SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. He wanted to get input from me on what he's doing, and he wants to begin to ask developers what it would take to build his product. Me : Product definition, use cases, feature list, wireframes, comps, really whatever you have.

Developer 354

Developer Technical Review Fractional CTO Software Review 354

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2020

One of the harsh realities for most product entrepreneurs is that they have deal with hiring and firing as their company grows, and they have no experience or idea where to start. They know how to capitalize on social media, viral marketing, events, and the new tools of the trade. Staffing Professional.

Startup 410

Startup Angel Investor Social Media LLC 410

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group.

SEM 379

SEM Viral Marketing Widget 379

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. Background Questions Let’s start with some background questions about the business and product. Ads, Viral/Social, SEO)? What problem is your product trying to solve? Wireframes?

Developer 520

Developer Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 520

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Investors my tell you that, but what they can look at your product on paper and tell what it does and they will understand if it can be built. Leverage Existing Platforms or Third Party Products - you want to test your social network, grab Drupal and whip something together, or even just use a hosted service.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more. Finish the product before marketing begins. It’s never too early to start marketing, since it usually takes as long to build marketing momentum as it does to build a product. Marketing should start before product development.

Intellectual Property 436

Intellectual Property Angel Investor Viral Distribution 436

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

This is why I loved Brad Feld’s recent post about the “ illusion of product / market fit.” Are our users addicted to our product? But if users don’t come back to your product directly and often I question whether you have a sustainable product / company. Are we making their lives better?

Product 150

Product B2B Warrant Technical Review 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

You may think that patents and copyrights are not required, since your products are so innovative, but you will find that competitors are quick to copy your idea if you don’t protect it. That first burst of customers via word-of-mouth or a viral video won’t sustain your growth. Intellectual property is required for a competitive edge.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

Amazon took a consumer value proposition (buying books, then all retail products) and made the consumer experience significantly better, faster & cheaper. We have built route management software so that drivers have productive routes and can cluster pick-ups and drop-offs. In short — how the hell did we raise $30 million?

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Los Angeles Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

List key features/ Minimal Viable product plan. Create a “ viral ” landing page, with LaunchRock or KickoffLabs. from your product and get feedback and suggestions on new features. Use Skype or Google+ Hangouts for team conversations. Craft Your Company Hypotheses (use the Lean LaunchLab ). JustinMind , Balsamiq ).

Lean 334

Lean Web Coder Business Model 334

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. 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.

Campaign 167

Campaign Cost Viral Marketing 167

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

One of the harsh realities for most product entrepreneurs is that they have deal with hiring and firing as their company grows, and they have no experience or idea where to start. They know how to capitalize on social media, viral marketing, events, and the new tools of the trade. Staffing Professional.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 14, 2021

In today’s world, it seems that emotion, not logic, sparks the new trends that become culture, and drives our devotion or disappointment in new products and brands. Businesses which ignore this contract are excluded from consideration, despite maybe having a logically better product or price. Enlist disciples and a congregation.

Marketing 317

Marketing Social Media Affiliate Viral 317

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

Steve Blank

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

The “it” is a physical or web product they’ve often been locked-down, pounding away at, for many weeks. The product is so good, helpful, and easy to use that it literally almost does its own marketing organically through the product’s viral nature, just as Hotmail and Gmail have done since inception.

Startup 334

Startup Cofounder Customer Development Viral 334

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more. Finish the product before marketing begins. It’s never too early to start marketing, since it usually takes as long to build marketing momentum as it does to build a product. Marketing should start before product development.

Intellectual Property 312

Intellectual Property Startup Angel Investor Viral 312

TechEmpower

JULY 31, 2023

Start by building just enough of your product to get early CAC and CLV signals (they won’t be perfect). channels (search, social, viral, new media), cost-efficient distribution We often reference Dave’s work when talking to innovators. cto , infotech , innovation , product , project , saas Don’t worry about scaling just yet.

Metrics 260

Metrics Startup Retention Acquisition 260

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

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

So what happens when production is reduced by 99% and distribution bends to infinity? Content can go viral – the highest quality stuff is shared. Video production & distribution is becoming much more programatic. That would be like selling physical consumer products and deciding not to sell at Walmart.

Video 339

Video Technical Review Distribution Aggregator 339

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

In his maiden post on the topic he wrote, “After product-market fit and an efficient conversion process, the next critical step is finding scalable, repeatable and sustainable ways to grow the business. If this isn’t part of your culture on your product & marketing teams I can assure you it is on one of your competitors.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Try charging customers for your product when you have 12 competitors giving the product away free finances by $20 million of VC. There is no sector of the economy that isn’t being transformed by the online community that is now voraciously consuming media, applications, communications and buying global products.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2014

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.

