Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

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. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more. Dreams may motivate your team, but customers expect real solutions.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

The Next Web

JUNE 29, 2012

Like every startup out there mine is also after the holy grail of finding our viral loop — our interpretation of “invite a friend and get 1 GB free” of DropBox. I cannot stress enough the importance of finding the viral loop. If you don’t have a critical mass of users or customers you cannot start thinking about going viral.

Viral 117

Viral Analytics Startup Software Review 117

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

They know how to capitalize on social media, viral marketing, events, and the new tools of the trade. Investors don’t fund entrepreneurs offering services, since these don’t scale, don’t have large margins, and need just a customer contract to start. They are always ready to move on to the next big opportunity as markets change.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2023

Instead, they need to validate a customer problem and real market need first. Don’t create solutions looking for a problem , since investors ignore these, and customers other than early adopters will be hard to find. I say again, customers buy solutions, not technology. Look for customer willingness and ability to pay.

Customer 276

Customer Sales Cycle Social Media Viral 276

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. Email marketing.

Lead Generation 365

Lead Generation Customer SEM Marketing 365

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 20, 2018

Here are three easy steps that online business owners can take to win back customer trust in 2018: 1. Customers Demand SSL Reassurance. Boasting an SSL certificate is one of the easiest, yet most effective, ways to earn customer trust. Get Your Website SSL Certified Already! Google Rewards SSL Verification.

Customer 179

Customer Technical Review Security Internet 179

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you. That first burst of customers via word-of-mouth or a viral video won’t sustain your growth. Let me assure you that companies without marketing plans don’t get the attention of either investors or customers.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Mike Michalowicz

JANUARY 25, 2024

Business owners and leaders must respond to the needs of employees as the world evolves, or you risk not only losing employees to greener pastures but your customers too. How you respond to your employees is how your customers will respond to you. Cancel culture is no joke. Can’t companies make some adjustments?

Viral 78

Viral Leadership Employee Customer 78

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. Don’t get caught in the myth that you shouldn’t worry about monetization until after you have a large customer base. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more. Dreams may motivate your team, but customers expect real solutions.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2020

They know how to capitalize on social media, viral marketing, events, and the new tools of the trade. Investors don’t fund entrepreneurs offering services, since these don’t scale, don’t have large margins, and need just a customer contract to start. They are always ready to move on to the next big opportunity as markets change.

Startup 410

Startup Angel Investor Social Media LLC 410

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. Email marketing.

Viral 120

Viral Lead Generation Customer SEM 120

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

Viral marketing” and “word-of-mouth” are tools of disciples in business today. Social contracts give customers the feeling of self-affirmation that they are smart and knowledgeable enough to make informed selections. business customer culture entrepreneur pivot startup' Emotion, rather than logic, drives disciples.

Customer 210

Customer Social Media Affiliate Viral 210

The Startup Magazine

JULY 20, 2021

With a viral approach to marketing and customer-friendly pricing, Hawkers today is sold primarily online and in 50 countries. Customers were upset at the lag time between ordering sunglasses and getting them delivered. Company leaders realized they needed a new round of capital to grow and provide excellent customer service.

Viral 155

Viral Private Equity Venezuela Los Angeles 155

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. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2021

Viral marketing” and “word-of-mouth” are tools of disciples in business today. Social contracts give customers the feeling of self-affirmation that they are smart and knowledgeable enough to make informed selections. Emotion, rather than logic, drives disciples. Don’t underestimate their value and potential.

Marketing 317

Marketing Social Media Affiliate Viral 317

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

Creating a viral video can be a big deal for a brand. There’s just one problem with going viral: No one really knows how it happens. Even content creators who are known for publishing regular viral content only experience success a fraction of the time. Follow These 4 Steps to Make Going Viral More Likely.

Viral 97

Viral Video Audience Internet 97

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 28, 2020

Staying in touch with your customers is one of the most important aspects of a successful business. You need reliable lines of communication to get your message across and ensure your voice is heard, yet many brands struggle to keep in contact with their customers and suffer as a result. Explore The World Of Email Messaging.

Customer 246

Customer Social Media Audience Email 246

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

A business plan is the outward facing definition of the business you hope to drive with your hardware solution, with a hardware overview in the intro to highlight customer value and competitiveness. Use non-fuzzy terms to quantify customer value. Provide specifics on the customer business model.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

I was in New York last week with my class at Columbia University and several events made me realize that the Customer Development model needs to better describe its fit with web-based businesses. In it, I got asked a question I often hear: “What if we have a web-based business that doesn’t have revenue or paying customers?

