Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2017

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Campaign 167

Campaign Cost Viral Marketing 167

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

A great business plan can help you anticipate important issues and possible challenges before you start your business. In fact, studies show that entrepreneurs who take the time to write a business plan are 2.5 times more likely to follow through and get their business off the ground. Thoroughly.

Business Plan 147

Business Plan Balance Sheet Non-Compete Forecast 147

YoungUpstarts

MAY 13, 2020

A business plan relates to formulating smart goals and indicating the possible course of action to achieve those goals. So why should public relations be a part of your business plan? In this post, you’ll find out the importance of including PR in your business plan. Create Clearly Defined Objectives.

Public Relations 235

Public Relations Business Plan PR Distribution 235

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Here is my summary of the seven most successful lead-generation vehicles he and I still recommend today, despite the popularity of viral marketing: Search-engine marketing. Marty Zwilling

Lead Generation 285

Lead Generation SEM Viral Marketing 285

crowdSPRING Blog

JULY 28, 2020

Many entrepreneurs and business owners make mistakes when they rush to start a business before considering important details. A great business plan can help you anticipate important issues and possible challenges before you start your business. Here are 10 tips to help you write a great business plan.

Business Plan 126

Business Plan Viral Email Search 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. You may have heard that venture capitalists in Silicon Valley no longer read business plans. Include marketing, sales, and customer rollout plans.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2016

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Here is my summary of the seven most successful lead-generation vehicles he and I still recommend today, despite the popularity of viral marketing: Search-engine marketing. Marty Zwilling.

Viral 120

Viral Lead Generation Customer SEM 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

See how many of the following “new” Internet concepts you recognize, and can explain in terms of value to your business. If you have heard the lingo, but most of these are not in your startup business plan, you are already in jeopardy as an entrepreneur: Blogging. No SEM plan means you are missing a huge marketing opportunity.

Internet 239

Internet SEM Wiki Viral 239

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

The other was a consumer play with possible viral growth. Would the consumer one get traction and be viral? Vision Synching in a Lean Startup The Fallacy of Customer Development Entrepreneurs, Lower Investors’ Risk by Validating your Start-up Company’s Business Proposition Lessons Learned: What is customer development?

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 15, 2019

A sustainable business plan is one that is flexible. There is no point in having a rigid strategy for the business and crying foul when customers shift to a much more relatable brand/organisation. Recently, McDonalds shifted from plastic straws to paper straws after a twitter campaign went viral on how they use 1.8

Small Business 196

Small Business Software Review Technical Review Viral 196

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 11, 2010

We're putting a 'Retweet' button inside the product to encourage viral growth.". This is the viral step: Having trialed the tool, the stranger might use it herself, then more people find out about it, and so forth. I know of no companies who have " gone viral " because of buttons. Buttons are good — why not use them?

Software Review 261

Software Review Technical Review Viral Software Developers 261

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2011

Viral marketing and word-of-mouth are not enough these days to make your product and brand visible in the relentless onslaught of new promotional media out there today. Yet in the business plans I see, the marketing content and budget are smaller than ever. There’s no business without show business. Want control?

Viral 228

Viral Marketing Startup Demand 228

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

The business canvas model is a good short list. You might also have a business plan, marketing plan, financials, competitor analysis or other kinds of background document. For example, if you are trying to determine viral coefficient (see Startup Metrics ), then the focus should be around those aspects of the MVP.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Here is my summary of the seven most successful lead-generation vehicles he and I still recommend today, despite the popularity of viral marketing: Search-engine marketing. Marty Zwilling.

Lead Generation 365

Lead Generation Customer SEM Marketing 365

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 26, 2012

If you’re starting a new business, do not take one more sip of coffee, one more step and spend one penny before you write your business plan. The executive summary is the first and most important part of your business plan. How will you increase your business and branch out down the road.

Business Plan 207

Business Plan Forecast Viral Matching 207

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2012

Modern investors love to first read a two-page summary of your business plan, formatted like a glossy marketing collateral sheet, with text well laid out in columns and sidebars, and a couple of relevant graphics. Outline your sales and marketing strategy (direct marketing, sales channel, viral marketing, and lead generation).

Business Plan 244

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Viral Lead Generation 244

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2013

With an innovative product in the consumer payment space, the company had viral-ready content. An advance purchase garners a 50 percent discount off the planned price of $100, encouraging investment long in advance of the summer 2014 launch date. Your business’ success depends on a similar feedback loop. Target influencers.

