Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

As a business consultant and angel investor, I often ask for your own assessment of marketing ROI , or customer acquisition cost (CAC). Leaders and investors need to know if you have and are tapping into your key sources of relevant data, including web analytics, sales management data, and customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Acquisition 250

Acquisition Cost Customer Sales Cycle 250

Rembrandt Communications

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

It’s September, and the busy, holiday sales season is here. How To Boost 2022 Holiday Sales Fast – R.U.N.! • When was the last time you reviewed everything going on at your business including your website content, sales funnels, customer service processes, delivery materials, social media, online analytics, and more?

Sales 246

Sales Social Media Analytics Public Relations 246

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 295

Generative AI CTO Hire Fractional CTO Software Review 295

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

Every new business I know dreams of building momentum in their business, where growth continues to increase, customers become your best advocates, and employee motivation is high. Unfortunately, with limited resources, this isn’t possible, and it frustrates customers and the team. Focus first on finding more of the right customers.

Technical Review 400

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 341

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 341

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2021

For entrepreneurs, effective networking is required to find investors, partners, and customers. Product development. For a great idea person, the product details keep changing for the better, but nothing ever gets finished. Customer retention. More customers are lost to apathy after the sale than poor service or quality.

Technical Review 333

Technical Review Startup Software Review Retention 333

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Finding a customer for your product in the Department of Defense is hard: Who should you talk to? Looking for DoD customers How do you know if they have money to spend on your product? How do you get their attention? It almost always starts with a Program Executive Office. So I wrote one. phone book.

Programming 249

Programming Customer Portfolio Government 249

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2020

One of the harsh realities for most product entrepreneurs is that they have deal with hiring and firing as their company grows, and they have no experience or idea where to start. Sales Professional. The best sales people in any company are highly focused, and self-motivated by the commissions they can earn by closing a few big deals.

Startup 410

Startup Angel Investor Social Media LLC 410

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

But ops & customer support is another 17-20% of revenue and arguably you couldn’t run the business if you took that away. Sales and marketing has been 30%+ basically forever, though undoubtedly Airbnb has enough brand recognition and loyal customers that if you turned off marketing spend then revenue would drop but not to zero.

North America 401

North America IPO Prospectus Europe 401

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2020

Many passionate entrepreneurs fight to add more features into their new products and services, assuming that more function will make the solution more appealing to more customers. In reality, more features will more likely make the product confusing and less usable to all. Broad product offerings require too much infrastructure.

Startup 424

Startup Bandwidth Distribution Agile 424

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

I like the summary of the competitive reality in a new book, “ Rethinking Competitive Advantage: New Rules for the Digital Age ,” by Ram Charan, who relates a wealth of current experience from global clients: Customers expect a personalized experience. Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm Global IPO 355

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2022

In fact, it’s all about the “focus” required to get early stage technology products across the deadly chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers. Missions and products that are too broad confuse your team, your customers, and potential investors. Product development chasm. Marketing and sales chasm.

Technical Review 375

Technical Review Startup Dilution Early Stage 375

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

I suggest looking for painful problems to solve, rather than “easier to use” or “nice to have” solutions, for customers with money. Customers line up to believe and buy from people who are viewed as leaders or experts relative to a specific solution. Collaborate with customers to tune your solution.

Merger 386

Merger Acquisition Software Review Social Media 386

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 6, 2024

Sales incentives play a critical role in motivating employees. Definition and Importance of Sales Incentives Sales incentives are bonuses and rewards employees receive to inspire and improve their work performance. Companies find that implementing sales incentives boosts morale and improves overall productivity.

Employee 158

Employee Sales Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 158

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

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Startups must tackle challenges from scarce resources to changing customer needs proactively. These systems apply complex algorithms to parse sales data, forecast demand trends, and manage stock levels efficiently. This helps prevent excess inventory and shortages, boosting operational effectiveness and customer happiness.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Startup Differentiation Social Media 145

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

According to an old Harvard Business Review article, many people in history, famous for their inventions, like Thomas Edison, were entrepreneurs who only later were remembered as inventors of the products they commercialized. In other words, inventions are necessary but not sufficient to create real value for investors and customers.

