Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2011

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. This means spending more money on search marketing (SEM) to make it look like the buzz is working. Seed viral activity.

Viral 225

Viral Marketing SEM Startup 225

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

OCTOBER 31, 2011

I spent only hundreds of dollars a month and covered the entire spectrum of SEM. If you listen to a sampling of the 600 Mixergy interviews, you’ll find a common thread to how all those illustrious founders got their first few customers: There is no pattern. But for every one of those, another founder has the opposite experience.

Customer 279

Customer Software Review SEM Technical Review 279

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

In this model, you take some fraction of the lifetime value of each customer and plow that back into paid acquisition through SEM, banner ads, PR, affiliates, etc. For example, its always nice to have someone constantly optimizing your SEM accounts, driving down your CPA. But its not really viral growth, even when its exponential.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco CPA SEM CTO Hire 167

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2011

Only after you’ve done all this can you consider whether or not it makes sense to pay for any marketing such as SEM, PR, trade show expenditure, etc. This is what Fred Wilson talks about in this post about the FourSquare founders. You can appeal to your audience directly and build support. Foursquare is a great example of this.

Entrepreneur 398

Entrepreneur Atlanta Audience SEM 398

The Startup Magazine

JULY 21, 2021

Kevin Wu, co-founder and CEO of job search optimization program Pathrise , says “Digital marketer roles are some of the most in-demand positions in the tech industry.” Paid search engine marketing (SEM) increases a company’s ranking in the search engine, getting more clicks. This is the power of SEM marketing. And he’s right.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review PPC SEM Marketing 148

VC Cafe

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Kenshoo , the SEM automation startup and Sequoia’s darling, has raised a fourth round of $8-10 million from Sequoia. The founder of SimpliTV is Doron Kempel, who founded and sold Diligent to IBM with his partner (and now angel), Moshe Yanai. The exact details of the deal were not disclosed.

Software Review 138

Software Review Venture Capital Technical Review SEM 138

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2017

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. This means spending more money on search marketing (SEM) to make it look like the buzz is working. Seed viral activity.

Campaign 167

Campaign Cost Viral Marketing 167

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 7, 2008

Dont worry about selecting particularly good keywords, if youre new to SEM. SEM only gets at one segment of users, and for a brand new product, you presumably need some skill at marketing in general and adsense in particular to get any useful info. Just put in your credit card. Just load them all in and choose a low cost-per-click.

Demand 167

Demand San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 167

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2010

The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. This means spending more money on search marketing (SEM) to make it look like the buzz is working. Seed viral activity.

Viral 141

Viral Cost Marketing SEM 141

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

Mark Montgomery Founder Kyield Initium VC September 12, 2009 4:21 AM Mark Montgomery said. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. Otherwise it's a great idea.

Lean 168

Lean San Francisco Startup Continuous Deployment 168

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

The key to being able to run a business that isn’t yet profitable (on operating margin) is availability of capital to finance losses and preferably at a cost that isn’t too punitive to the founders and employees. So if you paid $100 for a customer who converted via a Facebook ad or Google search ad (SEM) that is not your CAC.

Metrics 150

Metrics Cost Acquisition Startup 150

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 7, 2008

► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. The visionary’s lament The Superbowl ad test Lo, my 57692 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

Customer Development 131

Customer Development Engineer San Francisco Developer 131

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

So what does CTO mean, besides just "technical founder who really cant manage anyone?" ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. I always assumed I wouldnt manage anybody.

CTO 168

CTO Fractional CTO CTO Hire Technical Review 168

The Startup Magazine

JULY 21, 2021

Kevin Wu, co-founder and CEO of job search optimization program Pathrise , says “Digital marketer roles are some of the most in-demand positions in the tech industry.” Paid search engine marketing (SEM) increases a company’s ranking in the search engine, getting more clicks. This is the power of SEM marketing. And he’s right.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review PPC SEM Marketing 78

Steve Blank

APRIL 30, 2009

Hopefully you and your co-founders are experts in one or two parts (agile development, SEO/SEM, etc.) But the rest; sales, marketing, bus dev is actually customer development that the founder needs to understand. Or by a VP of Marketing who talks “branding&# , SEO/SEM, PR agency, etc.

Sales 120

Sales Silicon Valley RSS Las Vegas 120

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

It was actually my co-founder Will Harvey who taught me to present this data in the simple format weve discussed in this post. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

San Francisco 166

San Francisco Lean Technical Review Continuous Deployment 166

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 13, 2009

Founders push for it. In some ways, founders are even worse. My experience is that many founders actually have a deep anxiety that maybe they are not succeeding. Start with a five-dollar-a-day SEM campaign. the most sensible SEM advice Ive read - discussed in the context of a real situation. Dont scale.

San Francisco 168

San Francisco PR Lean Early Stage 168

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. The visionary’s lament The Superbowl ad test Lo, my 57692 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

San Francisco 94

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Agile Lean 94

Cracking the Code

FEBRUARY 12, 2007

Getting the most of your online marketing: the In & Out of SEM/SEO. on a scale of 1-4). on a scale of 1-4). on a scale of 1-4). The videos can be watched at Bessemer Online Marketing Portal (the other materials are not public).

