Occam's Razor

JANUARY 6, 2010

Ask your Finance department where most money is being spent on the web. No longer can tools or "analysts" just puke 15 metrics on a report and hope to survive. I love the depth of data now available in both tools for free (even if you use just the free part of Compete). All free from Compete. Ok now your turn.

Analytics 99

Analytics Web Campaign PPC 99

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

For angel groups, the distinction between groups and VCs on this issue is dwindling, especially as angel groups do bigger rounds of financing.   Note that this applies only to earl stage Series A-type equity financings and assumes no cash dividends are paid to investors. . Non-financial terms affecting Risk.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

I spend hours thinking about the products, competitors, market opportunities, recruiting and financing of these businesses. But I have a strong preference for: Non obvious ideas. I prefer to compete more with other startups than with giants. How else can I begin this multi-year journey if I’m not in love?

Early Stage 254

Early Stage Non-Compete LP Later Stage 254

Steve Blank

JUNE 23, 2016

As a consequence, corporations used metrics like return on net assets (RONA), return on capital deployed, and internal rate of return (IRR) to measure efficiency. These metrics make it difficult for a company that wants to invest in long-term innovation. Risk capital has provided financing for new ideas in the form of startups.

Architecture 227

Architecture IRR Balance Sheet Liquidity Event 227

Up and Running

JUNE 27, 2018

Base every hiring decision on the value—dollars and cents—that your new hire will add, and don’t do it until your finances can support it. . However, this move alienated their current customer base, as they felt that Gap was moving away from the comfortable, non-trendy items and into a more fashion-forward brand. Not having a website.

Marketing 109

Marketing Social Media Campaign Sales Cycle 109

Business Plan Blog

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

Part of the process of differentiating from a non-profit organization and a for profit business requires a social enterprise to understand how it competes with the business entities on each end of the business spectrum. All non-profits are engaged in some form of fundraising, as it is a necessity to fund their organization.

Non-Compete 45

Non-Compete Lean Equity Metrics 45

Tim Keane

MAY 27, 2010

And to me that means competing – and winning – in business – with an eye toward the purpose that we strive for.   They have a growth metric – one measurement of success – that focuses the attention of the entire enterprise. Here in America, 95+% of all entrepreneurs never have had any external investment financing.

Bootstrapping 60

Bootstrapping Startup America Employee 60

K9 Ventures

JUNE 5, 2015

In that presentation, I said that Seed is not the first round of financing any more and that K9’s investments were mostly “pre-seed”. As the check size increases, investors tend to look for more traction, established revenue models, proven unit-economics, and other metrics that were previously associated with later stage companies.

Seed Stage 48

Seed Stage Venture Capital Early Stage Valuation 48

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I would say my wife & I are on the “non neurotic&# side of parents. EcoMom’s metrics improved throughout this process and that’s when I decided to invest. That, plus I love the space of high-customer-service, focused eCommerce for moms worried about what their kids eat & wear.&#.

Valuation 292

Valuation Deal Flow Lead Investor Cofounder 292

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

The typical wisdom regarding the appropriate financing course for a new company goes as follows: 1. This venture capital financing - usually between $3 and $10 million - is the first of a number of rounds of outside investment over a period of three to five years. For most companies, it is simply a non-starter.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 11, 2016

Knowing precise metrics about your business is prudent business management. It’s especially important if you are trying to manage finances and balance cash flows. Depending on the space you operate in and the size of your startup, you may need to bring in additional metrics to get more accurate information.

Operations 100

Operations Management Churn Rate Startup 100

Up and Running

JULY 8, 2014

Or, the best possible reason, you want to manage better, prioritize, set tasks and schedules, review performance metrics, and improve accountability. Part of the planning process is recognizing when an idea is out-dated or a non-starter. It will allow you and your peers to take a step back and get some high-level perspective.

