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. Investors know that startups with too much money fail just as often as those with not enough. Recruit the best team members and provide incentives.

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. That’s real viral marketing.

Startup 205

Startup Viral Software Development Software Developers 205

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

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. I was talking with a colleague once about how videos go viral. It’s worth a quick read.

SEM 379

SEM Viral Marketing Widget 379

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

The real reason to build an MVP is to do early tests of key Startup Metrics for the business. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers Technology Roles in Startups Want to Know the Difference Between a CTO and a VP Engineering? To prove/disprove a hypothesis. " Once you have the metrics defined, it focuses your effort.

Technical Cofounder 338

Technical Cofounder Technical Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 338

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. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

Technical Review 399

Technical Review Product Advisory Board Business Model 399

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

TechEmpower

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. Ads, Viral/Social, SEO)? What are your key Startup Metrics ? eCommerce Does your startup run on a subscription model? What about other kinds of viral outreach? 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. That first burst of customers via word-of-mouth or a viral video won’t sustain your growth. Even the best college degree is not a substitute.

Intellectual Property 432

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Technical Review Angel Investor 432

VC Cafe

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

Top-line metrics are indicators of success, not the one bar to clear to raise funding for your startup. 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. Benchmarks for deep tech startups.

B2C 141

B2C Technical Review Startup Retention 141

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

As a mentor to startups, I see more startups that are really an individual professional, marketing themselves as a consultant or freelancer in this new gig economy. They know how to capitalize on social media, viral marketing, events, and the new tools of the trade. Here are some examples: Marketing Professional.

Angel Investor 267

Angel Investor Social Media LLC Viral 267

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. All startups, including non-profits, need revenue to thrive, such as such as from subscriptions, retail, online, licensing, or services. Description of the business entity you plan to form.

Business Plan 423

Business Plan Product Intellectual Property Elevator Pitch 423

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

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? If you buy that Amazon is a tech startup then essentially you’ve already answered the question. In short — how the hell did we raise $30 million?

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Los Angeles Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

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. Investors know that startups with too much money fail just as often as those with not enough. Recruit the best team members and provide incentives.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

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. Emotion, rather than logic, drives disciples.

Marketing 317

Marketing Social Media Affiliate Viral 317

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. Investors know that startups with too much money fail just as often as those with not enough. Recruit the best team members and provide incentives.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

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 number of startups being created has increased by an order of magnitude. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin! Today’s Normalization.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Technical Review LP Mobile 347

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

The father of “Growth Hacking” appears to be Sean Ellis who wrote this widely read post, “ Find a Growth Hacker for your Startup. For starters it brings a mindset to startups that not all of them have innately. If your startup isn’t committed to growth hacking you’ll never find extra-ordinary growth.

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. It created viral buzz because other fans saw the email address and wanted to know how they got it.

Entrepreneur 356

Entrepreneur Los Angeles Norway Audience 356

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

I suspect that a good part of the problem is that startup and small business owners still don’t know where or how to start. Read everything you can about viral marketing. Dell announced years ago that it had earned $3 million in revenue from using Twitter, and other businesses report daily on increases in web traffic up to 800%.

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. Yet many of the startups I see are very US centric.

Video 339

Video Technical Review Distribution Aggregator 339

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. Too Much Social Interaction?

Viral 331

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 331

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. Too Much Social Interaction?

Viral 323

Viral Startup Networking Social Network 323

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. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Advisory Board Software Review Business Model 220

The Startup Magazine

APRIL 4, 2025

This unique dynamic allows even newcomers to achieve viral success. The post The Rise of Short-Form Video Marketing: A New Frontier for Brands appeared first on The Startup Magazine. The platform’s algorithm operates ingeniously, prioritizing content based on engagement levels rather than follower count.

Video 103

Video Marketing Audience Social Media 103

View from Seed

AUGUST 30, 2016

For those of us that have been working in the startup and technology space for at least the past 10 years, these addresses mean two things. Despite that data, we don’t compete in one of the largest opportunities (in terms of sheer number of people using the product) that the startup and technology world has to offer. 1 Hacker Way.

Social Media 185

Social Media B2B North America Media 185

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." I would guess that this represents less than 5% of startups. A startup does require MVP but it is much more than just MVP.

Algorithm 264

Algorithm Metrics Viral Venture Capital 264

NZ Entrepreneur

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

Matt Miller, founder of BrakeAce , made a Reel for his startup that got 1M+ views in ten days. He shares his learnings for startup founders here. If you’re a busy startup like us, it’ll be impossible to keep short form creativity elevated long term. Viral short form can help!

Viral 111

Viral Startup Bootstrapping Algorithm 111

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 11, 2011

I recently had the pleasure of spending an hour with Jon Steinberg, president of Buzzfeed , a company who focuses on helping media companies make their content go viral. But of course we also focused on making content go viral. I guess this video won’t go viral, then! Good comment community = viral blog.

Viral 354

Viral Video RSS Audio 354

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

View from Seed

MARCH 22, 2016

However, as someone who’s spent the past several years covering startups, I can tell you absolutely what not to do. That means avoiding a pitch to a software-centric publication about your biotech startup. And don’t pitch a Boston newspaper on your San Francisco startup. If you don’t want to irritate a reporter, do not….

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage San Francisco Startup CTO Hire 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

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. Investors know that startups with too much money fail just as often as those with not enough. Recruit the best team members and provide incentives.

Startup 120

Startup Forecast Stock Options Technical Review 120

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

People said this about Ring (which went from startup to selling to Amazon > $1 billion in around 5 years), Facebook, YouTube, Airbnb, Uber, Twitter, Instagram and many other great behemoths of the technology industry. There is nothing viral! Ah, but Bird doesn’t have network effects! Anybody can launch a scooter service!

San Francisco 256

San Francisco Valuation Los Angeles Technical Review 256

The Startup Magazine

AUGUST 6, 2021

There are increasing efforts in the industry to create MVPs to validate your app, make it go viral, and collect customer feedback with minimal investments. The post APIs Make the (Crypto) World Go Around appeared first on The Startup Magazine.

API 158

API Java Ruby Software Developers 158

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. We first met Jamie when had had a startup called Simulscribe, which transcribed voicemail so you could read your messages rather than listen to them.

Security 247

Security Los Angeles Silicon Valley Video 247

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 15, 2015

As a mentor to startups, I see more and more startups that are really an individual professional, marketing themselves as a consultant or freelancer. They know how to capitalize on social media, viral marketing, events, and the new tools of the trade. business professional entrepreneur mentor startup' Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Social Media LLC 120