Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

It’s the lifeblood of any organization and yet most startups don’t have any sales DNA on their teams. It’s important enough that I dedicate a tab on my blog to startup sales & marketing. But the ground we covered was awesome for anybody wanting to know more about sales. how do you forecast?

Software Review 300

Software Review Sales Due Diligence Startup 300

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 8, 2010

Most technology startups seem to be founded by three types of people: product managers, engineers or biz dev types (MBAs and the like). Very few of them are started, in my experience, by sales people and very few early stage companies really understand sales. Here’s mine: Let me start with a few biases.

Early Stage 350

Early Stage Startup Sales Campaign 350

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

We all like to think of startups as “non hierarchic&# organizations and to some extent that should be true. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact). You’ll get sales information from your VP of Sales, marketing information from your VP Marketing, tech information from your CTO and so on.

CTO Hire 308

CTO Hire Management Technical Review Part-Time VPE 308

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. So I was surprised at the sheer volumes of decisions that had to be made when I became a startup CEO. Your head of sales thinks she should fire somebody. We missed our sales target by more than 66% for the year but we had great slides explaining why. What lovely charts!

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Fractional CTO Technical Review CTO Hire 414

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

I recently wrote a post about why I didn’t think early-stage startups should have COOs. What a luxury in a startup to have the number one person in the business get to focus on just strategy? This person can do budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, legal, HR, office moves, etc. I find them strange.

Operations 292

Operations CTO Hire Startup Early Stage 292

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2011

Using your data, here are the basic elements of the projection process, which are measurable by milestones, and can be tracked to show when a re-forecast is required: Start with sizing per-unit profitability. Otherwise, sales, marketing, and operational costs will kill you. Next comes sales volume by channel.

Forecast 230

Forecast Burn Rate Startup .Net 230

The Startup Magazine

DECEMBER 22, 2024

Delays can make or break a startup. In the fast-paced startup environment, where every customer counts, delays can quickly spiral into lost opportunities and tarnished reputations. Startups often juggle multiple priorities with limited resources, making it easy for delays to creep into operations.

Artificial Inteligence 144

Artificial Inteligence Customer Technical Review Operations 144

Gust

JUNE 19, 2012

Thoughts on startups by investors that fund them & entrepreneurs that run them. Last weekend I caught Mashable announcing that Ebook Sales Surpass Hardcover in the U.S. One of my earliest excursions into market research was working for a research firm doing a 1979 forecast on ATMs. Subscribe by email. Invested Interests.

Startup 180

Startup Forecast Angel Investor Software 180

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

Over time you start to figure out who you customers are and how to sell to them or how to get them to adopt your products if you’re a consumer-oriented startup. And I’ve also been convinced that it can be quite useful to have another startup company CEO on your board. how to build an initial sales organization.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Steve Blank

AUGUST 17, 2012

E.piphany was an 11-month-old startup with 31 people and on fire. Joe Dinucci, our VP of Sales, was hot on the trail of our next big order. After seeing the demo, the CFO walked Joe over to the office of Autodesk’s VP of sales, and said to her, “I think this product might solve your sales reporting problem.”.

Forecast 299

Forecast Sales Matching Customer Development 299

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2012

Using your data, here are the basic elements of the projection process, which are measurable by milestones, and can be tracked to show when a re-forecast is required: Start with sizing per-unit profitability. Otherwise, sales, marketing, and operational costs will kill you. Next comes sales volume by channel.

Forecast 238

Forecast Burn Rate .Net Business Model 238

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2011

Probably 80% of the startups I know have found human resource issues to be the most treacherous. Setting the wrong or no expectations is another of the most consistent problems I see with every startups. Ironically, startups that are all about change often are slow to see the need, or slow to implement.

Advisory Board 232

Advisory Board Startup Forecast Early Stage 232

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JULY 12, 2010

This is part 1 of the series: 5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches. Listening to first-time entrepreneurs talk about their competitive advantages is as predictably invalid as the local weatherman's 10-day forecast. Software patents are especially useless for small, bootstrapped startups. Except in certain industries (e.g.

