In the recent HBR article “The Crowdfunding Road to Hell,” Daniel Isenberg argues persuasively that crowdfunding — specifically equity crowdfunding — cannot work.
As an entrepreneur, angel investor, VC, philanthropist, and CEO with 40 years’ experience, I cannot agree.
From my experience investing in emerging start-ups (I’m invested in 60 right now) and launching my share of both failures (4) and highly successful (3) companies, I can attest that Mr. Isenberg is perfectly correct in his assertion that it’s dangerous to expect crowdfunding of equities to work the same way crowdfunded donations do. Furthermore, I understand all too keenly the complexities of determining a fair valuation for companies that are too early in their development to fit existing measurement standards and can’t meet the criteria for standard bank or SBA funding. I also agree that due diligence is an imperative — and is often overlooked by crowdfunders as impractical or overly complex.
There’s something to be said for walking a customer through a logical, natural buying process. At MarketStar, we have been preaching the value of Lead Nurturing to our clients for years. But as seen recently, there is nothing like a “real world” example to really drive home the science behind a concept.
For those of you under a rock, Avengers opened this last weekend to stellar reviews. The movie follows “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” as they battle invading forces set on taking over the world. Marvel Entertainment began an elaborate nurturing campaign in 2008 to build unity in their Marvel Studios properties; including Iron Man(2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America (2011). In each movie little pieces and hints were strung together to connect the characters, and set the stage for a movie where they could interact.
By the time The Avengers hit the screen, customers were familiar with the product, the story, and had a favorite aspect that appealed to them. These customers were already sold, greatly reducing the amount of effort needed to get them to make the purchase. Continue reading →
Posted by
Tim Heare
Thursday, May 10th, 2012 Leave a comment
I have the privilege of a weekly interaction with a high-functioning autistic child we’ll call Ryan. Ryan enjoys our time together in his own unique way. A few weeks back Ryan and I connected over a very unexpected topic – Mentos. When Ryan gets his mind on a topic it consumes him and this particular day his mind was consumed by the idea of a Mentos bombs. Ask him any question, “Ryan what did your mom make for dinner last night?” and his response: “MENTOS BOMBS!!!”
Anyone who’s spent any time on YouTube has watched at least one video on the impact created by combining Diet Coke and Mentos. If not try this one, or this one. It’s quite amazing the reaction that dropping such a small, innocuous little candy into a diet soda will create. Likewise it’s impressive to see the way people have leveraged that reaction to do some pretty innovative things; some laughable, and some beautiful.
From a sales and marketing perspective, we are all looking for that silver bullet solution or in the case of my analogy, that magical little Mentos that will create an influx of fizzy goodness that yields explosive results. As we know however, there are no silver bullets in sales and marketing and the “Mentos Bomb Experience” can be ever-elusive. I’d like to propose that by studying the Science and Art of the Mentos reaction, we can learn a few things about channeling our efforts to create impact. As scientists have studied the Mentos and Diet Coke, there are a three relevant factors that influence the reaction: DENSITY, VELOCITY, TEXTURE. Continue reading →
Posted by
Adam Gunn
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 Leave a comment
Entrepreneurs who thoroughly know and understand potential buyers have a terrific opportunity to grow their businesses by building and selling superior products to meet customer needs.
Historically, the best approach to building and selling award-winning solutions is to talk with customers to learn about their wants, needs and wishes. This process begins by learning what clients have been buying to meet their needs. Questions might address customer satisfaction level with the current competitive offering, the price paid for the product, where it was purchased and any information about product features, warranties and support.
How great would it be to only have customers who buy frequently, never return products and drive a ton of referral business without ever needing support?
Of course, we all know this is not possible but implementing the right after-sales strategy might get you closer than you think. The key, as bad as it sounds, is to use your customers. While social media has increased competition and evolved buying behaviors, it also has amplified the potential value customers can bring to your company. Continue reading →
Posted by
Manuel Rietzsch
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 Leave a comment
MarketStar was recently referenced in a TWICE Magazine article regarding TV sales leading up to the Super Bowl. The article cited our analysis of retailer point-of-sale data, which indicates a significant uplift in sales just before the Super Bowl — approximately 15% over typical run rate sales. But the question is this: Is it the event hype or simply the consumer market responding to retailer marketing programs?
The uplift in television units to close out the “holiday buying season” is not surprising. As my economics professor used to say, “There is no supply demand curve on this planet where units don’t increase when price decreases.” (Note: He also told us that drinking significant quantities of expensive, imported beer was his personal pathway to success, a theory not validated by the author.) Continue reading →
Posted by
Joe Dallimore
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 4 Comments
I am often asked these questions by aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business: What do I need to do to be successful? Where can I receive help? What resources are there? Who can guide me? How do I find money? Do I need a business plan?
Time after time, I hear similar thoughts from hundreds of individuals with the desire to launch a business. Just this morning, I received a call from a fellow who needs help. Unfortunately, and all too often, I don’t have the time to sit down with everyone individually to provide adequate answers to their inquiries. With this in mind, over the next few weeks I will write articles to answer most of these questions, plus many more that will assist someone who is ready to take a leap of faith.
They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas… but in the case of what was shown at CES, I hope not! The technology was awesome—from breathtaking new televisions to ultra-thin new ultrabooks, and all sorts of fun for music lovers. Equally inspiring were some of the people presenting products, including our own MarketStar brand advocates.
I spoke with brand advocates on the show floor representing brands like Sony, LG, Canon, ZTE and BlackBerry who were doling out a wealth of information like free candy. Their passion for the technology and brands they represent combined with their superior knowledge of these products was more than impressive– it was stunning! I interviewed a handful of brand advocates to ask “What does a MarketStar brand advocate do?” …..
Companies tend to focus too much on their product or service, forgetting to listen to what customers are telling them. This often results in declining revenue and profit.
The goal of any business is to make money, but that objective is easier to reach when we listen to customers and know and understand their needs. The best way to do this is by listening to what they tell us. More often than not, in the course of a conversation, a customer will divulge information that is vital to our overall success.
Back to the topic of content marketing! Today, I spent some time viewing and dissecting a couple of videos created by Coca-Cola. These videos provide a great overview of how Coca-Cola will evolve its marketing to change from “creative excellence to content excellence.” They are very well-produced and fun to watch, but the amount of information communicated is a little overwhelming. I am not sure why Coca-Cola decided to share these videos with the world — probably so people like I can blog about them. I highly recommend watching these videos but here are some great insights: Continue reading →
Posted by
Manuel Rietzsch
Thursday, January 19th, 2012 4 Comments
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I have the privilege of a weekly interaction with a high-functioning autistic child we’ll call Ryan. Ryan enjoys our time together in his own unique way. A few weeks back Ryan and I connected over a very unexpected topic – Mentos. When Ryan gets his mind on a topic it consumes him and this particular day his mind was consumed by the idea of a Mentos bombs. Ask him any question, “Ryan what did your mom make for dinner last night?” and his response: “MENTOS BOMBS!!!”
