YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Not only can you brag about your product or service, but you can also make yourself accessible to that perspective customer by sharing your views and proving that you actually understand the business you’re in. This is very beneficial in the early stages of your business development as it may save you valuable time and resources.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Startup Warrant Early Stage 100

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

A crucial factor when completing the early stages of your strategy is to carry out enough research so that you have a deep understanding of your target audience. Potential customers – Identify exactly who your customers are, or will be, and establish what they want and need from your product or service.

Sales 113

Sales Argentina Technical Review B2B 113

Up and Running

AUGUST 8, 2018

Too many meetings are run poorly, have no real objective, and waste employees’ time—which kills productivity. Did all product lines perform well? For those early-stage startups, this step of the meeting may be the most important step and take the longest. A sample LivePlan Pitch page for Garrett’s Bike Shop.

Software Review 65

Software Review Business Plan Product Forecast 65

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Even though everyone has an opinion on good early stage practices, I was impressed with the actionable blueprint in the classic book by Scott Duffy, “ Launch! Mix personal and business funds.

Early Stage 317

Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue Framework 317

Up and Running

AUGUST 21, 2018

The Lean Planning methodology starts with a one page Lean Plan that you can create in 20 minutes. That’s right—one page. Their products and services fill a need or satiate a desire. If you’re in the early stages of fleshing out your business idea, don’t worry too much about detailed market research.

Lean 134

Lean Forecast Software Review Business Plan 134

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. Because it can be hard to define or agree company objectives at an early stage I believe most people avoid them. It has to come from somewhere.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

Up and Running

AUGUST 20, 2018

Gone are the days of 30- and 40-page business plans—modern business plans are shorter, easier to write, and—thankfully—easier to read (and you could always have our MBA business plan consulting experts write a business plan for you, if you so choose). Some information about your products and/or services. How long should your plan be?

Business Plan 119

Business Plan Technical Review Lean Forecast 119

JANUARY 9, 2014

I recently developed a more human framework for early-stage startups to define their startup DNA and lay some foundations for a sustainable business. Having a clear focus means it’s easier to communicate what your product is and who it’s for. Here are two examples. By focusing on the ‘why?’

Early Stage 102

Early Stage Startup Cofounder Design 102

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

Who should you hire? To make life simpler, I'll take a page from George Carlin, who masterfully widdled down the Ten Commandments down to two simple rules. When the product is early and still pivoting, these are kind of the same thing. In a way, you can think of BD as “sales when you don’t know what the product is yet.”

PR 160

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 160

David Teten

DECEMBER 3, 2019

Point Nine Capital’s website is now powered by Contentful ; they use Unbounce for landing pages ; and Typeform for surveys and other data collection. Automation allows you to spend less time on tedious tasks and will help boost productivity, especially within a small marketing team.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review Software Review Analytics Private Equity 78

www.drowningamerican.com

JUNE 22, 2012

Next → How to Hire for Sweat Equity…. Neither Pablo or I have a technical background and therefore needed someone to build our product. Here is the original post: Early Stage Web Application Start-Up Seeking Developer/Designer. model of offering a more valuable product at no cost to the user (think Mint.Com).

Sweat Equity 40

Sweat Equity Equity Hiring Technical Review 40

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

But the way the market values this early work can vary greatly. I’m often surprised by how much effort seed stage teams put into building an early product and how little credit that receives from investors. And the ultimate uncertainties for a seed stage company are around talent and customer demand.

Seed Stage 180

Seed Stage Bootstrapping Demand Early Stage 180

View from Seed

MARCH 3, 2015

Ellie Mirman was the first marketer hired by the CMO of HubSpot, the Boston-based marketing software startup that IPOed in 2014. Initially, we promoted it to a list that we’d already developed through Website Grader, the free app our CTO Dharmesh Shah had built before we even had a product. How did you address that?

