View from Seed

JULY 5, 2022

Founder: Connor Cash. Get to know the founder. I’m Connor Cash, the founder of Caesar and I grew up outside of Boston but currently live in DC! RH: What’s your favorite thing about being an early-stage founder? CC: Being a founder is a rollercoaster ride. . Company: Caesar Sustainability. ” – Lee Hower.

DC 156

DC Software Review Government Boston 156

Steve Blank

MARCH 16, 2016

To most founders a startup is not a job, but a calling. But startups require money upfront for product development and later to scale. Founders can now access the largest pool of risk capital that ever existed –in the form of Private Equity (Angel Investors, family offices , Venture Capitalists (VC’s) and Hedge Funds.). (BTW,

Liquidity Event 120

Liquidity Event Founder Liquidation Preference Venture Capital 120

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 26, 2009

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Sunday, April 26, 2009 Product development leverage Leverage has once again become a dirty word in the world of finance, and rightly so. But I want to talk about a different kind of leverage, the kind that you can get in product development. Its a key lean startup concept.

Product Development 88

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 88

Steve Blank

AUGUST 31, 2009

After 20 years of working in startups, I decided to take a step back and look at the product development model I had been following and see why it usually failed to provide useful guidance in activities outside the building – sales, marketing and business development. So what’s wrong the product development model?

Customer Development 238

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 238

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

by Felix Winstone, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Talkative. As a startup co-founder with a growing team, here are the recruiting tips I’ve learnt over the last couple of years. Hiring = Sales. A good recruitment process has many parallels with a sales funnel. Not sales, product development, or fundraising.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Since this number is budgeted and pre-authorized, managers tend to focus upon other things such as sales, marketing and product development issues. Now: my story of investor-product-market misfit: I have one story that remains as vivid in my mind as when it happened several years ago. The art of good management.

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley Burn Rate Angel Investor Down Round 118

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how dramatically your own role has to evolve as you develop a solution, start a business, and expect it to scale into a successful self-managed company. Thus my job as a small business advisor really is really more about getting you developed than perfecting the business.

Leadership 248

Leadership Technical Review Cofounder Social Media 248

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Quick summary: Be careful not to have too many co-founders. I don’t think VCs care as much about co-founders & economics as people think. Without strong PMs you build crappy products that nobody needs or that real people can’t use. Don’t hire “relationship management” sales people too early.

Cofounder 388

Cofounder Early Stage Startup Silicon Valley 388

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Social media is not rocket science.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step. pexels A war chest is virtually always a competitive edge in all aspects that count, including employing key staff, public relations, marketing, and sales. Hence they will miss the finish line.

Seed Stage 124

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 124

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

When Sloan arrived at GM in 1920 he realized that the traditional centralized management structures organized by function (sales, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing) were a poor fit for managing GM’s diverse product lines. If you’re following Tesla, you might be interested to know that Sloan wasn’t the founder of GM.

Michigan 268

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 268

Small Business Force

AUGUST 27, 2017

In fact, three key elements have to be in sync for your sales to succeed – the right product, the right sales team, and the right sales process. "I They were selling a new product, in a relatively new space, with little training. Not even close. "I coached good; They played bad."

Sales 30

Sales Sales Cycle Product Technical Review 30

Mucker Lab

MAY 28, 2020

This post originally appeared in TechCrunch back in 2015, written by our co-founder and managing partner Erik Rannala. Like a teenager with a million-dollar allowance and an identity crisis, a startup with too much capital and no product-market fit will become capable of making larger mistakes. How do you know you have it? It’s an art.

Startup 78

Startup Cofounder Burn Rate Technical Review 78

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

You can’t be an effective founder or in the C-suite of a startup if you don’t hold any. Here’s how I learned why they were critical to successful customer development. And he proceeded to lay out a fairly complex and innovative sales and marketing strategy for our next 18 months. What do you think?” That should be easy.

Business Model 305

Business Model Product Development Early Stage Customer Development 305

Version One Ventures

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

Sell to few”: Traditional enterprise sales. Selling into this market requires the traditional enterprise sales approach, comprised of a large ‘boots on the ground’ field sales team that works with key decision makers (e.g. These are long sales cycles, often with multiple departments and stakeholders involved.

Fractional CTO 154

Fractional CTO Software Review Viral Sales Cycle 154

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2022

That’s where I see too much entrepreneur burnout, growth plateaus, and founders being replaced, to their chagrin. According to one study a decade ago, only 45% of founders plan to exit after stage one, and my guess is that less than half the remainder survive the next stage in their own company. Optimize the total customer experience.

Mezzanine 368

Mezzanine Private Equity Bandwidth Metrics 368

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Social media is not rocket science.

Burn Rate 262

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Entrepreneur Salary 262

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2013

Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Product development. For a great idea person, the product details keep changing for the better, but nothing ever gets finished. Investor negotiations.

Entrepreneur 275

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 275

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.

Customer Development 224

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 224

YoungUpstarts

MAY 23, 2018

Most startups do not fail because they had a bad idea that could not find a market, but rather because the founders and startup teams got overwhelmed or were missing key ingredients to success. Many founders or startup teams gravitate toward sales or design. Often, founders have an entrepreneurial mindset.

