February, 2018

article thumbnail

7 Strategies For Anticipating Future Customer Trends

Startup Professionals Musings

The market is changing so fast these days, and if you are not planning a solution today for tomorrow’s customers, you may be setting yourself up for failure and don’t even realize it. There are always new competitors who are planning their arrival tomorrow. As an angel investor, I routinely toss business plans that focus too much on today, and don’t talk about tomorrow.

Customer 144
article thumbnail

Getting Small Business Loans Right – The Future Needs To Resemble The Past

YoungUpstarts

by Rob Frohwein, CEO of Kabbage. Let’s be honest, most small businesses’ capital needs aren’t being met by today’s lenders. In fact, the bulk of commercial lenders don’t serve small businesses at all. Not because they don’t want to, but because they aren’t structured do so effectively or efficiently, and the cost-to-margin ratio isn’t favorable for smaller loans.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

So you say you want to be a Product Manager …?

Austin Startup

(Almost) everything you need to know (but are afraid to ask) before you wistfully ask a product manager to coffee so they will help you find a job. TL;DR Product management is a unique and poorly understood discipline, especially as it applies to software and other tech-related companies. Product management is very much the dream occupation of the jack-of-all-trades, not-necessarily-master-of-any individual who possesses “raw intellectual horsepower.

article thumbnail

5 Tips for Private Practice Optometrists to Grow Profits This Year

Mike Michalowicz

Profitability is the main key to business success. But maintaining that profitability is becoming more difficult for private practice optometrists. There is increasing competition from big box stores, mall kiosks, and the internet to overcome. Online refractions and other commoditized industry services make it hard for private practices to remain relevant in the marketplace.

article thumbnail

Building Healthy Innovation Ecosystems for Your Projects

Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic

Every startup and innovation project exists within an ecosystem that either helps or hurts that project. As innovation managers, we need to keep a pulse of that ecosystem and make sure we're helping those innovation projects we're managing every step of the way. In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in

article thumbnail

Technology Makes Running Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Easier

The Startup Magazine

Large corporations heavily rely on technology to improve performance, increase efficiency, grow profitability and manage expenses. Due to the size and complexity of such organizations, maximizing technology use is a necessity. Yet, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can benefit from technology just as much if not more. Source: Pixabay. A growing number of SMBs are coming to this realization.

article thumbnail

3 Unorthodox Methods To Enhance Matured Optimization Programs

ConversionXL

The endgame of optimization begins when the local maximum has been found for the most relevant pages on your website. At this point, uncovering more gains can become a greater challenge. How can you deal with such a scenario? The first thing to realize is that this is not a typical situation to be in. Most businesses are still learning their way around the fundamentals.

More Trending

article thumbnail

Tips For Business Owners To Reply To Their Reviews

YoungUpstarts

It is a very difficult task to start a small business. There are many other companies that you will need to compete with. You also must be good at putting together a budget and managing your finances. However, one of the things that few small business owners are prepared for involves replying to online reviews they receive. The Internet has created a place where consumers are instantly able to give their opinion on just about anything.

article thumbnail

6 Reasons Your Small Business Should Use a Professional Employer Organization

Up and Running

Has your startup or small business ever considered using a professional employer organization—a PEO? PEOs specialize in providing benefits and human resources help for many different clients. Because they serve multiple companies, they can leverage their clients’ numbers for better healthcare and retirement savings options. If you’re a small business owner or a new entrepreneur, your finances may be precarious.

article thumbnail

16 Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Side Hustles

Hearpreneur

Side hustles serve to support our main income streams. Some of them also end up becoming the main income stream if it turns profitable. They mainly sprout out of a simple idea or hobbies. It’s advisable to have multiple income streams and side hustles are a perfect way to diversify your income streams. We asked entrepreneurs and business owners what their side hustles are and here are the responses. #1- Bling Everything in Sight.

article thumbnail

Why is node JS the best framework to launch a Multivendor Ecommerce marketplace Store?

The Startup Magazine

Node.js, a wonderfully passionate framework implemented to create a node JS shopping cart, is broadly utilized by developers around the planet. It is a server used to execute the Javascript programming language. In addition, such a tool is used inside different circles, including content administration and online endeavors. Source: Flickr. Node JS is also capable in taking care of dynamic and acute database triggered Mobile and Web Applications.

article thumbnail

Innovation at Speed – when you have 2 million employees

Steve Blank

Success no longer goes to the country that develops a new fighting technology first, but rather to the one that better integrates it and adapts its way of fighting… Our response will be to prioritize speed of delivery, continuous adaptation, and frequent modular upgrades. We must not accept cumbersome approval chains, wasteful applications of resources in uncompetitive space, or overly risk-averse thinking that impedes change.

