Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The operations superstar. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

Secondly, they had an owned & operated (O&O) website – Google.com – and Overture had shut down GoTo.com at the request of their very profitable and large distribution partners. IdeaLab has a philosophy that if they can get a centralized group of expert staff to help with legal, accounting, recruiting, PR, etc.

Product 350

Product Tuvalu Dilution Incubator 350

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

I know that this all seems obvious now with the movements started by Steven Blank ( Four Steps of Epiphany ) with the whole Customer Development processes / Lean Startup movements also popularized by people like Eric Ries. And he gave them all early access to our prototypes for reaction. Back then it seemed foreign.

Customer 280

Customer Technical Review Software Review Mexico 280

Steve Blank

APRIL 9, 2009

But what I wanted was an agile marketing team capable of operating independently without day-to-day direction. We will accomplish this through demand-creation activities (advertising, PR, tradeshows, seminars, web sites, etc.), The same was true for PR. And yes, we could have built a top-down, command-and-control hierarchy.

Silicon Valley 271

Silicon Valley Technical Review RSS PR 271

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. If you think about it, these things are all of the goals of another function on the list--PR.

PR 157

PR Technical Review Seed Stage Design 157

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2014

Thus I was happy to see a new book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The operations superstar. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. The sales professional.

Technical Cofounder 245

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 245

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

Or Salesforce.com who rose to prominence in this same period where they were ramping up PR and shouting from mountain tops when everybody else in the market was mute. I’m looking for ones that understand that in order to build huge, meaningful companies they’ll need to likely build through these boom years and some lean ones.

Saudi Arabia 309

Saudi Arabia Valuation IPO Technical Review 309

Startup Lessons Learned

NOVEMBER 8, 2008

But too often when its time to think about customers, marketing, positioning, or PR, we delegate it to "marketroids" or "suits." This theory has become so influential that I have called it one of the three pillars of the lean startup - every bit as important as the changes in technology or the advent of agile development. Expo SF (May.

Customer Development 168

Customer Development Developer San Francisco Customer 168

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

I’ve seen many times what happens when a single department get’s holed-up in its own space, like the terrifying “ operations cave.&# Engineers are offenders in this category too, but so is any gender-segregated activity, like an all-female PR or marketing team. This is especially important across functional lines.

San Francisco 167

San Francisco Lean Sweden Continuous Deployment 167

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

And so, the concept for a digital PR service was born. Using my existing skills and resources (including an old domain name), I tested a productized digital PR offer. About 18 months later, we pivoted our messaging to evolve beyond digital PR. These days, many agencies start as a lean operation. Image source ).

PR 120

PR B2B Lean Audience 120

Hunter Walker

JUNE 7, 2014

Not because they’re all operating in stealth or pre-product – in fact some already are earning $1m+ in revenue per annum. Party rounds blew up on a number of startups who found it difficult to get ongoing operational support from investors who didn’t have time or inclination to lean in.

Technical Review 133

Technical Review CTO Hire Finance Stealth 133

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

recently wrote a post talking about how some VCs meddle in operating company decisions or some executive teams are too reliant on VCs to jump in and make hard calls for them. So operating at a higher level, helping to set the framework for decision making and then sitting down and watching the game be played, is certainly the way to go.”

Startup 150

Startup CTO Hire Sales PR 150

Startup Lessons Learned

FEBRUARY 22, 2009

Whats striking about these stories, if you get past the PR hype, are two very important themes: These prodigies were self-taught, and had a fundamental fascination with technology from a very young age. these devices all need human instruction to enable correct and desired operation. The Lean Startup Intensive is tomorrow at Web 2.0.

Programming 143

Programming San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment 143

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

PR is mostly ineffective when companies step on social media landmines – [link]. Zynga Leans On Some Workers to Surrender Pre-IPO Shares – [link]. PR is mostly ineffective when companies step on social media landmines – [link]. Apple Headed for 60 Percent of Handset Industry Operating Profits – [link].

