David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

. – Build out low-cost force multipliers such as scouts , Advisors, Entrepreneurs in Residence, Venture Partners, and so on. Typically these outside resources are paid only on a success basis, so the marginal cost is low. . – Create a franchise and license access to it , e.g., the Draper Venture Network. .

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors—both angels and venture capitalists. Below is a format I’ve successfully used for my own ventures, and to help many other first-time startup CEOs raise investment capital. How much will it cost? Your financials should easily allow you to calculate your customer acquisition costs.

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Up and Running

MARCH 21, 2018

Personal branding helps founders and executives establish credibility, which is crucial for launching successful businesses, especially if they start multiple companies. On places like Facebook, where the CPM (cost to reach 1,000) is the cheapest of any ad network ever: Source. Take Neil Patel, for example. Website builders.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Technical Review Hosting SEO 107

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Lately I’ve been having to say things I thought I’d never have to remind people, like, “getting to positive gross margin in several territories is a very low bar to claim success” or “profitable excluding marketing costs” is not actually a real thing. But not doing basic research makes no sense.

Startup 150

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 150

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

William Hurley, the co-founder of Honest Dollar, an Austin-based provider of retirement plans to small businesses, says creative talent is abundant : It’s got the music, the university scene, the hippies and the rule-breakers… It’s very easy to hire people who want to push the limits.

United States 113

United States Las Vegas San Francisco Denver 113

ReadWriteStart

OCTOBER 7, 2010

First up was Siobhan O'Brien with OnTrack Imaging , a medical diagnostic imaging venture catering to the horse owners and trainers market. Liana has just launched three weeks back with a list of about 5,000 customers from another e-commerce business she owns. Doesn't Retek have anything in that product category? OnTrack Imaging.

Valuation 119

Valuation Silicon Valley Pre-Money Valuation Bootstrapping 119

The Startup Magazine

MAY 31, 2022

And it may all be rather perplexing, especially if this is your first company venture. What does it cost to open a salon? Even if you’re launching your third hair salon in your neighborhood, there’s room for originality. Therefore, before launching a salon business, you should be certain of the type you want.

Audience 157

Audience Operations Design Customer 157

Up and Running

JANUARY 2, 2013

I know what it’s like to pitch to investors – both angels and venture capitalists. Impress the investors with what you and your team have accomplished to date (sales, contracts, key hires, product launches, etc.). How much will it cost? Take some time to share the relevant traction you’ve had.

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Due Diligence 164

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

Every startup has some methodology for product development, launch and life-cycle management. customers aren’t buying it, the cost of distribution is too high, etc.) Yet at the end of the day even with all these processes 9 out of 10 of new products are failures. So what’s wrong the product development model? release of the product.

Customer Development 243

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 243

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 17, 2018

For example Upwork identified the need for hiring freelancers with different expertise and built a singular platform to connect the consumers with the freelancers. Coming to niche categories, Shazam identified the need of people trying to find the name of a song when they hear it; they created an app only for that. Testing the Waters.

Entrepreneur 182

Entrepreneur Business Plan Equity Cost 182

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

The Startup Death Spiral: The Cost of Getting Product Launch Wrong By the time of first customer ship, if a startup does not understand its market and customers, failure unfolds in a stylized ritual, almost like a Japanese Noh play. Blame it On Marketing In the next 3-6 months, a new VP of Sales is hired. innovation.

Customer Development 232

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 232

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 13, 2019

When we created Yeeply in 2012 we were sure IT hiring was going to be all about freelancing platforms and remote work. Since we launched earlier this year, the most common question we’re asked, Why OneNine5? Her little library, and the stories she read to me as a tiny person, launched me on a lifelong love of writing and authors.

Naming 103

Naming Fractional CTO Entrepreneur CTO Hire 103

Steve Blank

JUNE 25, 2009

Computer hardware companies were faced with their customers asking for low-cost (relatively) desktop computers they had no experience in building. We shook hands with the customers, but instead of launching into a product pitch (or better, letting me launch into the pitch) he started asking how their families were.

