Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 17, 2021

Yet in this age when customers have a thousand alternatives, and are overwhelmed by a multitude of messages, sales efforts can make or break a business. In fact, I believe modern entrepreneurs need to be super sales people, in the most positive sense, to their team as well as customers. No pain usually means no sales.

Sales 348

Sales Startup Bootstrapping Technical Review 348

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. The opportunity to transact at the point of purchase increases the sheer number of revenue opportunities. This never existed a decade ago.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

But if you level up , raise capital and grow customers, revenue and staff – life changes. Eventually you need a VP of Product to handle your product roadmap, a CTO for engineering leadership and VPs of sales, marketing & biz dev. The “span of control” for a growing tech startup is probably 6-9 people.

CTO Hire 385

CTO Hire Entrepreneur Technical Review Leadership 385

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2013

I think it’s important for enterprise startups to layer in professional services into your revenue stream. deliver profitable revenue that while on gross margins of 50% vs. software at 85-95% it is still profits to help you cover fixed costs. Often your sales engineers can do the customizations without bugging the core eng team.

Software Review 321

Software Review Software IP Technical Review 321

The Startup Magazine

JANUARY 19, 2025

Yet, most small businesses fail due to poor cash flow management. Image source Startups often face unpredictable revenue streams and mounting operational costs, making cash flow management particularly challenging. Setting aside a percentage of monthly revenue creates a financial buffer that can cover urgent expenses when needed.

Management 143

Management Startup Forecast Finance 143

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The main thrust of the post is that with YouTube taking a 45% of revenue and talent taking 70% of the remaining revenue, YouTube Networks didn’t have sustainable businesses unless they invested heavily in technology as a tool to increase margin and provide defensibility. That is the definition of Disruptive Technology.

Video 339

Video Technical Review Distribution Aggregator 339

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 4, 2013

Put simply – you need enough users in a segment who care about what you’re doing to dictate investing further in the product or in sales & marketing resources. And finally there is the most modern spin on these concepts by two individuals who have built tech startups and have done an excellent job at describing the process.

Technical Review 401

Technical Review Startup Business Model Non-Compete 401

ConversionXL

JULY 22, 2021

The technical elements of your website’s SEO are crucial to search performance. Understand and maintain them and your website can rank prominently, drive traffic, and help boost sales. In this article, you’ll learn how to conduct a technical SEO audit to find and fix issues in your website’s structure. Technical errors.

Technical Review 162

Technical Review SEO Software Review XML 162

Steve Blank

OCTOBER 24, 2017

A version of this article is in the Harvard Business Review. — 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. 20th Century Tech Liquidity = Initial Public Offering.

Founder 281

Founder Technical Review CTO Hire IPO 281

View from Seed

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

You can read various articles out there which will give you the cursory facts about Airbnb like their overall revenue or profitability or how their business has faired here in 2020 in the COVID environment. But ops & customer support is another 17-20% of revenue and arguably you couldn’t run the business if you took that away.

North America 401

North America IPO Prospectus Europe 401

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. Relationships also build loyalty, get referrals, and drive more sales. Provide training, tools, and required decision authority.

Customer 369

Customer Technical Review Metrics Employee 369

VC Cafe

JANUARY 16, 2022

It’s enough to look at the predictions from 2019 (that didn’t see Covid coming…) to understand how big trends can missed due to an unpredictable sequence of events. But Benedict Evans rightfully questions if it’s not premature to do so, in his excellent Tech questions for 2022.

Technical Review 187

Technical Review Mobile Merger IP 187

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2021

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are looking to the Internet as an opportunity to get rich quick, instead of a place where you can start a business you love, for very little capital and minimal technical expertise. Generate revenue around the clock. Focus on recurring revenues. Use the Internet to outsource staff.

Technical Review 312

Technical Review Software Review Internet Revenue 312

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

JANUARY 4, 2018

The Silicon Valley-oriented technology press outlets don’t cover us because we’re not in San Francisco, even though we’re more successful than most of the startups they cover. Late last year we passed $100M in annual recurring revenue. This week we closed $250M in financing from Silver Lake , the premier technology private equity firm.

Engineer 152

Engineer Revenue San Francisco Security 152

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

Reviewing financial & operational performance. By now you have many smart people around your board but probably people who don’t totally understand the nuances of your employees, customers, sales reps, marketing messages, technology challenges, competitors and strategic choices. Mentorship. As You Start to Mature.

Technical Review 325

Technical Review Early Stage Software Review Los Angeles 325

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2020

But there is no magic formula on how to bring these together a second time, but I did see some good insights on the parameters in a classic startup business parable, “ Endless Encores ,” by Ken Goldstein, who advises startups and has built companies in technology, entertainment, media, and e-commerce.

Technical Review 324

Technical Review Entrepreneur Due Diligence Business Model 324

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2023

Every one of you business owners I know periodically introduces new products and services to sustain growth, fight off competitors, or take advantage of new technologies. New offerings which build your brand will increase acceptance and sales of all solutions, not just the new one. Target audience may be limited or new due to price.

Product 354

Product Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Dividend 354

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. An example of the systems companies build are pricing & revenue management tools to best help to optimize yield. Seriously, this happens.

