For Entrepreneurs is a blog for startups and entrepreneurs, written by David Skok, a five time serial entrepreneur turned VC (now at Matrix. Partners). It aims to address the key issues they will face in getting started, getting funded, and building a successful company.
New to this site?
You might find the following blog posts and articles a good place to start:
- SaaS Metrics – A Guide to Measuring and Improving What Matters
- Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition
- Lessons Learned – Viral Marketing
- Designing startup metrics to drive successful behavior
- Lessons from Leaders: How JBoss did it
- Optimizing your Customer Acquisition Funnel
- Six things VCs look for in an investment
Hi, my name is David Skok. I am a serial entrepreneur turned VC. I have a great passion for helping entrepreneurs and starups. I started my first company a few months after leaving university at the age of 21, and over the next 25 years, founded a total of four companies (Skok Systems, Corporate Software Europe, Watermark Software, and SilverStream Software) and did one turnaround (Xionics). I have had my share of ups and downs. I was lucky enough to have three of these companies go public, one was acquired, and one initially succeeded, but then failed when I moved the company to the US. I often remark that I learned more from that one failure than I have from all of my successes.
After 25 years as an entrepreneur, I became a venture capital partner at Matrix Partners, the firm that had backed my last two companies. I had worked with 15 different VC firms, and Matrix had clearly been my best partner, earning my strong loyalty with their support through some very tough times. I was excited to move to the “dark side” and be in a position to help other entrepreneurs. For the past nine years I have been investing in software and internet companies. As a VC, I have had the very good fortune to invest alongside some spectacular management teams, including JBoss, who took their Open Source business to a successful exit with its sale to Red Hat, and AppIQ, Tabblo and Diligent Technologies, which have all had successful exits, from their inceptions to their acquisitions by HP and IBM. I currently serve on the boards of HubSpot, Digium (makers of the very popular Asterisk Open Source PBX/telephony software), CloudSwitch, Enservio, OpenSpan, Solidworks, and VideoIQ.
I am very passionate about helping other entrepreneurs, having seen how important it is to get that help, encouragement, and support in the early days of creating my own ventures. If you are interested in learning more about what experiences have shaped my thinking, you may enjoy reading the following blog post: What drives great entrepreneurs.
In addition to the articles that I will post, I will also enlist the help of guest bloggers who I believe represent some of the best entrepreneurial and executive minds in the business.
If you would like to contact me, please email me at: dskok (at) matrixpartners.com. I would enjoy hearing from you.
Why does the rss feed only include a synopsis of your posts rather than the full post?
I am not sure, but will look into it.
David – your site is a great find for me and very much enjoyed your post on SaaS metrics – many thanks
John
http://www.sonar6.com
John, thanks for your kind comment. It is very much appreciated!
John, I went to look at your web site, and wanted to see a demo. I was put off by the need to register before I could see the demo. I am a strong believer in not putting that sign up form too early in the sales process as it will dramatically lower your conversion rates. Have you tried A/B testing with and without the form in front of the demo?
- David
John Holt
CEO
phone +64 21 245 4661
US mobile +1 510 409 3369
skype sonarjohn
http://www.sonar6.com
Wow, this is the best website I've found online in 15 years on these topics.
Hi, David – just learned about your blog from Lance Weatherby's blog. Lots of good advice… great of you to share.
I agree w/ your observation that entrepreneurs are often unrealistically optimistic. In our work w/ clients (mix of startups and established cos), a second tendency we've observed is an undue focus on features and technology and too little attention to other aspects of the value proposition (e.g., problem solved, benefits delivered, etc.).
After recently spending a day hearing 50+ startups present a brief overview of their ideas/products, I posted on Slideshare a template that we've found useful in helping clients articulate the value proposition for their new product/service. Here is the link:
http://bit.ly/ahDbSo
Hope you find this relevant and useful – would welcome any thoughts you may have.
Phil Hendrix, Ph.D.
David, do you have any benchmark numbers for CAC for social media either web or mobile – in particular marketing CAC?
I've seen ranges from $2 to $30 for avg. acquisition cost of a user in social networks – this is not a retention number just acquistion.
shane
Shane, I don't have those numbers, but it is worth remembering that social media either web or mobile is just a lead source, and will need to be converted to a sale. Depending on whether that is done touchless or with inside sales, and then looking at the conversion rates, will help you calculate CAC. Since that can result in a wide range of outcomes, it is hard to provide a generalized number.
The range you suggest would imply a touchless conversion with pretty good conversion rates of visitors to closed deals.
I hope I have understood and answered your question.
Best, David
Yes thank you.
Shane
An article I saw that you might find interesting – Single Unit Value Is More Important Than Growth
Here is a link to the posting: http://bit.ly/9IxGLG
Thanks Shane. I will take a look.
When resolving to venture out into the broad world of business, you will first want to pick an ownership organization that will efficiently match the requirements of your business, plus protect yourself and your private assets. Opt for a unique proprietorship, alliance, limited alliance, limited liability company (LLC), corporation (for profit), nonprofit corporation (not for profit), or cooperative organizations. Confirm you do your research on every one, as one minor variation from one organization to another could be the key aspect that prevents creditors from hunt your private property in case your business collapses. Examine brief accounts of the most common structures to identify what will best suit your entrepreneur effort. Remember these are just a few of the alternatives out there.
When resolving to venture out into the broad world of business, you will first want to pick an ownership organization that will efficiently match the requirements of your business, plus protect yourself and your private assets. Opt for a unique proprietorship, alliance, limited alliance, limited liability company (LLC), corporation (for profit), nonprofit corporation (not for profit), or cooperative organizations. Confirm you do your research on every one, as one minor variation from one organization to another could be the key aspect that prevents creditors from hunt your private property in case your business collapses. Examine brief accounts of the most common structures to identify what will best suit your entrepreneur effort. Remember these are just a few of the alternatives out there.
there are so more information!
This is an excellent site for information and is the motivation to start my own site. The information that this site has gives potential small business the information needed to successfully make an impact on their market. Great job!
Thanks Dawn. I am glad it inspired you! Best of luck with your own site.
Golden. Great, useful info.
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