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. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

It’s often said that you shouldn’t talk about price during customer development interviews. Consider the consequences of these monthly pricing possibilities: $0/mo means your goal is to maximize growth (trust and usage) instead of revenue. simple enough to be self-service). . $1/mo simple enough to be self-service).

Bootstrapping 294

Bootstrapping Technical Review B2C Sales Cycle 294

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The main thrust of the post is that with YouTube taking a 45% of revenue and talent taking 70% of the remaining revenue, YouTube Networks didn’t have sustainable businesses unless they invested heavily in technology as a tool to increase margin and provide defensibility. Content goes global (of Maker Studios 4.4 MSN & AOL.

Video 339

Video Technical Review Distribution Aggregator 339

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. The most common failures are solutions looking for a problem, lack of a defined market, or an inadequate revenue model. How will you reach your customers?

Business Model 256

Business Model Distribution Viral Green 256

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Growth Hacking isn’t viral marketing (although viral marketing is part of it). and answers with A/B tests, landing pages, viral factor, email deliverability, and Open Graph. If a startup is pre-product/market fit, growth hackers can make sure virality is embedded at the core of a product.

API 167

API Viral Startup Retention 167

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Growth hacking is a practice that aims to acquire as many customers as possible while spending as little money as possible. Where campaigns to build brand awareness and generate top-of-funnel sales drive traditional marketing, data across the entire customer lifecycle drives growth hacking in marketing. What is growth hacking?

Retention 113

Retention Marketing Acquisition Channel 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Continually add new marketing and distribution partners.

Startup 335

Startup Social Media Metrics Viral 335

Startup Lessons Learned

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, December 14, 2009 Business ecology and the four customer currencies Lately, I’ve been rethinking the concept of “business model&# for startups, in favor of something I call “business ecology.&# Let’s begin with the four customer currencies. And this is true outside of games.

Customer 156

Customer San Francisco Viral Lean 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Common failures I see along these lines include: solutions that are "nice to have" but don't address painful problems; a business model that lacks a means for bringing in revenue; and a founder who has turned a blind eye toward his or her competitors. A near-term customer value proposition. Solution production and support.

Exit Strategy 120

Exit Strategy Technical Review Distribution Viral 120

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

I should also say a huge thank you to my partner Greg Bettinelli, as Ring was amongst the first deals he ever funded and along with GOAT, thredUP and some of the other great deals he’s led for us?—?his Having recurring revenue allows you to keep the original purchase price down, which in turn increases sales.

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

These are necessary to attract customers, investors, and give you a line of defense with competitors. Test your plan to get feedback from real customers. Use social media or reward target customers to volunteer for a feedback session. Network extensively for partners, investors, and suppliers.

Intellectual Property 245

Intellectual Property Social Media Angel Investor Metrics 245

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Since 2015, clothing brand ASOS has grown revenue by an average of 22% year over year. In this article, you’ll learn how to build a powerful ecommerce marketing strategy using customer research and messaging development, and how to use it to determine which marketing tactics will best reach your target audience. Both are critical.

eCommerce 129

eCommerce Marketing Social Media Retention 129

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. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth.

Forecast 120

Forecast Startup Stock Options Technical Review 120

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

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2023

That means they normally only invest in startups with a working product that has already been sold to at least one customer for full price (beta tests, giveaways and best friends don’t count). These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. Make your focus and priorities clear.

Elevator Pitch 228

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 228

Steve Blank

FEBRUARY 26, 2020

There are two reasons to raise money: You have a killer idea that is only partially validated, that you think can get to $50M+ of revenue in 5 years with 80%+ gross margins (if margins are lower, you need a lot more revenue)and you need money to get to product-market fit, or. Better answer, “Because I’m the customer.”)

Cofounder 429

Cofounder Seed Stage Valuation Metrics 429

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

× At Greylock , my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. we had no revenue. In a single year, the classic general partner in a venture firm is exposed to around 5,000 pitches; decides to look more closely at 600 to 800 of them; and ends up doing between 0 and 2 deals. Reid Hoffman.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Revenue Viral Networking 111

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 22, 2023

As a result, businesses in this field should leverage technology to provide interactive, easy-to-understand educational content that can help customers make health-related decisions and maintain healthy habits. Positive experiences create emotional value, which keeps customers coming back and makes small businesses stand out from the rest.

Artificial Inteligence 121

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Media 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

Some make big mistakes, such as Webvan expanding too fast with a huge infrastructure, and Pets.com , trying to grow the business with a negative margin, under the mistaken assumption that winning customers is more important than making a profit. Continually add new marketing and distribution partners.

Social Media 329

Social Media Metrics Viral Channel 329

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2020

That means they normally only invest in startups with a working product that has already been sold to at least one customer for full price (beta tests, giveaways and best friends don’t count). These days, even viral marketing requires real money, for events and promotions. Make your focus and priorities clear.

