• CB Insights
    帮助风投判断该投哪家创企,分析初创公司的“以色列版CB Insights”Zirra获200万美元B轮融资 据外媒消息,总部位于以色列特拉维夫的初创公司分析投资平台Zirra宣布获得了一笔200万美元的B轮融资,投资方为SeedInvest。截止目前,该公司的融资总金额为430万美元。 记者还了解到,Zirra公司最近刚刚和伦敦证券交易所达成合作协议,会为后者提供商业支持和融资项目服务。他们的主要服务,就是利用人工智能技术来帮助投资人评估初创公司的价值,包括预计估值、罗列竞争对手,预估退出时间、计算投资风险、并且对创业团队、产品、执行力等因素进行综合评级。事实上,Zirra公司的主要功能是收集市场数据,然后根据80多项投资指标参数评估投资级别,目前他们涉足的行业领域包括企业软件、网络安全、大数据、云计算、机器人、汽车制造、广告技术、社交网络、以及生物医学。现阶段,Zirra的收入模式为付费服务,月服务费为299美元,每份投资报告售价为49美元。   本文作者:Joker 来源:鸵鸟创投媒体(微信:wechuangye)
    CB Insights
    2017年11月24日
  • CB Insights
    LinkedIn通过大数据选出美国最具人才吸引力的50个创业公司 LinkedIn Top Companies | Startups: The 50 industry disruptors you need to know now 作者:Daniel Rot   Editor in Chief, LinkedIn 所有估值和资金数据来自CB Insights。除非由公司直接提供,否则任职,员工增长和全球员工数据均来自LinkedIn Premium Insights。 全文是英文,我们简单列出前十名: 1、UBER 2、AIRBNB 3、WEWORK 4、LYFT( 跟UBER一样的打车软件) 5、Slack  (HR项目) 6、NIO 7、Rubrik 8、Dropbox 9、Houzz 10、Convoy ········ 16、Pinterest 19、Udacity 22、Opendoor 31、Coursera 46、Glint (HR项目) 详细的大家可以看这些项目和公司福利。   Some of the most fascinating businesses today are startups. Sensing a chance to transform (or take over) a market, founders are channeling their seemingly endless flow of venture funds into new ideas — and top talent. We wanted to see which startups were winning the talent game. Who are the 50 most in-demand upstarts in the U.S. today? The all-new LinkedIn “Top Companies | Startups” list is the answer. To surface the companies, we looked at the billions of actions of LinkedIn’s more than 500 million members to determine employee growth, job seeker interest via views and applications, member engagement with the company and its employees — and how well these startups pulled talent from our flagship LinkedIn Top Companies list. (You can learn more about our methodology here.) To be eligible for Top Companies | Startups, companies must be 10 years old or younger, have at least 100 employees, remain independent and privately held and have at least one round of venture-backed funding. LinkedIn worked with CB Insights to pull a global list of nearly 25,000 eligible venture-backed companies. Share the list and join the conversation using #LinkedInTopCompanies. Here are this year’s top 50 startups in the U.S. All valuation and funding data come from CB Insights. Tenure, employee growth and global headcount data are from LinkedIn Premium Insights unless provided directly by the company. Follow Driving forward: Uber has been in the public eye this year for all the wrong reasons: sexual harassment claims, regulatory issues, a new CEO and loads of boardroom drama. That hasn’t kept the ride-sharing giant from growing fast or attracting top talent. Of all the companies on our list, Uber has the most workers who have joined from other LinkedIn Top Companies; employees have left the likes of Google, JPMorgan and Facebook to work at the super-unicorn. Global headcount: 16,000 Global headquarters: San Francisco Catch a ride: Worldwide employees get free monthly Uber credits to use on personal rides or UberEATS, the company’s online meal ordering and delivery platform. Valuation: $68 billion Explore jobs at Uber Follow Yurt, treehouse, castle: Airbnb has had 200 million guest arrivals since the company launched. Taking on the $550 billion hotel industry is no small feat. To go head-to-head, the company has expanded its instant booking listings and even announced plans to open its first co-branded apartments (which residents will be able to share on Airbnb). Global headcount: 3,000 Global headquarters: San Francisco Royal lodgings: Employees receive an annual $2,000 (£1,516) stipend to stay in Airbnb locales around the world, including one of nearly 3,000 listed castles. Valuation: $29.25 billion Explore jobs at Airbnb Follow Creating communities: WeWork has nearly doubled its membership this year to over 150,000 users, expanded to some 170 locations (including its first India location) and purchased private coding academy Flatiron School in a recent acquisition. While the startup has been growing rapidly, a highly competitive office-leasing market recently raised doubts around the company’s rich valuation. Global headcount: 3,000 Global headquarters: New York City TGIM: New hires join WeWork every Monday for orientation at the company’s headquarters. The day includes a citywide scavenger hunt where employees get a glimpse of the company’s nearly 40 buildings across New York and ends with the weekly “Thank God it’s Monday” dinner for the entire staff. Valuation: $20 billion Explore jobs at WeWork Follow Driving across America: Lyft has been rapidly expanding across the U.S. It now covers 95 percent of the population across all 50 states, more than any other rideshare platform, and provides over 1 million rides every day. In mid-October, it raised $1 billion in a new funding round led by the venture arm of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Global headcount: 2,000 Global