Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. No startup can afford to do these serially.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Offer free solutions to bring in more customers. No startup can afford to do these serially.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

When talking to startup founders or other innovators, we always ask questions to better understand their business as a core. How does it meet customers’ needs? One way to approach that last question is to use this simple model: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) How will your business reach prospects? What does the business do?

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

The second bullet, getting feedback from customers is most often not valid either. Even with these, you will have paper-tested your MVP, but the reality is that customers will not be able to assess the value to them until they actually use it. The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

It’s a very important concept for me because in a startup you are constantly under pressure and have way too many distractions. Commitment & urgency are key drivers of success in startup businesses. I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. Customer Acquisition. On measurement.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. Even when they have talked to multiple developers or development firms, we’re often the first to ask basic questions like “Who are your customers?” Who are the customers?

Developer 520

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO CTO Hire 520

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Thus I often recommend that before you kick off your own business, you join another startup or existing business to see how things really work. With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you. Even the best college degree is not a substitute.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

Jeremy applies his culture shift tenants to political and generic social issues, but I have adapted them here more specifically to the business realm of entrepreneurs and startups: Establish a social contract. Viral marketing” and “word-of-mouth” are tools of disciples in business today. Emotion, rather than logic, drives disciples.

Customer 210

Customer Social Media Affiliate Viral 210

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. I was talking with a colleague once about how videos go viral. It’s worth a quick read.

SEM 379

SEM Viral Marketing Widget 379

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

A business plan is the outward facing definition of the business you hope to drive with your hardware solution, with a hardware overview in the intro to highlight customer value and competitiveness. Use non-fuzzy terms to quantify customer value. Provide specifics on the customer business model.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

So how did a company that provides storage grow so fast (we’ll exit 2017 with 10’s of millions in recurring revenue), why is it so defensible and is it really a tech startup? If you buy that Amazon is a tech startup then essentially you’ve already answered the question. In short — how the hell did we raise $30 million?

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Los Angeles Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

As a mentor to startups, I see more startups that are really an individual professional, marketing themselves as a consultant or freelancer in this new gig economy. They know how to capitalize on social media, viral marketing, events, and the new tools of the trade. Here are some examples: Marketing Professional.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2021

Jeremy applies his culture shift tenants to political and generic social issues, but I have adapted them here more specifically to the business realm of entrepreneurs and startups: Establish a social contract. Viral marketing” and “word-of-mouth” are tools of disciples in business today. Emotion, rather than logic, drives disciples.

Marketing 317

Marketing Social Media Affiliate Viral 317

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

So why is online video such an attractive market to build a startup? These markets represent about $600 billion of total spend between them, leaving tons of opportunities for startups to disrupt and grow large. Content can go viral – the highest quality stuff is shared. We like sight, sound & motion.

Video 339

Video Technical Review Distribution Aggregator 339

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

The father of “Growth Hacking” appears to be Sean Ellis who wrote this widely read post, “ Find a Growth Hacker for your Startup. For starters it brings a mindset to startups that not all of them have innately. The more the supply of dollars spent in your channel the higher the cost-to-acquire new customers.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

I suspect that a good part of the problem is that startup and small business owners still don’t know where or how to start. They don’t know if they should move to social networks for lead generation, branding, customer loyalty, or for direct marketing and e-commerce. Read everything you can about viral marketing.

Social Media 289

Social Media Small Business Media Technical Review 289

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

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. The founder had simply not done the work to validate a price and customer segment. Save your viral campaign and major inventory buildup for later.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. The number of startups being created has increased by an order of magnitude. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin! The Exit Problem.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2010

Last night I co-hosted a dinner at Soho House in Los Angeles with some of the most senior people in the media industry with executives from Disney, Fox, Warner, media agencies and many promising tech & media startup CEO’s. It created viral buzz because other fans saw the email address and wanted to know how they got it.

Entrepreneur 356

Entrepreneur Los Angeles Norway Audience 356

VC Cafe

MARCH 16, 2025

Mention that you do “Consumer tech” as a startup founder and you’d be limiting your funding options to one third of the venture capital funds (in Israel that figure is probably closer to 10%). In addition to search, shopping and customer support are changing too. Personalisation is increasing across the board.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review B2C Generative AI IPO 78

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 17, 2020

Building trust is important for every business , but it’s even more essential for startups. Here is how you can use video to build client and consumer trust in your startup. The Early Stages of Promoting Your Startup. Building a lasting and fruitful relationship with your customers is all about trust.

Video 150

Video Software Review Startup Audience 150

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product." I would guess that this represents less than 5% of startups. A startup does require MVP but it is much more than just MVP.

Algorithm 264

Algorithm Metrics Viral Venture Capital 264

SoCal CTO

JUNE 15, 2011

Instead, I want to look at how they've integrated themselves with Facebook and particularly how they engage users to help viral spread. Later in this post, I'll talk about some of the downside of how they've made this viral. I'll explore a few of the social interactions that help with viral growth. Too Much Social Interaction?

Viral 331

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 331

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Display advertising. Email marketing.

Lead Generation 365

Lead Generation Customer SEM Marketing 365

SoCal CTO

JUNE 15, 2011

Instead, I want to look at how they've integrated themselves with Facebook and particularly how they engage users to help viral spread. Later in this post, I'll talk about some of the downside of how they've made this viral. I'll explore a few of the social interactions that help with viral growth. Too Much Social Interaction?

Viral 323

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 323

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. We first met Jamie when had had a startup called Simulscribe, which transcribed voicemail so you could read your messages rather than listen to them.

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Startup 120

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 120

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 8, 2023

Customers will be even more comfortable with the introduction of voice commerce, another unicorn of the online shopping experience. Sustainability is the Queen In 2023, customers have become even more environmentally conscious, as recent statistics prove. TikTok and Influencers One viral video on TikTok can reach 1.5

eCommerce 185

eCommerce Technical Review Software Review Analytics 185

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 11, 2011

I recently had the pleasure of spending an hour with Jon Steinberg, president of Buzzfeed , a company who focuses on helping media companies make their content go viral. But of course we also focused on making content go viral. I guess this video won’t go viral, then! Good comment community = viral blog.

Viral 354

Viral Video RSS Audio 354

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

Startups in a world of massive markets can be confusing. Or app companies that went viral due to spammy friend requests to download in an app store only to have a community backlash and subsequent crash. Startup Lessons' Success for many is ephemeral. ” If you didn’t read it I recommend it.

Product 150

Product B2B Warrant Technical Review 150

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 6, 2021

There are increasing efforts in the industry to create MVPs to validate your app, make it go viral, and collect customer feedback with minimal investments. On top of cashing in on emerging opportunities, it allows for greater customization of the interface by utilizing a simple crypto API for easy access.

API 158

API Java Ruby Software Development 158

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

If you were a newly minted, venture-backed consumer Internet company you had to have a deal with AOL to reach your customers. It did not have the same success as Google’s acquisition and MySpace sold Photobucket 2 years later to a relatively unknown Seattle-based startup called Ontela for a reportedly $60 million.

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Internet Technical Review 318

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2018

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. Investors hate technology solutions looking for a problem, due to the high risk of no customers. Customers like leaders, not followers.

Forecast 161

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 161

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

People said this about Ring (which went from startup to selling to Amazon > $1 billion in around 5 years), Facebook, YouTube, Airbnb, Uber, Twitter, Instagram and many other great behemoths of the technology industry. There is nothing viral! Ah, but Bird doesn’t have network effects! Anybody can launch a scooter service!

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Los Angeles Technical Review 256