Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2021

We all strive to reduce costs and improve efficiency, but the ultimate test is the potential to erode values, culture, and brand image. Yet every change can cause brand dilution or competition you don’t need. Attempts to do this have resulted in more confusion than value, as well as high management and marketing costs.

Leadership 426

Leadership Management Brazil Differentiation 426

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

My perspective as an angel investor is that once you get past early adopters, most people won’t switch to a new approach unless they perceive a cost or time savings or speed advantage of at least 20 percent. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days.

Intellectual Property 417

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Dilution Differentiation 417

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2021

I’m often surprised when you as an aspiring entrepreneur, looking for investors, tell me your solution is so innovative that you don’t have to worry about differentiating it from competitors, and customers will flock to it without a real marketing campaign. Personalization is the ultimate differentiation.

Restful 336

Restful Differentiation Social Media Dilution 336

The Next Web

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Even service companies like Amazon and Salesforce, whose systems are differentiated in part by their APIs, use them as a tactic to provide increased value for the primary business, which is providing robust services supporting cloud computing and CRM respectively.

API 135

API Audience Dividend Programming 135

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

For many businesses you should keep your costs low & your capital raises low until you discover whether you are really on to a big idea where there is market demand. If you are able to raise money from credible sources at a reasonable dilution percentage then I personally favor getting the round done now and building your business.

Pre-Money Valuation 303

Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Valuation PR 303

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

To differentiate it from typical “Series A&# preferred stock, which comes with certain expectations with regard to rights. If new investors get better rights in a future equity financings (such as registration rights, price-based anti-dilution, redemption rights, etc.), Anti-dilution protection. Future rights. Board seat.

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

Service as a bridge to a product business - One of the best ways for young startups to finance their business without any dilution is what I call “customer financing,&# which is mostly only possible in businesses that target businesses rather than consumers. There are at least two types of tech services businesses in my mind: 1.

Silicon Valley 332

Silicon Valley IP Dividend Finance 332

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

My perspective as an Angel investor is that once you get past early adopters, most people won’t switch to a new approach unless they perceive a cost or time savings or speed advantage of at least 20 percent. Non-specific terms, like better usability and low cost don’t incite customers to action these days.

Intellectual Property 234

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Dilution Differentiation 234

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

A lot of smaller startups are complaining that it’s super difficult to recruit talent right now, but few are differentiating their offering. How about paying into childcare costs, adoption, or IVF too? Take a little more dilution, raise a little more money, and spend on the most ignored personal goal in the market.

Hiring 187

Hiring Early Stage Marketing Term Sheet 187

Reid Hoffman

AUGUST 17, 2021

But the key is to ensure your product has a strong differentiator, which is exactly how Ramaswamy and his Neeva co-founders positioned the search engine company when it launched last year. If they are taking on problems that the other company is really, really, really good at, then they better have a strong differentiating thing.

Cofounder 69

Cofounder Differentiation Search Advertising 69

Reid Hoffman

AUGUST 17, 2021

But the key is to ensure your product has a strong differentiator, which is exactly how Ramaswamy and his Neeva co-founders positioned the search engine company when it launched last year. If they are taking on problems that the other company is really, really, really good at, then they better have a strong differentiating thing.

Cofounder 69

Cofounder Differentiation Search Advertising 69

Lightspeed Venture Partners

SEPTEMBER 21, 2013

The smartphone app that enables this is free but it costs $2.49 With his back to the wall and about to run out of money, his first priority should have been runway extension, not dilution from new capital. pre money valuation seems big, the actual implication is only between 5% and 10% dilution since the round size is small.

Pre-Money Valuation 167

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Dilution Distribution 167

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Some know how they do it, whether you call it your differentiated value proposition or your proprietary process or your USP. Use your marketing strategy to ensure campaigns never dilute your brand perception. Lemonade is an online insurance company offering low-cost renters’ and homeowners’ insurance.

Campaign 109

Campaign Social Media Audience Channel 109

Venture Chronicles

MAY 26, 2010

Those activities cover the full spectrum and are people powered, and people cost money. The short answer is that both Horowitz and Wilson are right because the correct answer hinges on a key variable summed up as “it depends&#. As markets develop they go through a natural expansion stage followed by consolidation.

Lean 40

Lean Early Stage Valuation Startup 40

The Startup Magazine

JULY 15, 2023

Make it so that they don’t need to combine services – something that could dilute your brand and offering. These advances mean that security businesses have new opportunities to differentiate themselves from the competition. It means that companies can offer city-wide or regional services at lower costs and higher margins.

Security 148

Security Artificial Inteligence Differentiation Dilution 148

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 22, 2012

But it only costs $65k to buy a new food truck, so it is easy for others to enter the market. The pre money valuations on the two deals were close enough to be a wash, but the ability to accelerate the business at twice the speed would have been a real differentiator. and costs $1.10 Tanya had invested $75k into the company.

Pre-Money Valuation 101

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Dilution Differentiation 101

Rob Go

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Instead, those funds try to invest in companies that can be “bigger”, but at the early stage, it’s hard to differentiate companies that could be $400M exits vs. $1B exits. The large fund may say to the founder,” wouldn’t you rather just raise $8M instead of $5M for the same (or marginally more) dilution?”

Dilution 61

Dilution Seed Stage Cofounder Early Stage 61

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

You’ll never have the staying power to commit when things get tough or to get really good and build real differentiation if you just keep jumping to the next new thing. at exit due to dilution. It creates dilution, and investing in these rounds increases your effective post-money. in a mid stage round at a $100M post.

IRR 205

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

You’ll never have the staying power to commit when things get tough or to get really good and build real differentiation if you just keep jumping to the next new thing. at exit due to dilution. It creates dilution, and investing in these rounds increases your effective post-money. in a mid stage round at a $100M post.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

You’re not allocating enough costs to gross margin or the cost to acquire a customer. Find and focus on one reliable distribution mechanism before diluting your time diversifying. The customer should derive 10x more value than it costs them. If the former, you need large differentiation — more than a feature or two.

Restful 202

Restful Founder Revenue Acquisition 202

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

You’ll never have the staying power to commit when things get tough or to get really good and build real differentiation if you just keep jumping to the next new thing. at exit due to dilution. It creates dilution, and investing in these rounds increases your effective post-money. in a mid stage round at a $100M post.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Your brand positioning explains how your company differentiates in the marketplace and how you are different from your competitors. Google’s USP might be in the way they connect people with information, whereas Amazon’s might be providing whatever product you need quickly, efficiently, and at as low a cost as possible.

Marketing 162

Marketing Charlotte Naming Design 162

Austin Startup

MARCH 26, 2019

You just spent a few thousand dollars on advertising and your paid customer acquisition cost (CAC) numbers tested well relative to your best guess for customer lifetime value (LTV). All else being equal, the incremental cost of acquiring the next customer will always be higher than the last. What happens at 3X?

Technical Review 49

Technical Review Software Review China Acquisition 49

Ben's Blog

MAY 24, 2021

Among the findings are: SPAC dilution amounts to roughly 50% of the cash ultimately delivered to the companies brought public. We hope this competition among listing options can drive down costs and reduce friction in the public offering process, thus encouraging more companies into the public markets. To ensure U.S.

SEC 36

SEC Accredited Investor IPO Technical Review 36

Duct Tape Marketing

APRIL 23, 2025

The New Rules of SEO: As AI marketing tools rise and Google becomes less reliable, companies must focus on creating value-driven content and video that educates, differentiates, and converts. Embrace Transparent Selling Techniques: The most successful businesses arent afraid to discuss costs, risks, and trade-offs.

Sales 41

Sales Software Database Technology 41