Category: Startup Consulting

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Startups know how to use time wisely!

3:55 pm is your appointment. Be specific. Ms.Jules has another meeting at 4 pm.

That was a scene from the movie “The Intern”.

The movie captures the #startup scene quite well.

Among all that,

  1. The #speed with which the entire team operates,
  2. The founder getting into customer service calls,
  3. The founder taking special efforts to ensure that a customer, a would-be bride, receives her dress on time in an impeccable manner,
  4. The founder visiting the warehouse and teaching the staff how to pack the stuff after ordering an item from the company herself &
  5. Congratulating someone in the team by ringing a bell when he/she achieves some milestone

are some of the great moments to learn from.

A lesson in #customerexperience #timemanagement

And if there is one difference between startups and big businesses, then this is that: Startups know how to use their time effectively and they don’t do long meetings. Decisions are taken on the fly. People are empowered to take decisions.

In contrast, when we want to reach someone in big businesses, you always hear that they are in a meeting.

Let us pledge to use #time effectively.

Happy Selling!!

#happyselling #b2b #changethegame #sales #marketing #customerservice

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Create Content else Curate Content!!

Today Customers are better informed than the Sales people themselves. They do all the homework before calling you for a discussion.

Content is King, as they say. And Marketing is the new Sales. Though it can never replace Sales, Digital Marketing & Inbound marketing is a given. And businesses need to invest in it.

So, how to create content?

  1. Make a list of what your customers are looking for. And write about them.
  2. Problems faced by your customers and probable solutions for those problems.
  3. Reference guides in your industry – trade them in return for email ids.
  4. Best Practices – will show your thought leadership on the subject.
  5. White Papers – can be completely unbiased on any topic. Need not narrow down to only what you sell.
  6. Approach Papers – what will be your approach for any given situation.
  7. Case Studies – what did Customer A do when faced with a certain issue and how did he become successful with your product or service.
  8. eBooks – helpful resources for various tasks or problems.
  9. What to do in any situation or what not to do – if you help your customers when they are stuck, there is a good chance that they will remember you when they are looking for what you are selling.
  10. Customer speak – not just testimonials but capture in depth customer experiences.
  11. Expert Views – collect views from experts in your area of operation on a particular subject and publish them.
  12. Events – Talk about the upcoming events in your Industry or your experience in a just happened event.
  13. Podcasts – nothing like a talk show and it will be interesting if you can invite industry experts for the show.
  14. Demos – You can have a YouTube channel to give a sneak peak in to your product.
  15. User guides – Let it be easy for your customers to locate them online.
  16. Last but not the least, Curate Content: it is not that you are the only expert in your industry. There are plenty of them out there. They are creating good quality content as well. Curate them. This should add to your credibility.

Happy Creating and Curating !!

Happy Selling!

For any help in Marketing, Sales, Startup Consulting or CRM Software, please contact me at:

kannan @ zignalytics dot com

#marketing #sales #crm #startupconsulting #digitalmarketing #inboundmarketing

Keep your Content Fresh!! Always!

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VC 101 – A Primer on Seeking Funds for your Business!

For the Budding Entrepreneurs out there:

In any Industry there are both Good and Not So Good Players. And Funding Companies/Investors/VCs Community are not an exception.

You should know to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I am saying this from my own recent personal experience.

Ideas are Important. Without ideas, money can get nowhere. I repeat that: “Without ideas, money can get nowhere.”

So, do not under estimate your ideas. Do not undersell your idea or yourself. This is the KEY TO SUCCESS.

The Good VCs have an established process to apply. You can visit their websites to know more. You can do your homework on what kind of companies they have invested in, how those companies have performed and grown etc. You will know whether you are in good company or not, even before you start the application process.

Some VCs like Y Combinator [ http://www.ycombinator.com/ ] have mentioned the list of companies they have invested in, the companies that have failed or closed down etc. The fact that Y Combinator has mentioned their failed ventures shows they are also susceptible to failures but that does not make them any less. The fact still remains that they have succeeded in most ventures. Some of them have grown to become world class companies.

In the urge to get things off the ground quickly, do not rush the process. Instead stay put for the long haul, be firm on your ideas, thought process, business plans, goals etc. If not now, you will get to work with someone of your caliber soon. Wait for the right partner.

Before talking to VCs, you should:

  1. Do your homework
  2. Know their Fund Size, Frequency, No of ventures they will invest in a year, Funding Calendar
  3. Know the ventures they have invested in, so far & how they are performing
  4. Know their Industry standing & ranking
  5. Know their application process
  6. Talk to some of the ventures they have invested in
  7. Know their funding patterns – Seed Stage & Startup/Early Stage – $500,000 to $2 million, Series A – $2 million to $15 million, Series B – $7 million to $10 million, Series C – Post Revenue – hundreds of millions – used for acquisition of other companies in the same space etc.
  8. Where they have invested – is it ecom/food delivery/fitness or is there no such preference
  9. Qualifying criteria
  10. Last but not the least: Talk to a lawyer, get an NDA [Non-Disclosure Agreement] template drafted. This needs to be signed by the VC and you on a Stamp Paper when you want to share the idea with your VC as part of their application process. Most Professionally run VCs will agree and sign these NDAs. If they don’t, then it may be time for you to walk out. Hence, do this first, in the process, so that you don’t waste your time.

I am sure this post will serve as an eye-opener to the budding VCs as well. And I wish they too grow and become world class.

Happy Creating!!

Get in touch with me for Start-up Consulting at:
kannan at zignalytics dot com or call me at 984 555 7401.

Best Wishes,
Kannan