Employee 322
article thumbnail

10 Strategies To Isolate Smart Risks In A New Venture

Startup Professionals Musings

There is an old saying that good lawyers run away from risk, while good businessmen run towards risk. Entrepreneurs see “no risk” as meaning “no reward.” In reality, all risks are not the same. Many risks can be managed or calculated to improve growth or provide a competitive edge, while others, like skipping quality checks to save money, are recipes for failure.

Forecast 161
article thumbnail

[Interview] Bill Michelon On Why He Became A Serial Entrepreneur

YoungUpstarts

Bill Michelon is well known in business circles as a savvy media buyer with a keen interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. He has helped a wide variety of organizations achieve their digital marketing objectives without breaking the bank. The entrepreneur oversees successful marketing campaigns and helps formulate effective strategies that deliver impressive results.

article thumbnail

The Real Reason You Should Audition for Shark Tank

Up and Running

Many people dream of owning their own business. There’s nothing quite like being your own boss and running an operation the way you want to. However, this dream comes with a big cost. So, unless you’ve inherited a large sum of money or won the lottery, you’ll probably need to look into funding options for your small business. There are many ways to seek funding, but one that seems to attract a lot of buzz is pitching to the investors on the TV show “ Shark Tank.” The premise?

article thumbnail

Three Bitcoin Billionaires Share Their Story of How They Moved Early into the Asset Class

Both Sides of the Table

At the recent Upfront Summit my partner Stuart Lander had the opportunity to show some California Love and interview three of the wealthiest Bitcoin owners, each of whom were some of the earliest owners in the asset class and who haven’t sold any of their holdings. It’s an extraordinary story ranging from Jaime who studies cryptography in college to Bryan who was early in selling products on Silk Road to Steven owns 179,000 Bitcoin worth more than $2 billion.

article thumbnail

Employee Management: 3 Essential Interactions for Success

Transformify

Employees are the most valuable asset of any business. Without engaged and motivated employees, businesses would not thrive. Management involves maximizing the potential and use of assets. Therefore, employee management is simply maximizing the potential and use of a company's employees. It seems cold, so to do it effectively a "people approach" must be utilized.

article thumbnail

Five Strategies for Slaying the Data Puking Dragon.

Occam's Razor

If you bring sharp focus, you increase chances of attention being diverted to the right places. That in turn will drive smarter questions, which will elicit thoughtful answers from available data. The result will be data-influenced actions that result in a long-term strategic advantage. It all starts with sharp focus. Consider these three scenarios….

Metrics 263
article thumbnail

8 Strategies For Regularly Reinventing Your Business

Startup Professionals Musings

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for customers that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. Some get stuck in a rut and get run over by competitors with new technology, like Eastman Kodak, and others get pushed into a crisis, like Apple did, before they reinvent themselves into a new market.

article thumbnail

Davos debrief Part 1

deal architect

It has become an annual ritual – I either talk to Malcolm Frank, EVP of Strategy and Marketing at Cognizant before or after the annual WEF event at Davos. This year it was after the event where he missed at.

Marketing 207
article thumbnail

EMaaS: How Email Marketing Can Be Your Agency’s Most Profitable Service

Duct Tape Marketing

EMaaS: How Email Marketing Can Be Your Agency’s Most Profitable Service written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Enjoy today’s guest post from David Mihm. Thanks to John’s generous promotion of my content over the years, many of you probably know I’ve spent most of my career in search engine optimization. Although many of my colleagues in the SEO world were surprised when I transitioned into the adjacent world of email marketing a year ago and launched Tidings , I hope you

Email 47
article thumbnail

How to Out Amazon, Amazon

Both Sides of the Table

There has always been tension between CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies and the retailers who sell their products to consumers. If a consumer will pay a fixed price for a product or service then the battle over who gets the margin in any sale is between the person who merchandises a product and the person who manufactures it. This is an age-old marketplace tension where leverage often determines the value captured.

Curation 296
article thumbnail

4 Ways To Optimize The Digital Customer Experience In 2018

YoungUpstarts

Customers are exposed to more choices than ever before, and that means the experience your brand presents them with is make or break for your business. The 2017 report Customers 2020: A Progress Report , by Walker customer experience consulting firm, found that 86 percent of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience. By 2020, customer experience will overtake product and price as the key brand differentiator.

Customer 193
article thumbnail

Hacking for Defense at Columbia University

Steve Blank

Over the last year we’ve been rolling out the Hacking for X classes in universities across the U.S. – Hacking for Defense , Hacking for Diplomacy , Hacking for Energy , Hacking for Impact (non-profits), etc. All are designed to allow students to work on some of the toughest problems the country has while connecting them to a parts of the government they aren’t familiar with.

article thumbnail

6 Dream Team Members Will Energize Any Tech Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. That’s why investors say they invest in people (bet on the jockey, not the horse), rather than the idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team.

article thumbnail

Automation, Superworkers, ERP and CRM

deal architect

I recently did a podcast with Ton Dobbe. I have know Ton for a long time in various roles at Unit4.