Intellectual Property 319

Intellectual Property Bootstrapping Software Review Open Source 319

YoungUpstarts

APRIL 16, 2020

Sudden payment of unaccrued tax, bonus, or commission liabilities (this is a common bookkeeping and forecasting error for small businesses.). If your business model is profitable but you’ve mismanaged one of the above categories, you need to build a 13-week cash forecast to manage your short-term crisis. Old aging inventory.

Recapitalization 200

Recapitalization Forecast Software Review Finance 200

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

Forecasting is sometimes done by dragging the mouse based on many assumptions, because it’s hard to predict the future. While there isn’t a single magic number or set formula, understanding industry benchmarks can be really helpful to keep a finger on the pulse to measure the health of the company and make more informed forecasts.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Steve Blank

AUGUST 23, 2010

It reminded me of the differences in Customer Discovery between a scalable startup and a big company. The bad news is that the meetings become far more formal and more crowded, than one that a startup would have. We’re Not Here for a Sales Call. But we are not here for a sales call.&#. That’s the good news.

Customer Development 239

Customer Development Developer Customer South America 239

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 6, 2011

" Today I had two conversations with early stage startups (see Free CTO Consulting ). Vision Synching in a Lean Startup The Fallacy of Customer Development Entrepreneurs, Lower Investors’ Risk by Validating your Start-up Company’s Business Proposition Lessons Learned: What is customer development? billion dollar mistake.

Customer 227

Customer Fractional CTO Viral Lean 227

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Of course it is super helpful if a VC can drop you in to important people for business development, recruiting, PR, sales and eventually M&A. Politics are a part of human nature and thus a part of all startups. Startups are hard. Startup Advice VC Industry' Connections? FourSquare. Everywhere. Commitment.

Portfolio 364

Portfolio Chicago Incubator Sales 364

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Another topic we debated early in the program was “lean startup” vs. “ fat startup ” where we both took the obvious hedge and said “it depends.” But truthfully both Dana and I are more aligned with the lean startup principles and believe you only go FAT when you’ve really proved out your product / market fit. Time will tell.

Partner 240

Partner New York City Cofounder Syndication 240

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

From manufacturing to sales to finance, the supply chain routinely fails to command the respect it deserve. For manufacturing startups, here are several ways to achieve effective supply chain management: Understand Your Supply Chain Elements. Too many startups mistakenly believe that their “widget” comes from one source.

Management 145

Management Los Angeles Forecast San Francisco 145

Up and Running

APRIL 13, 2021

I used plan vs. actual analysis once a month, comparing forecasts and budgets to actual results since I started Palo Alto Software back in the 1980s. Forecasting and budget math is usually simple. As the next illustration shows, sales are located in cell D19 and the formula multiplies D20 (units) times D21 (price).

Forecast 147

Forecast Matching Balance Sheet Software Review 147

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2012

Probably 80% of the startups I know have found human resource issues to be the most treacherous. Setting the wrong or no expectations is another of the most consistent problems I see with every startup. Ironically, startups that are all about change often are slow to see the need, or slow to implement.

Advisory Board 240

Advisory Board Forecast Early Stage Product Development 240

The Startup Magazine

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

DataRails , the financial analysis and reporting software startup, has announced the hiring of David Rosenberg as the company’s new VP of customer success. Others in that cohort included Zviki Shimon (CFO), Yair Areli (senior VP of global sales), Nir Mandel (VP of product management), and Aviv Canaani (VP of marketing).

Hiring 172

Hiring Software Review Customer Israel 172

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 17, 2020

Michael Majeed is quick to note the vast numbers of new startups that launch each year on the Canadian landscape, and he’s keenly interested in helping young business owners make the most of their opportunities, especially when it comes to their finances. An accountant by background, he enjoys helping clients receive substantial tax refunds.

Finance 217

Finance Forecast Balance Sheet Angel Investor 217

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 28, 2018

And the current forecast predicts 55 million vapers in 2021. billion in sales in 2018. billion in sales in 2014 to $3 billion in 2017. billion in sales in 2014 to $3 billion in 2017. The segmented sales projected at $2 billion in e-cigarettes and $3.5 Billion dollar industry. billion in mods and eliquids.