headquarters: San Francisco Expanding accessibility: Lyft introduced new features to make the app more accessible to deaf or hard-of-hearing drivers, including visual notifications and a message telling passengers to contact the driver via text. Passengers can also get a quick tutorial on how to say “Hello” and “Thank You” in sign language. Valuation: $11 billion Explore jobs at Lyft Follow Revolutionizing productivity: Known as a dead-simple collaboration tool, Slack is going head-to-head with the likes of LinkedIn parent Microsoft and Atlassian to own workplace productivity. Its platform allows workers to message each other in real time, while connected apps add context or automate mundane tasks to help get the job done. Global headcount: 890 Global headquarters: San Francisco Corporate scale: Slack bills itself as the fastest-growing business application in history, serving some 9 million weekly active users and 43 companies from the Fortune 100 list. It’s been hiring rapidly to keep up with that scale: growing 32 percent over the past year.   Valuation: $5.1 billion Explore jobs at Slack Follow Speeding into the future: Shanghai-based NIO develops smart, electric and autonomous vehicles. The startup, which expanded to the U.S. two years ago, built the world’s fastest electric car, manned or unmanned, able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.7 seconds. CEO Padmasree Warrior, formerly of Cisco, says NIO cars will be available in the U.S. as soon as 2020. Global headcount: 3,000 Global headquarters: Shanghai (San Jose, Calif. in the U.S.) Welcome to the team: NIO has more than quadrupled its staff since June 2016. Amid such rapid growth, NIO shepherds its culture through bimonthly “team time,” where all employees welcome new hires and get to know each other outside of work through activities like trivia and scavenger hunts. Valuation: $2.89 billion Explore jobs at NIO Follow Cloud’s the limit: Rubrik helps companies organize their data in the cloud, ensuring instant access for recovery, analytics and application development. It counts corporate giant JLL, non-profit World Vision and the Tampa Bay Rays among its customers, but CEO Bipul Sinha has even bigger ambitions. “In the future, data will be like money,” he said in a May interview. “Rubrik can be like the Visa for enterprise.” Global headcount: 600 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. Big-name investors: The company counts NBA MVP Kevin Durant as one of its investors and board advisors alongside iconic firms like IVP and Lightspeed Ventures. It’s also notably transparent: all 600 employees can attend board meetings and see the company’s financials. Valuation: $1.3 billion Explore jobs at Rubrik Follow Refreshing storage: Dropbox has a new look these days. The online storage company went through its biggest-ever rebrand this year, repositioning itself as the tool to enable and inspire creativity in the workplace. The new branding also comes with a major milestone: Dropbox reached a $1 billion revenue run rate in February, the company told LinkedIn. Global headcount: 1,900 Global headquarters: San Francisco Giving back: Every Dropbox employee is given 32 hours of annual volunteer time off to participate in a cause about which they are passionate. The company will also match up to $1,000 for all donations made by Dropboxers to charitable organizations. Valuation: $9.38 billion Explore jobs at Dropbox Follow Bringing tech home: Houzz, the online platform for remodeling and decorating, is transforming the way people design and shop for their homes. Beyond sketching ideas or hiring the right contractor, users can experience their designs through Houzz’s augmented reality tool. The company says that shoppers who engage with the tool are 11 times more likely to purchase. Global headcount: 1,600 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. More than an office: On their first day, every new employee gets a pair of Houzz slippers to wear around the office so they can feel at home. It’s not much of a stretch: Houzz’s meeting rooms are inspired by household spaces around the world, including the British Tea Room, German Backyard and Italian Closet. Valuation: $3.84 billion Explore jobs at Houzz Follow Trucking on demand: Convoy believes the world moves on reliable trucks, and it is in the business of building innovative services to match shipments with reliable carriers. The company works with a network of independent trucking companies and uses technology to match the right truck to the right load, helping optimize supply chain performance. Global headcount: 170 Global headquarters: Seattle Staffing up: The company has been scaling rapidly since its founding in 2015. In the past six months, Convoy’s headcount has grown 37 percent — and it’s hiring for another 28 jobs currently, according to LinkedIn data. Its recent $62 million funding round, led by Y