Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2022

It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. They do it because engaged customers become loyal advocates and buyers. It’s a dynamic customer environment out there. Innovate; don’t perfect.

Customer 267

Customer Technical Review Social Media Partner 267

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

Key Functions with High Impact Generative AI is revolutionizing sales by enabling dynamic pricing and personalized customer interactions, boosting conversion rates and customer satisfaction. Post-sale, AI analyzes customer data to improve service and loyalty, making it a cornerstone of modern sales methodologies.

Generative AI 297

Generative AI CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 297

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

Juggling multiple responsibilities and ensuring productivity can be challenging without effective time management strategies. Prioritize Your Tasks Effective prioritization enables entrepreneurs to focus on tasks that are crucial and urgent, rather than reacting impulsively to less critical demands.

Management 158

Management Entrepreneur Technical Review Dilution 158

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 12, 2020

The social distancing needs and huge traffic online has led companies to upgrade their online selling channels to meet the digital demand. This optimization enables businesses moving to the online market to adapt faster to evolving customer expectations, technology advancement, and changing digital experiences.

Technical Review 246

Technical Review Architecture Software Review Demand 246

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. Silicon Valley’s conventional model is to integrate local experienced engineering, product development, and marketing people for the big push.

Global 345

Global Silicon Valley Marketing Indonesia 345

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved. You have to start with hiring only people who are willing and able to make serious customer service happen.

Technical Review 385

Technical Review Salary Metrics Matching 385

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Look for real problems to solve, like losing weight, staying healthy, or gaps in a popular product line. Today it more often means a “trusted friend” who seems real, visible, and doesn’t “push” products. Provide website forums to help customers solve their own problems. Position yourself as an expert. Automate to the max.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Software Review Internet Revenue 312

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Great businesses begin with a customer problem that has a big and monetizable pain point. Nail the solution. Nail the business model.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

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. Silicon Valley’s conventional model is to integrate local experienced engineering, product development, and marketing people for the big push.

Silicon Valley 312

Silicon Valley Indonesia Venture Capital Global 312

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. Look for validation from your mainstream customers. Paul Allen was the technical visionary, Test the viability of your business parameters.

Technical Review 329

Technical Review Merger Software Review Acquisition 329

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2020

Every startup success is a function of great people, products, and profits. Self-demanding beats boss-demanding every time. Leapfrog products invent and reinvent markets. Incremental product ideas do not change markets. Focus on the customer for repeated success. Startup successes are never perfect.

Technical Review 324

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Business Model 324

TechEmpower

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

An empty textbox, demanding to be filled with a concise, compelling summary to impress potential employers is daunting. So instead, we fill it with a completely custom blurb, written just for him: Hello! Now that AI is here to help, every textbox is an opportunity to help a customer through the challenge.

Generative AI 297

Generative AI Artificial Inteligence Houston America 297

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. How many customers will have any idea what this means to them? You need to clearly convey what makes your startup the only choice for your customers.

Marketing 353

Marketing Technical Review Social Media Technology 353

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Airbnb’s availability as a marketplace and its aggregation of substantial consumer demand has actually meant certain forms of lodging have been newly built or converted into rooms for the primary purpose of listing on Airbnb. How does this all stack up against OTAs or hotel companies?

North America 401

North America IPO Prospectus Europe 401

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Unfortunately, I see too many new entrepreneurs who let their passion for a new idea or invention blind them to the stark realities of customer need, opportunity size, or pricing and cost implications. The sooner you face these issues, the more success you will garner from investors and customers.

Advisory Board 356

Advisory Board Bandwidth Cofounder Technical Review 356

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 29, 2019

It’s past the “napkin-sketch” stage with a rough minimum viable product and about 100 users. Here’s what I suggested they do: Mei and Bill are building a better version of an on-demand help service like TaskRabbit. The early indication from their minimum viable product is that they found early signs of product/market fit.

Bandwidth 302

Bandwidth Database Venture Capital Demand 302

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 345

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 345

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. It’s what every customer looks for in every transaction. In today’s marketplace, junior staffers are often the most intimately connected to the market, technology, and the customer network. Again, you get what you demand and reward.

Startup 337

Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 24, 2024

Customer engagement strategies encourage businesses to provide a positive experience that will encourage buyers to return by focusing on how you interact with your customers online and offline. Building an effective customer engagement strategy can create a substantial impact on your business.

Customer 148

Customer Social Media Retention Software Review 148

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

In other words, how do you recognize the challenges that really need your leadership , versus the less critical demands that seem to always bubble to the top? Customer feedback in the form of online reviews and poor customer service is often rationalized as unreasonable expectations or one or two crazy individuals.