Startup 283

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 283

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 10, 2020

Make sure you integrate video production into your company’s marketing plan. If you manage to get your video production and marketing right, you can dramatically boost your conversion rate. You can’t expect someone who has no idea about your offer to immediately purchase your product or service. Helps In Building Trust.

Video 246

Video Marketing Social Media Mobile 246

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Read everything you can about viral marketing. Don’t use the same message on Twitter you developed for email blasts and postcard blitzes. Social media demands two-way communication, rather than outbound only. It’s not free, so budget appropriately, but not excessively. Start social networking with peers.

Social Media 289

Social Media Small Business Media Technical Review 289

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Price is as important as any other feature to determine product/market “fit.” ” How many times have you seen someone struggle with an inferior product because they cannot afford the better one? Price is inextricably linked to brand, product, and purchasing decisions — by whom, why, how, and when.

Bootstrapping 294

Bootstrapping Technical Review B2C Sales Cycle 294

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product." It is almost never the case that you are building an MVP to "show" to an investor the product itself.

Algorithm 264

Algorithm Metrics Viral Venture Capital 264

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

You build a team, ship your product, more tech press, more funding. They qualify every initiative with, “well this didn’t prove viral adoption last time so I don’t expect a silver bullet this time.” But reality sets in after the first few battles. You raised your seed funds. You get invited to speak on panels.

Churn Rate 371

Churn Rate Vesting Viral eCommerce 371

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

If you don’t know, Ring offers home security products that started with a video doorbell, then video floodlights, outdoor stickup cams and now in-home security features that innovate in-home security alongside outside protection. We were CONVINCED Dropcam (then Nest) wouldn’t mobilize a competing product quickly if it did sell?

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

VC Cafe

MARCH 16, 2025

The integration of AI and generative AI is radically transforming how consumers interact with technology, potentially leading to a wave of innovative products and services. The potential is HUGE. Take a look at the summary in gallery below. I’ve seen many founders that don’t have a CTO and outsourced development.

Technical Review 78

Technical Review B2C Generative AI IPO 78

Steve Blank

APRIL 20, 2021

Many of them get hung up on understanding how to select the right minimal viable product. He came up with the concept to simply the search for product/market fit by using an MVP Tree. Many startups fall into the trap of building toward a “mission” rather than a minimum viable product (MVP). Your mission is your baby.

Product 436

Product Viral Channel San Francisco 436

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

I was recently talking with a startup company who wanted me to try their product. I’m a big believer in product stability & performance before adding too many features. Measuring viral adoption is obviously important. If you have multiple versions of your product, how many are web vs. mobile?

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup Acquisition SEM 346

YoungUpstarts

JUNE 18, 2020

and a full-fledged production crew. Film productions, businesses that were aiming to spend big bucks on live advertising are now turning to various animated video styles to get the job done. What about real product demos? Many companies want to showcase their upcoming products. The bigger the team, the greater the cost.

Video 229

Video Advertising Technical Review Viral 229

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

The main B2C benchmarks have to do with traction: growth in user acquisition, user retention/churn, monetisation, as well as the effectiveness of consumer marketing + virality. With the explosion in DTC products (see my post on VC Cafe), they probably deserve a category of benchmarks on their own.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 15, 2019

This strategy of IBM started to fail once the market was filled with clones and fakes of their products. Recently, McDonalds shifted from plastic straws to paper straws after a twitter campaign went viral on how they use 1.8 They focused on IT and computing services to reach their goals and build their business back.

Small Business 196

Small Business Software Review Technical Review Viral 196

ConversionXL

MAY 27, 2022

In today’s market ( 8,000 martech products alone ), it’s easier to attract the right customer with material they value than it is to chase down and convert a prospect who isn’t ready to buy. If your product was developed to solve a real-world problem, your ideal customers already exist. Like SEO, demand generation is a long game.

Demand 124

Demand B2B Distribution Channel 124

ReadWriteStart

APRIL 8, 2023

In contrast, it left several e-trends: augmented reality, zero coding, the marketplace boom, and product subscriptions are just a few of them. With the help of voice assistants, such as Siri and Alexa, you can purchase the product just by saying it while running errands. We will deliver product x every three months with free shipping.”

eCommerce 185

eCommerce Technical Review Software Review Analytics 185