Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

Many investors and big companies are putting money into this space or adding it their product line today. Typical valuations range from 3x-5x revenues. Investors are rushing to offer ridiculous valuations, even to pre-revenue startups, to keep from missing out. Valuations are back to 3x-5x revenues.

Artificial Inteligence 436

Artificial Inteligence Marketing Valuation Startup 436

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

In reality, too many choices actually dilutes customer interest in your existing market, and makes your job of production, marketing, and support much more complex. New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options.

Technical Review 400

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Advisory Board Cofounder 400

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Consider licensing your product or intellectual property, and “white labeling.”

Intellectual Property 261

Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator Bootstrapping 261

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

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. Overall, managing cash flow and burn rate is more critical to your business success than having the right idea and the right product.

Burn Rate 310

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Angel Investor 310

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation. If it’s too early for customers, make sure you understand exactly when the product ships, how detailed is the rollout and promotion plan, and how many times these plans have changed.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 15, 2019

If they were a commercial company, they figured out product/market fit; or if a government organization, it focused on solution/mission fit. HR processes, legal processes, financial processes, acquisition and contracting processes, security processes, product development and management processes, and types of organizational forms etc.

Government 322

Government Technical Review Acquisition Metrics 322

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. For example, when you think about distribution channels, revenue streams, or the relationship with the customer, ask customers what they expect.

Angel Investor 359

Angel Investor Technical Review Incubator Business Model 359

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 10, 2020

When it occurs, the consequences can be swift and devastating, wreaking potential havoc on a once steady stream of revenue. sales to product development), the problems will continue to exist. Clients should be made aware of product improvements or new solutions that are in the works. Work to win them back.

Customer 347

Customer Development Team Review Advisory Board Private Equity 347

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

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. Overall, managing cash flow and burn rate is more critical to your business success than having the right idea and the right product.

Burn Rate 258

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Management Salary 258

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2021

For example, my dictate that entrepreneurs need to find a “ painful ” problem to solve (such as high cost, low productivity) to attract customers, doesn’t really account for many successful startup businesses today, including top social media platforms, dating sites, and new fashions. Nurture relationships with popular social influencers.

Customer 432

Customer Social Media Dividend Technical Review 432

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

As a simple example, the Wal-Mart website now shows shoppers more products that they may like, based on previous purchases. Short-term earnings per share may be low, even as revenues and cash burned are high. Find funders who seek long-term returns. Money-making is different in the digital age.

Software Review 355

Software Review Algorithm Global IPO 355

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Building a minimum viable product, with customer validation. Minimum viable products (MVPs) are recommended for validating the market, with iterative enhancement to quickly meet market feedback. Building your public image and presence should start even before product development, through your website, logo, and blogging.

Intellectual Property 404

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Groups Social Media 404

Steve Blank

JANUARY 17, 2023

Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. He had a track record of taking small teams and growing them into successful product lines.

Technical Cofounder 368

Technical Cofounder Intellectual Property Technical Review Incubator 368

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2020

Every startup success is a function of great people, products, and profits. Leapfrog products invent and reinvent markets. Incremental product ideas do not change markets. The basic premise is that if a startup expects paying customers to use its products or services, it should expect no less from its own team.

Technical Review 324

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Business Model 324

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Plan to deliver a family of products, rather than a one-trick pony. Even a great initial product, with no follow-on, won’t keep you ahead of competitors very long. A smarter risk is to build a plan, with associated greater resources, that will put you in position to expand your product line and keep one step ahead of competitors.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2020

Some analysts argue that revenue drives growth, while others say user growth drives revenue. Google reached $1B in revenue within five years of incorporation, and now has a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. Long-term stability requires revenue growth and profit. Both have worked. Traditionally, it was simple.

Revenue 434

Revenue Valuation Viral Retention 434

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2022

New entrepreneurs tend to focus only on getting the product right, and assume that the right culture and ethics will come later simply by hiring good people. As an example, companies often realize that faulty products are slipping out, but they delay a recall, sighting that strictly legal requirements are being met. Marty Zwilling.

Software Review 291

Software Review Offshore Entrepreneur Leadership 291

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2021

The founder explains that the product or service is so “buzz-worthy” that the merits will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. It usually implies an opportunity to win big, like a lottery, or experience something sensational, like an incredible video or free product.

Viral 348

Viral Marketing SEM Campaign 348

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2022

With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. An agile business doesn’t wait for their current product line to fail, before planning some enhancements. Most small businesses have now forgotten the recent pandemic, and are back to “business as usual.” The days of the “cash cow” are gone.

