In my inbox is another invite to a Pitch Pageant. Some startups have executed some process and we have to go and clap at them. Well done, folks, you’ve managed to survive a process for a few months. I was at an event a few years ago where a startup was awarded a “Continuum Award”…
Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf…. Pre-Revenue Startup? Of course, there’s more risk investing in early stage, pre-revenue companies, is that really a surprise to anyone? With greater risk comes greater reward – if you know how to manage it – and have the cojones for it but risk taking doesn’t come easily to…
Robert Cialdini is professor of Marketing and professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. In 1985, Cialdini published Influence, in which he identified six principles that all compliance professionals (by which he means anyone in sales, marketing or negotiation) use to persuade people. These six principles have stood the test of time and are identifiable…
What is a brand? A type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name? The name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s product distinct from those of other sellers? It is the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying…
What is your motivation for success? The thing about “incentives” is that they have to actually incentivise. How you incentivise is first by measuring and then by rewarding. You don’t get performance by watching (measuring) and you definitely don’t get it by rewarding alone. Phase I of the Spring Cohort of the Raise programme is…
The point of a pitch is the meeting afterwards. Not the pitch itself. You’re there to initiate interest. No-one is going to sign a cheque at an event or have a bidding war with other investors in public – leave that for the “startup theatre” of Dragons Den. We live in the real world. Last…
CAC: Customer Acquisition Costs (also known as COCA in some places) CLTV: Customer Life Time Value MRR: Monthly Returning Revenue CAC is usually associated with SAAS (Software as a Service) and B2B (Business to Business) software sales and especially startups. Knowing about CAC and your ratios (CAC:MRR) will be important when trying to raise finance…
