I was in Phoenix last week and hosted 80+ software startup founders and SaaS CEOs on Tuesday night. I know most of these founders, but there were plenty of new faces. …
I am an active advisor, supporter, mentor, and "therapist" to hundreds of tech founders every year. This is where Gregslist came from. If you are a software or tech founder who …
I was featured on ABC 15 TV news in Phoenix talking about how Gregslist is helping experienced software industry professionals find jobs in Phoenix during the COVID crisis. The Gregslist #SaaSTalentNow …
Felicia and I are excited to announce that we're moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth area later this summer in 2019! Felicia and I moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in January 1996, over …
In 1987, I returned to the Chicago area with a newly minted liberal arts degree in economics, with honors, from the University of Iowa. I had no clue how I was …
My 23-year-old son Ethan is the co-founder of a software startup that has taken him from San Jose, California to Manila, Philippines to New York City. He put his electrical …
Chick-fil-A is now the 3rd largest fast-food restaurant chain in the country, behind McDonald's and Starbucks. They just sell chicken sandwiches. $13 billion of them a year. Chick-fil-A doesn’t sell hamburgers. Their average …
From early 2011 to the end of 2015, I was the chief marketing officer of Infusionsoft (now called Keap) where I led the marketing group. I was part of an …
Experienced venture capital investors have been telling us for years how they “invest in big markets and founding teams.” Markets and People. First, there needs to be a new market category …
All of us experience marketing all day long, almost everywhere we look. Surprisingly, this causes most people think they understand the marketing game. That’s like eating a nice meal at a …
When I see a movie or a painting, I see the result of what someone created. I don’t think much about how it was made. I don’t understand it like …
I’ve noticed something that all successful entrepreneurs say when they are interviewed about how they grew their crazy startups into big businesses. You also hear it in interviews with Olympic gold …
Public Relations is one of the trickier parts of the marketing game. It’s not like digital advertising or email marketing, where you can push a button and make measurable things happen …
I have been an observer and student of the Scaling Point for 25 years. It’s the strangest thing. It’s completely obvious on the outside, yet we don’t notice it or understand …
In the startup-to-scale-up growth game, achieving “product-market fit” has become a common indicator of a startup’s potential to grow into a successful company. This term was created and popularized by …
Discovering and executing on your Scaling Point is a necessary requirement for growing a little company into a big one. But why is it so rare? There are two reasons why …
When starting a new business, you try many things to learn what really works. Your best ideas may look great on your whiteboard or in a slide deck, but they …
"I have this problem. What should we do?" a busy CEO asked me. "Well, it depends." The answer depends on your situation and what you are trying to accomplish. It depends on …
Tech startups and innovative businesses are out to create new industries, or at least put new twists on established industries. This creates a challenge for these entrepreneurs. Most are not prepared …
Surprised at how hard it is to raise funds for your startup or growing business? Almost every entrepreneur I know who has tried to raise money is surprised by the incredible …
Like most entrepreneurs who are trying to achieve big things, I pay attention to what’s working and what’s not. Some things are working pretty well for me, so I keep doing …
Last week I helped the founder of a software company with his 15-slide presentation for potential investors. His senior leadership team was there to contribute. We had already done the work …
Every week, a CEO or business owner asks me if I know any great marketing leaders who could join their company to help them grow faster. I know a lot …
Your audience doesn’t always hear you as clearly as you think they do. What your business is and why it exists may be clear in your head, but most entrepreneurs are …
This pitch deck template contains the core elements that investors expect you to cover when you first present your company. Miss one of these key elements and your story is …
Small businesses and startups look more similar than ever. Quick, can you tell if this is a small business or a startup? Growing 30 percent a year with 10 employees Subscription business model with …
At a recent event for Phoenix tech leaders, fellow entrepreneur Adam Toren and I were catching up over beers. Adam waved to a friend across the room. Gabe walked over …
Last Friday I had the opportunity to interview three entrepreneurs who have created billion dollar companies at the Venture Madness investor event in Phoenix: Justin Kan, Steve Huffman and Daniel …
This week, my good friend Park Howell interviewed me on the Business of Story podcast, the top-rated podcast for marketers and entrepreneurs to learn about telling more powerful stories to …
Have you ever delivered a great sales pitch to an ideal buyer but they didn’t call you back? Or made a great presentation about your new business idea but the …
The software industry has almost finished its 10-year conversion to SaaS (software as a service). It's software that runs on PCs, web browsers and mobile devices, and is centrally hosted on …
If you are like most early-stage entrepreneurs, you set aggressive goals. You probably got a lot done this year, but you still came up short on achieving everything on your …
A few months ago, I had a long conversation over dinner with entrepreneur and investor Michael Dornbrook. I got to hear how his startup company went from long-suffering video game …
When I help CEOs with their growth challenges, I first list of all the problems they face. Then I divide these issues into two buckets - tactical and strategic. Tactical issues …
David Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, used to say this: "Marketing is too important to leave to the marketing department." He knew the strategic questions that drive great marketing execution are the same questions at …
I met with two founders of a local startup software company last week. After learning about their history and current situation, we started to dig in on their big question, "How can we …
It's pretty cool to be a startup these days. We see headlines every day about massive success stories like Uber, Snapchat, Facebook and other big companies that started small, had explosive growth …
I wrote this post years ago for the Infusionsoft blog and it is now posted on Medium. I'm sharing this again because I repeat this story often with early stage …
Your startup has built a software product that has "cool features" that actually work. That's a big milestone for every startup. The thing actually works! Your customers talk about your product's features by …
This week, Sports Authority, one of the largest "big box" sporting goods retailers in the U.S., announced they are closing all 450 stores, selling their inventory and shutting down. Dozens of …
As an independent advisor and consultant to CEOs of growing companies, my days are very different from the software executive game I played for over 25 years. In addition to client meetings, …
The product your customers evaluate, purchase, use and talk about is not just the product you deliver to them. The actual product is critically important, but it’s not the “whole …
I have been part of the Phoenix startup and software scene for 20 years. I see ten times more activity in startups and fast-growth software companies in Phoenix than there was just five years …
Creating a new venture and surviving the brutal startup phase often feels like a negotiation in which you need to say Yes to everyone just to survive. This is the …
After almost five years, Friday, October 30, 2015 was my last day at Infusionsoft. It has been an honor to be part of several exciting phases of growth at Infusionsoft and …
After 20 years working on the inside of fast-growing software companies, I have been a full-time marketing strategy consultant for the last two years. I worked with some incredible software …
Even though I am 46 years old and live 1500 miles away from my Dad, not a week goes by when I don’t hear his voice in my head telling …
Remember the old days when marketing resulted in printed material you could touch and feel? Just 10 years ago, the majority of marketing artifacts included printed brochures, product packaging, magazine …
Imagine a world where people don’t listen to what your business says about your new product: they only listen to what other people say. A world where there are hundreds (or …
Ambitious entrepreneurs naturally aim to create large companies in large markets. They make their plans, build their newfangled products, assemble scrappy teams and then set out on their holy quests …
Angel investors regularly hear pitches from local entrepreneurs who need money for their growing startups. Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs don't succeed in their first meeting with potential investors. How can you …
Any business that is succeeding in the marketing game is relentless about executing their focused strategy. Owning a valuable position in the market is not easy. It takes focus, creativity …
Earlier tonight I presented a five-minute speech to 500 people at the Ignite Phoenix event. The topic of my talk was “Mastering the Pomodoro Technique in 5 Minutes.” The Pomodoro …
What’s the biggest difference I see between a $1 million technology company and a $10 million technology company? You might think it's something like the quality of their products or …
Do you know what visitors are doing on your website each week? Where did these visitors come from? Which pages did they think were most important? Which search terms brought …
Where do CEOs of small service companies struggle most when trying to create a "scalable" service business that can grow to be a large company? They underestimate the amount of refinement …
If you’re a marketing professional or technology entrepreneur in Phoenix, you should check out some of the popular organizations and events for marketers in town. Each group has a different …
You've been working hard to build your new product or launch your service. You're excited because your first potential customers are still interested in buying from you, despite several delays. …
Think about it: Who is your customer? What does this customer value? These are two of Peter Drucker’s “Five Most Important Questions” for your organization. I often find myself returning to …
Successful startup entrepreneurs almost always have impressive skills in two areas: product creation and sales. They find problems in the marketplace and create products or services that satisfy those needs …
It wasn't on the 10:00 TV news, but the most important news last week came from India, where national elections resulted in a strong win for the Congress Party and …
Outliers is the latest book from best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell. He also wrote The Tipping Point, one of my favorite marketing books. Gladwell is an astute social researcher and a …
The marketing communications challenge is getting harder, not easier. Why? Because there are more communications channels than ever. Each channel you use requires time, effort and some expense. And it’s not …
Many entrepreneurs and CEOs ask me if they should create a formal Board of Advisors so they can get advice from experienced leaders or well-known figures in their industries. The most …
It used to take considerable expense to create a high-quality company Website, even for small businesses. I just finished a project that confirms that popular and inexpensive Website creation tools …
One of the hardest things for entrepreneurs to tackle is the definition of their core business "positioning." Positioning is known by many names - your focus, your marketing strategy, your …
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