Agile 379

Agile Technical Review Leadership Social Media 379

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Plan to deliver a family of products, rather than a one-trick pony. Even a great initial product, with no follow-on, won’t keep you ahead of competitors very long. A smarter risk is to build a plan, with associated greater resources, that will put you in position to expand your product line and keep one step ahead of competitors.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

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. It’s fair to use your vision, creativity, and innovation to change the world with new and better products and services.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Finance Startup Salary 379

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Products that can be easily produced and sold via multiple channels, including the Internet, are more easily scaled world-wide. You need a stable customer base with an automatically renewing revenue stream, such as the subscription model. Develop a product line and add alternate channels.

Merger 386

Merger Acquisition Software Review Social Media 386

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees. Encourage employee innovation in service, just like you must always be looking for ways to improve your product offerings.

Customer 369

Customer Technical Review Metrics Employee 369

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

I see it as an opportunity to find new ways to attract customers , make long-needed changes to improve productivity, and lower your own costs of doing business. While they are looking, you can benefit with new services or an expanded product line. Run experiments on new sources of revenue. Make it a win on all fronts.

Technical Review 239

Technical Review Revenue Social Media Cost 239

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Your revenue plans are no longer valid. What’s your monthly cash burn at your new low revenue level? The CEO should dial through as many of the largest existing customers to get a firsthand understanding of the magnitude of any revenue shortfall. Or to launch new products? Your customers will no longer be your customers.

South Korea 334

South Korea Salary Business Model China 334

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

Alow users to generate, refine, and stitch different content types in one workspace Enabling in-platform refinement – AI products can help users identify what can be improved, and then automatically make these changes. Iterating with intelligent editors – products that enable users to take an existing output and refine it (ex.

Artificial Inteligence 177

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 177

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

Start by building just enough of your product to get early CAC and CLV signals (they won’t be perfect). R : Revenue - Can you monetize any of this behavior? cto , infotech , innovation , product , project , saas If you can demonstrate that your CAC and CLV numbers work as expected, then you’ve proven you can make money.

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

Investors are buying part of the business, not the product or service. They only want a quick overview of the product, not detailed features and patent secrets. It’s always impressive to have stand-alone supporting documents for product specifications, sales plan details, and backup financial reports.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

VC Cafe

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

especially if the startup already has a product and revenue? Seed is about showing initial product market fit. To reduce the impact of dilution, the expectation is that startup valuation should more or less double between the pre-seed to the seed, and seed to series A (ideally backed by reasonable traction/ revenue multiples).

Valuation 186

Valuation Software Review Generative AI Technical Review 186

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2020

Investors know that the fun of a startup turns into managing production processes, sales processes, and personnel in a few years. If you can convince investors that your startup will generate a solid revenue stream, and the market won’t go away any time soon, they may see an opportunity for an ever larger return.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. An agile business doesn’t wait for their current product line to fail, before planning some enhancements. Most small businesses have now forgotten the last recession, and are back to “business as usual.” The days of the “cash cow” are gone.

Agile 315

Agile Technical Review Leadership Social Media 315

The Startup Magazine

MARCH 6, 2024

The main reasons are: Ever-evolving Customer Base: From mobile phones to customised gadgets, from televisions to Desktop Computers, the consumer base is getting more diverse and assorted, with different age groups, genders, ethnicities, and races demanding different products and services.

Operations 158

Operations Management Software Review Technical Review 158

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

While these activities shape and build culture, they don’t win wars, and rarely deliver shippable or deployable products. It’s not that these companies are smarter than Defense Department employees, but they operate with different philosophies, different product development methodologies, and with different constraints.

Government 316

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 316

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. By being proactive, and empowering and rewarding your frontline employees for improving processes, you will enhance your business productivity and growth in both the short term as well as the long term.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Due Diligence Merger Social Media 312

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Customers set value based on similar products found. With the best solutions, the customer gets value which exceeds your revenue. Your price and their value are not the same thing. Entrepreneurs set the price of their solution based on their costs, and their perception of value. For example, with smartphone apps, most are free.

Sales 348

Sales Startup Bootstrapping Technical Review 348

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2022

It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. Partner with others to create unique solutions that might benefit your brand, product, or solution. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Customer 267

Customer Technical Review Social Media Partner 267

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2023

Every startup success is a function of great people, products, and profits. Leapfrog products invent and reinvent markets. Incremental product ideas do not change markets. The basic premise is that if a startup expects paying customers to use its products or services, it should expect no less from its own team.

Technical Review 229

Technical Review Due Diligence Business Model Demand 229