Social Media 94

Social Media Small Business Design CTO Hire 94

crowdSPRING Blog

APRIL 21, 2010

3 Rules for Building Features in a Lean Startup – [link]. 4 reasons why PR firms are taking over social media – [link]. Facebook the operating system, or what @shivsingh has to do w/ polka-dot bikini swimsuits – [link]. How To Name Your Company – [link]. What Makes A Great Product Leader? – [link].

Social Media 93

Social Media Small Business Design Media 93

Up and Running

MAY 12, 2020

Your plan doesn’t need to be a lengthy document either, especially if you follow a Lean Planning methodology. Now if you’re looking for an active plan that you can edit and adjust over time, you may want to consider creating a lean plan. Legitimize your business operations. Determine what type of business plan is right for you

Software Review 153

Software Review Exit Strategy Technical Review Business Plan 153

Up and Running

OCTOBER 7, 2014

You probably don’t have a big portion of your income that you can tuck away as savings, and you welcome opportunities to make your operations more cost-effective. Review your operating expenses. DIY Marketing and PR. “Lean is in. Have you ever looked into it? Minimize Inventory.

South Africa 157

South Africa Software Review Green Technical Review 157

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Thus I was happily surprised when I found the classic book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The operations superstar. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team.

Technical Cofounder 144

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 144

Hearpreneur

JULY 3, 2020

Every waking day, we are having tremendous changes in regulations and technology which greatly affects the way businesses operate. Some entrepreneurs will say the future is definitely bright but to others, some of these changes are meant to work against their expansion and business operations. Thanks to Eckhard Ortwein, Lean Case ! #18-

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review Artificial Inteligence 147

Hearpreneur

DECEMBER 23, 2020

When it comes to changes I will be making in my business in the next year, I see us moving away from a traditional office space environment strategy we were operating under prior to the pandemic. 9- Focusing on lean operations. Photo Credit: Brandon Monaghan. Thanks to Lindsey Wander, WorldWise Tutoring LLC ! #9-

Entrepreneur 133

Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review Employee 133

View from Seed

JULY 24, 2015

Still others point to the collective sensibility and logic of New Englanders as an operating philosophy. bijan : there’s a danger in leaning on pattern recognition. More functionally, Boston needs to improve its design, branding, and PR skills. Some say it’s an investor problem. Half our portfolio is consumer.

Boston 120

Boston Cofounder B2C PR 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Thus I was happy to see a recent book, “ The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide ,” by Bernd Schoner, PhD, and cofounder of ThingMagic, which leans heavily on the people side of the equation. The operations superstar. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. The sales professional.

Technical Cofounder 120

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 120

Steve Blank

JUNE 3, 2013

Roominate , one of my favorite Lean LaunchPad teams came out to the ranch last week for a strategy session. They outlined their retail channel and PR strategy and told me about the type of consultants they wanted to hire. Hiring PR Agencies. That’s smart I thought, a real clear charter for PR. They learned a ton.

PR 321

PR China Lean Channel 321

Up and Running

JANUARY 25, 2018

Whether you are running a solo operation or you have a team of dedicated individuals set to help you get your business off the ground, it is important to clarify this during the planning stage, so you know exactly what you have to work with. List who’s on your team and why.

eCommerce 96

eCommerce Business Plan Audience Lean 96

ConversionXL

MARCH 19, 2020

Greater discipline during boom times offered more flexibility during lean years. And getting it right during the lean years, Bain reports , has a massive impact on companies’ growth rate after things improve: ( Image source ). He continues: It’s OK to continue to operate. Image source ). We need business to boost the economy.

Marketing 121

Marketing Campaign Non-Compete Lean 121

Up and Running

OCTOBER 21, 2014

Given the number of funding resources available today, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem getting that initial start-up cash, especially if you focus on a lean business model or MVP route to market. It’s because they don’t have cash on hand to pay bills, to pay employees and to continue operating. Are they doing well?