Due Diligence 133

Due Diligence Startup Finance Leadership 133

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2012

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. I challenge any startup to show me they have avoided all of these: One of the founders isn’t delivering. Besides, he is now more interested in designing the next product. Sales aren’t meeting projections.

Software Developers 229

Software Developers Software Development Business Model Product Development 229

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 7, 2017

Two conditions that do matter to your startup’s out-year viability are the cost and length of its product development cycle. Startup founders counting the days until break-even or actively seeking outside capital must focus on streamlining their development cycles. Work Off a User Manual Template.

Cost 100

Cost Developer Small Business Administration Marketing 100

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Create a spreadsheet: Include all your current and anticipated operational costs, like professional fees, content outsourcing, sales, tax, and web hosting. Create ten new sales-focused blogs in four months. Of course, most startups are all about product development and launch.

Developer 159

Developer Marketing Social Media Startup 159

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

by Nick Candito, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Progressly. Time and time again, there’s one critical component that hampers productivity and efficiency: We are wired to work within the confines of organizational silos. Contact centers are closely tied with marketing, sales, shipping and even product development.

Cofounder 174

Cofounder Technical Review Operations Employee 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

In fact, it’s highly unlikely that you as the Founder will survive. Switch your focus from product development to sales. Explosive growth to an enterprise normally requires a scalable sales model, a well-documented process with incentives, training, and metrics for tracking and management.

Merger 379

Merger Due Diligence SEC IPO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2011

Product development is stuck at that 90% mark, a key person leaves, and customers are talking but not buying. I challenge any startup to show me they have avoided all of these: One of the founders isn’t delivering. Besides, he is now more interested in designing the next product. Sales aren’t meeting projections.

Startup 245

Startup Software Developers Software Development Business Model 245

Version One Ventures

AUGUST 26, 2016

With that said, here are some general guidelines I have developed over the years for building a management team. Founders should focus their time and efforts on the areas that create the most value. When debating whether to hire in one area versus another, you should prioritize based on founders’ interest/knowledge in certain areas.

Part-Time VPE 60

Part-Time VPE Management Finance Vertical 60

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Waiting until you have something to sell before bringing on a sales and operations staff. Getting a sales contract before manufacturing inventory. For example, a software development startup raising $250,000 from angel investors better be able to operate on $25,000 per month. Social media is not rocket science.

Burn Rate 120

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 120

View from Seed

MARCH 24, 2021

” Below are our favorite pieces from the past few years, divided in to a few key categories: fundraising, company building, product development, industry trends, and the life of a VC. Doing Reference Checks on VCs “Try to speak to at least one founder that the investor has worked with in a failed investment.

Seed Stage 177

Seed Stage Hiring IPO Analytics 177

YoungUpstarts

MAY 3, 2017

by Bob La Loggia, founder and CEO of AppointmentPlus. From product development to market research, many startups are one-person operations in their early days. Mobile or web-based booking apps help you schedule sales calls and remote conferences efficiently, rather than getting stuck in lengthy email chains about availability.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Management Arizona Software Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 15, 2010

Serious investors expect founders to have their homework done before the first interaction – documented executive summary, business plan, and financial model. Product development. For a great idea person, the product details keep changing for the better, but nothing ever gets finished. Investor negotiations.

Entrepreneur 237

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Retention 237

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 21, 2013

Insufficient capital, over investment, and low sales are just some of the reasons leading to this sobering statistic. Enter “ The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses “, a New York Times bestseller by founder of IMVU (creator of 3D avatars) Eric Ries.

Lean 193

Lean Technical Review North America Startup 193

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

There is a myth among first time tech founders that product is everything. Many lack intuitive financial sense that can help them build a great company once they achieve product-market fit. Here are five financial concepts that every startup founder should know to build an everlasting company. Asset valuation. venkatarag.

Founder 117

Founder Valuation Dividend Startup 117

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

RBI normally requires founders to pay back their investors with a fixed percentage of revenue until they have finished providing the investor with a fixed return on capital, which they agree upon in advance. For background, see Revenue-Based Investing: A New Option for Founders who Care About Control. Alternative Capital. “

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

Both brand marketing and product marketing are important to a well-built marketing strategy. Product marketing informs strategic positioning and ensures alignment across the company. Product marketing teams spend most of their time liaising with product teams (88.3% Use product marketing to boost reach and sales.

Marketing 110

Marketing Product Audience Equity 110

Up and Running

MAY 15, 2014

When I was going through the co-founder “dating” process, I’d found a potential partner through my network who seemed to be perfect. During our time working together, I was impressed by my potential partner’s sales abilities and drive to hit the personal goals we’d set. But how do you measure (and prove) a gut feeling?

Partner 113

Partner Cofounder Equity Metrics 113

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 6, 2022

Steve is the CEO of Founders Space, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Founders Space was ranked the #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazines. 18:05] How does the Founder Space operate? [20:21] He's the CEO of founders space.

San Francisco 97

San Francisco Technical Review Incubator Silicon Valley 97