Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

It’s important to define your growth strategy, document it, communicate it to your team, and align metrics and employee rewards to target goals. For example, Mark McClain, cofounder and CEO of SailPoint Technologies , created an employee growth culture resulting in growth of forty percent a year, with more than $100 million in revenues.

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Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Simple metrics and your personal knowledge of the industry can’t keep up with all the relevant competitive forces. Short-term earnings per share may be low, even as revenues and cash burned are high. You need to be part of a larger ecosystem. Find funders who seek long-term returns. Money-making is different in the digital age.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm Global IPO 355

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 14, 2021

In this article, we’ll share key brand tracking metrics and methods for how to measure and optimize your success. Key brand tracking metrics. Supplement brand loyalty metrics with qualitative measures such as brand associations and perceived quality, as these can give you insight into why customers intend to repurchase.

Metrics 157

Metrics Marketing Campaign Audience 157

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 15, 2019

For the contractors, anything new offers the real risk of losing a lucrative existing stream of revenue. Metrics are used to manage process rather than creation of new capabilities, outcomes and speed to deployment. are obstacles for innovation. The result is process theater. One can generously describe them as innovation dead ends.

Government 322

Government Technical Review Acquisition Metrics 322

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Should SaaS companies trade at a 24x Enterprise Value (EV) to Next Twelve Month (NTM) Revenue multiple as they did in November 2021? But it will be patiently deployed, waiting for a cohort of founders who aren’t artificially clinging to 2021 valuation metrics.

Technical Review 416

Technical Review Pre-Money Valuation San Francisco Valuation 416

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

ConversionXL

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Marketing metrics are a competitive advantage. You have to track metrics you can act on. In this article, you’ll learn which metrics to measure to understand and improve marketing performance. Table of contents What are digital marketing metrics? KPIs vs. digital marketing metrics 1. – Seth Godin.

Metrics 105

Metrics Analytics Marketing Acquisition 105

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services. Use metrics to measure results of marketing initiatives. Opportunity and revenue projections based on deep market and customer analysis are a smarter risk. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity. You don’t have to be a heavily funded later stage startup to get access to “big data,” customer analytics, and metrics dashboards. Angel groups, accelerators, and incubators are pervasive.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 258

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

He published another MUST READ post about being careful not to confuse early revenue traction with product / market fit. Because the founder is so capable of convincing the market to adopt/purchase the product, the company can get revenue traction with a product that is not really right. The money quote.

Technical Review 401

Technical Review Startup Business Model Non-Compete 401

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

" Revenue doesn't pay your bills, GM does  —  @msuster 2/ Founders obsess with revenue as a vanity metric. Some even grow "bad" revenue just to show growth. But if you want to add some in the comments section on Medium and I’ll make sure to read them.

Founder 242

Founder Dilution Software Review Later Stage 242

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

MARCH 21, 2017

Revenue multiples, profit multiples, premium over the previous financing — these are metrics used by sellers to help determine a minimum acceptable price. Even for startups, it takes years for a new product to become good enough to demand many millions of dollars in revenue.). Yet mobile advertising revenues were paltry.

Balance Sheet 242

Balance Sheet Vertical Acquisition Revenue 242

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2021

Many startups see initial revenue from customers, and love the fast growth, but fail to anticipate the cost of early vendor payments, monthly overhead costs, and later taxes. A required metric is average days to payment compared to expectations. Considering the job done once a client has been invoiced.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits. Almost overnight the floodgates opened, and risk capital was available at scale from venture capital investors who rushed their startups toward public offerings.

Lean 335

Lean Burn Rate Startup IPO 335

Steve Blank

MARCH 15, 2017

And it was going to mention the two words that marketing needed to live and breathe: revenue and profit. Generate end-user demand (to match our revenue goals). Value price our products to achieve our revenue and margin goals (create high-value). They understood the mission intent was our corporate revenue and profit goals.

Startup 329

Startup PR Public Relations Channel 329

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

FEBRUARY 26, 2022

The same lesson applies to our daily life of data and metrics. Revenue from your billing system compared to cash flows from your bank statements. If a metric is important enough to watch it every day, and to act if its behavior deviates from expectation, then it’s important enough to be double-checked.

Analytics 248

Analytics Software Review Metrics Technical Review 248

Steve Blank

MARCH 31, 2014

Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. Metrics like Return on Net Assets, Return on Capital and Internal Rate of Return are the guiding stars of the board and CEO. To manage these employees companies create metrics to control, measure and reward execution. Companies need your help.

Private Equity 330

Private Equity Metrics China Intellectual Property 330

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2018

Unfortunately, your personal assessment that you have traction probably won’t be convincing to potential investors and partners, so it’s important that you create and track your progress against some metrics. Define metrics on customer feedback and user counts. Count connections with experts, media, and influencers.