Elevator Pitch 336

Elevator Pitch Salary Angel Investor Viral 336

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 28, 2024

Scott Stratten has Co-Authored 6 best-selling business books with his business partner and wife Alison and was formerly a music industry marketer, National Sales Training Manager, and a College Professor. Exclusive to new customers—upgrade and grow your business with ActiveCampaign today! President of UnMarketing. I found it.

Leadership 64

Leadership Software Review Campaign New York 64

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Your first product will likely be just a little bit ugly, and thats okay — its part of getting to market quickly and testing your idea in front of live customers. I watched a great video with Barbara Corcoran, called " How to get more customers, step 1." Assuming Virality. "A Services dont spontaneously go viral.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

But in business, you want a lot of partners. In the private equity universe, most Partners have primary training as deal-makers, not as managers. See Bessemer Venture Partners’ A comprehensive guide to security for startups. This provides us more time to develop meaningful relationships with prospects and customers.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Customers go there to check on the details of your offerings, investors look there to check out your management and sales approach, partners go there to see how they might fit, and suppliers expect to find contact information. Two months later they still didn’t have a web site, and didn’t have a customer. Marty Zwilling.

Customer 225

Customer Viral Web Small Business 225

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

The project was a little unexpected – creating customer cereal boxes called Obama-Os and Cap’n McCains, timely for the 2008 elections. Over the years, despite massive losses, Netflix was able to bounce back and improve its revenue by 47%. This included health insurance and making them domestic partners. 10- Elon Musk.

Entrepreneur 93

Entrepreneur Bankruptcy Southern California South Africa 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2013

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. Viral marketing costs real money these days, which usually means adding at least an extra zero to budget estimates. Do something unique to get customer attention. Promotions that appeal to the wrong customers won’t help you.

Marketing 265

Marketing Viral SEM Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2014

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. Viral marketing costs real money these days, which usually means adding at least an extra zero to budget estimates. Do something unique to get customer attention. Promotions that appeal to the wrong customers won’t help you.

Marketing 257

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 257

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 23, 2011

It would have been easy to explain the difference by changes in the 2010/2011 revenue growth projections but unfortunately that is not the case. revenues while large caps are trading at 6.4x. Philippe Botteri Accel Partners London, UK My Bio. Bessemer Venture Partners Expands BVP VII Fund. Wednesday, February 23, 2011.

Software Review 101

Software Review Technical Review Valuation Europe 101

ConversionXL

MARCH 6, 2019

On Facebook, an ideal customer may log on to see photos of a new nephew, not to check out a 30-second demo of your SaaS product. 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. There is only the quality of what you are viewing.”

Video 129

Video B2B Technical Review Campaign 129

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 26, 2018

The intent is to indicate that founder passion is not a substitute for real customers buying the product. The challenge is to convince investors that your business will attract real customers, before you have a revenue stream that exceeds your expenses. Build a realistic revenue model and price, based on cost.

Angel Investor 147

Angel Investor Distribution Bootstrapping Viral 147

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 3, 2013

I’m super proud to announce that DataSift has just completed a $42 million financing round coming at the end of a year where its revenue grew several hundred percent year-over-year. Considering our revenue is SaaS revenue this achievement is even more remarkable. Asymmetric. Location Aware. Referral Traffic.

Iran 358

Iran API San Francisco Nigeria 358

mashable.com

JULY 18, 2012

GLIIF’s initial offering includes a brand-able and blend-able custom encrypted image at a low cost of entry, pre re-direction marketing services and full analytics. Setting a value is always difficult especially when you come across so many companies that are pre-revenue and sometimes pre-monetization strategy. Flag this comment.

San Francisco 104

San Francisco Acquisition Social Media Mobile 104

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

In fact, SaaS industry revenue is projected to grow from $49 billion in 2015 to $67 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of approximately eight percent. A description of the problem you’re solving for your customers, and your solution to the problem, which is usually your product or service. Solve a problem you can relate to.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

There are few courses which teach aspiring entrepreneurs the skills (business models, customer and agile development, design thinking, etc.) If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know I believe that: 1) a product is just a part of a startup, but understanding customers, channel, pricing, etc. to optimize this search.

Wiki 311

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 311

The Startup Magazine

MAY 29, 2019

If you run a healthcare company, you should look to partner with a digital marketing team who specializes in healthcare marketing, such as www.obi1media.com , because you want a company with a thorough understanding of your industry and clientele. You should choose a marketing partner who utilizes SEO, Google Adwords, and Facebook Ads.

Marketing 118

Marketing Social Media Video Viral 118

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Even a non-profit has to generate revenue (or donations) to offset operating costs. You may have the solution to the world hunger problem, but if your customers have no money, your business won’t last long. Don’t quit your day job until new revenue is flowing. Even viral marketing costs real money and time.

Intellectual Property 251

Intellectual Property Startup Viral Early Stage 251

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 15, 2020

That's why the Corona Initiative is a Public Benefit Corporation--a for-profit company dedicated to the public good that aims to fund its research with its revenues. You really want to see how your company treats its employees, treats its customers, treats the environment, taking a longer-term view." Robert Rhinehart : Hi.

Technical Review 68

Technical Review Software Review Finance Technology 68