Business Plan 127

Business Plan Non-Compete Forecast Programming 127

Up and Running

JULY 31, 2015

That identity stems from the identity of the founders usually: the core culture, the core competency. You really want to have metrics or measurement, which I think is one of the real areas for good creativity and management. A lot of the times, it’s the finances that really show you. That’s identity.

Lean 60

Lean Business Plan Forecast Software Review 60

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. Almost no financings, many VCs and tech startups cratered for the second time in less than a decade following the dot com bursting. Valuations were a measure of success.

Valuation 466

Valuation San Francisco Ratchet Liquidation Preference 466

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

They went from this, an email with 4 calls-to-action: To this, with one: By reducing the amount of competing calls-to-action, Whirlpool was able to focus subscriber’s attention & squeeze more results out of the same email. Re-activate” Inactive Email Subscribers Then Clear Out Non-Responders. Ask them to unsubscribe.

Email 117

Email Campaign Non-Compete Mobile 117

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

There has been a lot of public debate over the past several weeks about whether it’s a good thing to be “gross margin positive” or not and commentary always reminds me that some people at startups don’t quite understand financial metrics or even how to think about which ones are healthy. So here are some more details ….

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

K9 Ventures

OCTOBER 10, 2017

This post is intended to be a dynamic document, and I will attempt to update it from time to time with new questions that may arise or as financing trends evolve. Q: What amount of financing is considered Pre-Seed? It’s a legitimate stage of financing in the venture eco-system as of this writing (October 2017).

Seed Stage 82

Seed Stage Finance Later Stage Equity 82

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

But at least if you’re working on an eCommerce site, you have clear metrics to hit. The Problems with Non-Financial Measurement. But many times, they’re dealing with non-financial metrics or competing online goals. Once you’ve specified that, your important metrics shouldn’t be super hard to define.

Conversion 48

Conversion Metrics Analytics Non-Compete 48

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 17, 2017

Some are strategic peers, some are near peers in specific areas, some are threats as non-state disrupters operating with no rules. In most industries, manufacturing is no longer a core competence of the U.S. Problem 3: Risk equals failure and failure is to be avoided as it indicates a lack of competence.

Community 244

Community Silicon Valley Technical Review Incubator 244

Growthink Blog

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

In a recent post , I talked about what businesspeople can learn from the world of sports as to leveraging data and metrics to improve decision-making and get a leg up on the competition. Yes, depending the industry/market you compete in - Real Estate, Retail, Consumer Products, Professional Services, etc. -

Non-Compete 48

Non-Compete Green Metrics Reputation 48

crowdSPRING Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2018

There are three parts to a good competitive analysis: (1) defining the metrics and identifying the competitors you’re comparing, (2) gathering the data, and (3) the analysis. Mexican fast-food giant Chipotle has made serving non-GMO foods a key element of their brand promise. Start by defining what metrics are important.

Marketing 162

Marketing Charlotte Naming Design 162

View from Seed

MARCH 1, 2016

Who better to advocate for the capability of the disabled than Keller, who not only triumphed and demonstrated communication competency, but a mastery of all forms of communication? Stuart Butterfield had a vision for a non-violent MMO, and founded Tiny Speck to bring that vision to life. What makes you so special?” then go do X.

Founder 120

Founder Technical Review Cofounder Non-Compete 120

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 24, 2011

I feel like the bar has been raised so much in the last five years in the start up community and I’ve been busy working for a distinctly non-start up company. The thing we’re sort of competing with is sort of the immediate things, and the awareness. The only way to really get back into it is to just do it. Jason: I agree.

Cofounder 208

Cofounder Technical Review Software Review Differentiation 208

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

In this case study on Moz.com by Conversion Rate Experts , the first phase of their conversion strategy was to interview paying, non-paying, and former customers about how they felt about the product. That was the metric that really told us we needed to start over.” “We couldn’t even get our friends to use it.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

www.huffingtonpost.com

MAY 10, 2011

To sum up, heres what I would do again as a non-technical founder looking for a technical co-founder or CTO. Set up the metrics first, then youll know if you succeeded. Shes going to have a big impact on Minteds future. ­om migrated off Drupal. Seems so simple, but so few managers ever really get that.