Elevator Pitch 166

Elevator Pitch Software Review SBA Angel Investor 166

Up and Running

MAY 23, 2016

Step 1: Start with a lean plan. It’s the fastest way to get your idea onto paper, and it’s the very first step in the lean planning process, which is much easier and more iterative than traditional business planning methods. Introducing Lean Planning: How to Plan Less and Grow Faster. How to Write a Traditional Business Plan.

Software Review 74

Software Review Software Delaware Forecast 74

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 7, 2021

And we charge money for it.” – Eric Ries, The Lean Startup. Like Apple, your strategy will require significant marketing investment in content, traditional media, and PR. It’s a strategy used by software providers like SAP and IBM i2 , whose systems are vital to companies’ operations. . Slow skimming.

Product 142

Product Marketing Software Review Social Media 142

betashop.com

OCTOBER 8, 2012

At Fab, our virtual product is our website & apps, our physical products are the merchandise we sell, and our experience product is our operations and service. Do they operate in silos or do they foster teamwork and collaboration? Find one person, make them your sherpa, and lean on them. All the rest is noise.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Technology Software Review Valuation 108

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Now you’re certain you want to (and can legally) operate a business out of your home, it’s time to knuckle down and get your business registered with the appropriate authorities. Your plan doesn’t need to be a lengthy document either, especially if you follow a Lean Planning methodology. Legitimize your business operations.

Software Review 60

Software Review Technical Review Intellectual Property Guerilla 60

Steve Blank

JUNE 3, 2013

Roominate , one of my favorite Lean LaunchPad teams came out to the ranch last week for a strategy session. They outlined their retail channel and PR strategy and told me about the type of consultants they wanted to hire. Hiring PR Agencies. That’s smart I thought, a real clear charter for PR. They learned a ton.

PR 213

PR China Lean Channel 213

Steve Blank

MARCH 18, 2011

Lean Startups/Back to Basics (2000-2010): No IPO’s, limited VC cash, lack of confidence and funding fuels “lean startup” era with limited M&A and even less IPO activity. There was no repeatable methodology, startups and their VC’s still operated like startups were simply a smaller version of a large company. Visibility.

Internet 335

Internet IPO Silicon Valley Agile 335

Startup Lessons Learned

MARCH 4, 2009

Heres a representative view from an actual Amazon customer review : We all know how to operate our own entertainment center, but what happens when you have to explain it to your babysitter, mother-in-law, or your wife? In a startup, these channels of communication are critical to understand for advertising, launch and PR purposes.

San Francisco 68

San Francisco Lean Continuous Deployment DC 68

crowdSPRING Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Did you know that the physics involved in flippings cats also allow us to operate space telescopes? The problem with a Lean Startup: the Minimum Viable Product | Paul Kortman – [link]. How does a cat manage to always land on their feet when falling from any height? Above is a fun video looking at cats, physics and weightlessness.

Social Media 100

Social Media Small Business Central African Republic Design 100

Hearpreneur

JANUARY 19, 2018

IMP’s primary business goals for 2018 is to expand our company image from being not just a service provider, but also a reputable information source for the industries in which we operate. Thanks to Vincent Scatena, Industrial Motor Power Corporation ! #7- 7- Giving back to the community. Photo Credit: Lisa Pinnell.

Detroit 97

Detroit Entrepreneur Technical Review Revenue 97

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 15, 2025

If I lean in early and we're doing this transition in the third case, you know, in July, that's different because one of the common objections is like, you can't do this, people are toxic, all this stuff. So I've had people ask, like, look, if my company doesn't operate this, can I do this as my team leader? This isn't working.

Exit Strategy 58

Exit Strategy Retention Programming Employee 58

Steve Blank

APRIL 20, 2021

And Jennifer is now my co-instructor in the Stanford Lean LaunchPad class.). Over the last two decades Shawn has seen hundreds of startups use the Lean Methodology. For software products, they would be the operating systems with big market shares: iOS, Android, web, Mac, and PC. The MVP Tree. Delivery platforms. Sales channels.

Product 436

Product Viral Channel San Francisco 436