Combinator, will help rev up that growth. Total funding: $80 million Explore jobs at Convoy Follow Closing the skills gap: General Assembly is creating a new way to educate today’s workforce. The company, which started as a single co-working space in 2011, now has campuses in 20 cities. GA has served over 40,000 students through its full- and part-time programs, and it says it works with a third of the Fortune 100 to develop proprietary, sustainable talent pipelines in fields like data science and web development. Global headcount: 580 Global headquarters: New York City Moving up: While GA has some great perks (like 16 weeks of parental leave for a primary caregiver), the biggest benefit may be the upward mobility within the company. In the first half of 2017, GA had 136 promotions, the company told LinkedIn. That’s a quarter of all employees. Valuation: $452 million Explore jobs at General Assembly Follow Moving the money: Bought something online at Target recently? Or Under Armour? Then you’ve likely used Stripe’s products without even realizing it. The company builds the tools businesses need to instantly accept and manage online payments, helping buyers pay seamlessly and providing sellers real-time analytics. Global headcount: 810 Global headquarters: San Francisco Worldwide access: Stripe powers businesses in 25 countries and accepts 135 different currencies (plus Bitcoin). It enables Apple Pay across the internet and in iOS apps, and Stripe even helped launch a new cryptocurrency: Stellar. Valuation: $9.2 billion Explore jobs at Stripe Follow The birth of an empire: Before starting her direct-to-consumer skincare and makeup company, Glossier CEO Emily Weiss ran the popular blog Into the Gloss. The industry expertise and cult following she gained was a recipe for Glossier success. Her social media-savvy brand became such a hit after launching in 2014 that its products quickly sold out and garnered waitlists 10,000 people long. Global headcount: 130 Global headquarters: New York City Growth in all directions: At an annual employee growth rate of 257 percent, Glossier was the fastest-growing company on this list over the past 12 months, according to our data. The company also made strides to meet growing demand abroad with plans to ship to Canada, the UK and France. Total funding: $34.4 million Explore jobs at Glossier Follow Connecting the dots: Early in his career, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen worked in logistics importing lawnmowers and jacuzzis from China. Now he’s on a mission to ensure any two businesses can trade regardless of distance or regulatory hurdles. His freight forwarding and customs brokerage company is growing at a rapid clip, with its base of clients up 315 percent over the past year, the company says. Global headcount: 500 Global headquarters: San Francisco Branch out: The company does a regular “lunch roulette” where you go out to lunch with coworkers you don’t see on a daily basis. Valuation: $910 million Explore jobs at Flexport Making the connection: Organizations often spend a fortune investing in telecommunications infrastructure from the likes of AT&T and Verizon. Aryaka Networks, a SD-WAN provider, is disrupting those telecom giants by providing a networking option that eliminates hardware and helps control costs with a pay-as-you-use model. The end result is seamless connectivity that’s optimized for cloud-based applications and global access. Global headcount: More than 300 Global headquarters: San Mateo, Calif. Loyal employees: The average employee tenure at Aryaka Networks is 2.7 years, the longest of all the companies on the list, according to LinkedIn data. Total funding: $120 million Explore jobs at Aryaka Networks The visual search engine: Seven years after the company’s debut, it’s still hard to nail down exactly what Pinterest is: it’s part social network, part scrapbook, part catalog of ideas. But, increasingly, it’s defining itself as a search company — one that hopes to offer marketers an alternative to ad behemoths like Google. The company is expected to generate $500 million in ad revenue this year, up from $300 million in 2016. Global headcount: 1,200 Global headquarters: San Francisco Just getting started: Pinterest believes most of its site “hasn’t been built yet,” so this year it launched Pinterest Labs, a collaboration with researchers, scientists, engineers and universities to take on the biggest problems in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Valuation: $12.3 billion Explore jobs at Pinterest Follow Working to save lives: Since launching a year ago, GRAIL has attracted a whopping $1 billion in funding from Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and some of the biggest companies in healthcare. The company's goal is to detect cancer early, when it's possible to cure. To do that, it’s attracted world-class geneticists and biostatisticians, and