blog - Startup Catalyst Brief

The Most Misunderstood Facts About Building a Business on YouTube

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

Any reader of this blog for a period of time will know that I’ve been long YouTube for years. The arguments from any detractors of building a business on YouTube are: The CPMs are too low (< $2 per thousand impressions for YouTube tonnage vs. $18-25 for many online media or $40+ for TV).

media

media networking advice development

How Boards Need to Evolve Over Time

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

Reviewing financial & operational performance. By now you have many smart people around your board but probably people who don’t totally understand the nuances of your employees, customers, sales reps, marketing messages, technology challenges, competitors and strategic choices. how to build an initial sales organization.

board

board media mentorship advice

Why ROI has no place in marketing

Entrepreneurs' Organization

APRIL 30, 2021

After his recent blog post addressing why it’s in your best interest to ignore SEO , we asked Ben about the importance of return on investment when it comes to marketing. My friend’s business runs at a 50% gross profit, or in other words, it costs him 50% of his revenue to deliver on his promise. Revenue vs. profit.

investment

investment investing financing finance

10 Fundamentals For A More Human-Centric Workplace

Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

We often judge success by tangible things like last quarter’s sales numbers. It’s critical to business. “Without happy people, we don’t have happy clients, and without happy clients there is no revenue, and without revenue there is no company,” says Lee Deas, Founder of Obviouslee , a marketing and design agency.

culture

culture creativity leadership collaboration

What is Zoho? And why does it have a zillion apps?

The Zapier Blog

JUNE 15, 2025

Investing in a unified platform—where all your apps are connected via a shared system—can simplify data management, prevent silos, streamline communication, and reduce operating costs. It offers business and productivity tools that run the gamut from sales and marketing to finance and legal to IT and analytics.

collaboration

collaboration finance financing enablement

Say Hello to My New AI Marketer: How Gen AI-Based Software Is Advancing Marketing and Sales

Andreessen Horowitz

JUNE 3, 2024

And unlike sales, marketing is not dependent on painstakingly building a person-to-person relationship with the customer (although maybe this will become easier in a world of AI-powered sales development representatives). According to a recent McKinsey report, GenAI in marketing and sales could reap an estimated $3.3

creativity

creativity data analysis incumbents media

What is AI automation? And how your business can use it

The Zapier Blog

JUNE 25, 2025

It can quickly spot changes in customer behavior or supply chain hiccups, then help adjust your operations on the fly. AI automation use cases AI's ability to handle complex processes, analyze vast amounts of data, and enable smarter decision-making is driving fundamental shifts in how businesses operate.

mix-use

mix-use creativity construction technology

A guide to email marketing automation: best practices and automated workflows

The Zapier Blog

JUNE 12, 2025

Email marketing automation vs marketing automation Email marketing automation best practices Automate your email marketing with Zapier What is email marketing automation? Email marketing automation vs marketing automation While they sound similar, email marketing automation and marketing automation aren't quite the same thing.

strategy

strategy opportunity sustainability education

Enterprise automation: What it is and how to get started

The Zapier Blog

JUNE 25, 2025

Contact Sales I work at Zapier, an enterprise that not only helps other businesses automate their workflows, but relies on automation to power our own internal operations. For example, maybe you want to trigger onboarding workflows for new hires, or sync lead data across marketing and sales tools. The sheer sprawl of tools.

mix-use

mix-use support collaboration financing

VCs eating our own dog food: Using technology and analytics to make better investments

David Teten VC

DECEMBER 3, 2019

I walk through below how progressive investors are using technology and analytics throughout all of their operations. We are also seeing technology evaluation as an increasingly important part of LP operational due diligence. I previously posted a detailed presentation with sales technology tools useful for B2B sales.

technology

technology investment investing VC

Venture capitalists eating our own dog food: Using technology and analytics to make better investments

David Teten VC

DECEMBER 4, 2019

I walk through below how progressive investors are using technology and analytics throughout all of their operations. We are also seeing technology evaluation as an increasingly important part of LP operational due diligence. I previously posted a detailed presentation with sales technology tools useful for B2B sales.