Operations 286

Operations New York City Technical Review Startup 286

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

As there was no venture capital, these early startups were funded by early sales to weapon systems prime contractors and subcontractors. One of the unintended consequences was that many of the academics went off to found a wave of startups selling their technology to the military. America’s adversaries understand this.

Government 316

Government Artificial Inteligence Silicon Valley North Korea 316

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

They couldn’t possibly understand the new social media culture, new technologies, or have the determination to beat their younger counterparts in the market. In fact, they are well-qualified overall, having worked with high technology and computers for at least 20 years, are highly educated, and highly motivated.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

I have never felt prouder of the team & product at awe.sm ( please visit to check out our latest & be ready for our next big product announcement due out in next month or so) and yet we just brought in a new CEO to the company, Fred McIntyre. ” We had inbound M&A requests from some of the biggest names in tech.

Technical Review 303

Technical Review Cofounder Analytics Founder 303

YoungUpstarts

JANUARY 23, 2018

by Brian Sutter, Director of Marketing, Wasp Barcode Technologies. And so you need more sales. More revenue. 2017 has been a good year for growing revenue. 69% of small business owners expected revenue growth this year. More revenue. 2017 has been a good year for growing revenue. You’re not.

Revenue 174

Revenue Small Business Technical Review .Net 174

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. Of course, if you are able to bootstrap your startup, and don’t anticipate the need for outside investors, you can technically ignore the first two points. IPO – public company initial public stock offering.

Exit Strategy 376

Exit Strategy Startup Private Equity Equity 376

Up and Running

OCTOBER 30, 2020

5 proven business tips for increasing eCommerce sales. All I asked — What is your best advice for online businesses to get sales? Their referral marketing strategy contributed to 13% of all revenue, and their referral program generated a 2,600% ROI. My best advice for online businesses to generate sales is to invest in SEO.

eCommerce 152

eCommerce Sales Software Review Canada 152

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 1, 2017

This article first appeared on the Harvard Business Review blog. He sold off slower-growth, low-tech, and nonindustrial businesses — financial services, media, entertainment, plastics, and appliances. Or they may even put the entire company up for sale. Jeff Immelt ran GE for 16 years.

Institutional Investors 271

Institutional Investors Dividend Stock Technical Review 271

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

Leaders and investors need to know if you have and are tapping into your key sources of relevant data, including web analytics, sales management data, and customer relationship management (CRM) software. Rarely is there alignment between sales and marketing. Long sales cycles obscure beginning and end of costs. Don’t forget it.

Acquisition 250

Acquisition Cost Customer Sales Cycle 250

A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Or seen a review of an iPhone app hung up on pricing trivialities: “It would be pretty good at $0.99, but it’s not worth $1.99.” Consider the consequences of these monthly pricing possibilities: $0/mo means your goal is to maximize growth (trust and usage) instead of revenue. simple enough to be self-service).

Bootstrapping 294

Bootstrapping Technical Review B2C Sales Cycle 294

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 15, 2022

One of the main barriers to sales is the customer checkout experience. In this Macropay review , let’s have a look at the most common online shopping check-out issues that customers face and how to address them. Cart abandonment is a major reason for revenue churn among online retailers. Understanding the Problem.

Technical Review 167

Technical Review Customer Startup Conversion 167

The Startup Magazine

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

To grow your brand and increase revenue, here are some handy tips on how to optimise your affiliate marketing strategy. Boost Sales with Incentives. You need to know the risk factors when picking affiliate partners, otherwise you run the risk of losing revenue. Source: Pixabay. Find the Right Affiliates.

Affiliate 197

Affiliate Marketing Technical Review Software Review 197

Steve Blank

MARCH 15, 2017

His company had marched through customer discovery, learning about the customer problem, validated solutions and was now scaling sales and marketing. 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). All good news.

Startup 329

Startup PR Public Relations Channel 329

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Technical jargon may be natural for you, but investors read this as arrogance or laziness on your part, if not an intentional effort to intimidate the reader and obfuscate facts. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 299

Entrepreneur Technical Review Business Plan Angel Investor 299

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2019

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are looking to the Internet as an opportunity to get rich quick, instead of a place where you can start a business you love, for very little capital and minimal technical expertise. Generate revenue around the clock. Focus on recurring revenues. Use the Internet to outsource staff.

Technical Review 243

Technical Review Software Review Internet Revenue 243

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

After helping build the first Ethernet switch startup, I was attracted by Asynchronous Transfer Mode 25Mbit/sec technology, (ATM25) which was 2.5x After many sales calls, early prospects showed little rush to buy it! After many sales calls, early prospects showed little rush to buy it! But customers didn’t agree.

Japan 305

Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 305

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

“Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.” Technical jargon may be natural for you, but investors read this as arrogance or laziness on your part, if not an intentional effort to intimidate the reader and obfuscate facts.

Technical Review 310

Technical Review Angel Investor Business Plan Social Media 310

VC Cafe

MARCH 1, 2024

In addition, founders thinking about starting a company can be overwhelmed by choice, as there are so many problems to tackle with technology, but it could be comforting to know that investors are interested in those areas in the first place.

Artificial Inteligence 176

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Software Review Generative AI 176