine viral coefficient (see Startup Metrics ), then the focus should be around those aspects of the MVP. Founder : Ummm.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 8, 2009

A post by Fred Wilson pointed me to Dave McClure's Startup Metrics presentation. This is a great presentation and one that I'm going to point out to startup / early stage company CEOs. Define what you need from a metrics and reporting standpoint. You only build what you need to prove that model. Great stuff.

Metrics 225

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 225

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

That last bit should sound familiar if you follow theories of Startup Laws & Metrics. Similarly, we hold up “viral growth” as the best sort of growth, because exponential curves overwhelm all others, thus once the mechanism is stable and the company gets large enough to be noticed, it’s neigh-impossible for competitors to catch up.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Viral Metrics Salary 120

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Your business has a high viral co-efficient (or perhaps even a network effect) that lets you amass users cheaply without worrying too much about the monetization per user or spending money on paid acquisition. As a VC, the biggest challenge in evaluating LTV models is that metrics can dramatically change at scale.

Churn Rate 168

Churn Rate Viral Acquisition Cofounder 168

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product." If you do build the MVP and show it to them, they will ask you about your metrics. They really want metrics, not a product.

Algorithm 264

Algorithm Metrics Viral Venture Capital 264

Up and Running

JULY 10, 2017

You can have all traction in the world—acquire, activate, and retain users, but until your startup earns money, you are doing charity work, not running a business. Even if you are just starting to consider building a SaaS startup , you’ve probably used products with either freemium pricing or a free trial. Choose wisely.

Startup 110

Startup Non-Compete Viral Software Review 110

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 8, 2023

TikTok and Influencers One viral video on TikTok can reach 1.5 3 Watch out for Startups and Emerging Markets Analyzing competitors’ activity in the market is essential, but businesses should think outside the box and keep track of startups and emerging markets. million people and generate monthly revenue.

eCommerce 185

eCommerce Technical Review Software Review Analytics 185

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 31, 2016

As an investor and former founder, I know that scalable growth (and the pretty hockey stick graph) is the holy grail for every startup. Just a decade ago, most software/cloud startups used a traditional model where product and marketing were siloed: product teams created the product and marketing drove people to the website to buy it.

Software Review 60

Software Review South Africa Hockey Stick Viral 60

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Master of 500 Hats: Startup Metrics for Pirates (SeedCamp 2008, London) This presentation should be required reading for anyone creating a startup with an online service component. He also has a discussion of how your choice of business model determines which of these metric areas you want to focus on. Choose one.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Based on my own experience as a mentor and angel investor, I find that as many as ninety percent of startups fail in the first five years, despite their best efforts. It helps to advertise your new presence with a grand opening, viral video, and traditional advertising to highlight entry into the arena.

Intellectual Property 245

Intellectual Property Social Media Angel Investor Metrics 245

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Blog About Log in Register Designing startup metrics to drive successful behavior Great companies are almost always run by great management teams. Good metrics should also be actionable, and drive successful behavior. When we look to design metrics, we are looking to deepen our understanding of the machinery, and how it works.

Metrics 55

Metrics Design Entrepreneur Startup 55

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

I suspect that a good part of the problem is that startup and small business owners still don’t know where or how to start. Read everything you can about viral marketing. Define relevant metrics and measure. Don’t use the same message on Twitter you developed for email blasts and postcard blitzes.

Social Media 289

Social Media Small Business Media Technical Review 289

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Blog About Log in Register Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition In the many thousands of articles advising entrepreneurs on what they have to focus on to build successful startups, much has been written about three key factors: team, product and market, with particular focus on the importance of product/market fit.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 22, 2020

Startups require nurturing, monitoring, and sustained investments to get off the ground. How will your startup benefit from well-crafted and valuable content? Good content that’s likely to impress search engines contains the following metrics. Social Sharing – Sometimes, good content gets viral.

Affiliate 230

Affiliate Startup Later Stage Search 230

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

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. You must use self-promotion early and often through viral videos, blogging, and industry leadership, to establish credibility with your customers.

Marketing 333

Marketing Revenue Matching Viral 333

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

A common pain of startups after an exhilarating first surge of early adopters is a long and frustrating plateau of slow growth, where it seems like nothing you do will get your business to profitability. Others do far too little, assuming the viral effect and word-of-mouth will soon kick in, and sales will suddenly grow exponentially.

Social Media 329

Social Media Metrics Viral Channel 329

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Startups need to survive and thrive on a shoestring budget, which is why it’s based on rapid experimentation. Neither would have achieved virality had customers not received something tangible for their efforts. How to create a growth hacking strategy using the pirate metrics model. Growth marketing was born out of necessity.

Retention 113

Retention Marketing Acquisition Channel 113

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

Startup strategy is like Kung Fu. All startups are screwed up. HT Mike Maples Jr ) Corollary: A startup has to be so excellent at one or two key things, that they can screw up everything else up and not die. There isn’t one most important SaaS metric. But many startups top out between $5m-$20m in revenue.

Restful 202

Restful Founder Revenue Acquisition 202

ConversionXL

MARCH 6, 2019

Don’t copy the style of a popular video (especially a “viral” one) if you’re trying to drive home your unique value proposition or establish your brand. LinkedIn video ads: tech specs, targeting, metrics, and cost. LinkedIn video ad metrics. Both are limitations on how much video metrics can tell you. Stay on brand.

Video 129

Video B2B Technical Review Campaign 129

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 25, 2007

As I look at more and more start-ups predicated on viral growth, and at the use of social marketing, its becoming simultaneously easier to understand some aspects of viral growth and still a gap in understanding whats going to be that "hook" that will grab people at the end of the day. Marketing, Startups and Networking in Los Angeles.

Technical Cofounder 150

Technical Cofounder Southern California Los Angeles CTO Hire 150

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Should you be buying key words from search engines, building fabulous web content, blasting out e-mail campaigns, or putting all your efforts into viral videos or social media? In fact, the first challenge is to build a strategy, put together a budget, and define measurement metrics. Pick a theme and a team for each and get started.

Marketing 240

Marketing Viral Channel Metrics 240

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

Startups that are searching for a business model need to keep score differently than large companies that are executing a known business model. Yet most entrepreneurs and their VC’s make startups use financial models and spreadsheets that actually hinder their success. Startup Metrics. Here’s why. Managing the Business.

Balance Sheet 298

Balance Sheet Startup Burn Rate Metrics 298

Occam's Razor

APRIL 8, 2013

To win in business you need to follow this process: Metrics > Hypothesis > Experiment > Act. We are far too enamored with data collection and reporting the standard metrics we love because others love them because someone else said they were nice so many years ago. That metric is tied to a KPI.

Metrics 156

Metrics Analytics Lean Churn Rate 156

The Next Web

DECEMBER 12, 2013

It’s important to constantly question traditional assumptions whenever new platforms arise, as it’s these disruptions which incumbents often fail to adopt, leaving room for innovative startups to spring ahead in new land-grab opportunities. In the early days of e-commerce, sales were typically the most important metric for success.

Mobile 136

Mobile Silicon Valley Viral Technical Review 136

ConversionXL

MARCH 31, 2021

For this article, let’s consider just two metrics—an engagement metric—social shares and an SEO metric—keyword rank. Shares are often considered a ‘vanity metric’ in the sense they don’t always directly help a business generate more revenue. We care about bottom-lines, not vanity metrics. “Shares = meh. .”

SEO 163

SEO Metrics Social Media Audience 163