The Customer Funded Business

Author : John Mullins
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 111887885X
Total Pages : 309 pages
Book Rating : 4.59/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Customer-Funded Business written by John Mullins and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-07-21 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who needs investors? More than two generations ago, the venture capital community – VCs, business angels, incubators and others – convinced the entrepreneurial world that writing business plans and raising venture capital constituted the twin centerpieces of entrepreneurial endeavor. They did so for good reasons: the sometimes astonishing returns they've delivered to their investors and the astonishingly large companies that their ecosystem has created. But the vast majority of fast-growing companies never take any venture capital. So where does the money come from to start and grow their companies? From a much more agreeable and hospitable source, their customers. That's exactly what Michael Dell, Bill Gates and Banana Republic's Mel and Patricia Ziegler did to get their companies up and running and turn them into iconic brands. In The Customer Funded Business, best-selling author John Mullins uncovers five novel approaches that scrappy and innovative 21st century entrepreneurs working in companies large and small have ingeniously adapted from their predecessors like Dell, Gates, and the Zieglers: Matchmaker models (Airbnb) Pay-in-advance models (Threadless) Subscription models (TutorVista) Scarcity models (Vente Privee) Service-to-product models (GoViral) Through the captivating stories of these and other inspiring companies from around the world, Mullins brings to life the five models and identifies the questions that angel or other investors will – and should! – ask of entrepreneurs or corporate innovators seeking to apply them. Drawing on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and investors who have actually put these models to use, Mullins goes on to address the key implementation issues that characterize each of the models: when to apply them, how best to apply them, and the pitfalls to watch out for. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur lacking the start-up capital you need, an early-stage entrepreneur trying to get your cash-starved venture into take-off mode, an intrapreneur seeking funding within an established company, or an angel investor or mentor who supports high-potential ventures, this book offers the most sure-footed path to starting, financing, or growing your venture. John Mullins is the author of The New Business Road Test and, with Randy Komisar, the widely acclaimed Getting to Plan B.

Author : John Mullins
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118879139
Total Pages : 309 pages
Book Rating : 4.39/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Customer-Funded Business written by John Mullins and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-07-03 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who needs investors? More than two generations ago, the venture capital community – VCs, business angels, incubators and others – convinced the entrepreneurial world that writing business plans and raising venture capital constituted the twin centerpieces of entrepreneurial endeavor. They did so for good reasons: the sometimes astonishing returns they've delivered to their investors and the astonishingly large companies that their ecosystem has created. But the vast majority of fast-growing companies never take any venture capital. So where does the money come from to start and grow their companies? From a much more agreeable and hospitable source, their customers. That's exactly what Michael Dell, Bill Gates and Banana Republic's Mel and Patricia Ziegler did to get their companies up and running and turn them into iconic brands. In The Customer Funded Business, best-selling author John Mullins uncovers five novel approaches that scrappy and innovative 21st century entrepreneurs working in companies large and small have ingeniously adapted from their predecessors like Dell, Gates, and the Zieglers: Matchmaker models (Airbnb) Pay-in-advance models (Threadless) Subscription models (TutorVista) Scarcity models (Vente Privee) Service-to-product models (GoViral) Through the captivating stories of these and other inspiring companies from around the world, Mullins brings to life the five models and identifies the questions that angel or other investors will – and should! – ask of entrepreneurs or corporate innovators seeking to apply them. Drawing on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and investors who have actually put these models to use, Mullins goes on to address the key implementation issues that characterize each of the models: when to apply them, how best to apply them, and the pitfalls to watch out for. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur lacking the start-up capital you need, an early-stage entrepreneur trying to get your cash-starved venture into take-off mode, an intrapreneur seeking funding within an established company, or an angel investor or mentor who supports high-potential ventures, this book offers the most sure-footed path to starting, financing, or growing your venture. John Mullins is the author of The New Business Road Test and, with Randy Komisar, the widely acclaimed Getting to Plan B.

Author : Steven D. Strauss
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470928115
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.10/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Get Your Business Funded written by Steven D. Strauss and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-06-28 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explore the many options available to get the money you need for your business Whether your business is a new start-up, an established company attempting to grow, or somewhere in between, Get Your Business Funded gives you the full range of options for raising capital in today's challenging economy. Covering everything from bank loans to angel investors to equity financing to more unorthodox methods, this complete guide uses clear, easy-to-understand language to explain each approach. Divided into two sections: "Sources and Funding" and "What You Need to Know" Explains such unorthodox financing sources as peer-to-peer lending, online grants, business plan competitions, and the "friends and family plan" Reveals untapped funding streams available through the government Follows on the success of the author's previous work The Small Business Bible Pick up this reader-friendly guide and discover the many ways you can Get Your Business Funded right now.

Author : Rob Fitzpatrick
Publisher : Robfitz Ltd
ISBN 13 : 1492180742
Total Pages : 130 pages
Book Rating : 4.46/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Mom Test written by Rob Fitzpatrick and published by Robfitz Ltd. This book was released on 2013-10-09 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mom Test is a quick, practical guide that will save you time, money, and heartbreak. They say you shouldn't ask your mom whether your business is a good idea, because she loves you and will lie to you. This is technically true, but it misses the point. You shouldn't ask anyone if your business is a good idea. It's a bad question and everyone will lie to you at least a little . As a matter of fact, it's not their responsibility to tell you the truth. It's your responsibility to find it and it's worth doing right . Talking to customers is one of the foundational skills of both Customer Development and Lean Startup. We all know we're supposed to do it, but nobody seems willing to admit that it's easy to screw up and hard to do right. This book is going to show you how customer conversations go wrong and how you can do better.

