Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Years ago, it cost a million dollars for a new e-commerce site, one that you can now create for almost nothing with current tools and technology.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 8, 2021

That’s why Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is such a critical metric. Cost of software/hardware used in sales and marketing Agency, PR, or any third-party costs involved in sales and marketing. The sum total of these costs divided by the number of new customers gives you CAC.

Acquisition 135

Acquisition Churn Rate Cost Customer 135

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

I recommend a trial run with an experiment or MVP (minimum viable product), at full price and cost, before the big bang launch, risking your investment money and a major time commitment. Growing too fast kills many new ventures, due to staffing costs, inventory, and funding delays. Needed help can be your biggest burden.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Merger Software Review Acquisition 329

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 29, 2023

Metrics play a significant role in customer journey analysis, providing quantifiable data that can be analyzed to glean valuable insights. In this blog post, we will delve into the rationale behind monitoring the customer journey, essential metrics for comprehensive analysis, and how segmenting data can provide deeper insights.

Metrics 158

Metrics Customer Harvest Acquisition 158

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

In other parts of the world, innovators often need to develop both the ultimate product or service, as well as the enabling infrastructure that underpins it. With a singular focus on building unicorns, very rapid growth has been a key metric. Build for sustainability and resilience, as well as growth.

Global 345

Global Silicon Valley Marketing Indonesia 345

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

For example, early adopters may be easily sold, but new technology product success really hinges on adoption by certain demographics, perhaps more influenced by celebrities or mommy bloggers. The last thing you need in a startup is a false start, where you can’t deliver on a product change deadline, or a new marketing channel.

Metrics 387

Metrics Technical Review Leadership Framework 387

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

I’m sure all you accountants will agree that fixing the mistakes listed here does not require rocket science, but I’ve seen them so often that to be forewarned is to be forearmed: Failing to factor in fixed costs when pricing. Always use a break-even analysis to measure what volume and price are required to offset total costs.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

As a simple example, the Wal-Mart website now shows shoppers more products that they may like, based on previous purchases. Simple metrics and your personal knowledge of the industry can’t keep up with all the relevant competitive forces. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm Global IPO 355

ConversionXL

JULY 21, 2022

By focusing intently on a single measurement, known as a north star metric. They even employ a dedicated “System Implementation Manager” whose sole responsibility is to drive adoption and get 70% of customers using the product daily. The north star metric defines success for the whole company and aligns teams on a growth trajectory.

Metrics 120

Metrics Acquisition Revenue .Net 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2020

In other parts of the world, innovators often need to develop both the ultimate product or service, as well as the enabling infrastructure that underpins it. With a singular focus on building unicorns, very rapid growth has been a key metric. Build for sustainability and resilience, as well as growth.

Silicon Valley 312

Silicon Valley Indonesia Venture Capital Global 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

Everyone knew these had potential, but had not demonstrated success to date due to infrastructure and support requirements, or cost constraints. Many investors and big companies are putting money into this space or adding it their product line today. Typical valuations range from 3x-5x revenues.

Artificial Inteligence 436

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Plan to deliver a family of products, rather than a one-trick pony. Even a great initial product, with no follow-on, won’t keep you ahead of competitors very long. A smarter risk is to build a plan, with associated greater resources, that will put you in position to expand your product line and keep one step ahead of competitors.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Marketing metrics are a competitive advantage. You have to track metrics you can act on. In this article, you’ll learn which metrics to measure to understand and improve marketing performance. Table of contents What are digital marketing metrics? KPIs vs. digital marketing metrics 1. – Seth Godin.

Metrics 105

Metrics Analytics Marketing Acquisition 105

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. MakeSpace (as he named it) would help you get your excess goods into low-cost warehouses.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Metrics like Return on Net Assets, Return on Capital and Internal Rate of Return are the guiding stars of the board and CEO. As Harvard professor Clayton Christensen noted, these efficiency metrics provided wise guidance for times when capital was scarce and raising money was hard. We legalized robbing the corporate treasury.

Private Equity 330

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 330

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Things will cost more than you expect. In this case, the primary cash outflow would be for product development and operating expenses, with potentially enough runway to build the initial product, get a patent, attract some early adopters, and build the initial revenue stream.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2021

Most of the entrepreneurs I meet as an investor and advisor have no shortage of right-brain thinking, showing vision and creativity, but often don’t realize that their potential is being limited by a balancing focus on results, metrics, and customer specifics. Show results with a minimal viable product (MVP).

Technical Review 332

Technical Review Metrics Leadership Technology 332

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Plan to deliver a family of products, rather than a one-trick pony. Even a great initial product, with no follow-on, won’t keep you ahead of competitors very long. A smarter risk is to build a plan, with associated greater resources, that will put you in position to expand your product line and keep one step ahead of competitors.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2022

Even after many years mentoring entrepreneurs and advising businesses, I continue to be surprised by the primary focus on products and processes, and the often incidental attention to hiring and nurturing the right people. It’s the same for customers and products, where analytics have long proven their value.