CTO 43

CTO CTO Hire PHP Cofounder 43

www.vccafe.com

MARCH 11, 2013

Startup Metrics for Pirates â?? SaaS Metrics Tutorial â?? questions and answers for non-programmers. easy business finance software. YCombinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents. Keyword Research. Google Keywords. Wordtracker. Traffic Research. Startup Threads. Videos/presentations. SlideShare. Haiku Deck.

Software Review 53

Software Review Technical Review Israel Startup 53

conversionxl.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

In this case study on Moz.com by Conversion Rate Experts , the first phase of their conversion strategy was to interview paying, non-paying, and former customers about how they felt about the product. That was the metric that really told us we needed to start over.” “We couldn’t even get our friends to use it.

Customer Development 60

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 60

Reid Hoffman

MARCH 2, 2021

In February, Greylock kicked off “Iconversations,” a new speaker series featuring “icons” across tech, finance, media and culture. They had to fight for the right to compete. Then they had to compete and win as well. Our chief diversity officer is as metric-driven as you would see. It was just fighting at so many levels.

Iran 41

Iran Technical Review Non-Compete Lean 41

maplebutter.com

JANUARY 8, 2013

Written By Dan Martell on February 2nd, 2012 | Category: Hiring LeanStartup Marketing Metrics Startup Life | 6 Comments. Building Metrics / Usage Reports / KPI 3. Product/Metrics (70%/30% time) * Get your product activation (sign-up + meaningful action) to 60% * then, Get your product retention to 20% weekly. Why do I do it?

Technical Review 44

Technical Review Startup Cofounder Software Review 44

Occam's Razor

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

Your digital performance dashboard has 16 metrics along 9 dimensions, and you know that the font-size 6 text and sparkline sized charts make them incomprehensible. Focus only on KPIs, eliminate metrics. Here are the definitions you'll find in my books: Metric : A metric is a number. Time on Page is a metric.

Metrics 266

Metrics Analytics Forecast Non-Compete 266

Up and Running

MARCH 11, 2015

The opportunity when I got to pitch on stage in front of 400 angel investors was for the largest angel investor conference in the Pacific northwest called Angel Oregon, and we competed with 60 other companies. This is the part that people hate the most, unless you’re a finance geek. There’s a lot of chambers of commerce.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Software Review Due Diligence Exit Strategy 60

Occam's Razor

OCTOBER 14, 2014

Outcomes of the conversations with your Finance team and Sr. Conversion rate is one of those metrics that I strongly encourage you only create benchmarks for from your own data. The best way is to segment these metrics and then set individual targets for your most important segments. And other such things.

Analytics 135

Analytics Vertical Metrics Web 135

ConversionXL

APRIL 12, 2017

Jared Spool: Is Design Metrically Opposed? Useless measures and silly metrics. Metric: A measure we track (usually over time). A metric should tell you what you will do differently. Combine qualitative usability research and quantitative custom metrics (not metrics that come out of the box). Image Credit.

San Antonio 86

San Antonio Metrics B2B Analytics 86

Austin Startup

JUNE 26, 2019

I’ve made a few grammatical and non-substantive updates for clarity. It’s my hope that some of it can be useful to others, specifically other under-represented founders or non-traditional markets. (I Where there isn’t consensus is what metrics meet the bar for “early traction” and who qualifies as a “great team”.

Silicon Valley 54

Silicon Valley Startup B2C Sweat Equity 54

VC Cafe

JANUARY 8, 2025

Conviction sees opportunities for startups to develop solutions for generating 3D assets for non-toy applications, particularly in areas like entertainment, education, and commerce. Startups can develop AI agents that analyse logs and metrics to identify root causes, suggest fixes, and generate post-mortems.

Startup 167

Startup Software Review Technical Review Metadata 167