Author : Tom Eisenmann
Publisher : Currency
ISBN 13 : 0593137027
Total Pages : 370 pages
Book Rating : 4.24/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Why Startups Fail written by Tom Eisenmann and published by Currency. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. “Whether you’re a first-time founder or looking to bring innovation into a corporate environment, Why Startups Fail is essential reading.”—Eric Ries, founder and CEO, LTSE, and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way Why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures. • Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder’s talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly. • False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to “fail fast” and to “launch before you’re ready,” founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions. • False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand. • Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to “get big fast,” hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures. • Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both. • Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong. Drawing on fascinating stories of ventures that failed to fulfill their early promise—from a home-furnishings retailer to a concierge dog-walking service, from a dating app to the inventor of a sophisticated social robot, from a fashion brand to a startup deploying a vast network of charging stations for electric vehicles—Eisenmann offers frameworks for detecting when a venture is vulnerable to these patterns, along with a wealth of strategies and tactics for avoiding them. A must-read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey, Why Startups Fail is not merely a guide to preventing failure but also a roadmap charting the path to startup success.

Author : John Mullins
Publisher : Harvard Business Press
ISBN 13 : 1422152693
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.90/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Getting to Plan B written by John Mullins and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2009-09-08 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You have a new venture in mind. And you've crafted a business plan so detailed it's a work of art. Don't get too attached to it. As John Mullins and Randy Komisar explain in Getting to Plan B, new businesses are fraught with uncertainty. To succeed, you must change the plan in real time as the inevitable challenges arise. In fact, studies show that entrepreneurs who stick slavishly to their Plan A stand a greater chance of failing-and that many successful businesses barely resemble their founders' original idea. The authors provide a rigorous process for stress testing your Plan A and determining how to alter it so your business makes money, solves customers' needs, and endures. You'll discover strategies for: -Identifying the leap-of-faith assumptions hidden in your plan -Testing those assumptions and unearthing why the plan might not work -Reconfiguring the five components of your business model-revenue model, gross margin model, operating model, working capital model, and investment model-to create a sounder Plan B. Filled with success stories and cautionary tales, this book offers real cases illustrating the authors' unique process. Whether your idea is for a start-up or a new business unit within your organization, Getting to Plan B contains the road map you need to reach success.

Author : Bob Pearson
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 111802303X
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.37/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Pre-Commerce written by Bob Pearson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-02-08 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ideas for leaders to engage directly with customers to shape their brand and marketplace success Since its debut E-commerce has been centered on the transaction, which represents less than one percent of the time we spend online. Now, we are entering the era of Pre-Commerce where customers make their own decision to buy or support a brand before the transaction. Pre-Commerce explains how the exploding use of social media channels has fundamentally changed the way customers go about making their purchasing decisions, how they educate themselves and why they choose to support certain brands above others. It shows what executives must do to re-create the way their companies interact with and learn from their customers, employees and competitors. It includes exclusive interviews and anecdotes Pearson has conducted or experienced with numerous influential C-suite executives during his time as leader of Dell’s global social media team and as a consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, worldwide. Offers a step-by-step process for leaders to apply this knowledge to begin transforming their companies, right now Begins with a foreword from Mark Addicks, Chief Marketing Officer, General Mills Over 25 Fortune 500 executives interviewed, including special side-bar interviews with Michael Dell and Marc Benioff Explores the concept of "Pre-commerce"--the customer's decision making happens well before a transaction takes place and continues after the transaction, representing 99% of time spent online, often outside a company’s reach today Shows how to build internal employee networks and how to take your first and most important steps to integrate social media throughout your company. Pearson reveals that the best ideas are often free and the technology needed is rarely a cost-issue. Instead, it's a matter of the top executive deciding to adopt a new way of engaging directly with its customers.

Author : Michael D. Basch
Publisher : FT Press
ISBN 13 : 0130353310
Total Pages : 638 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Customer Culture written by Michael D. Basch and published by FT Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 638 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The executive who pioneered FedEx's legendary customer culture shows exactly how to go beyond talk and make it happen for real. Basch identifies the key cultural obstacles and leadership failures that dilute customer focus, and demonstrates how to build systems and structures that help good people deliver great customer service.

Author : Adam J. Bock
Publisher : Pearson UK
ISBN 13 : 1292135719
Total Pages : 293 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Business Model Book written by Adam J. Bock and published by Pearson UK. This book was released on 2018-01-09 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : BusinessNews Publishing,
Publisher : Must Read Summaries
ISBN 13 : 2511036088
Total Pages : 30 pages
Book Rating : 4.82/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Summary: The Customer-Funded Business written by BusinessNews Publishing, and published by Must Read Summaries. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The must-read summary of John Mullins' book: "The Customer-Funded Business: Start, Finance, or Grow Your Company with Your Customers’ Cash". This complete summary of the ideas from John Mullins' book "The Customer-Funded Business” tells you to forget about the complicated methods of securing start-up funding. According to Mullins, the best way of getting the funding is from your future customers. If you can find enough customers who will pay for the solution that you’re offering to their problem, this is the perfect way of starting a customer-funded business. There are five different customer-funded business models: 1. Matchmaker 2. Pay-in-advance 3. Subscription 4. Security/Flash sales 5. Service-to-product This summary will take you through all five of these different business models, giving you all the information you need to decide which approach will work best for you. Added-value of this summary: • Save time • Stop applying for start-up funding and get the money from your future customers • Find out which customer-funded business model is right for your business To learn more, read “The Customer-Funded Business” and find out how you can secure start-up funding from your customers!