Social Media 158

Social Media Media Viral Startup 158

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

A target market is the group of customers that the startup plans to attract through marketing and sales their product or service. Word-of-mouth and viral marketing are popular terms these days, but are rarely adequate to initiate a new business. In fact, without a business model, your startup is just a dream. Production.

Business Model 256

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 256

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Create a “ viral ” landing page, with LaunchRock or KickoffLabs. Filed under: Business Model versus Business Plan , Customer Development , Lean LaunchPad. JustinMind , Balsamiq ). 99 Designs is great to get “good enough” graphic design and web design work for very cheap using a contest format.

Lean 333

Lean Web Coder Business Model 333

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

Do a written business plan to validate your thinking. Even if your plan seems simple and intuitively obvious to you, writing it down and having it reviewed by experienced friends will moderate your passion and assure you that all key elements are addressed. These days, you can’t start and run a business alone.

Intellectual Property 245

Intellectual Property Social Media Angel Investor Metrics 245

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2023

These days, you need customer evangelists who see the value and will pull in their friends through viral actions to keep the business growing. The business plan must reflect both growth phases. Growing appreciation for the value of the solution provided.

Valuation 235

Valuation Revenue Viral Retention 235

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Yet, as a business consultant, I still find many of you business leaders relying primarily on your technology, word-of-mouth , or location to attract necessary customers. I also look for a commensurate portion of the plan describing the specific innovative marketing deliverables, beyond the traditional marketing items.

Marketing 333

Marketing Revenue Matching Viral 333

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2020

These days, you need customer evangelists who see the value and will pull in their friends through viral actions to keep the business growing. The business plan must reflect both growth phases. Growing appreciation for the value of the solution provided.

Revenue 434

Revenue Valuation Viral Retention 434

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

In that spirit, I offer my perspective on ten common startup failure sources that rarely get admitted by entrepreneurs: Choose to skip the written business plan. A business plan is for you first, not investors. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

In my experience, it means it will likely be necessary to supplement your product business plan with some key personal initiatives that define you as a business leader role model for all to see: Take a visible leadership role in your industry. Online it may be time to take a formal position via blogs and interviews.

Stealth 362

Stealth Leadership Viral Social Media 362

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. They will look to your business plan for cash flows and specific return on investment projections. In all cases, your goal must be to explain how the investment will help you scale up the business and become more profitable sooner.

Elevator Pitch 228

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 228

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2021

This occurs when a new product, service, or business model renders the old way of doing business obsolete. It used to happen only a few times per century, but now I see disruptive innovation highlighted in almost every business plan I read. Customers and employees are the new stakeholders for every business.

Marketing 339

Marketing Startup Global Viral 339

Duct Tape Marketing

MAY 30, 2014

7 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Use Video To Grow Their New Business written by Guest Post read more at Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing. Your business plans are in place, perhaps you have sought out and won investors, and gotten a foothold in the market with your product. Viral Video Marketing.

Video 77

Video Widget Software Review Entrepreneur 77

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2020

These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. They will look to your business plan for cash flows and specific return on investment projections. In all cases, your goal must be to explain how the investment will help you scale up the business and become more profitable sooner.

Elevator Pitch 336

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 336

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2018

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Here is my summary of the seven most successful lead-generation vehicles he and I still recommend today, despite the popularity of viral marketing: Search-engine marketing. Marty Zwilling.

Lead Generation 137

Lead Generation SEM Viral Social Media 137

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

There was no viral social networking products back then like Twitter where people could easily discover your content. We have also been very busy with our next release, which is due out by December 11th (but I’ll save that for a different post). Consumer approach to software for business users. Folksonomy. Free product.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2013

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 265

Marketing Viral SEM Startup 265

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 6, 2012

Students will even receive a minor in entrepreneurship as they develop their own business plans. Within the community, residents get access to co-ops, mentoring, courses, and always-on access to the incubator. Syracuse Student Sandbox.

Incubator 202

Incubator New York City Boston Intellectual Property 202

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 6, 2021

Come Up with a Business Plan. Creating a business plan shouldn’t be something way too time-consuming. It should be a clear, concise, and accurate representation of your vital business aspects and goals. Conclusion.

Social Media 173

Social Media Audience Affiliate Startup 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2014

It’s not uncommon for me to see a startup business plan “mission” to be the “premier brand” for their product, yet their marketing budget in the financials is trivial. This combination will almost certainly get your plan tossed by potential investors, who understand all too well the need and cost for marketing in today’s environment.

Marketing 257

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 257