Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2020

I know that dates me a good bit, but it also shows that I have been hanging around startups for a long time. The honest truth is that I worked directly with him in the early days of Microsoft from my “safe” perch in big IBM, during the startup of the IBM PC. Market vision, focus, and opportunity. That’s real viral marketing.

Entrepreneur 423

Entrepreneur Viral Software Developers Software Development 423

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

As part of our Lean LaunchPad classes at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia and for the National Science Foundation, students build a startup in 8 weeks using Business Model Design + Customer Development. How To Build a Web Startup – The Lean LaunchPad Edition. Use the Startup Tools Page as the resource for tool choices).

Lean 334

Lean Web Coder Business Model 334

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2021

Jeremy applies his culture shift tenants to political and generic social issues, but I have adapted them here more specifically to the business realm of entrepreneurs and startups: Establish a social contract. Viral marketing” and “word-of-mouth” are tools of disciples in business today. Create and leverage a chief disciple.

Marketing 317

Marketing Social Media Affiliate Viral 317

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

This is a guest post by my Startup Owner’s Manual co-author Bob Dorf. While statistics are weak on startup success rates, the worst one I’ve seen suggests that 2 in 1000 venture backed startups will ever achieve $100-million or more in valuation. Can every startup skyrocket like Facebook or Square or Google?

Startup 334

Startup Cofounder Customer Development Viral 334

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2021

This dual-leadership approach would have avoided the frustration I felt in a startup a few years ago where beta customers loved our software solution as a free prototype, but we couldn’t sell one in the first few months for a price that seemed reasonable for all our work and innovation. Match with competitor prices and market demographics.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

When talking to startup founders or other innovators, we always ask questions to better understand their business as a core. Another thing that Dave has done well is to look at the value of different marketing channels: There’s a lot of value in this presentation. Focus on building an MVP to gather startup metrics.

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. If the customer need is obvious and large, the calculated risk is in the quality of your solution, your team, and marketing. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2023

I know that dates me a good bit, but it also shows that I have been hanging around startups and big companies for a long time. The honest truth is that I worked directly with him in the early days of Microsoft from my “safe” perch in big IBM, during the startup of the IBM PC. Market vision, focus, and opportunity.

Startup 205

Startup Viral Software Developers Software Development 205

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2017

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth. Develop viral content. Seed viral activity.

Campaign 167

Campaign Cost Viral Marketing 167

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I asked some of the same questions I ask in my Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions and then I get to a very common conversation: Me : Do you have specs? You might also have a business plan, marketing plan, financials, competitor analysis or other kinds of background document. Founder : Ummm. what do you mean?

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business. We end up using WordPress a lot as the marketing front-end of our web sites. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers Technology Roles in Startups Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering?

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. How will you be taking this to market? Ads, Viral/Social, SEO)? What are your key Startup Metrics ? eCommerce Does your startup run on a subscription model? Free trials?

Developer 520

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO CTO Hire 520

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Thus I often recommend that before you kick off your own business, you join another startup or existing business to see how things really work. In addition to locking in his leadership position in electric vehicles, he has also used his patents to negotiate faster growth in his market. Even the best college degree is not a substitute.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Companies are rightsized quickly now as markets change rapidly, and business professionals are quick to jump to new opportunities for growth and survival, with no ties to special benefits or pension plans. Here are some examples: Marketing Professional. They are always ready to move on to the next big opportunity as markets change.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

It’s a very important concept for me because in a startup you are constantly under pressure and have way too many distractions. Commitment & urgency are key drivers of success in startup businesses. I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. You already know it from your personal lives.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

The most common business entity used for startups is a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), which is the cheapest and simplest to manage. Quantify the market opportunity in business terms. For example, “Nielsen projects that the market for smart phones will double every year for the next five years.” and trademarks.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

There are obvious reasons the industry has had less-than-desirable returns, including: massive over-funding of the sector, huge increases in inexperienced venture capitalists that took a decade to peter out, and the massive correction in the value of the public stock markets that closed many exit opportunities for half a decade.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

I pointed out that the storage market in the US alone is ~$30 billion / year and there is no dominant provider — the largest player has < 10% market share. So how did a company that provides storage grow so fast (we’ll exit 2017 with 10’s of millions in recurring revenue), why is it so defensible and is it really a tech startup?

