Why Your Startup Needs A Founder’s Agreement
Building a high-growth tech startup is a team sport that requires a variety of people with different skill sets. While most of your core team can be acquired/hired, having one or more co-founders can be very helpful, particularly in the early days of the company. It’s not uncommon to see a founding team made up
4 Things Startups Need To Know About Social Media Measurement
Social media has given startups and small businesses an incredible opportunity to reach and engage with their consumers directly. But understanding how to measure social media’s impact leaves many startups scratching their heads. In fact, even large companies often struggle with the fact that each new channel has its own terms and analytics platforms that
Looking For Leads? Technology Can Help
Healthy revenue begins and ends with a predictable sales pipeline. But how do you actually build that pipeline? Fortunately, technology affords businesses several highly effective options for prospecting clients and generating qualified leads. Here are a few tried and true techniques: Optimize your website for search engines Search engine optimization is a powerful and
Hiring a Development Firm, Part 3: Managing Contract Resources
In my tenure working with founders, I’ve had the opportunity to watch more than my fair share of development efforts using contracted resources. For the business-oriented founder who has a strong idea but not a technical co-founder or resource in their corner, it’s a viable way to get an MVP up and in the market
Hiring a Development Firm, Part 2: Terms, Contracting, Execution
So you have found a development firm you want to work with to build your product. Hopefully, you took the advice outlined in Part 1 of the series to vet candidates and obtain the right firm for your project. So now it is time to code, right? Wrong! Remember, the whole purpose of vetting candidates is to figure out who
Hiring a Development Firm, Part 1: Vetting Candidates
So, it is time to hire a development firm…are you sure? You have a solid understanding of product-market fit for your target customer. You know the minimum amount of functionality you need to deliver to get them to use your product, keep using it and pay you something for it. Does that sound like you?
5 Tips For Conducting Your First Customer Discovery Interviews
As a business founder, that “light bulb” moment is very exhilarating. You’ve seen an opportunity to create a new or improve upon an existing process, product, platform, service or retail environment. And off the top of your head, you aren’t aware of anything else that comes close to being as awesome as what you have
How To Incorporate Use Cases In Your Product Strategy
The term “use case” is thrown around a lot, and it is important to be clear about what it is and what it is not. A use case is a specific situation in which a product or service could potentially be used. Given people buy the same product for different reasons, use cases can vary
Should I Price My Product For Value Or Adoption?
BOGO. Gift with purchase. Free to download. Get the first 30 days free (just enter your credit card… you won’t be charged unless you decide to continue). We’ve all received offers like this, all with varying degrees of impact. Promotions have become a way of life, setting a precedent for how we engage, buy and
How To Develop Your IP Strategy
Imagine working hard to launch your company. You build your product, implement a go-to-market strategy, make a logo, hired employees, finalize investors, and more. Many entrepreneurs I have worked with got to this point to discover: You are now being sued for infringing upon someone else’s Intellectual Property (IP) Rights. Because they build their product
How To Fail … Fast
A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak to a group of entrepreneurs about the key traits of successful startup founders. With the topic phrased so broadly, it would be easy to spin all over the place, trying to cover all the bases. Should I talk about this? No, what about that? But wait,
4 Keys To Incorporating Customer Feedback In Your Product Roadmap
Now that you have a product in market (and it is in use) you may find yourself at a critical juncture—continued evolution of your product based on proof of product-market fit. If you’ve followed the guidance we’ve laid out over the course of our roadmap approach, you’ll have created a grounded Product Roadmap and built