technology

technology investment investing ventures

Newsletter: Superfood from waste + 3D printing goes large

OurCrowd

JANUARY 13, 2022

The company’s world-first prototype is already in operation and the company expects sales to start in 2022 and scale rapidly. The 3D printing sector is heating up, with rising valuations and sales for Desktop Metal, Nexa3D, Velo3D and other companies. Join OurCrowd as we invest in a $2.7M pre-A SAFE. Find Out More.

innovation

innovation collaboration technology venture capital

The Long-Term Value of Loyalty

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

No rule is ever absolute no matter how it sounds when one writes a blog. Most of what I learned about operating startups I learned from the really tough years at my first company from 2001-2003. But in our first year of sales (and those were really shitty years to be selling software) we sold $2.1 million, then $5.9m, $7.7m

advice

advice venture capital VC construction

Flexible VC, a New Model for Companies Targeting Profitability

David Teten VC

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. Flexible VC 101: Equity Meets Revenue Share. By tying payments to actual revenues, founders and investors remain aligned around the company’s real-time performance, good or bad. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5% raised from angels.

VC

VC venture capital funders capital

Flexible VC, a New Model for Companies Targeting Profitability

David Teten VC

JANUARY 19, 2021

This essay is part of a series on alternative VC: I: Revenue-Based Investing: a new option for founders who care about control. II: Who are the major Revenue-Based Investing VCs? III: Why are Revenue-Based VCs investing in so many women and underrepresented founders? IV: Should your new VC fund use Revenue-Based Investing?

VC

VC venture capital capital investment

What is the Right Burn Rate at a Startup Company?

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn. So if your costs are $500,000 per month and you have $350,000 per month in revenue then your net burn (500-350) is equal to $150,000. Growth vs. Profitability.

startup

startup VC frameworks capital

What is a CRM? The beginner's guide to customer relationship management

The Zapier Blog

JUNE 17, 2025

You can use Zapier's pre-built simple CRM template or sales CRM template to optimize your sales process with an elegant and personalized CRM tool that fits your business needs. It acts as a central hub designed to track contacts, manage sales pipelines , automate communication, and improve customer service.

real estate

real estate collaboration support data analysis

Netflix Redux: Is It Ever OK to Fire Your Customers?

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 10, 2011

The remainder of this article will deal with this decision but it comes down to the different economics of DVD rentals due to “ the first sale doctrine ” which gives Netflix a complete library of films and the fact that the first-sale doctrine doesn’t apply to digital downloads. A blog post!

mix-use

mix-use strategy board advice

“It takes a year to find great executives so you must always look down the field.” Proof’s Pat Kinsel on why he believes a VCs most critical task is to make sure the WRONG person doesn’t get hired into a startup.

Hunter Walk

JANUARY 13, 2024

Pat’s recent blog post “ A VCs Most Critical Task ” both caught my eye and went in an unexpected direction: helping founders bring on great executives, while simultaneously preventing bad hires. Is it hiring for resume vs fit? At a big company, a sales leader probably only lives within that function.

VC

VC board advice startup

Startup Catalyst Brief

The Most Misunderstood Facts About Building a Business on YouTube

How Boards Need to Evolve Over Time

Trending Sources

Why ROI has no place in marketing

10 Fundamentals For A More Human-Centric Workplace

What is Zoho? And why does it have a zillion apps?

Say Hello to My New AI Marketer: How Gen AI-Based Software Is Advancing Marketing and Sales

What is AI automation? And how your business can use it

A guide to email marketing automation: best practices and automated workflows

Enterprise automation: What it is and how to get started

VCs eating our own dog food: Using technology and analytics to make better investments

Venture capitalists eating our own dog food: Using technology and analytics to make better investments

Newsletter: Superfood from waste + 3D printing goes large

The Long-Term Value of Loyalty

Flexible VC, a New Model for Companies Targeting Profitability

Flexible VC, a New Model for Companies Targeting Profitability

What is the Right Burn Rate at a Startup Company?

What is a CRM? The beginner's guide to customer relationship management

Netflix Redux: Is It Ever OK to Fire Your Customers?

“It takes a year to find great executives so you must always look down the field.” Proof’s Pat Kinsel on why he believes a VCs most critical task is to make sure the WRONG person doesn’t get hired into a startup.

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