Marketing 120

Marketing Sales Cycle Startup CTO Hire 120

ConversionXL

JUNE 5, 2019

early-stage testing). It could be an industry benchmark, the desired goal for a specific set of metrics, or a comparison with the previous performance of the product. Easier-than-expected tasks could be a comparative advantage for your product to promote in marketing materials. N is the number of unique pages visited.

Metrics 103

Metrics Video Search Technical Review 103

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 29, 2015

The first phase, before they get to product market fit, is all about technology leadership; startups focus on their technical vision, building their products or services, getting customer feedback. You want to make a lasting impact, and you should hire people who aspire to that.” Dealing with Uncertainty.

Leadership 100

Leadership Software Engineering Silicon Valley Hiring 100

mashable.com

JUNE 11, 2013

Perhaps the team is working on a product that really isnt that great or useful. Maybe they never thought about product-market fit. Whatever your companys "fatal flaw" may be, you can likely avoid it in your own venture if you take some advice from people whove gone through the early startup phase before. Hiring Poorly.

Cofounder 111

Cofounder Technical Review Startup Software Review 111

Up and Running

OCTOBER 22, 2014

What is your product or service? Make sure your product or service is addressing your customer’s needs. A great exercise is to create a buyer persona, but you can just jot down some notes at this stage about who your customer is. Do you rely on distributors to get your products onto store shelves? Are you selling online?

Business Plan 130

Business Plan Elevator Pitch Forecast Partner 130

The Next Web

DECEMBER 4, 2013

These categories came from Yonder conference , a conference held to discuss just such challenges and solutions: hiring and onboarding. These categories came from Yonder conference , a conference held to discuss just such challenges and solutions: hiring and onboarding. Hire those you trust. when to meet face to face. Measurable.

Management 152

Management SCRUM CTO Hire Distribution 152

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 1, 2009

I know this is unconventional thinking but if you want to understand more I cover my rationale on this post about The Most Common Early Stage Startup Mistakes and again in this post covering how to implement startup prenuptials. I think ADD is totally misunderstood – it’s a very PRODUCTIVE condition but it has downsides.

Hiring 289

Hiring Cofounder Dilution Startup 289

VC Cafe

AUGUST 2, 2022

As an early stage investor in the world of gaming and metaverse technology at Remagine Ventures, I find these companies have the potential to set the agenda, become the potential platforms for developers building in this space and future acquirers/consolidators of startups building the next generation of the Internet.

IP 206

IP Cofounder Valuation Acquisition 206

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 23, 2017

In venture capital in particular, early-stage companies are often operating in frontier industries, where the rules are unpredictable and conventional analytic frameworks may be misleading. To measure product usage and traction over time, we use tools like Alexa , AppAnnie and Google Analytics. are using AngelMob.co

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Technical Review 60

Kodorra

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

Observe consumer behaviors and their attitude towards products from other companies. Your products should be more effective and efficient in solving a particular problem. In 2009, a study by Forrester Research found that online shoppers expected pages to load in two seconds or less. Step 7: Build your website or product.

Software Review 45

Software Review Hosting Intellectual Property Naming 45

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009

This post describes how following the traditional product development can lead to a “startup death spiral.&# In the next posts that follow, I’ll describe how this model’s failures led to the Customer Development Model – offering a new way to approach startup sales and marketing activities. The board raises a collective eyebrow.

Customer Development 229

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 229

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

By being a part of the conversation, you just might catch the attention of a startup that’s hiring. Don’t wait to see a job posting : Actual startup job postings may not show up for quite some time, especially among those in the early stage. It’s a bold move, one that got him noticed, and hired, by the startup.

Hiring 196

Hiring Startup Open Source API 196

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Noah has been a key figure in the making of LivePlan, our own SaaS product. Instead of sitting down to write a 40-page business plan, start with a one-page pitch. The one-page pitch format is also more suitable for SaaS businesses that are constantly testing new ideas. Step 1: Start with a lean plan. The business model.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

02:06] Can you share your experience starting with an early-stage company (Hubspot) that eventually went public? [07:11] 06:08): And those partners are big enough and capitalized enough to be able to offer a breadth of services that help the customer implement the entire HubSpot product suite.