launched one of the largest clinical research programs in genomic health, with studies enrolling more than 130,000 people. Global headcount: 250 Global headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif. Expert leader: CEO Bill Rastetter co-invented one of the world’s most valuable cancer therapies, and has won praise for his work in academia. He held multiple faculty positions at MIT and won the award for “Excellence in the Teaching of Chemistry” at Harvard. Total funding: $1 billion Explore jobs at GRAIL Follow Growth hackers: Duo Security, the first of five cybersecurity companies on the list, provides features like two-factor authentication and secure single sign-on to clients as diverse as Facebook, Toyota and Zillow. The 8-year-old company has been on a tear: In the last year, Duo quadrupled its user base, doubled its headcount and became cash-flow positive, it says. Global headcount: 500 Global headquarters: Ann Arbor, Mich. Local flavor: The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company embraces its Midwestern roots by enforcing a “no jerks” policy and gives each employee a personal candy pack from Zingerman’s, the famous local deli, on the first day. Valuation: $1.17 billion Explore jobs at Duo Security The Silicon Valley university: On a mission to democratize education, Udacity offers courses designed by companies like Google and Salesforce that teach professionals the foundational skills needed to land jobs as web developers, mobile developers or data scientists — all at a fraction of the cost of normal universities. Global headcount: 500 Global headquarters: Mountain View, Calif. Driving diversity: If you thought you couldn’t get a degree in self-driving cars, think again. Udacity recently created a scholarship with Lyft for its new Intro to Self-Driving Cars program to help make the field more accessible. Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Udacity The Yelp for enterprise software: With nearly 250,000 verified user reviews for software and services, G2 Crowd is making it simple to find the best business technology based on people’s real experience, acting as a Yelp for enterprise software. There’s one big difference from the consumer-focused review site: G2 Crowd doesn’t sell any ads. Instead, it uses its data to provide for-purchase research reports. Global headcount: 120 Global headquarters: Chicago Personalized welcome: If you land one of G2 Crowd’s 130 forecasted job openings over the next year, expect to see your personal Bitmoji hanging at the entrance to the office on your first day. Valuation: $300 million Explore jobs at G2 Crowd Modern mortgage making: Blend provides mortgage lenders the digital tools they need to make home loan applications faster, smarter and more secure. The company, which says its clients control about 25 percent of the $10 trillion mortgage lending industry, has helped process $57 billion in applications so far this year. Global headcount: 200 Global headquarters: San Francisco Humble beginnings: Blend CEO and founder Nima Ghamsari attributes his foray into entrepreneurship to his first job at McDonald’s. “The one thing it teaches everyone is that most jobs are not glamorous, and you have to do whatever it takes to get by,” he told LinkedIn. Valuation: $500 million Explore jobs at Blend Moving on: Opendoor wants to cure your real estate woes by making it possible to sell your home online quickly — no real estate listing necessary. The company, which also operates its own mortgage business, buys your home directly then resells it. Opendoor is active in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas and Atlanta with plans to expand to two new markets before year end, it says. Global headcount: 415 Global headquarters: San Francisco Undercover employee: All new hires act as Opendoor secret shoppers in order to experience the service first-hand, using the app to enter a home and explore as if they were potential buyers. Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Opendoor Follow Military grade security: Fighting hackers is no easy task, but Boston-based Cybereason is equipped for the challenge. Many of its employees served in the Israel Defense Forces’ cybersecurity unit and now use similar tactics to protect its clients. The company’s endpoint detection platform finds attackers’ vulnerabilities after they’ve infiltrated an organization, letting companies know if they are under attack and how to quickly stop the threat. Global headcount: 325 Global headquarters: Boston Perk alert: Cybereason offers employees unlimited vacation, reimbursement for commuting expenses, free lunch and an employee referral bonus of up to $5,000. Valuation: $999 million Explore jobs at Cybereason Follow Protection on all fronts: Cylance is one of the world’s first companies to provide an antivirus platform built on machine learning and artificial intelligence. It uses its next-generation technology to proactively protect companies like Panasonic and Gap Inc., as well as the U.S. government and even consumer home devices, from malware attacks. Global headcount: 805 Global headquarters: Irvine, Calif. The motive: On a flight to Australia in 1989, Founder & CEO Stuart McClure faced a near-death experience when the flight incurred devastating damage en route that cost eight other passengers their lives. Since that day, McClure told LinkedIn, his life’s passion has been “to find and fix the problems introduced by technology to prevent bad stuff from happening to innocent people.” Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Cylance Follow Making headlines: Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike was the first to point a finger at Russia after its investigation of the Democratic National Committee email hack prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Since then, it’s capitalized on the surging interest in online security to raise new funding (another $100 million in May) and to sign on ever-more clients. CrowdStrike tells LinkedIn that more than 10 percent of the Fortune 1000 now leverage its tech and services. Global headcount: 760 Global headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif. In-person intro: The company flies all new hires in from around the world to meet with execs and learn about company's strategic direction in person. Valuation: $1.01 billion Explore jobs at CrowdStrike Increasing efficiency: Chicago-based predictive analytics firm Uptake added more than 300 jobs this year. The company’s software analyzes sensor data to improve productivity and decrease failures across a host of industries, from aviation to energy. One example: wind farms. Uptake’s software can predict when parts on a turbine may soon need to be replaced, preventing costly outages. Global headcount: 800 Global headquarters: Chicago Your name here: Employees who submit patentable ideas for company review can be awarded up to $2,000 and named inventors if the patent is granted. Valuation: $2 billion Explore jobs at Uptake Cash, credit, or a loan: Third-party lender Affirm aims to offer shoppers an alternative at the register by providing quick and easy personal loans with fixed monthly payments. The company recently announced it’s available at checkout with more than 1,000 merchants, up from 100 a year ago, often for higher-priced merchandise like furniture and electronics. Global headcount: 280 Global headquarters: San Francisco Origin story: Despite just having sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2012, Max Levchin couldn’t get approved for a car loan. He was haunted by minor credit issues racked up in college. The experience proved to him that FICO scores weren’t useful for determining credit worthiness and helped birth the idea for Affirm, where he’s co-founder and CEO. Valuation: $781 million Explore jobs at Affirm New foundation: Construction projects rarely finish early or under budget. Katerra wants to streamline the process — by owning all of it. With its model, developers don’t parcel out work to contractors who in turn subcontract again, which inflates costs. Katerra oversees everything, from design to materials sourcing and assembly. Its Phoenix, Ariz., manufacturing facility can build a 24-unit apartment building every two weeks. Global headcount: 850 Global headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif. Who it’s hiring: The company writes that it looks for employees who can “think big, and lead from any seat.” Another core corporate value: frugality. As the company looks to trim costs from the construction process, one cultural principle is working “in the most cost-efficient manner possible.” Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Katerra Ding-dong: Video doorbell company Ring turns your smartphone into a surveillance hub, sending you a live feed of your front door. The company, rejected by judges on “Shark Tank” in 2013, went on to generate an estimated $160 million in sales last year. It recently expanded into other user-friendly home security products like floodlight cameras. Global headcount: 1,500 Global headquarters: Santa Monica, Calif. Doing battle: In his quest to stay ahead of competitors, CEO Jamie Siminoff treats employees as “confidants in war,” the LA Times reported, “bestowing them with dog-tag-style security badges inscribed with name, start date and title.” Another corporate rarity: Ring’s dozens of team leaders have nearly full autonomy — no mandatory management meetings or even budgets — to encourage speed and innovation. Valuation: $431 million Explore jobs at Ring Rethinking real estate: Convene designs and operates corporate meeting spaces, and sees its business model as much more, calling it “workplace as a service.” The company amps up the cool factor of average office buildings by adding high-end touches