Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2016

Forecast revenue growth that defies business principles. Forecasts that exceed 10 percent of a large opportunity in the first five years rarely happen and will likely disappoint you and your investors. A startup with happy and highly motivated employees will provide a better customer experience resulting in viral customer growth.

Intellectual Property 120

Intellectual Property Startup Forecast Angel Investor 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs put all their resources in one big make-or-break effort they can’t measure, or they count on word-of-mouth and viral marketing, which are totally unpredictable. Don’t rely on conservative forecasts to reduce risk. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives.

Forecast 120

Forecast Startup Stock Options Technical Review 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2016

Who would have forecast that entrepreneur Gary Ross Dahl would make millions by starting a “ pet rock ” business way back in 1975? Similarly, mentioning viral marketing without specifics won’t assure fundability. Giving the wrong people money doesn’t help at the idea level. Leader pitches the plan, not the product.

Technical Review 134

Technical Review Intellectual Property Due Diligence Angel Investor 134

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Founded in November 2007 in New York City by Alexis Maybank and Kevin Ryan (co-founder of DoubleClick); CEO is Susan Lyne (ex-CEO Marta Stewart Living Omnimedia) Revenue estimates: $50mm in 2008; $170mm in 2009 (versus budget of $150mm); $450mm forecasted for 2010. Note that these are “gross” revenue numbers. Total raised: $29.5mm.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndicate 240

ConversionXL

MARCH 6, 2019

The growth also outpaced their forecast from the prior year, which suggested that video would reach 17% of digital ad spend by 2021.). Cisco’s VNI forecast estimates that 82% of all Internet traffic will be video in 2022. That represented 30% growth, totaling nearly $28 billion in ad spend. Image source ). Stay on brand. Plan it out.

Video 129

Video B2B Technical Review Campaign 129

The Startup Magazine

JULY 18, 2017

Generations X and Y are known for being constantly on their phone; it’s how they read the news, catch up with friends, shop, play games, track their health and fitness, check the weather forecast, listen to music or simply scroll down and get lost in their Facebook feed. A lot of their time is spent staring at screens.

Design 62

Design Social Media Technical Review Forecast 62

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

A supplier could go bankrupt or an angry customer’s tweet could go viral, there is an infinite number of things that can cripple a new business. It lets you create more concrete forecasts, projections, and budgets while also giving you the ability to be a bit riskier and more selective of your other clients. Learn About Taxes.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Forecast Salary Viral 124

Start Up Blog

MAY 26, 2022

It really is astonishing: Forecast VOD streaming content spend = $US230 billion Forecast VOD streaming revenue = $US83.4 Ironically, it’s the dream of many content producers that their work goes viral and they are eventually picked and paid to make something for a streaming platform. No wonder no one can decide what to watch!

Forecast 62

Forecast Viral Stock Curation 62

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

If you say your product will be viral, you have to support this statement with facts. Don’t mess around – research everything. Thoroughly. If you expect to be the market leader in 2 years, you need to demonstrate why this is possible and how you’ll meet this goal. Know your market and your competition.

Business Plan 147

Business Plan Balance Sheet Non-Compete Forecast 147

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 23, 2011

In comparison, the overall technology sector growth was projected at 9-10% in early 2010 and this forecast did not change significantly today. Popular Media: the key to viral marketing. SaaS companies projected to grow 18% over this period in January 2010 and this projection moved up only to 20% today. Software 2.0: ► 2006. (7).

Software Review 101

Software Review Technical Review Valuation Europe 101

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Business Model Affects Metrics and Exit Criteria Web-based Business Model Exit Criteria In a web-business model you’re looking for traffic, users, conversion, virality, etc – not revenue. The revenue-delayed models seem to go against that risk-reduction rule.

Customer Development 219

Customer Development Web Developer Customer 219

Cracking the Code

MARCH 12, 2010

So, here is the first edition, including the recent Q4 2009 earnings and the updated 2010 forecast. If we consider that 2009 was probably the worst year in the past 5 years, forecasting the same growth for 2010 is not very encouraging. Popular Media: the key to viral marketing. Software 2.0: How the use of internet is transform.

