YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 2, 2014

He has led teams in strategy, planning, business and corporate development, finance and operations. Thinking Aloud dealing with failure failure Malcolm Stewart product development product management'

Product 222

Product Technical Review Software Review Green 222

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2018

Based on my experience, creating a new business is at least as difficult as creating an innovative solution, and it takes a knowledge of finance, operations, customers and the marketplace. If you don’t have all these interests and skills, even your most “disruptive” products will likely fail.

Angel Investor 249

Angel Investor Cofounder Finance Operations 249

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

The promotion signals the importance of product development for the company’s growth roadmap. Many companies across the globe rely on Excel to manage their finances, but reports can often sustain hard-to-find errors due to the amount of manual work needed to maintain them. CEO Perspective.

Hiring 172

Hiring Software Review Customer Israel 172

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. The Traditional VC Pitch Entrepreneurs who pursue the traditional product development model don’t have customer data to answer these questions. Is there a profitable business model? Great post!

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. In his spare time he raised nearly $30 million.

Advisory Board 365

Advisory Board Fractional CTO CTO Hire Los Angeles 365

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

Getting Customers Involved in Product Priorities – Around the time that Salesforce.com acquired my company we also acquired a company called CrispyNews. They had decided to take a Digg style approach to product development. I remember in the early days of Mint when I first played around with the product.

Customer 280

Customer Technical Review Software Review Mexico 280

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how dramatically your own role has to evolve as you develop a solution, start a business, and expect it to scale into a successful self-managed company. Thus my job as a small business advisor really is really more about getting you developed than perfecting the business.

Leadership 248

Leadership Technical Review Cofounder Social Media 248

Steve Blank

APRIL 23, 2018

Sloan kept the corporate staff small and focused on policymaking, corporate finance, and planning. He once again took over General Motors, merged Chevrolet into GM, bought Fisher Body and Frigidaire, created GMAC GM’s financing arm and threw out the bankers who six years earlier had fired him.

Michigan 301

Michigan Cofounder Stock Forecast 301

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 6, 2024

Similarly, new product development with advanced features and specs is based largely on new research, making the old surveys redundant and useless. Through strategic decision-making, financial managers and teams can decide how to modify operations management and supervision by keeping in view the company finances and capital in cash.

Operations 158

Operations Management Software Review Technical Review 158

YoungUpstarts

MARCH 13, 2017

Consider the marketing and product development required to walk through each step. By planning your finances and managing your budget accordingly, you may be able to carefully monitor and control spending to gain access to the necessary funds. Consider where you want your business to be in two, three and five years.

Small Business 157

Small Business Developer Social Media United States 157

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

While the answers are somewhat semantic, the pre-seed funding round is making a comeback in 2024 startup financing. Seed is about showing initial product market fit. What’s the difference between an angel round and pre-seed round and why do I believe we’ll see more pre-seed rounds taking place in 2024?

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

YoungUpstarts

MAY 23, 2018

Finances are a huge part of startup success or failure, but while a lack of funds is a significant problem, it’s usually not the biggest problem. Guarding their own interests and being vigilant when it comes to finances is another area in which many startups stumble.

Due Diligence 133

Due Diligence Startup Finance Leadership 133

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

by Steve Owens, Founder and CTO of Finish Line Product Development Services. Product Mis-Timed – 13%. No Financing/Investor Interest – 8%. Steve’s insight into the product development process has generated millions of dollars in revenue for start-ups and small businesses. Burn Out – 8%.

Startup 133

Startup Product Development Revenue Distribution 133

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Here’s the punchline: if you run your company as if you have closed a VC equity financing round even though you actually closed a convertible debt round, you’ll be in much better shape when it comes time to raise your Series A financing. There is no discussion of burn, runway, and more financing yet.

Burn Rate 153

Burn Rate Equity Software Review Early Stage 153

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 22, 2012

Let’s start out with the basic functions of a tech company: 1) Engineering 2) Marketing 3) Sales 4) Business development 5) PR 6) Design 7) Product Management 8) HR 9) Operations 10) Finance Ok, that's just overwhelming. In a way, you can think of BD as “sales when you don’t know what the product is yet.”

PR 157

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 157

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 28, 2011

He procrastinated for a few weeks because he was deep in product development, but surfaced a few days ago when he realized they had an investor meeting coming up and really should have at least a basic financial model ready in case the investor asked about it.

Revenue 128

Revenue Balance Sheet Forecast Software Review 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2013

Every startup needs access to capital, whether for funding product development, for initial rollout efforts, acquiring inventory, or paying that first employee. Thus “creative” really means maximizing non-bank financing. They have to sell themselves, more than their product, to close on every alternative source of funding.

Finance 243

Finance Startup Equity Early Stage 243

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 17, 2018

Not sales, product development, or fundraising. Felix manages sales, marketing and finance at Talkative, and often writes about technology, startups and marketing. It doesn’t take long to ask your employees and network, so do it. You need to truly embody what I call the ‘hiring mindset’.

Cofounder 164

Cofounder Elevator Pitch Hiring Dividend 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. In reality, the financing valley of death tests the commitment, determination, and problem solving ability of every entrepreneur.

Intellectual Property 134

Intellectual Property Technical Review Startup Incubator 134

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

I was an early adopter in financial operations and software of lean operational and product development techniques that originated at Toyota, and then of agile as it was promulgated in the Manifesto. Before I wrote my first book I spent a few weeks at a University of Michigan seminar on lean product development.