Technical Review 122

Technical Review Forecast Startup United States 122

Steve Blank

JULY 22, 2010

Startup CEO’s can’t delegate sales and expect it to happen. Here’s an example in a direct sales channel. A VC asked me to have lunch with the CEO of a startup building cloud-based enterprise software. Sales Process. Next, he took me through his sales process. We have a great sales pipeline.”

Forecast 279

Forecast Sales Customer Customer Development 279

The Startup Magazine

JULY 24, 2024

Another major factor is the seasonality of sales. By using FBA, your products become eligible for Amazon Prime, which can significantly improve sales. Amazon charges fees for storage and fulfillment, but many sellers find these costs worthwhile due to the increased sales volume and customer satisfaction.

Cost 167

Cost Technical Review Software Review Stock 167

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Startup Lessons. Our sales forecasts were revised downward – many times. Building companies is hard work. I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. We also had facilities in Dublin, Ireland where our company was initially founded.

PR 331

PR Software Review Ireland Germany 331

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 8, 2023

Keeping up with trends is the reality show of the e-commerce world, which is constantly developing, gaining a significant market share, and driving online sales. According to the Adjust and Sensor Tower report, in 2021, m-commerce accumulated 54% of all e-commerce sales worldwide, whose market exceeds $3.5 Only in 2021, 72.9%

eCommerce 185

eCommerce Technical Review Software Review Analytics 185

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

The past year was a wild ride for startups and founders, giving a whole new meaning to the ”rollercoaster” aspect of being an entrepreneur. A combination of competition for top talent and an effort to bring employees back to the office drove startups in Israel to throw extravagant parties and all-inclusive retreats abroad.

Founder 187

Founder Startup Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 187

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Whether you are starting a consulting business, a car repair shop, or a construction firm, a business plan will help you figure out your strategy, develop your marketing plan and figure out the all-important financial forecasts so that you can be successful. For some service businesses, startup costs can be high. Marketing and Sales.

Business Plan 161

Business Plan Forecast Balance Sheet Sales 161

Up and Running

MAY 1, 2014

Marketing and Sales Plan. What marketing and sales tactics will you be using? Your business plan isn’t complete without a financial forecast. Highlight the key aspects of your financial plan, ideally with a chart that shows your planned sales, expenses, and profitability. Marketing and Sales Plan. Read more ».

Business Plan 163

Business Plan Forecast Balance Sheet Distribution 163

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Improving the Efficiency of the Sales Process Improving the sales process impacts revenue growth by making it more efficient and effective. Furniture retail software automates sales activities, like processing orders and creating invoices. These observations facilitate decision-making, resulting in enhanced sales outcomes.

Operations 167

Operations Software Forecast Software Improvement 167

YoungUpstarts

DECEMBER 22, 2014

credit terms), a rise in daily sales outstanding, or DSO, affects the cash flows of local businesses. DSO is the average number of days that a company takes to collect revenue after a sale has been made. According to The Economist forecast for 2015, ASEAN will add USD 335 billion and become the fourth largest economy in the world.

Singapore 191

Singapore Asia Management China 191

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 19, 2020

For example, based on a customer’s last sales data and website bounce rate, you can predict their next purchase and average time spent on your website. Nearly Accurate Forecasts: One of the most significant advantages of data-driven decision making and planning is getting more credible forecasts.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Forecast Analytics Social Media 158

Up and Running

APRIL 22, 2020

Maintaining your business through the coronavirus crisis has likely led you to cut costs, revise your sales projections, and potentially seek out a loan to help you stay afloat. Many startups are small, local businesses with hopes of eventually rapidly scaling—but they’re still establishing a track record. Risky industry.

SBA 139

SBA Forecast Software Review Business Plan 139

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Enterprise SaaS/B2B software – account executives (AEs) and sales developement reps (SDRs). The point here is not to do a granular forecast of revenue or number of users/customers, but to put a stake in the ground so investors understand what you believe is achievable with X amount of resources given Y timeframe.

Part-Time VPE 195

Part-Time VPE Seed Stage CTO Hire Forecast 195