By Jeff Campbell
I had an interesting call with a long time colleague and friend today. He is a well known and respected leader in his field. His expertise and notoriety has been developed over years of innovating and perfecting processes that are measurable, repeatable and produce consistently high-quality results. This guy is and has to be a great salesperson in order to sell his ideas and grow his business. Currently he is managing a software business, developing and offering software that provides automation and process management in his area of discipline.
He explained that, while his company has marquee customers internationally, the majority of its business is confined to one region. Expansion to new territories is critical, he explained, for strategic reasons; expanding global implementations will mitigate risk of competition coming into the region from elsewhere and increase value for stakeholders.
Read More
This is the 11th article in a continuing series chronicling the growth path of Screach, a startup based in Newcastle upon Tyne in England’s North East. Screach is an interactive digital media platform that allows users to create real-time, two-way interactive experiences between a smart device (through the Screach app) and any content, on any screen or just within the mobile device itself. We invite your feedback.
By Leo Valiquette and John Hill
Growing a startup is all about establishing and managing relationships. There are the relationships that open doors and create opportunity. And then there are the more pedestrian ones involved with the day-to-day processes that get product to customers.
Relationships in both categories gave the Screach team plenty of reason to lose sleep over the past couple of months. The first was a pitch opportunity for CEO Paul Rawlings that made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. The second was the potentially disruptive hiccup presented by the Chinese New Year.
Read More
By Leo Valiquette
It may have been a short month, by we still pulled together in February a rich lineup of content for marketers, entrepreneurs and investors alike. Hot topics included how not to do customer service, what’s to love and hate about technology marketing, the root causes of the so-called Series A crunch and the risks of “mentor whiplash.”
In case you missed any of it, here is a handy recap of our posts, as ranked by the enthusiasm of our readers:
Feb. 5: Is the ‘last mile’ of sales automation keeping your reps from closing more business?, by Jeff Campbell
Feb. 7: The trouble with mentors is…, by Francis Moran
Feb. 21: 6 little things that tell your customers you don’t care, by Linda Moran and Francis Moran
Feb. 25: Ego capital and the ‘Series A Crunch’, by Ronald Weissman
Feb. 13: Getting to the point in drafting a patent application, by David French
Feb. 20: The traditional corporate presentation is dead!, by Anil Dilawri
Feb. 27: You just never know where a story is going to stick, by Leo Valiquette
Feb. 6: Does your business suffer from multiple personalities?, by Leo Valiquette
Feb. 11: Do you have the key ingredients for an effective board?, by Denzil Doyle
Feb. 26: App development today demands a three-in-one approach, by Peter Hanschke
Feb. 14: Why I heart tech marketing, by Francis Moran
Feb. 28: Why I hate tech marketing, by Francis Moran
Feb. 19: Do your PR people suffer from telephobia?, by Leo Valiquette
Image: February2013CalendarPrintable.com
As a regular feature, we provide our readers with a roundup of some of the best articles we have read in the past week. On the podium this week are Forbes, Startup Professional Musings, MarketingSherpa, Financial Post and ventureburn.
When It Comes to Tech Start-ups, Do Women Win?
Peter Cohan looks at whether women-led tech startups come out on top. He references the compelling conclusions of the anticipated Spring publication, Women in Technology: Evolving, Ready to Save the World by Vivek Wadhwa and Lesa Mitchell. He also recounts his interview with Joanne Wilson, investor in 31 start-ups, most of which are women-run, and wife of Union Square Ventures managing partner, Fred Wilson.
Read More
By Francis Moran
Two weeks ago, with more than a deliberate nod to Valentine’s Day, I wrote about why I love working in technology marketing. I have spent most of my 25-year career in this exciting, dynamic and challenging sector, and with good reason, so the benefits obviously outweigh the detractions. But every coin has a flip side, and today I’m going to talk about some of the things I truly dislike about tech marketing.
Read More
By Jeff Campbell
