Tag: David Thomson

“In the majority of cases, the CEO serves as the externally facing leader. The COO serves as the internally facing leader.” – David Thomson

There are a few key roles you need to fill in your startup.  What you call them is up to you.  Whether you fill them with fewer people is also.

  •  You need the the person that is the face of the company and sells to the market, investors, partners, board members. (CEO)
  • You need the person that gets things done.  (COO)
  • You need the person looking for the next big thing (CTO)
  • You need a rainmaker.  The one that finds customers and closes deals. (VP Biz Dev.)
  • …and you need good advisors.

A lot of technology starts get heavy on one end.  Launching a company is not the time to develop new business skills.  Find the right people.

Read “Blueprint to a Billion” by David Thomson

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“Developing deep customer relationships can take longer than the product development cycle. Gotta have balance…do both” – David Thomson

You have to start early with customers.  It’s better to consult with them, even before you start developing the product.  Then let them beta test for you.  Find out the top five things they want the most and target those.

Loyalty takes time and several interactions.  Every web site view, every support call, every coffee chat, every site visit… all these things build relationship.  The researcher does these things when there’s time.  For researchers, there’s never time.

The CEO makes time, takes the call, buys the coffee.

Talk to five customers a week… for a start.

Read “Blueprint To A Billion” by David Thomson