Software Review 63

Software Review Technical Review Cloud Forecast 63

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

Forecasting is sometimes done by dragging the mouse based on many assumptions, because it’s hard to predict the future. While there isn’t a single magic number or set formula, understanding industry benchmarks can be really helpful to keep a finger on the pulse to measure the health of the company and make more informed forecasts.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

In another we decended into a debate about our 5 year forecasts (I built the models so fielded most of these questions), and it became clear they probably weren’t the best fit for our Series A round (this group is no longer in the early-stage VC business). link] leehower. It was a pretty good valuation for the time.

Term Sheet 178

Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 26, 2012

Will you use viral marketing, print ads or a mix? You’ll be forecasting your costs and your gains to show when you’ll start making a profit, and if you’re asking for investors, when they will start to see the fruits of their investment. How will you increase your business and branch out down the road.

Business Plan 207

Business Plan Forecast Viral Matching 207

Up and Running

MARCH 6, 2019

Not just disruptive , but also game changing , market-leading , and viral , and pivot. I hate hearing about a $43 billion market, and even more so when you present a sales forecast validated by getting some percentage of that market. Or the enterprise sales forecast based on sales reps, pitches closes, and pipeline.

Net Present Value 87

Net Present Value Forecast IRR Oregon 87

Up and Running

AUGUST 1, 2017

In 2005, Claus Moseholm co-founded GoViral, a Danish company which specializes in harnessing the internet to promote advertisers’ videos and make them go viral. Aside from perfecting your product or service, you have to tend to other equally important tasks such as marketing , hiring , forecasting , and so on.

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital Cofounder Finance Security 113

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 22, 2014

After going viral with one of my personals posts, a growing community of Web designers pointed fingers at my site because I was using an aggressive pop-up to grab emails. Javier Sanz is a marketer at Woorank. It’s a similar method used by sites like NYTimes, Forbes or Quora.

Email 132

Email Audience API Aggregator 132

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

While it’s useful to be able to have a sales forecast and expense budget early on, it’s not something you need until you’ve validated your idea. Later you will want to come back and create a proper sales forecast, cash flow forecast, and expense budget. Circle back and create a more detailed forecast.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 7, 2010

If you’re assuming virality of your product, you will need to show viral propagation of your product and the improvement of your viral coefficient over several experiments. If non-web, build demand creation budget and forecast. Ask your users to take action, such as signing up for a newsletter.

Wiki 311

Wiki Lean Management Business Model 311

VC Cafe

JULY 25, 2017

If you think about it, Messaging apps are the most viral. Source: Messaging App Usage Worldwide: eMarketer’s Updated Forecast, Leaderboard and Behavioral Analysis. Tomorrow, you’ll be messaging bots who will do your grocery shopping, book your travel and resolve your customer service issues. Messaging is “mostly” private.

Social Network 74

Social Network Russia Mobile Japan 74

Rob Go

MAY 26, 2016

The first is practical and real – it’s hard to forecast and plan expenses when revenue might swing significantly. The exception are recurring revenue businesses with an amazingly viral free product that very effectively get consumers to subscribe without needing significant marketing and sales expenses. That is not good.

Revenue 53

Revenue NPV Valuation Forecast 53

Up and Running

MAY 22, 2017

Meyer and Bolduc always knew that men’s skin care products are not likely to be shared publicly (much less virally) by their customers. Market forecasters have predicted that the men’s personal care market will reach $166 billion globally by 2022. Most guys keep their skincare concerns pretty hush-hush.

Due Diligence 113

Due Diligence eCommerce Cofounder Bootstrapping 113

ConversionXL

JANUARY 8, 2018

I still have to see the first campaign go viral after just publishing it and not spreading the word to anybody. Stuff doesn’t go viral overnight and not without promotion. Sometimes this means working with third party data (marketplaces, ecommerce) or as a publisher with unique content that is written by editors.

SEO 134

SEO Metrics Analytics Search 134

Up and Running

JULY 26, 2016

See Also: A Complete Guide to Forecasting Sales for Your Monthly Subscription (SaaS) Business. There are a number of other variables here like virality (the chances of a user referring another user), but I don’t want to overcomplicate things. Lean marketing. See Also: The Top 10 Tools for Tracking Your Web Metrics.