Technical Review 391

Technical Review Intellectual Property Early Stage Global 391

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 27, 2020

It follows a pretty basic business model of selling products online for people to order. You stock the products in a warehouse or your garage, then ship them off as the orders come in. Especially if you already have your products ready to sell! It’s still highly possible to make a lot of sales and generate loads of customers.

Search 317

Search Stock Security Technical Review 317

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

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

Contact key vendors and existing customers. Explain that they may be called, and use the opportunity to check their satisfaction with your company and your product. Validation of product. This will cover the technology, the current state of development, and customer satisfaction. Sales and marketing strategy.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 380

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. It’s what every customer looks for in every transaction.

Startup 337

Startup Technical Review Employee Hiring 337

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2020

He lays out seven thinking strategies for both entrepreneurs and employees that will make them business winners: Focus on the customers at all times. Corporate thinkers often become preoccupied with doing their jobs and following rules, not pleasing customers. They don’t realize that customers are the source of all business payback.

Technical Review 294

Technical Review Business Model Employee Sales 294

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

DECEMBER 30, 2020

You alone will never find enough hours in a day to keep with all the challenges of sales, support, and scaling the business, in addition to developing and delivering your solution. With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you. Survival requires regular updates.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Others schedule exhaustive training sessions for everyone on the team, including showcase customers, to make sure that everyone paints a consistent picture. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad. Status of the solution.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

Don’t forget to add all pesky “overhead” costs, with fixed elements, like rent, insurance, and administration, and variable elements, like delivery, customer support, and commissions. If you expect payment in 30 days, many customers will stretch this period to 45 days or even 90. This difference will kill your profit margin.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2021

Idea people must surround themselves with people who build momentum and get things done, including production, marketing, finance, and sales. Some entrepreneurs have an abundance of passion, but are short on the realities of customer needs, market trends, and financial constraints.

Entrepreneur 341

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Partner Software Development 341

Rembrandt Communications

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Is Cupid’s arrow missing your customers right now? Do customers love the way you communicate? How to Mend Your Broken Heart Over Lacking Sales! How does it relate to your sales plan and business overall? Maybe you want to send them to a specific article, newsletter sign-up form, sales representative, or something else?

Software Review 264

Software Review Database Public Relations Audience 264

The Startup Magazine

JULY 24, 2024

Several key factors influence these costs, with product type, size, and weight being the primary determinants. Another major factor is the seasonality of sales. You can explore Amazon ecommerce fulfillment services to improve customer satisfaction and streamline operations.

Cost 166

Cost Technical Review Software Review Stock 166

Steve Blank

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Most of the machines were custom-built to crack a specific code, and increasingly used a new ERA invention – the magnetic drum memory to process and analyze the coded texts. Sales in their first fiscal year were $1.5 ERAs systems were designed to solve problems defined by their Navy code-breaking customer.

Minnesota 317

Minnesota Engineer Minneapolis Silicon Valley 317

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2020

Every startup success is a function of great people, products, and profits. Leapfrog products invent and reinvent markets. Incremental product ideas do not change markets. Focus on the customer for repeated success. If your solution is free, or you lose money on every sale, it’s hard to make it up in volume.

Technical Review 324

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Business Model 324

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

One of the harsh realities for most product entrepreneurs is that they have deal with hiring and firing as their company grows, and they have no experience or idea where to start. Sales Professional. The best sales people in any company are highly focused, and self-motivated by the commissions they can earn by closing a few big deals.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2021

His focus is primarily on improving the results for traditional sales professionals, but I’m convinced that the same principles are equally critical for entrepreneurs selling their startup to investors, strategic partners, and customers. These attributes include the following: Specific moment-in-time indication.

Elevator Pitch 313

Elevator Pitch Technical Review Boston Sales 313

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2020

Communications that traditionally could only be broadcast to all can now be done on a customized person-to-person level, interactively. These can be utilized as force multipliers by creating “pop-up” stores or events at a moment’s notice in the middle of an opportunity to get interest, attention, and sales. Marty Zwilling.

Silicon Valley 312

Silicon Valley Flash Social Media Software Review 312

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220