Analytics 303

Analytics Hiring Open Source Employee 303

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

If you buy into the argument that a strong board can actually help you then this post will lay out how to help you have more productive meetings by preparing properly in advance. Often board members themselves don’t do the work to say “what metrics would we like to see.” This is part of a broader series on Board Meetings.

Stock Options 226

Stock Options Metrics Stock Valuation 226

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 7, 2024

Running an ecommerce business requires efficient order fulfillment processes to get products to customers quickly and cost-effectively. Streamlining your fulfillment workflows can help you ship orders faster, reduce costs, and provide better customer service. Avoid using overly large boxes that raise charges.

eCommerce 167

eCommerce Software Review Metrics Analytics 167

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

Wessel also summarizes the costs and potential impacts of creating and building your startup in secondary markets, usually meaning not in Silicon Valley or one of the other super-hubs: It takes longer to raise money. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. It’s very important.

Las Vegas 309

Las Vegas Silicon Valley Arizona Montana 309

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 7, 2022

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is an important metric for any ecommerce business. Put simply, you need a healthy customer acquisition cost for your business to succeed. In this article, you’ll learn what ecommerce CAC is, how to calculate it, and how to keep costs down to maintain profit health. Your business is unique.

Acquisition 22

Acquisition eCommerce Cost Customer 22

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Things will cost more than you expect. In this case, the primary cash outflow would be for product development and operating expenses, with potentially enough runway to build the initial product, get a patent, attract some early adopters, and build the initial revenue stream.

Burn Rate 258

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But for founders who do their homework, the cost of entry is lower and the opportunity is higher than ever. Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Years ago, it cost a million dollars for a new e-commerce site, one that you can now create for almost nothing with current tools and technology.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

This isn’t just our opinion - our startup metrics prove it! That blurb, and the following examples, were all generated from GPT in only a few seconds, at a cost of less than one penny. Product descriptions and listings require tedious editing to make them engaging - especially after the fortieth one.

Generative AI 295

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence Houston America 295

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Reading the NY Times article “ Jeffrey Katzenberg Raises $1 Billion for Short-Form Video Venture, ” I realized it was time for a new startup heuristic: the amount of customer discovery and product-market fit you need to find is inversely proportional to the amount and availability of risk capital. ” Fire, Ready, Aim.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

This can happen through early marketing, independent of whether you have yet delivered a single product, proven your business model, or have any real customers. Here are some of the key specifics for credibility and acceptance as you create and use these metrics: Itemize investment levels from you, insiders, and family.

Advisory Board 199

Advisory Board Technical Review Metrics Business Model 199

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 4, 2023

Otherwise, they will (sooner or later) experience the resource drain, high overhead costs & low employee productivity. It’s an important metric for employers & managers because high turnover is often expensive and disruptive for the organization. This leads to higher job satisfaction and work productivity.

Employee 192

Employee Management Software Review Technical Review 192

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 8, 2024

Factors to Consider Before Taking on Debt The debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) is a financial metric lenders use to assess a business’s ability to cover its debt obligations. When considering debt options, comparing interest rates, repayment terms, and fees from multiple lenders is crucial to finding the most cost-effective solution.

Finance 147

Finance Technical Review Metrics .Net 147

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Things will cost more than you expect. In this case, the primary cash outflow would be for product development and operating expenses, with potentially enough runway to build the initial product, get a patent, attract some early adopters, and build the initial revenue stream.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 14, 2020

To this end, a number of commercial green buildings have been designed with features that promote workplace productivity and ambiance. The cumulative cost impact often adds to lower building operation and corresponding maintenance cost. With advances in technology, green buildings can also be built at fairly competitive prices.

Green 171

Green California Government Valuation 171

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I love good causes and social entrepreneurs, but a recent pitch to me about eliminating world hunger with a new product (harvesting algae at low cost) seemed to forget that really hungry people don’t have any money. Build a credible business implementation plan to quantify costs. Make the product or service come alive.

Intellectual Property 235

Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch Harvest Technical Review 235

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Unlocking the Power of Data: Transforming Metrics into Actionable Insights written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Janstch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interviewed Peter Caputa, CEO of Databox, an innovative player in the realm of marketing analytics.

Metrics 92

Metrics Analytics Forecast Software Review 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2022

If you dig deeper, you may find the root cause to be new competitors, or your key product has quality problems. Put metrics in place to track decision results. It’s easy to jump to conclusions and attack the symptoms of a new problem, such as blaming the marketing team for declining sales. Quick decisions and biases can be very costly.

Technical Review 302

Technical Review Social Media Metrics Hosting 302

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

Wessel also summarizes the costs and potential impacts of creating and building your startup in secondary markets, usually meaning not in Silicon Valley or one of the other super-hubs: It takes longer to raise money. But it is an important metric for firms in pursuit of explosive growth. It’s very important.

Las Vegas 243

Las Vegas Silicon Valley Arizona Montana 243

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 20, 2020

Increase Productivity. Payroll software can increase productivity by tracking the exit and entry time of workers. This means it can be easy to measure employees’ productivity based on the number of completed projects. This way, you may engage such employees to improve their performance levels to meet your productivity goals.

Software 219

Software Management Salary Startup 219