186
186
article thumbnail

How to Tap Into the Subscription Economy

Duct Tape Marketing

How to Tap Into the Subscription Economy written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Marketing Podcast with Anne Janzer. Podcast Transcript. My guest for this week’s episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is Anne Janzer. She is an award-winning author and non-fiction writing coach who has written books like The Writers Process and The Workplace Writer’s Process.

article thumbnail

Why Female Founder Office Hours is So Important

Both Sides of the Table

If you haven’t yet heard about Female Founder Office Hours it is an initiative you should be aware of whether you’re male, female or any other gender identify. The idea is simple enough: several female VC partners at top funds will hold 1-hour meetings with 40 promising female entrepreneurs looking to get advice on their business and pitch in a friendly, non-judgmental, safe environment.

Founder 256
article thumbnail

[Interview] Dwayne Rettinger, Executive Financial Consultant at Rettinger & Associates Private Wealth Management

YoungUpstarts

From Dwayne Rettinger’s perspective, millennial entrepreneurs are more saddled with stereotypes than they should be. For all the suggested negatives about this generation, Rettinger points out that they are still young enough to be stunningly creative and open to new ideas. But, for a generation that is on average facing more financial obstacles, having access to financial guidance is crucial.

article thumbnail

Of course robots will do our cryptocurrency investing

The Next Web

There’s nothing that we as a society get more excited about and panicked by than technological progress. On one hand, we understand that innovations like artificial intelligence and Bitcoin are autonomous, powerful entities that many of us will never truly know — and what we don’t know, we don’t always trust. On the other hand, we recognize that these technological advancements were created to make our lives easier.

article thumbnail

8 Keys To Migration From A Consultant To A Freelancer

Startup Professionals Musings

Being a consultant is a role that works with big companies, but I have found that it doesn’t get much traction in small businesses and startups. The image of a self-proclaimed expert who can generate a report, make a great presentation, and leave you to do the implementation, is just not attractive when you don’t have a staff, and you are already overloaded with the crisis of the day.

article thumbnail

Zero to $50M – A Roadmap of the Key Stages, and How to Win at Each Stage

For Entrepreneurs

There are seven key stages in a startup’s evolution from $0m to $50m in revenue. Understanding where you are in that evolution, and how to act at each stage is critical for success, as what is appropriate at one stage is not appropriate at another stage. In my talk at SaaStr 2018, I will lay.

Revenue 162
article thumbnail

Transcript of How to Successfully Run a Business as a WordPress Consultant

Duct Tape Marketing

Transcript of How to Successfully Run a Business as a WordPress Consultant written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Back to Podcast. Transcript. John Jantsch: Hello. Welcome to another episode of the Duck Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch and my guest today is Troy Dean. He is, like all of us, an online speaker, coach, consultant, podcaster; but he’s also the founder of WP Elevation , which is the world’s largest business community for WordPress consultant

article thumbnail

The Breakthrough Presentation that Stole the Upfront Summit

Both Sides of the Table

If a picture is worth a thousand words then you already know that Chamillionaire is having a great time with his new startup Convoz. He’s here on stage with Snoop Dogg and they had just dialed in Shaq to record a live video for his platform. It was just announced today on TechCrunch. We’ve known each other for nearly a decade and he’s been a friend, a co-investor in startups and a mentor to many startups with whom I’ve worked.

Cofounder 206
article thumbnail

3 Reasons Saying ‘I’m Sorry’ And ‘Thank You’ Can Change Corporate Culture

YoungUpstarts

by Keith Martino , head of CMI and author of “Expect Leadership” Companies that train their employees in what are commonly referred to as “soft skills” are finding those efforts pay off in productivity and retention. People with soft skills are adept in areas such as interpersonal communication, leadership, problem solving and adaptability.

article thumbnail

Five Business Processes That Will Boost Profitability

YFS Magazine

The key to profitability lies within the core processes of the business. After having worked with business owners for many years, I discovered profitable enterprises embrace five fundamental processes??.

article thumbnail

8 Smart Tips To Soliciting Friends And Family Funding

Startup Professionals Musings

It’s great to start with a big dream as you contemplate a new business, but finding the money you need takes more than dreaming. As an advisor to young entrepreneurs, I find that many are a bit naïve about how the investment process really works. For example, I just read an otherwise impressive business plan last week from a first-timer who asked for $10 million to get started.