Technology 142

Technology Silicon Valley Fractional VPE Part-Time VPE 142

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017

Customers often shop around , and they’ll likely know their options as cost is a motivating factor for most software subscribers. Keeping up with the Joneses is essential in a competitive market, be it with cost, enhanced services, or other factors. Categories such as “reason for leaving,” etc., 3) Account Changes.

Customer 110

Customer Churn Rate Metrics Retention 110

rapidrollout.wordpress.com

JANUARY 15, 2011

He or she might call himself a “consulting CTO,&# “freelance CTO,&# “on-demand CTO,&# “CTO on call,&# “CTO for hire,&# or just a “technology strategy advisor.&# When to Use a Consulting CTO Time is of the essence in launching a startup company. Why are consulting CTOs so scarce?

Fractional CTO 40

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire Fractional VPE 40

Steve Blank

APRIL 9, 2009

We hired union laborers to do that. I hired a Director of Product Marketing who in his last company had ran its marketing and then went out into the field and became its national sales director. Or, “we’re going to slip our product launch because the team thought they couldn’t get ready in time.” It will cost you your job.”

Silicon Valley 268

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS PR 268

socialmatchbox.com

OCTOBER 23, 2010

If you have a friend who is a recruiter then ask them to tell you what they recommend that will not cost anything. This means considering what the opportunity cost for working on a high risk venture is relative to other things they can spend their time on. If they own a Mac Book Pro that may cost around $1,800 bucks (new).

Part-Time VPE 41

Part-Time VPE Sweat Equity DC Washington 41

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 10, 2020

David, who was my primary recruiter at Greylock, looked at me after we debated the deal and said, “Every venture capitalist has to have a deal that they can fail on. However, this course of action would have cost the company something even more important–the trust of its guests and hosts. Airbnb can be yours.”. I was taken back.

Hosting 69

Hosting Hockey Stick IPO Silicon Valley 69

ReadWriteStart

AUGUST 26, 2022

Joining us for this episode is our partner David Zhang, Partner at TCV (( Technology Crossover Ventures ). And before we get started, could you share a little about TCV and what got you into venture investing? And, I think to go back to your question, Jonathan, on how I got to venture, I broadly stumbled upon it, if you will.

Partner 132

Partner Cofounder Retention Acquisition 132

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

Definitely not a positive sign for an aspiring entrepreneurs looking to venture into the e-Commerce business. Below are the mistakes that have cost aspiring entrepreneurs a huge amount of money. The most important thing to consider when launching an E-commerce business is the product, and it’s the biggest reasons startups fail.

Startup 124

Startup eCommerce Audience Widget 124

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 6, 2014

By Dan Soha, Five Mill Ventures. Once I had a few under my belt, I realized I was a start-up junkie, and founded Five Mill Ventures in San Francisco before I was 30. From restaurants to tech companies, I’ve seeded a number of new ventures with my own marketing know-how instead of just cash.

San Francisco 154

San Francisco Business Model Silicon Valley Coder 154

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

Over the past 20+ years, as an angel investor, former venture capitalist and private equity investor, and serial entrepreneur, I have seen and written, a wide variety of pitch decks and business plans. In addition, I recently launched a podcast called ACHiEVE: Mining the Non-Linear Path , where entrepreneurs share their personal journeys.

Business Plan 124

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Equity Private Equity 124

Eric Friedman

JUNE 11, 2019

Whether a fundraising event, hiring, or sales/partnership opportunity- these can be especially useful to make all parties move faster. If you really break things down, this is there job – de-risk a venture scale investment to deploy capital at the right time. In the end, time will kill all deals.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Stock Options Early Stage Agile 68

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

When you launch a startup, vow to settle all invoices upon receipt to avoid future complications. Avoid Over-Hiring. When you run your startup with the minimum number of employees, you reduce operating costs and increase net revenue. Pay Vendors and Service Providers Promptly. Many businesses require employees to function.

Startup 100

Startup Finance Software .Net 100

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

We are not too far off from the ability to segment customers in real time, create and launch marketing campaigns generated with AI and iterate on the creative materials based on the conversion data – a fully autonomous marketing cycle. In this post I cover a non-exhaustive list of content categories that are being re-invented with AI.

