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.
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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
What we did:
MapSherpa engaged Francis Moran and Associates in September, 2011. The company had successfully brought to market a direct-to-consumer version of its online map-making application as well as a custom version for a large outdoor recreation association. MapSherpa was now contemplating building its second-generation product, but was uncertain which market segments it ought to target, and what product it might need to build to address its chosen segment.
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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.
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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.
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You just never know where a story is going to stick
February 27, 2013 by Leo Valiquette
Last week, I spoke about how many PR practitioners fear to pick up the phone or otherwise attempt to engage with media beyond simply hitting “send” on a media release. I want to follow up by emphasizing that, for a PR program to be effective, it must be consistent, persistent and applied […]
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App development today demands a three-in-one approach
February 26, 2013 by Peter Hanschke
Welcome to the third installment of my blog on product managing myself. Today we’ll get into a meatier topic. Something that is fundamental to being a product manager – managing the intersection of product requirements, user experience and implementation AND remaining within a reasonable release window […]
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Ego capital and the ‘Series A Crunch’
February 25, 2013 by Ron Weissman
The meme of the month is “The Series A Crunch.” According to Crunch Theory, many worthy seed-funded startups lack follow-on capital because VCs now have smaller funds or have moved later stage. CB Insights estimates $1 billion in seed financing will be “incinerated” and at least 1,000 companies will be orphaned […]
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Great articles roundup: Angel investing, series A cliff, startup financing, agile development
February 22, 2013 by Daylin Mantyka
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: Techvibes, Fast Company, StartupNorth, Velocity and Convince & Convert […]
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6 little things that tell your customers you don’t care
February 21, 2013 by Francis Moran
Hey there, small or medium B2B technology company: Have you thought about what your actions are saying to your customers? Even if you don’t think you can afford a big company’s expensive embrace of high-touch customer service, at least you can stop shooting yourself in the foot […]
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The traditional corporate presentation is dead!
February 20, 2013 by Anil Dilawri
I saw close to 300 business presentations last year – lucky me. Unfortunately, most of them were not very good […]
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Do your PR people suffer from telephobia?
February 19, 2013 by Leo Valiquette
Just when I think it’s a dead horse that has been well and thoroughly flogged on this blog, I have a conversation with someone who gives it a fresh gasp of life. It comes back to this: The real effort in a public relations launch begins when you hit “send” on the media release […]
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Time for a little break
February 18, 2013 by admin
Our blog is taking a break today as we enjoy Family Day in Ontario and our U.S. readers observe President’s Day. We would like to take this opportunity to express a warm thank you to all of our readers. Our blog recently passed 1,000 posts thanks to your continued interest and support […]
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By Leo Valiquette and John Hill
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Traditional Marketing is Dead – Long Live Bikini Waxer Marketing | Scalexl : [...] pointed out by Alexandra Reid on the Francis Moran website content marketing is becoming more and more like journalism. So, it is not just about the content, [...]
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