Agile 113

Agile Leadership SCRUM Lean 113

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Very few people turn up with a strong sense of “what we should be doing” or ready to lean into a productive conversation The financials were prepared by the VP of Finance / CFO. This can include: Fund raising, product development choices, sales, marketing effectiveness, competition, business development, M&A … whatever.

Stock Options 226

Stock Options Metrics Stock Valuation 226

Business Plan Blog

OCTOBER 4, 2013

If you have a technical background and you are focused on product development, consider a co-founder with a sales and marketing background that can focus on selling your world class product. Rather, give titles such as VP of Engineering, Product/Technology, Sales, Marketing, Finance, etc.

Part-Time VPE 79

Part-Time VPE Fractional VPE Cofounder CTO Hire 79

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 11, 2023

The following is a condensed explanation of seed funding: Seed money is a form of early-stage financing that new businesses receive from investors in exchange for a share of ownership in the company. It is necessary to cover the early stages of product development, thorough market research, and other processes during the initial step.

Seed Stage 148

Seed Stage Technical Review Early Stage Due Diligence 148

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 28, 2022

Our homeownership programs help people build momentum with their finances , and we hope to continue building momentum in our business for years to come! My business name „Finanzentdecker“ (Finance Explorer“) was created in front of the whiteboard in a long night full of ideas, that just weren‘t good enough. Photo Credit: Roy Morejon.

Naming 161

Naming Entrepreneur Jordan Merger 161

Steve Blank

MAY 18, 2009

You literally have to take your vision of the opportunity and against all rational odds assemble financing, and a team to help you execute. Next, you have to deal with the daily crisis of product development and acquiring early customers. And that’s just to get started. And that’s just to get started. ?

Founder 312

Founder Silicon Valley RSS China 312

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 12, 2024

Rising costs threaten AI projects From intelligent product development to data-driven decision-making, it’s no wonder entrepreneurs have turned to AI to drive business growth. Yet, the new report from SQream reveals that, in reality, these gains are proving extremely costly to achieve.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Cost Artificial Inteligence Analytics 167

View from Seed

MAY 11, 2016

The reasons are fairly obvious: It’s easy to reference them and understand their track record; they’ve made a ton of mistakes already that they have hopefully learned from and are unlikely to make again; they are probably more adept at raising and managing capital, which reduces financing risk down the road, etc.

Founder 159

Founder Cofounder CTO Hire Early Stage 159

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 17, 2021

Studying an online business analytics masters is one way you can up your numbers game; whether this is the finance, marketing, or product development aspects of your company, the course can supply you with the tools, means, and knowledge to streamline your company operations.

Analytics 179

Analytics Technical Review Social Media Software Review 179

ConversionXL

AUGUST 30, 2018

It slows product development. The finance team understands that content customers are less likely to churn and destabilize revenue flows. To find allies, ask : Which departments indirectly use your product and have connections to people in the user roles you’re targeting? It slows product development.

Design 111

Design Framework Product Development Technical Review 111

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 28, 2010

VC Financings: 1. The investment will be used for product development initiatives. You also might enjoy hearing him talk about his background – including the fact that he was actually the executive assistant for Condoleezza Rice during one of the more historic and controversial periods of time in recent history!

Venture Capital 270

Venture Capital Cofounder Spain San Diego 270

Feld Thoughts

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

A company at this stage could also face product development costs from consultants if they decided to outsource product development. However, Praveena has committed to personally get the first version of the product up and launched without outside consultants, so there is no expense here either.

Balance Sheet 126

Balance Sheet Fractional CTO Burn Rate Salary 126

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 4, 2024

Investment in Growth: Allocate funds strategically to areas that promote growth, such as marketing, product development, and talent acquisition. Cash Flow Management: Monitor your cash flow to ensure you have enough liquidity to meet operational needs. Positive cash flow is essential for business expansion.

Technical Review 146

Technical Review Agile Audience Employee 146

The Next Web

DECEMBER 2, 2013

Suddenly, those multi-million dollar financing rounds that startups raise don’t seem so outrageous! Oftentimes, the biggest costs with a product like Shopify come down to the decision-making process involved with the customer and product development expenditure,” explains Mathews. 4) WhatsApp.

Cost 168

Cost San Francisco New York City Ruby 168

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

So What is Customer Development? Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, developed a methodology for creating businesses that runs in parallel with the traditional product development process. The core idea behind customer development is that the assumptions you make about a target market are only guesses.

Customer Development 126

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 126

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 5, 2023

Since this number is budgeted and pre-authorized, managers tend to focus upon other things such as sales, marketing and product development issues. There is an art to efficient management of a process, whether that is the process of bringing a product to market from R&D to production or developing a new product’s launch program.

Silicon Valley 118

Silicon Valley Burn Rate Angel Investor Down Round 118

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 22, 2023

#13- Sustainability and ethical investing Photo Credit: Zach Larsen I'm really excited to see how technology will continue to shape the personal finance space in 2023. We may also see a rise in digital banking options and more personalized financial products tailored to individual needs.

Artificial Inteligence 127

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Entrepreneur Social Media 127

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

That’s why I recommend that they find a co-founder who loves business challenges, including marketing and finance. Outside investors are most interested in scaling a proven business model, not research and development. Most founders bootstrap product development. Fabulous solutions require great technology.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Intellectual Property Cofounder Bootstrapping 120