Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

For existing investors, sometimes it was a “pay-to-play” i.e. if you don’t participate in the new financing you lose. Startups that can’t find product/market fit and/or generate sufficient revenue and/or lacked patient capital are scrambling for dollars – and the bottom feeders are happy to help. Why do VCs Do This?

Cram Down 407

Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 407

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

If they wanted to fund a company but other investors didn’t then they got involved in protracted negotiations over issues such as “pay-to-play” provisions. The pricing problem – So an investor put $5 million at a $10 million pre-money valuation in a company with a great beta product but no real customers. Can a deal get done?

Burn Rate 263

Burn Rate Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Private Equity 263

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Today on the podcast, I speak with Neil Crist , VP Product & Engineering at Moz. Moz is the leading industry expert on everything SEO, and in his role there, Crist leads the product and engineering teams in the creation of Moz’s portfolio of SaaS products. What role does proximity play in search results?

SEO 75

SEO Pay to Play Portfolio Engineer 75

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Food production and distribution, group collaboration, remote training or education, sensor technology (tracking people movement, temperatures, etc), certain biotech deals. We spent time talking about why “pay-to-play” deals are back on the table and why these deals happen.

Marketing 263

Marketing Valuation Churn Rate Balance Sheet 263

Hearpreneur

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Also, I had the opportunity to present my “Organic Reach is Dead: Learn to Pay to Play Like a Pro” Masterclass to a standing room only (or sold out) crowd on the main stage at the Social Media Week Los Angeles conference. 6 – Wonderful & Productive Summer. 9 – New Product.

Los Angeles 48

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Las Vegas Phoenix 48

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 13, 2018

In a survey by Wyzowl “The State of Video Marketing 2018 ,” 97 percent of marketers said video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service and 76 percent said it has helped increase sales. Pay to play” — the path to more exposure. Video’s prominence as the preferred form of content.

Social Media 191

Social Media Media SEO Channel 191

Brandanew

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

If you’re wondering why you would need a plan when you’ve already got a good quality product/service, think again. Benchmarking is the first part of an overall plan. It helps you know where you are. Create your plan as a way forward. In the 21 st century, it’s essential that you have a presence on the internet. Small investments will add up.

Affiliate 100

Affiliate Startup Social Media Pay to Play 100

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

I‘d never really paid much attention to it since I didn’t offer it as a service in my consulting days, nor does my previous employer (Moz) offer it as a product. Address acquisition products like Privy and MailMunch make it incredibly easy to tie your website, landing pages, and social campaigns directly to your email lists at your ESP.

Email 48

Email Technical Review Marketing SEO 48

The Equity Kicker

MARCH 18, 2014

The free-to-play model is far more effective for monetization than a pay-to-play model. If a product or company works at both macro and the micro levels then it will likely have both soul and be playing to a big trend – i.e. it will have better than usual odds of success.

Pay to Play 91

Pay to Play eCommerce Framework Partner 91

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 2, 2019

Here is more of his story in his own words: TSM: Describe the Hotspot Law product in 10 words or less: A new platform providing consumers free consultations with local attorneys. Consumers rely on search engines and pay-to-play rating sites to find legal counsel. He has some great advice for startups and businesses of all size.

Founder 90

Founder New York City Cofounder Bankruptcy 90

Up and Running

APRIL 3, 2017

For small businesses, it’s leveraging a tool that you use to market your products, promote Small Business Saturday sales, or to show off your new location—social media. Instagram paints a picture of your working environment, products, and visual identity. Pay to play: Set a daily budget of $20 for two to three weeks to start.

Social Media 96

Social Media Employee Media Hiring 96

Eric Friedman

JUNE 18, 2014

Privacy aside for the moment, this is a shift in how I have seen most FB products create a first time experience for users. Slingshot makes you “pay-to-play” by requiring you to “sling” (slingshot?) Noticeably missing from this process is an easy signup with Facebook button that would connect you to your FB graph.

Social Media 103

Social Media Pay to Play Video Mobile 103

OnlyOnce

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

Understand what the substitute products are (not just direct competition). Recruiting and retaining top talent are pay-to-play…but you have to go well beyond the standards and basics here. Spend time with customers and channel partners. Actively work industry associations. Walk the floor at conferences.

Pay to Play 134

Pay to Play Salary Leadership Metrics 134

Steve Blank

MARCH 22, 2016

She struggled early on trying to get customers to see her vision for maintaining aviation manuals and other records on the cloud rather than on paper: Kerry : Just a couple short months after that final testing (of Comply’s 365 product using a Kindle) the iPad came out and I looked at that. ” I was laughed out of every boardroom.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur North America Cofounder Silicon Valley 120

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Pragmatic cost cuts are always possible and often productive.” I’ve seen every imaginable type of liquidation preference structure, pay-to-play dynamic, preferred return, ratchet, share/option bonus, option repricing, and carveout. We entrepreneurs have been spinning that line for decades in every boom cycle.