Artificial Inteligence 199

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Audio Video 199

infochachkie.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Beware The Consultant John Greathouse – Posted in: Cash Flow Management , Launching Venture , Strategic Planning. For instance, many a BDC CEO has initiated a consultant to study cost cutting issues before announcing a significant layoff. Thanks for visiting! Pyramid Power. John is a CPA and holds an M.B.A.

Equity 40

Equity Silicon Valley Cofounder PR 40

Steve Blank

AUGUST 27, 2009

Ironically, the model is a good fit when launching a new product into an existing , well-defined market where the basis of competition is understood, and its customers are known. The startup develops its first positioning statement and uses this to explain the company and its benefits to venture capitalists.

Silicon Valley 268

Silicon Valley Product Startup Product Development 268

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

This is a step forward for the Good Law—which has already helped Brazil a lot—but private business and government need to start doing more to truly help launch Brazil’s mobile potential. An example of a great startup incentive took place in Portugal, where tax reductions were offered to companies that hired unemployed workers or students.

Brazil 149

Brazil Portugal Silicon Valley Mobile 149

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

In times when venture capital is hard to get, investors extract high costs for failure (down-rounds, cram downs , new management teams, shut down the company.) In times when venture capital is hard to get, investors extract high costs for failure (down-rounds, cram downs , new management teams, shut down the company.)

Lean 259

Lean Silicon Valley Startup RSS 259

Austin Startup

MARCH 26, 2019

You just spent a few thousand dollars on advertising and your paid customer acquisition cost (CAC) numbers tested well relative to your best guess for customer lifetime value (LTV). All else being equal, the incremental cost of acquiring the next customer will always be higher than the last. What happens at 3X?

Technical Review 49

Technical Review Software Review China Acquisition 49

trada.com

APRIL 7, 2010

The perfect situation is to have a few people moving between all the categories. As we’ve headed towards our public launch, we actually hired two awesome Social Media Managers, Elaine and Anna , because we understood the level of engagement we’d need to have in the conversation. Usually there is a phone number to call.

Stealth 40

Stealth PPC Advertising Conversion 40

viniciusvacanti.com

SEPTEMBER 7, 2010

Hire a Programmer The Hope: You’ll use the programmer to build a prototype that will get you traction and experience. You know how to product manage and you’ve hired programmers before. I recommend you start by reading this post on how to hire a programmer. We tried this at Yipit and failed.

Cofounder 43

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Founder Ruby 43

David Teten

JANUARY 21, 2021

(co-written with Jamie Finney, Founding Partner at Greater Colorado Venture Fund. V: Should you raise venture capital from a traditional equity VC or a Revenue-Based Investing VC? We list here all of the active Flexible VCs we have identified, broken into these categories: revenue-based; compensation-based; and blended return streams.

Equity 78

Equity Revenue Cofounder Colorado 78

Up and Running

MAY 28, 2015

Magda, the new business owner, knows this deli office park business, so she knows more or less to educated guess what it’s going to cost her for each cup of coffee, for each lunch. As we look at the categories, she’s not having ham sandwiches versus turkey sandwiches. When is the new launch? How important is that?

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Video Software Review 60

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

Great lifestyle, great cost of living, motivated people and only the crap weather on the negative side. Your highest priority right now is hiring the 1 or 2 people that are going to join your company and make a difference. They haven’t launched their next gen product – watch this space. The ingredients are all here.

Seattle 317

Seattle Silicon Valley Technical Review Los Angeles 317

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

What's the cost of delay? Robert Rhinehart : The cost of delay is deceptively enormous, especially when it comes to people's health. So the cost of delay is immense. Initially, so I was already a partner at this venture fund, and we've been investing a biotech company including diagnostic companies for a couple years.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68

ConversionXL

JANUARY 16, 2019

Also in June, Zuora launched a new product, Z-Commerce for the Cloud , at the GigaOM’s Structure event. The same sites and commentators writing about the product launch also discussed Tzuo’s pitch for “the subscription economy.” Ellis identified the perspective while, as a consultant, he struggled to find hires to fill his shoes.

Naming 119

Naming Conversion Flash Cofounder 119