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

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. Email marketing.

Lead Generation 285

Lead Generation SEM Viral Marketing 285

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 26, 2024

This information can then be utilized to customize their content and message strategies to appeal to the distinct interests of various audience segments. Furthermore, upholding integrity amid viral trends and clickbait culture requires strong ethical fortitude.

PR 118

PR Public Relations Social Media Audience 118

Occam's Razor

JULY 12, 2010

Let's go look at some tools… Measuring "Invisible Virality": Tynt. Goes viral. I can measure the "invisible virality" / "spread" by this big huge non-commenting, non-tweeting audience. Invisible Virality. Or for that matter how many tools. People matter. You matter. Cool right?

Analytics 96

Analytics Viral Web Mobile 96

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

SoCal CTO

JUNE 15, 2011

Instead, I want to look at how they've integrated themselves with Facebook and particularly how they engage users to help viral spread. Later in this post, I'll talk about some of the downside of how they've made this viral. I'll explore a few of the social interactions that help with viral growth. Too Much Social Interaction?

Viral 331

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 331

SoCal CTO

JUNE 15, 2011

Instead, I want to look at how they've integrated themselves with Facebook and particularly how they engage users to help viral spread. Later in this post, I'll talk about some of the downside of how they've made this viral. I'll explore a few of the social interactions that help with viral growth. Too Much Social Interaction?

Viral 323

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 323

The Startup Magazine

JULY 20, 2021

With a viral approach to marketing and customer-friendly pricing, Hawkers today is sold primarily online and in 50 countries. Customers were upset at the lag time between ordering sunglasses and getting them delivered. Company leaders realized they needed a new round of capital to grow and provide excellent customer service.

Viral 78

Viral Private Equity Venezuela Los Angeles 78

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 11, 2011

I recently had the pleasure of spending an hour with Jon Steinberg, president of Buzzfeed , a company who focuses on helping media companies make their content go viral. But of course we also focused on making content go viral. I guess this video won’t go viral, then! Good comment community = viral blog.

Viral 354

Viral Video RSS Audio 354

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 6, 2021

There are increasing efforts in the industry to create MVPs to validate your app, make it go viral, and collect customer feedback with minimal investments. On top of cashing in on emerging opportunities, it allows for greater customization of the interface by utilizing a simple crypto API for easy access.

API 158

API Java Ruby Software Developers 158

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Generally speaking, there are two ways (and only two ways) to scale a business to hit that $100 million threshold: Your business has a high Life Time Value (LTV) per user, giving you the freedom to spend a significant amount of money in customer acquisition. High LTV can usually be found in transactional or subscription businesses.

Churn Rate 168

Churn Rate Viral Acquisition Cofounder 168

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 10, 2021

Incentives help in attracting customers. It costs much less to build loyalty programs than to hunt for new customers. Loyalty programs are perks that bring customers back to your brand. They keep your customers’ curiosity piqued, and your business retains a solid customer base. Focus on Customer Experience.

Social Media 157

Social Media SEO Programming Technical Review 157

The Equity Kicker

JUNE 18, 2014

These three conditions for creating virality were listed on Founders Notebook a month or two back: The most powerfully growing products do three things at once: 1.They As with my post yesterday, these are all about understanding and respecting your customer. There’s no substitute for understanding customers.'

Viral 102

Viral Customer Founder Product 102

Hearpreneur

OCTOBER 25, 2023

The expansion of e-commerce should also bring about seeing returns as a strategic lever, similar to how companies used faster delivery to drive customer experience and revenue. Think of it from the customer's perspective – Why should this customer shop from your store instead of the other stores selling this product?

eCommerce 127

eCommerce Omaha Entrepreneur SEO 127

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. Innovative marketing starts with customer insights culled from painstaking research into who your customers are, and how they use digital media.

Viral 228

Viral Marketing Startup Demand 228

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

MAY 19, 2019

Image via Flickr by jardenberg Your marketing launch is the most important element of startup success these days, to get customer attention in this world of information overload. To get to the core of what’s relevant to customers, you need to know them well. The eye is just as important as the mind when it comes to customers.

Customer 233

Customer Marketing Viral Conversion 233

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 28, 2022

I intend to release one study every three months, which I'll send to journalists in the hopes of generating viral attention on social media. I believe that if I can have one piece of content go viral every three months, not only will I be able to develop more links but also raise my brand's recognition. 7- Improve customer experience.

Social Media 117

Social Media Entrepreneur Retention Finance 117