Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2011

Every startup needs to understand that the customer paradigm has dramatically shifted over the past two years with pervasive social networks and smartphones. The bottom line is that today, whatever your goals and whatever your business, the network is your customer. Customize your interactions to meet unique customer needs.

Customer 229

Customer Startup Networking Viral 229

ConversionXL

MARCH 19, 2012

What about when the product matches the customer’s needs and wants, and they trust the seller? In the marketing world, Dhar says, “meaningless attributes often lead to meaningful differentiation. “. What about when the product matches the customer’s needs and wants, and. Not necessarily. read more

Social Media 129

Social Media Technical Review Arlington Clickthrough 129

Gust

AUGUST 24, 2014

This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to convert users to paying customers. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs and medical devices that solve critical health problems.

Revenue 184

Revenue Startup Retention Internet 184

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2010

This also requires a huge investment to get to critical mass, and real work to differentiate and sell premium services to users locked-in as free. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs that solve critical health problems. Cost-based model. Portfolio pricing.

Product 247

Product Startup Portfolio Revenue 247

This is going to be BIG.

APRIL 29, 2011

Reality is that we're probably connected in some way anyway through various social networks anyway and I'm very quick to figure out all of those connections to ask about you. I don't mind cold intros at all--but it's hard when I can't figure out who you are in the context of my network. Would you invest in it.

Technical Review 114

Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence Venture Capital 114

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

LinkedIn is the most trusted social network out there, so you should have a name that is cognizant of its professional atmosphere. You’ll have plenty of other areas in your profile where you can differentiate yourself. On LinkedIn, it’s sometimes best for your stated location not to match your physical one.

Search 198

Search Los Angeles Social Media Social Network 198

View from Seed

MAY 12, 2015

Different entrepreneurs and different VCs all have differing working styles; some match, some don’t. And if you’re easily able to get an introduction to a particular partner through a close tie in your own network, that’s often just the right approach. Always consider tenure at the firm. Don’t overthink it.

Partner 120

Partner Term Sheet Reputation Deal Flow 120

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 17, 2016

At 1 million strong, the millennials in Singapore are a sizeable demographic with spending power to match, their online behaviour and appetite for digital experiences with brands are reshaping the very fabric of customer service delivery. hours per day, on their mobile phones. Old school customer service rules haven’t changed.

Customer 100

Customer Singapore Advisory Board Asia 100

David Teten

JANUARY 28, 2019

But now, the defining movie of today’s twentysomethings is “The Social Network”. Match students with relevant startup internships. My former Partner John Frankel of ff Venture Capital observes that 20 years ago, the defining movie of the generation was “Wall Street”. Everyone wanted to work in finance.

Affiliate 60

Affiliate Connecticut Programming Community 60

YoungUpstarts

JULY 30, 2019

Your brand lives in everyday interactions your company has with its prospects and customers, including the images you share, the messages you post on your website, the content of your marketing materials, your presentations and booths at conferences, and your posts on social networks.

Curation 173

Curation Social Media eCommerce Channel 173

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

” These are people with whom there is a likely match for your product or service. In the era of social networks, LinkedIn, Facebook messaging, Quora and email addresses that are easily guessable, it’s easy to think that maybe you should just approach a VC directly. ” But focusing on too many is a mistake.

Developer 366

Developer Silicon Valley PR Las Vegas 366

Venture Chronicles

JANUARY 25, 2011

More recently Q&A sites have morphed into a variant of social network where users build profiles and interact with other members and topics by following them and cross posting to Facebook and Twitter. I am most interested in the generalized Q&A communities, not the expert networks.

Community 51

Community Search Social Network Social Media 51

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

A fortnight ago, Boris interviewed Reed Hastings on his business lessons and experience, but now I’m shaking it up with a look at a 26-year-old founder who is disrupting the mobile and social networking spaces: Kik CEO and founder Ted Livingston. The Canadian government matched the investment, and the 15-year plan kicked off.

Entrepreneur 167

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Mobile 167

crowdSPRING Blog

MAY 17, 2019

Your brand lives in everyday interactions your company has with its prospects and customers, including the images you share, the messages you post on your website, the content of your marketing materials, your presentations and booths at conferences, and your posts on social networks.

Social Media 80

Social Media Curation eCommerce Channel 80

Reid Hoffman

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

Businesses start from scratch with invention, but simply adding on to that foundation with invention alone ultimately results in failure: whether by inability to adapt to changes in the market, competition, or technological foundations, to a potentially unfocused Frankenstein’s monster of mis-matched elements. SO WHAT IS A PIVOT ANYWAY?

Startup 36

Startup Silicon Valley Business Model Mobile 36

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2012

Strong focus and differentiation. A new social networking product that proclaims to combine the best of Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter has too broad a focus and will likely not compete in the long run with existing offerings. Combining functions is not a good differentiator. No one said it would be easy!

Intellectual Property 244

Intellectual Property Non-Compete Differentiation Social Network 244

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2011

Strong focus and differentiation. A new social networking product that proclaims to combine the best of Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter has too broad a focus and will likely not compete in the long run with existing offerings. Combining functions is not a good differentiator. No one said it would be easy!