Leadership 301

Leadership Founder Salary Demand 301

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Also, the use of a CRM system not only helps companies manage their customer base, but also makes it possible to keep up with the expectations of today’s home buyers and sellers. a 34 per cent boost in sales productivity. Consider a CRM Solution Customized for Your Company in Five Situations. Improve sales accuracy by 42%.

Software Developers 217

Software Developers Software Development Software Developer 217

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 310

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. They rarely highlight their marketing and relationship skills , even though, in my experience, these are more often the key to success in business than product skills.

Silicon Valley 284

Silicon Valley Technical Review Leadership Metrics 284

The Startup Magazine

JULY 24, 2024

Several key factors influence these costs, with product type, size, and weight being the primary determinants. You can explore Amazon ecommerce fulfillment services to improve customer satisfaction and streamline operations. By using FBA, your products become eligible for Amazon Prime, which can significantly improve sales.

Cost 167

Cost Technical Review Software Review Stock 167

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 29, 2023

The integration of technology into various aspects of business operations has become essential for organizations to remain competitive, deliver exceptional customer experiences, and drive innovation. This is where JayDevs comes into play. However, the journey of digital transformation requires more than just the selection of a framework.

Artificial Inteligence 158

Artificial Inteligence Framework Application Development Software Developers 158

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

These haven’t changed much over the years, but still seem to be often overlooked by business professionals and leaders in their haste to keep up with peers, competitors, and customers in today’s volatile environment. Timely follow-up on customer and team member requests. Find what works for you.

Flash 303

Flash Angel Investor Technical Review Social Media 303

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

They have become a by-product of innovation rather than the cause of it: Conglomerates grew from industrialization, not innovation. Many countries have learned to make products cheaper and better. Customers today demand products and services personalized or tailored to local needs with embedded quality of life services.

Artificial Inteligence 315

Artificial Inteligence Offshore Merger Technical Review 315

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

How can businesses and marketing teams reach customers in the age of COVID-19, respond to lightning-fast changes in the marketplace, and keep up with new consumer demands? Agile marketers recognize that the future is impossible to predict accurately, so how customers will react to a marketing promotion is equally impossible to predict.

Agile 264

Agile Marketing Campaign Sales 264

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

While this approach appears to cost more on the surface, it often actually costs you less, when you consider the hidden costs of rework, poor customer satisfaction, employee management, and training required. Direct customer-facing non-technical roles should be the last ones outsourced. Startups all need that flexibility.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Employee 308

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

Investors know that the fun of a startup turns into managing production processes, sales processes, and personnel in a few years. The resulting entity will gain complementary skills, economies of scale, new customer sets, and hopefully a larger growth opportunity. Investors hesitate to invest under these conditions.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Put yourself in the shoes of Mark Liu, chairman of TSMC: Do you view China as more of a competitor or customer – and why? Products that are sold commercially and to the DoD are called “dual-use.”). The goal is to meet its local chip demand by 2030. Do you think China can credibly catch TSMC (without an invasion of Taiwan)?

Technical Review 407

Technical Review Taiwan Technology Silicon Valley 407

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Most leaders agree that poor customer service is a business killer today, in terms of lost customers, reduced profits, and low morale. Yet the average perception of customer experience has not improved. You have to start with hiring only people who are willing and able to make serious customer service happen.

Technical Review 249

Technical Review Salary Metrics Matching 249

VC Cafe

MARCH 16, 2025

The integration of AI and generative AI is radically transforming how consumers interact with technology, potentially leading to a wave of innovative products and services. In addition to search, shopping and customer support are changing too. Personalisation is increasing across the board. The potential is HUGE.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review B2C Generative AI IPO 78

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2023

Every startup success is a function of great people, products, and profits. Self-demanding beats boss-demanding every time. Leapfrog products invent and reinvent markets. Incremental product ideas do not change markets. Focus on the customer for repeated success. Startup successes are never perfect.

Technical Review 229

Technical Review Due Diligence Business Model Demand 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2020

Of course, most of you expect that raising money will be difficult, as well as staving off competitors, and handling that occasional toxic customer. What you don’t expect is to feel out of control , or to always be fighting the many demands for your time. Cheaper in the beginning can be more costly in the long run.

Entrepreneur 306

Entrepreneur Due Diligence Startup Acquisition 306

The Startup Magazine

MAY 3, 2024

As a versatile ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics caters to a variety of business needs, supporting everything from sales management to customer interactions. Its modular nature allows for customized setups that can grow with your business, providing an infrastructure that adapts to both current needs and future expansion.

Early Stage 158

Early Stage Technical Review Software Review Operations 158