more common in luxury hotels like microbrew coffee shops and farm-to-table meals. It brought in $40.7 million in revenue in 2016, up from $28.9 million the prior year. Global headcount: 320 Global headquarters: New York City Coffee talk: Within a month of starting at Convene, every new hire meets with one or both of the company’s co-founders to chat over coffee. They also receive a giant chocolate business card with their name on it. Total funding: $113.5 million Explore jobs at Convene Follow Open classroom: Online education giant Coursera offers a multitude of digital courses on topics from cryptocurrency to game theory. It has grown to over 28 million users globally and is adding nearly a half million new users every month, the company told LinkedIn. Coursera is committed to amping up the technical skills of underemployed people worldwide, often partnering directly with governments to close the skills gap. Global headcount: 300 Global headquarters: Mountain View, Calif. Hit the books: Employees enjoy free Coursera courses as well as time during working hours to meet with colleagues in study groups. Valuation: $800 million Explore jobs at Coursera Follow Customized: Online styling service Stitch Fix pairs customers with its more than 3,000 personal stylists to gauge wardrobe needs and dispatch regular boxes stuffed with clothes, shoes, and accessories. There is a strict separation between the company’s merchandising and data teams to ensure its recommendation algorithms get just the right products into customers’ hands. Global headcount: 5,800 Global headquarters: San Francisco On the market: The company recently filed for its much-anticipated IPO; it reported$977 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal year and lost $594,000, although it was profitable in previous years. Valuation: $314 million Explore jobs at Stitch Fix Follow Alibaba of the West: Wish, a mobile commerce app, connects shoppers directly with the suppliers of everything from down jackets to wireless chargers. This direct access to manufacturers, many of which are in China, means cheaper prices and a huge selection: the site has tens of millions of listed products. Global headcount: 310 Global headquarters: San Francisco Making money: The 7-year-old startup has raised over $1 billion in funding from the likes of Founders Fund and GGV Capital. That bet may pay off. Wish has an annual run rate in the “middle single billions” and is profitable, according to Joe Lonsdale, an investor in the company. Valuation: $3 billion Explore jobs at Wish Follow Wooing millennials: Online brokerage Robinhood lets members make trades without paying any fees, an appealing proposition for many first-time traders. "Free is pretty difficult,” says co-founder Baiju Bhatt, noting that most of the company’s employees are software engineers focused on building automation into the system to ensure customers can easily trade without human guidance or intervention. Global headcount: 100 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. On the rise: Robinhood doubled its base to 2 million users in the past year, and Bhatt estimates that 90 percent are under age 40. The company expects to double its headcount next year to keep up with the growth. Valuation: $1.3 billion Explore jobs at Robinhood Follow Threats thwarted: Cybersecurity company Darktrace uses AI and machine learning to defend enterprise networks. Rather than building perimeters to keep hackers out, it looks at what normal behavior is in a system and raises alarms when something deviates. The company was founded by mathematicians from the University of Cambridge. Global headcount: 600 Global headquarters: Cambridge, UK Unsolved problem: Darktrace has raised $180.5 million in total, including a new $75 million funding round earlier this year, putting its valuation near unicorn territory. Its more than 3,500 customers include even water-supply systems, eager for help. “The problem of cybersecurity is still unsolved,” CEO Nicole Eagan told Bloomberg TV. Valuation: $825 million Follow Get connected: Sprout Social is an enterprise social media management platform that helps companies with the often chaotic task of tending to their presence across multiple social networks. More than 19,000 brands currently use Sprout, and the company has been expanding both its workforce and its capabilities to meet demand. Sprout grew its headcount by 80 percent since September 2016 and added features like Instagram scheduling and a built-in image editor. Global headcount: 400 Global headquarters: Chicago Access to the top: All new employees meet with Sprout CEO Justyn Howard shortly after starting. They can ask questions and hear straight from the top boss about the company’s values and vision. Valuation: $500 million, according to the company. Explore jobs at Sprout Social Follow Powerhouse partnership: Hyperloop One recently announced an