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Los Angeles Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

In Rob Go’s words: For seed and Series A deals, investors will also need to see a high-potential team with founder/market fit , a large and attractive market opportunity , and a business model with increasing returns to scale. Top-line metrics are indicators of success, not the one bar to clear to raise funding for your startup.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. If the customer need is obvious and large, the calculated risk is in the quality of your solution, your team, and marketing. Marty Zwilling.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

As a long-time mentor to entrepreneurs, here is my collection of smart risks that investors and I look for in new startups: Focus on a tough customer problem rather than a fun technology. If the customer need is obvious and large, the calculated risk is in the quality of your solution, your team, and marketing. Marty Zwilling.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

I actually really enjoyed many of the points Muhammad made about marketing in general and I found myself nodding through the entirety of the article except for it’s core premise. It’s about looking out for and catching the next major marketing wave before others have grokked it. I laughed as I did at much of his rant.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2010

Last night I co-hosted a dinner at Soho House in Los Angeles with some of the most senior people in the media industry with executives from Disney, Fox, Warner, media agencies and many promising tech & media startup CEO’s. The topic was “the future of television & the digital living room.&#.

Entrepreneur 356

Entrepreneur Los Angeles Norway Audience 356

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

When my friend’s small business was struggling a while back, I suggested he add some social media marketing initiatives, and his answer was that he was “too busy.” According to a recent Harvard Business Review article , only 60% of companies today use social media for marketing, and only 12% of those feel that they are using it effectively.

Social Media 289

Social Media Small Business Media Technical Review 289

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

So why is online video such an attractive market to build a startup? These markets represent about $600 billion of total spend between them, leaving tons of opportunities for startups to disrupt and grow large. Content can go viral – the highest quality stuff is shared. We like sight, sound & motion.

Video 339

Video Technical Review Distribution Aggregator 339

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

Nobody goes into a startup expecting to fail – we all imagine the next big startup movie is going to be about us. Except that building a successful startup is hard. It happens to nearly every startup. Our inner script is heroic and the struggles are mere battle scars on the inevitable journey to slay King Joffrey.

Churn Rate 371

Churn Rate Vesting Viral eCommerce 371

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2023

This dual-leadership approach would have avoided the frustration I felt in a startup a few years ago where beta customers loved our software solution as a free prototype, but we couldn’t sell one in the first few months for a price that seemed reasonable for all our work and innovation. Match with competitor prices and market demographics.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Los Angeles Technical Review 256

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 12, 2025

Startup marketing is hard. Well, all marketing is hard if you want to get it right, but startup marketing has extra elements to it because not only do you need to show what you do, you also need to let people know who you are, which isnt necessarily something more established businesses have to worry about.

Marketing 143

Marketing Startup Analytics Campaign 143

SoCal CTO

JUNE 15, 2011

Instead, I want to look at how they've integrated themselves with Facebook and particularly how they engage users to help viral spread. Later in this post, I'll talk about some of the downside of how they've made this viral. I'll explore a few of the social interactions that help with viral growth.

Viral 331

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 331

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 17, 2020

Building trust is important for every business , but it’s even more essential for startups. Here is how you can use video to build client and consumer trust in your startup. The Early Stages of Promoting Your Startup. First of all — why video? explainer videos. and customer testimonials.

Video 150

Video Software Review Startup Audience 150

VC Cafe

MARCH 16, 2025

Mention that you do “Consumer tech” as a startup founder and you’d be limiting your funding options to one third of the venture capital funds (in Israel that figure is probably closer to 10%). Despite the renewed potential offered by AI, consumer startups still need to overcome significant challenges.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review B2C Generative AI IPO 78

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. But why did Ring succeed when the entire market kept saying that Nest was going to be the winner? Here are my views … 1. We weren’t sure.

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

SoCal CTO

JUNE 15, 2011

Instead, I want to look at how they've integrated themselves with Facebook and particularly how they engage users to help viral spread. Later in this post, I'll talk about some of the downside of how they've made this viral. I'll explore a few of the social interactions that help with viral growth.

Viral 323

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2020

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. His professional background includes having held marketing-executive roles at big companies as well as startups. Email marketing. Direct mail marketing.

Lead Generation 365

Lead Generation Customer SEM Marketing 365