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Category Archives: Industry Insights 
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.
Read the entire article at Harvard Business Review. Continue reading
Posted by
Alan Hall
Friday, May 11th, 2012
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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!!!”
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
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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.
Read the entire article at deseretnews.com. Continue reading
Posted by
Alan Hall
Friday, March 30th, 2012
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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.
Read the entire article at deseretnews.com. Continue reading
Posted by
Alan Hall
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
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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.
Read the entire article at standard.net. Continue reading
Posted by
Alan Hall
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
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My beloved son asked me a great question the other day. “Dad, what do you do to manage stress at work?”
“Why?” I asked him. “Are you having a problem?”
“Yes,” he responded. “My boss is driving me crazy, and my largest client changes his mind on a regular basis. And, by the way, I am suffering from pain in my left shoulder blade and have had sleepless nights.”
Every business person has stress in his life. Some manage it well, others don’t. Causes of the malady vary. Perhaps a deadline is a source of anxiety. Or it might be the actions of a supervisor. It can originate from any number of events, people or issues that occur in the office or plant. Continue reading
Posted by
Alan Hall
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
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Here at MarketStar, we are still buzzing with excitement after working hard at some of the busiest areas on the CES show floor including Canon, Microsoft, Sony, Blackberry, ZTE, and LG.
If you attended CES or followed the media, the fact that it was the most attended show in history probably doesn’t surprise you. At 153,000 visitors, 2012 beat out everyone’s expectations including my own. Continue reading
Posted by
Katie Salter
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
42 Comments
A company must focus daily on selling its products to survive and prosper. Such effort provides the cash a company needs to pay expenses, grow the organization and make a profit. To attain this goal, every employee, from the worker on the loading dock to the CEO, should arrive at work each day thinking, “I’m here to win business and keep our customers happy.” This should be their constant and unrelenting objective.
This means each employee — every single one of them — should know what they must do to personally contribute to generating company revenues. They must also understand how others in the organization fit within the complete team selling process. Think of orchestra musicians who follow this model with the result being beautiful music.
Successful organizations understand this powerful concept and actively communicate clearly to all employees what company revenue goals are for the year, by quarters, months and weeks; leaders then measure and report sales results to all employees on a similar timing basis.
Read the entire article at deseretnews.com. Continue reading
Posted by
Alan Hall
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
1 Comment
At 45 years running, an average of 140,000 attendees, and 18 days to set up, run and take down, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is heralded as the largest technology show in the United States.
This year’s show will run Jan. 9-13, and despite some company withdrawals, it is still projected to be one of the largest in history, attracting more than 149,000 attendees (nipping at the heels of the largest CES show on record — 152,000 in 2006). Show-goers know it’s critical to make an impression at the busy CES showroom. This year, the floor will house 2,700 exhibitors stretched over an exhibit hall larger than 1.8 million square feet. Exhibitor displays, technology reveals, and uniquely branded experiences become more extraordinary and effective every year. Continue reading
Posted by
Katie Salter
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
1 Comment