Advisory Board 199

Advisory Board Technical Review Metrics Business Model 199

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Deferred payments start with stretching the payables period but, more importantly, include giving employee equity in lieu of a higher salaries and negotiating vendor deferred payments out of future revenues. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 223

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 223

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Throughout the first year we made many fixes and saw our revenue base in these markets accelerate so we felt we were ready to attack Los Angeles, amongst the most important storage markets in the country. An example of the systems companies build are pricing & revenue management tools to best help to optimize yield.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 16, 2020

This method branches off into two schools of thought: Past Earning Capitalization – this suggests that the expected revenue in the future can be predicted by a record of the company’s past earnings, once undue revenue or expenses are accounted for and multiplies the projected earnings by a capitalization factor.

Valuation 162

Valuation CPA Software Review .Net 162

Duct Tape Marketing

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Unlocking the Power of Data: Transforming Metrics into Actionable Insights written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Janstch In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast , I interviewed Peter Caputa, CEO of Databox, an innovative player in the realm of marketing analytics.

Metrics 92

Metrics Analytics Forecast Software Review 92

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

You must have a strong Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) with a clear strategy for spending, and metrics to gauge results. In addition, research shows that companies that fail to align their marketing and sales departments have less ROI, and lose 10% or more of their revenues per year. Buyer behavior is difficult to predict and quantify.

Acquisition 250

Acquisition Cost Customer Sales Cycle 250

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

These studios have different metrics than startup studios whose limited partners are private family offices or venture capitalists. The most successful venture studios are founded by entrepreneurs that have previously built companies with $10+M in revenue and had 100+ employees. Why Would an Entrepreneur Join a Venture Studio?

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Duct Tape Marketing

JANUARY 4, 2024

Our deep dive into the world of email newsletters unveils tactical strategies for transforming subscribers into revenue-generating assets. Key Takeaways: Russell Henneberry provides the tactical strategies to transform subscribers into revenue. Learn crucial metrics for success, from open rates to the quality of subscribers.

Revenue 96

Revenue Advertising Email ChatGPT 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In the short term you need customers to find you at any price, and in the longer term you need revenue, profit, and return loyalty. It’s your job as a leader to be the model high performer, quantify the team view with metrics, and expand awareness to the best outside competition and new tools.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 19, 2025

” The impact shows in concrete business growth metrics. We increased our revenue by 20% last year. Many clients express initial skepticism but find that the comprehensive support and expertise provided lead to substantial increases in revenue, staff, and resources.

Rhode Island 83

Rhode Island Ohio Web Development Social Media 83

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

— Unremarked and unheralded, the balance of power between startup CEOs and their investors has radically changed: IPOs/M&A without a profit (or at times revenue) have become the norm. Typically, this caliber of bankers wouldn’t talk to you unless your company had five profitable quarters of increasing revenue.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

One client said it helped them because they hadn’t made long-term commitments to advertising buys, and it was easy to cut back spending when their revenues declined. They run the campaign once and then declare it was successful based on vanity metrics. Most marketers think in terms of campaigns. They write a campaign brief.

Agile 264

Agile Marketing Campaign Sales 264

Feld Thoughts

JULY 20, 2020

” followed by “Once we bring them into our ecosystem, how do we support their journey in meaningful ways that can help to level the playing field = e.g. get them capital or get them revenue?” ” Maybe we should stop asking “What’s your SAT score?” ” and instead ask, “Wow.

Entrepreneur 222

Entrepreneur Software Review Metrics Community 222

YoungUpstarts

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

EBITDA is the most important profitability metric to consider as many valuations are based on a multiple of this metric. Generally, companies sell for either a percentage of revenues or a multiple of EBITDA. She is a leading authority on buying, selling, and improving businesses, as well as increasing business revenue streams.

Exit Strategy 246

Exit Strategy Intellectual Property Valuation Metrics 246

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 8, 2024

Factors to Consider Before Taking on Debt The debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) is a financial metric lenders use to assess a business’s ability to cover its debt obligations. Utilize Debt for Strategic Investments Use debt to invest in revenue-generating assets that generate a positive return on investment for your business.

Finance 147

Finance Technical Review Metrics .Net 147

ConversionXL

OCTOBER 8, 2021

That’s why Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is such a critical metric. Therefore, you need to attribute revenue by their monthly cohorts rather than when they converted in order to properly measure ROAS. LTV/CAC – Understanding the golden metric. It’s the single most important indicator to prevent reckless spending.

Acquisition 135

Acquisition Churn Rate Cost Customer 135

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Before you bring on partners, develop intellectual property, raise capital, or generate revenues, you need to establish an official business entity. You don’t have to be a heavily funded later stage startup to get access to “big data,” customer analytics, and metrics dashboards. Angel groups, accelerators, and incubators are pervasive.

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Angel Groups Social Media 261

The Startup Magazine

OCTOBER 19, 2020

Similarly, customers are more knowledgeable, aware, and conscious to choose from the variety out there, which slows down the company’s revenue and growth. Such metrics can also help identify the right products to be marketed in front of the customer, resonating marketing strategy, suitable medium to interact with the customer, etc.

Technical Review 158

Technical Review Forecast Analytics Social Media 158