Revenue 60

Revenue Acquisition Channel Campaign 60

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 7, 2010

As consumer technology companies begin to get off the ground and make forecasts, there is the inevitable user adoption hockey stick that rockets the local user count to ridiculous heights with no market budget but significant “viral effects&# and “social media.&#

Hockey Stick 66

Hockey Stick Houston Austin Chicago 66

The Next Web

AUGUST 19, 2013

Inbound marketing is not easy, and it’s hard to forecast without trying it for a few months first. Well, then you’ve got to go viral. Well, then you’ve got to go viral. Dropbox is a perfect example of a company that relied heavily on product virality, which was built into the product. Product virality is an art.

Belarus 137

Belarus Viral Channel Startup 137

Venture Chronicles

MARCH 5, 2013

Much has been written about the shift in spending from the CIO to the CMO, Gartner has been out front on this by forecasting that by 2017 the office of CMO will spend more on IT than the CIO function. “If you came into marketing because you didn’t like numbers, then you don’t have much of a future.”

Social Media 62

Social Media Video Distribution Forecast 62

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

The company has just missed its quarterly revenue forecast. VC Venture capital Viral growth Plugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes Copyright © David Skok 2009, 2010. VC Venture capital Viral growth Plugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes Copyright © David Skok 2009, 2010. What can be done to avoid the problem going forward?

Metrics 55

Metrics Design Entrepreneur Startup 55

Cracking the Code

JANUARY 22, 2009

By sales board plan, are you referring to Gary's actual business planning forecasts? Popular Media: the key to viral marketing. At one point in this post, Philippe says "Gary typically based his *sales board plan* at 70% of sales quota. So in effect, his business plan showed 30% less than the sales quota? Thank you!!

Software Review 91

Software Review Clawback Sales Salary 91

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 14, 2021

Given that consideration and actual sales data are highly correlated in this vertical, it follows that if BMW can influence brand consideration, they can forecast a lift in future sales and possibly market share: Image Source. They rank number one for brand awareness in the luxury car segment in the U.S.,

Metrics 157

Metrics Marketing Campaign Audience 157

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

Managing your cash position when forecasted sales aren’t being achieved is tough, and if you are spending more than you are generating and cash piles are dwindling, now is the time to address your financial position. Cash is king, always has been and always will be. Engine of growth pivot. This is how you grow your startup.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Architecture Revenue Channel 157

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2012

It’s a bad risk to count only on word-of-mouth and viral social network buzz for marketing, as I see in many business plans today. Be aggressive in your forecasts. Every investor has heard from the “conservative” founder who reduces his forecast to lower the risk. Plan to spend money on marketing. Lead rather than follow.

Forecast 257

Forecast Viral Social Network Business Model 257

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2011

It’s a bad risk to count only on word-of-mouth and viral social network buzz for marketing, as I see in many business plans today. Be aggressive in your forecasts. Every investor has heard from the “conservative” founder who reduces his forecast to lower the risk. Plan to spend money on marketing. Lead rather than follow.

Founder 245

Founder Forecast Startup Viral 245

Gust

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

It’s a bad risk to count only on word-of-mouth and viral social network buzz for marketing, as I see in many business plans today. Be aggressive in your forecasts. Every investor has heard from the “conservative” founder who reduces his forecast to lower the risk. Plan to spend money on marketing. Lead rather than follow.

Forecast 188

Forecast Viral Social Network Business Model 188

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2010

It’s a bad risk to count only on word-of-mouth and viral social network buzz for marketing, as I see in many business plans today. Be aggressive in your forecasts. Every investor has heard from the “conservative” founder who reduces his forecast to lower the risk. Take the strategic risk. Plan to spend money on marketing.

Entrepreneur 243

Entrepreneur Forecast Viral Business Model 243

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 14, 2017

We saw the issue of how do we get people to know that our free tool exist, and it has grown organically very well, it has a viral effect at this point, but the other thing we really did a year ago was double down on our content marketing, so one of the biggest challenges we have is our customers are software developers.

Kansas City 40

Kansas City CTO Hire Las Vegas Software Developers 40