Cap Table 70

Cap Table Down Round Liquidation Preference Founder 70

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

You can use this to your advantage to sell more products. TikTok Ads are TikTok’s pay-to-play offering for businesses. TikTok Ads give you the chance to put your products in front of the platform’s highly engaged user base to raise brand awareness , build relationships and increase sales. What are TikTok Ads?

Customer 102

Customer Viral Audience Campaign 102

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 30, 2023

Key Takeaway: Finding a way to integrate fun and play at work is a powerful asset that benefits the employees and the company itself. Implementing this strategy and activities in the workplace could increase the productivity of your employees and work together as a team towards the common goal for the company. I'm thrilled to be here.

Retention 73

Retention Canada Channel Pay to Play 73

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 19, 2021

The sheer size of Facebook means there’s likely an audience for any product. We’ll look at how to thrive with organic content and how to extend your reach with pay-to-play. Mailchimp combines video and short statuses to sell the benefits of its products and services. . Organic reach on the platform hovers around 5.2%.

Marketing 134

Marketing Audience Social Media Algorithm 134

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 27, 2011

Delaware law, however, recognizes a “futility” exception and excuses demand if the stockholder alleges particularized facts creating a reasonable doubt that the directors are disinterested and independent or that the challenged transaction “was otherwise the product of a valid business judgment.”

Delaware 49

Delaware Liquidation Preference Redemption Los Angeles 49

Austin Startup

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

Every day we work on our product and think about our users: “why would they be using this every single day?” Michelle Obama, the greatest advocate of kids playing sports in her role for Aspen Project Play, would be a huge inspiration to meet. To talk about the outdated pay-to-play system in sports in the U.S.

Netherlands 54

Netherlands Startup Philadelphia Cofounder 54

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

That’s how it feels when your hot deal from two years ago winds up running low on cash and gets into a pay-to-play round that wipes out the cap table. Meanwhile, you may have felt like your form—the things you were doing to throw a pitch—was the same as it was before—and perhaps even better. But I thought I was good!?”

Non-Compete 97

Non-Compete Cofounder Cap Table Reputation 97

Duct Tape Marketing

DECEMBER 23, 2019

They found that very few reasons had anything to do with the actual product or service. So, pay to play is definitely here. Customer experience and retention is the golden opportunity for every single business. PwC did extensive research into why customers stay loyal. So, how can we look at this in our marketing?

Small Business 68

Small Business Marketing Audio Technical Review 68

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

The company spends the $1m building and launching their first product. The product gets a lot better. It usually happens in a later round, when the company is in fact worth much less than the liquidation preference overhang and insiders use a pay-to-play and a low valuation to reset the preferences and the cap table.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

The principle of microeconomics is that at a market-clearing price for any product the right amount of sellers and buyers will emerge and a price will be set. Some products are “inelastic” meaning when prices go up demand doesn’t fall much (think cigarettes, alcohol or even illicit drugs). Call it high-stakes chicken.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

Duct Tape Marketing

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

He’s the Head of Product and Engineering at Moz, probably knows more about local SEO and the industry insights around SEO than most people. He is the Head of Product and Engineering at Moz. John Jantsch: At what point does this all become pay to play? Do I ever think it will be a pure pay to play scenario?

SEO 54

SEO Vertical Non-Compete Search 54

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 31, 2022

Regardless of whether or not you’ve raised capital, you’re severely sensitive to the limits of what you can do in a pay-to-play world. In today’s everything-digital world, you have a variety of platforms to promote products or services and really get something out of nothing. . The good news?

Social Media 116

Social Media Marketing Early Stage Metadata 116

Professor VC

MARCH 11, 2013

Investors and press would flock to the desert to see future hot startups unwrap their products and mature tech companies show off their latest and greatest. I'm surprised it is still around in 2013, but am sure the selectivity criteria has changed to whoever is willing to pay. 6 minutes on stage were truly a CEO's 15 minutes of fame.

Silicon Valley 28

Silicon Valley San Francisco Social Network SEC 28

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

They know there’s pay-to-play stuff. I remember products and information sources better when I share them and am more likely to use them.” – Anonymous study participant. Take this information and dig deeper to understand what your audience is saying about your industry and products and where they’re discussing them.

Social Media 145

Social Media Audience Media Marketing 145