Software Review 48

Software Review SEM Marketing Las Vegas 48

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. The visionary’s lament The Superbowl ad test Lo, my 57692 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

San Francisco 142

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 142

ConversionXL

AUGUST 23, 2017

William Gadea, Creative Director and Founder at IdeaRocket LLC , a provider of animated videos for businesses, says that “most of our lead generation comes from SEM, and we feel that the search term can be a clue for where in the Journey the searcher is.” ” Click to enlarge. IdeaRocket. Read their article for more detail.

Customer 130

Customer Channel Design Retention 130

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 14, 2008

Today, when I talk to startup founders, the most common answer I get to the question "do you talk to your customers?" ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

San Francisco 131

San Francisco Customer Lean Continuous Deployment 131

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 12, 2008

► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. The visionary’s lament The Superbowl ad test Lo, my 57692 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

Audience 119

Audience San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean 119

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

I originally thought I might get some development process tips (I manage developers), but I find that Im really enjoying your business tips (SEM, listening to customers, etc.). Like gmlk, I usually subscribe the first time I find something useful. Your posts are well-written with a good overview as well as concrete tips. More of the same.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 133

ConversionXL

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Running search engine marketing (SEM) experiments requires testing more than just the ads themselves. Here’s a rundown of each stage of the SEM journey and how you should experiment on each. Search engine marketing: Driving ROI from searchers. You must work to optimize the entire customer journey; from search to click to conversion.

Framework 102

Framework Marketing Acquisition Retention 102

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

You may have paid marketing: SEM, Social Media Ads, Banner Ads, email lists, etc. Read plenty of “what went wrong” eulogies by founders and see what you can learn. SEO doesn’t just happen – it requires a content strategy, inbound links, relevancy, keyword strategies, etc. Validate data. ”

Startup 150

Startup Seed Money DC Software Review 150

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 28, 2009

Ive told the story of how this desperation turned us on to Google AdWords in SEM on five dollars a day. Luckily for me, my co-founders eventually prevailed and we went on to build a product that customers actually wanted. Pretty soon we ran out of friends. But code written that doesnt help the company succeed is a sunk cost.

San Francisco 98

San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean DC 98

www.cscyphers.com

MARCH 8, 2012

Tutorial Day At #RailsConf » Why Trying To Find A Technical Co-Founder Will Almost Always Fail. Last night, I went to a local “find a co-founder” meetup for RE. What It Takes To Recruit A Technical Co-Founder. Particularly if she is at what is essentially a co-founder speed dating event.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Technical Review Founder Software Review 40

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 5, 2008

► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. The visionary’s lament The Superbowl ad test Lo, my 57692 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

Open Source 107

Open Source San Francisco Continuous Deployment Lean 107

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. The visionary’s lament The Superbowl ad test Lo, my 57692 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

Software Review 68

Software Review San Francisco Technical Review Continuous Deployment 68

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

by Marc Pitart, founder and CEO of onlineresume.us. Otherwise, you are going to be searching for a place to stay at the same time that your fellow founders are, so there will be less offers. Participating in acceleration programs both as a founder and as an employee has taught me that it isn’t a contradiction. It’s a balance.

Programming 124

Programming Chile B2B B2C 124

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 18, 2008

If you sell an online service that solves a defined problem, you can compete in SEO or SEM. ► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th.

Distribution 74

Distribution San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 74

Transformify

AUGUST 27, 2017

It all starts with the founders. In some cases, the founders may even build the MVP themselves. It could be a digital marketing assistant to take charge of your social media accounts, a virtual assistant to organize your schedule across different time zones, or a SEM expert. Then the hiring begins.

Hiring 64

Hiring Software Review Burn Rate Startup 64

Startup Lessons Learned

SEPTEMBER 10, 2008

► August (2) SXSW Case Study: SlideShare goes freemium ► July (4) Case Study: kaChing, Anatomy of a Pivot Some IPO speculation Founder personalities and the “first-class man&# th. The visionary’s lament The Superbowl ad test Lo, my 57692 subscribers, who are you? How to listen to customers, and not just the loud.

Software Review 144

Software Review Technical Review San Francisco Continuous Deployment 144

ConversionXL

JUNE 30, 2019

André Vieira , founder of Looptimize, finds CRO extremely useful for ideation: André Vieira: You can look at many elements on competitors’ pages, such as copy, number and placement of images, page structure, page length, the next step in the funnel, amount of calls to action, types of calls to action, etc.,

SEO 126

SEO Conversion Analytics Design 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2013

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. These founders need a reality check on what recognized brand names have spent to reach that threshold, and how long it is likely to take. Use social media and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to start.

Marketing 265

Marketing Viral SEM Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2014

When questioned, founders usually mention word-of-mouth, viral marketing, and a top quality product. These founders need a reality check on what recognized brand names have spent to reach that threshold, and how long it is likely to take. Use social media and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to start.

Marketing 257

Marketing SEM Viral Social Media 257