Intellectual Property 256

Intellectual Property Non-Compete Differentiation Social Network 256

Mike Michalowicz

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Create an interactive, regularly updated site or blog , or by build informative yet informal profiles on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. A great offer goes a long way quickly…especially through our favorite social networking sites! Good fits mean quality networking opportunities. Be visible!

Small Business 167

Small Business Marketing PR Social Media 167

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Friendster’s valuation set the tone for the entire social networking space. The professional domain will be one massively valuable network. Great businesses can be built off this network, starting with matching talent and opportunity. What’s your differential business strategy? Your differential product?

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Revenue Viral Networking 111

crowdSPRING Blog

JUNE 13, 2017

Your brand lives in everyday interactions your company has with its prospects and customers, including the images you share, the messages you post on your website, the content of your marketing materials, your presentations and booths at conferences, and your posts on social networks. Plan For The Future While Focusing On Today.

Small Business 53

Small Business Startup Global Design 53

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2016

In reality, dating is a form of social networking, so Facebook could easily enhance their services in this direction, if the market traction of others was evident. Google or other search engines could add image-matching or other focus to capture this market. The best startups have real differentiation.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Matching Angel Investor Bootstrapping 120

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 24, 2011

How to differentiate yourself in a crowded market (and when perhaps you shouldn’t try). If you can’t get people to take it for free, even if it is early stage, then I think that’s a bad indication that you still don’t have enough differentiators from those other three. That’s easy, that’s super easy.

Cofounder 208

Cofounder Technical Review Software Review Differentiation 208

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Before there was Fab there was fabulis, a social network meets places guide targeted to the gay community. When we pivoted from fabulis to Fab, from gay social network to design, we made the decision within 10 days to focus exclusively on our new One Thing, and we set a rule that not one person on the team could still do the old thing.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2010

Strong focus and differentiation. A new social networking product that proclaims to combine the best of Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Twitter has too broad a focus and will likely not compete in the long run with existing offerings. Combining functions is not a good differentiator. No one said it would be easy!

Intellectual Property 124

Intellectual Property Non-Compete Differentiation Social Network 124

Occam's Razor

FEBRUARY 3, 2014

It is a social network (like Facebook). Have the colors and branding match your corporate identity. [I''m ignoring the many small companies that have done well on YouTube, building businesses and audiences from scratch. I''m also ignoring, exceptional, outliers such as AwesomenessTV or, the even more gigantic, PewDiePie.].

Analytics 149

Analytics Marketing Audience Channel 149

mashable.com

OCTOBER 11, 2011

.” If you can’t think of a compelling format, go with something like, “I noticed you’ve covered location-based networks quite a bit at Publication X, and I think you’d be interested in learning about how my startup is changing that space by [fill in blank].” Social Media Lists. Social Network Lists.

PR 103

PR Startup Social Media Technical Review 103

Hearpreneur

JULY 10, 2015

For our business, we deal with a highly subjective art of matching people with vape flavors that they’ll enjoy. I add other differentiators by podcasting and creating expert-sourced ebooks or videos. And making people feel good about the brand is what matters most. That sounds generic. Our local store staff people.

Entrepreneur 48

Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review Small Business 48

ConversionXL

APRIL 17, 2019

But what about when the product matches the customer’s needs and they trust the seller? In the marketing world, Dhar says, “meaningless attributes often lead to meaningful differentiation.” Another report showed that social media rarely leads directly to online purchases. Not necessarily.

Customer 132

Customer Social Media Arlington Media 132

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Your brand lives in everyday interactions your company has with its prospects and customers, including the images you share, the messages you post on your website, the content of your marketing materials, your presentations and booths at conferences, and your posts on social networks. Importantly, your brand is not what you say it is.

Marketing 162

Marketing Charlotte Naming Design 162

Occam's Razor

OCTOBER 22, 2008

One sweet feature that differentiates segment creation in Google Analytics from that of other vendors is the ability to do real time QA (quality control) and test the segment you have created. Turns out that in the Condition I choose "Matches Exactly" (look in the middle above). But for now I want to keep this simple.

Analytics 105

Analytics Web Search Non-Compete 105

ConversionXL

JANUARY 3, 2019

Sites that use social logins. Like third-party payment processors, social logins can incorrectly reclassify post-login users as referrals from the social network. Without session stitching, sites that rely on third-party payment processors may lose attribution data for ecommerce conversions. Sites with iframe forms.

Analytics 127

Analytics Caching API Hosting 127

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 22, 2011

Often major customers defect en masse to the new entrant as they realize that the huge price premium is not justified by the product differentials. In any event, they had such scale advantages in providing this Internet infrastructure that to this day nobody in the industry has come close to matching them.

Non-Compete 386

Non-Compete Startup Internet Cost 386

Start Up Blog

APRIL 29, 2013

It was anti-social in nature. Recent growth in digital social networks has served as a reminder on what differentiates our species. Our mobile is our new cinema and the content needs to match the context today. We lived in isolated silos of production, entertainment and consumption.

Uruguay 123

Uruguay Technical Review Vertical Las Vegas 123

Lightspeed Venture Partners

DECEMBER 3, 2010

Social games overflow out of Facebook. While the amount of social gaming on other social networks, especially the Asian networks, has significantly increased over the course of the year, the vast majority of social gaming still takes place on Facebook. Social games chase hardcore gamers. gross margin.

Internet 113

Internet eCommerce Advertising Flash 113