Startup Lessons Learned

JUNE 5, 2009

Companies that reliably fail to make their forecasted numbers are exceptionally prone to “management retooling.&# In a startup context, numbers like gross revenue are actually vanity metrics, not actionable metrics. I think the problem with this approach is not the presence of the spreadsheet, but how it’s used.

San Francisco 102

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment Startup 102

Up and Running

JULY 31, 2014

The full audio and slide deck are included above, and the full transcript can be found below: Sabrina Parsons: Hi everyone. Don’t set a sales goal or a sales forecast with a hundred line items in there. You’ve got a three year forecast with your goals, monthly for the first 12 months, and then yearly for the next two years.

Software Review 74

Software Review Sales Acquisition Small Business 74

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Ive forecasted the issues you have spoken of without entertaining the thoughts of solutions like you have. Startup Visa update ► February (5) Kiwi lean startup + Australia next Why diversity matters (the meritocracy business) Beware of Vanity Metrics (for Harvard Business Rev. This is more than just an "I think so."

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

Startup Lessons Learned

OCTOBER 30, 2008

Get 18 months or more of cash (runway) in the business against a conservative forecast. Startup Visa update ► February (5) Kiwi lean startup + Australia next Why diversity matters (the meritocracy business) Beware of Vanity Metrics (for Harvard Business Rev. Act now, act with speed. Use Google Apps.

Lean 121

Lean San Francisco Continuous Deployment DC 121

Duct Tape Marketing

JUNE 20, 2023

But there isn't actually a top down roadmap of how to do it with real milestones and metrics and uh, around it. (07:01): If only we could do amazing, you know, supply chain forecasting, right? 07:01): And a real fundamental change in the operating model. And it's never gonna be one use case, right?

Technical Review 77

Technical Review Silicon Valley Generative AI Arizona 77

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 13, 2009

After all, when upper management has been told a project will succeed for 4 years, it is very hard for anyone in middle management to stand up and reverse this forecast. It becomes a death march where all participants know they are doomed, but no one has the power to stop. Startup Lessons Learned - the Conference (April 23.

Product Development 153

Product Development Developer San Francisco Product 153

Startup Lessons Learned

JULY 9, 2009

Talking about trends is more about trying to forecast the future, like a guru, sometimes it works, sometimes not. Startup Visa update ► February (5) Kiwi lean startup + Australia next Why diversity matters (the meritocracy business) Beware of Vanity Metrics (for Harvard Business Rev. About spot trends. all about luck.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 94

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 13, 2008

Because five whys kept turning up a few key metrics that were hard to set static thresholds for, we even had a dynamic prediction algorithm that would make forecasts based on past data, and fire alerts if the metric ever went out of its normal bounds. You can even read a cool paper one of our engineers wrote on this approach).

Software Review 167

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 167

Up and Running

DECEMBER 9, 2014

Maybe you are wondering which metrics to track, or whether or not you should take out a loan for your business. The full audio can be listened to above, and the transcript can be found below. What I did is I learned the art of a pro forma and the value of a pro forma which basically is a forecast. Thank you very much.

Small Business 95

Small Business Finance Forecast Metrics 95