412 Posts found for Source: First Round Review

Amy Chang, who ran product for Google Analytics before founding data-driven networking startup Accompany in 2013, counts dozens of luminaries among her advisors — including best selling authors like Chip Heath and Nir Eyal. Fielding this type of expertise seems like a nearly impossible feat, but her only secret is this: She spent years figuring out how to methodically build her network — and is … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Amy Chang | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Entrepreneurship

The Review is now over two years old and home to dozens of stories that have resonated and made a difference. In 2015 alone, we added nearly 100 new articles, full of granular how-to’s for designers, product managers, marketers, recruiters, sales leaders, executives and many more. What follows is a list of the 30 most impactful, change-making pieces of advice drawn from everything we published … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Miscellaneous

The Review reflects on the extraordinary people they’ve interviewed and long-form articles they’ve published over the last year.

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Miscellaneous

When it comes to innovation, there’s only one right way to segment: by customers’ needs, what they value and their WTP [willingness to pay] for a product or service that delivers that value.

Content: Quotation | Author: Madhavan Ramanujam | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Innovation, Marketing / Sales

The root of all innovation evil is the failure to put the customer’s willingness to pay [WTP] for a new product at the very core of product design. Most companies postpone pricing decisions until after the product is developed. They embark on a long, costly journey of hoping they’ll make money rather than knowing they will. You can ensure your product not only stays alive, … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Madhavan Ramanujam | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Innovation, Marketing / Sales, Pricing

Managers should equip their people to achieve clarity in their careers, says Candor, Inc. co-founder and COO and former military leader Russ Laraway. He believes that managers can grow and retain top talent by helping their employees articulate long-term vision for their careers. Drawing from his talk at First Round’s CEO Summit and additional conversations, Laraway lays out a step-by-step approach for creating meaningful dialogue … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Russ Laraway | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management

If pricing is adjusted on a regular basis, it trains your customers to understand that the value is going to be changing as the product is improving. The worst thing you can do is add so much value over the course of three to five years — even 12 months — and then all of a sudden want a big bump from your customers who … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Patrick Campbell | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Pricing

Early on, many startups don’t want to show prices — and that’s okay. Most don’t really know what they should charge, so they prefer to get intel by asking inbound customers some pricing questions. However, when you reach a point where you want a touchless sale, then you need to show your pricing. If it’s not a clear number, such as in Wistia’s case, give … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Patrick Campbell | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Marketing / Sales, Pricing

Madhavan Ramanujam is to monetization strategy what Bob Marley is to reggae music. He’s managed over 125 projects for companies ranging from hot startups to the Fortune 500. Drawing from his talk at First Round’s CEO Summit, Madhavan Ramanujam explains why pricing is so paramount from the get-go and the four ways companies often trip up when trying to monetize. He also shares the three … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Madhavan Ramanujam | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Pricing

Most startups don’t spend nearly enough time recognizing people. Most people need to know their managers and org leaders see their hard work and value it. They’re hungry for this type of acknowledgment. When you tell a story about them, you kick their motivation into hyperdrive, and you make them a model for the rest of the team to follow their lead.

Content: Quotation | Author: Don Faul | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Motivation, Storytelling

If you don’t have a past experience you can use to connect to your team’s current plight, get familiar with what’s happening for them now. Listen to their stories, so you can eventually tell one that will speak to people and make them feel seen.

Content: Quotation | Author: Don Faul | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Storytelling

I firmly believe that leaders at companies need to be in service to their people. They need to ensure they have everything they need to succeed. One of the most critical needs they have is a complete picture of why they should show up and pour their heart into their work every day. It’s not a nice to have, it’s a basic need.

Content: Quotation | Author: Don Faul | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Motivation, Organizational Behavior

… people attach emotion to individuals. They love rooting for people. They love experiencing the world through others’ eyes. The more you can tell stories about actual people that connect to the broader purpose, the more your audience will feel and not simply hear what you are trying to tell them.

Content: Quotation | Author: Don Faul | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Motivation, Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior, Storytelling

Since many of a startups’ earliest advisers come from the fundraising world, they’re likely to offer advice from one particular perspective. Traditional VCs have a playbook that they run across their companies, and their business model works for them. Their goal is to place strategic bets in a handful of companies. Founders, though, aren’t managing a portfolio. They need to base their decisions on the … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Wade Foster | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Since leaving YouTube in 2009, Julie Supan has become one of the most sought-after branding experts in Silicon Valley, helping companies like Dropbox, Airbnb and Thumbtack craft their positioning prior to launch. Her first step? Identifying their target user—the high-expectation customer. In this exclusive interview, she explains who that is, how to find them, and why every startup needs to ditch generic platitudes and start … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Julie Supan | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Brand, Marketing / Sales

Questions not only mean the customer is engaging, but also transferring feedback that is process-oriented or value-oriented. They’re working through how they’re going to make a decision about your product with you. If they’re asking questions, something’s landed. That’s a good sign. If they ask about another customer, your example may not have been sufficiently relevant — that’s a sign to change tacks and dig … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Whitney Sales | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Marketing / Sales

Every new staffer’s desk should look like you were waiting for them to get there with bated breath and you’re so glad they’re there now.

Content: Quotation | Author: Pete Kazanjy | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Human Resources

On-site interviews are notoriously time intensive for your whole team. Guard your team’s time against wild goose chases by doing the heavy lifting yourself during the screening process. A candidate shouldn’t be coming on site unless you’re already pretty damn sure they’re a hire. Otherwise, you’re pissing away your people’s time.

Content: Quotation | Author: Pete Kazanjy | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Human Resources

Price Intelligently Co-founder and CEO Patrick Campbell has seen startups and multinationals alike labor to perfect products only to casually raise their finger to the wind when it comes to determining pricing. In this exclusive interview, Campbell deconstructs and walks through the elements of a pricing strategy to enable startups to more effectively acquire customers. The foundational work behind pricing is to create, test and … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Patrick Campbell | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Pricing

Being a good manager is not about avoiding failure — it’s about enabling as many different paths forward as possible for as long as possible.

Content: Quotation | Author: James Everingham | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Management