Metrics 72

Metrics Analytics Forecast Software Review 72

Hunter Walker

FEBRUARY 20, 2021

AngelList had just started and their company profile page had a bunch of “Advisor” slots to populate that were displayed in the same visual design as investors and team members. That said, there are three types of advisors that I don’t see as commonly utilized by early stage startups — at least the ones we’re not advising.

Advisory Board 150

Advisory Board Equity Vesting Startup 150

Up and Running

MARCH 15, 2012

This offers both accountability and clarity on the big picture of the company, enabling employees to stay on the same page with one another. Andy McLoughlin of Huddle uses weekly video conference calls to keep all of his employees on the same page. Your expenses may be limited to a lap top, smartphone, and some software.

Software Review 79

Software Review Early Stage Employee Technical Review 79

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 2, 2012

Six best practice tips for email unsubscribe pages | Econsultancy – [link]. How Customers evaluate your product | StartupCFO – [link]. To Successfully Launch A Product, You Have To Tell A Compelling Story | TechCrunch - [link]. A startup’s first hires: What to look for | Fortune - [link].

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

ConversionXL

JANUARY 17, 2017

LawnStarter is one such company, so we sat down with their CTO, Jonas Weigert , to learn about how they experiment across their product and communication and how they deal with optimization as a company. As LawnStarter’s CTO, he heads their technical efforts, which includes experimentation across their product and communications.

Algorithm 48

Algorithm CTO Hire Distribution Engineer 48

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2018

As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Even though everyone has an opinion on good early stage practices, I was impressed with the actionable blueprint in the classic book by Scott Duffy, “ Launch! Mix personal and business funds.

Early Stage 158

Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue Framework 158

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 14, 2011

a group of entrepreneurs from TiE Chennai gathered at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) Research Park campus, and we spent the next four hours discussing strategy and tactics of early-stage entrepreneurship. The product has won a national award from the president of India for its empowerment of people with disabilities.

India 126

India Technical Review Entrepreneur Silicon Valley 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2014

As an entrepreneur, you need to start early to implement the discipline and business practices that will lead to success. Even though everyone has an opinion on good early stage practices, I was impressed with the actionable blueprint in a new book by Scott Duffy, “ Launch! Decide to launch one business or product at a time.

Entrepreneur 265

Entrepreneur Early Stage Bootstrapping Revenue 265

crowdSPRING Blog

FEBRUARY 23, 2011

Business Development for Early Stage Startups – [link]. How to hire a programmer when you’re not a programmer – [link]. Simply being *usable* is enough to make a product truly remarkable – [link]. Pretty cool About Page – [link]. 1 – [link]. Site Speed – Are You Fast?

Social Media 92

Social Media Small Business Design Media 92

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 7, 2013

One example of this is the $100 million Dell Innovators Credit Fund launched last June, which offers financing for technology products and solutions to newly venture-backed startups. Such programs help early-stage companies get the capital they need to fuel growth, especially when banks aren’t lending.

Advisory Board 249

Advisory Board Entrepreneur Portland Oregon 249

Rob Go

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Seeing a head of product that isn’t a founder. Seed and early stage companies are in need of people who like hand-to-hand combat. I remember looking at the early org at Twitter (even when there were dozens of people) and there was maybe one or two VP’s. Seeing VPs (the more I see, the worse I feel).

CTO Hire 61

CTO Hire Seed Stage Startup Early Stage 61

Hearpreneur

AUGUST 9, 2019

So I hired an incredible team and together, we created a solution to solve my very own problem so that we could have a home that is true to our family’s values, pocketbook, and one that respects our planet and is mindful of our future. During this time she began showing increasing signs of early-stage dementia.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur LLC San Francisco Mexico 117