investment from and partnership with Virgin Group that gives Richard Branson a board seat and rebrands the startup: Meet Virgin Hyperloop One. The company, which remains independent, will be able to tap into Virgin’s expertise in operations, safety and passenger experience as it looks to commercialize its first hyperloop systems as early as 2021. Global headcount: 300 Global headquarters: Los Angeles Farther and faster: Virgin Hyperloop One’s autonomous system uses electric propulsion through a low-pressure tube, which could reach airplane-equivalent speeds once fully developed. In a second phase of testing in July, its XP-1 pod reached 190 mph and a maximum distance of 1,433 feet, going farther and faster than its initial runs in May. Valuation: $700 million Explore jobs at Virgin Hyperloop One Follow Data driven: Snowflake Computing is a pay-as-you-go data warehouse for the cloud. The 5-year-old company boasts clients like Adobe, Capital One and Sony Pictures and says its sales have increased 300 percent in the past year while its workforce roughly doubled. It raised $105 million earlier this year, bringing its total funding to $210 million, in part to open more sales offices worldwide. It tells LinkedIn it expects to add another 300 jobs next year, a move that would again double the size of the company. Global headcount: 280 Global headquarters: San Mateo, Calif. Warm welcome: In a personal touch at the weekly all-hands meeting, CEO Bob Muglia introduces each new employee, asking them to stand as their colleagues provide thunderous applause and cheers. Valuation: $500 million Explore jobs at Snowflake Computing Follow AI to the rescue: ThoughtSpot is an analytics platform that aims to take the pain out of using business intelligence tools. Its AI-powered software lets users ask questions in everyday language, similar to a Google search. Customers include Chevron, Capital One and OpenTable, with the company aiming for 20 million users by 2020. Global headcount: 220 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. In it together: Co-founder and CEO Ajeet Singh describes himself as “Chief Coffee Maker” and sees his job as being there to help others, even if it's just brewing another pot. ThoughtSpot’s commitment to “selfless excellence” extends into a Slack channel where employees can applaud each other for good deeds. Valuation: $417 million Explore jobs at ThoughtSpot Follow Offline marketing magic: Zenreach has transformed free wifi from a service into a tool: brick-and-mortar businesses can collect the email, demographic information and visit behavior of customers just by inviting them to log onto in-store wifi. Companies can then use that information to better target marketing campaigns to the right consumers at the right time. Global headcount: 220 Global headquarters: San Francisco Star-studded cast: Zenreach has raised $80 million in funding and collected a star-studded list of investors, including Peter Thiel, Kevin Durant and Ashton Kutcher. Valuation: $193 million Explore jobs at Zenreach Follow Keeping data safe: Storing, protecting and analyzing data is big business, and multiple enterprise startups are competing to own the space. Cohesity has been rapidly gaining momentum with its proprietary technology that allows companies to streamline their backup and data protection while delivering real-time analytics. Its products have wooed the likes of Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which are both investors. Global headcount: 210 Global headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif. Bonding on the beach: Last December, CEO and founder Mohit Aron paid for all employees and their families to vacation in Hawaii to celebrate the 4-year-old company’s rapid growth. Valuation: $537 million Explore jobs at Cohesity Follow Customer service meets business insight: Pendo is making that ubiquitous — and loathed — emailed customer feedback survey obsolete. Its software leverages in-app surveys, polls and analytics to give product developers more detailed user feedback. Revenue is up 400 percent compared to a year ago, Pendo told LinkedIn. Global headcount: 150 Global headquarters: Raleigh, N.C. Better than Bitmoji: The Raleigh, N.C.-based startup plans to double in size this year, with an estimated 150 job openings planned for the next year. New hires can look forward to their own hand-illustrated avatar that lives on Pendo’s website and their own personal coffee mug. Total funding: $56 million, according to the company. Explore jobs at Pendo Follow Know your customer: Moda Operandi is redefining what it means to be a luxury shopper in a digital age, allowing customers to pre-order clothing, accessories and jewelry straight from the runway online. New this year is Moda Operandi Madison, a private boutique off of New York’s Madison Avenue for exclusive events and appointments. Global headcount: 200 Global headquarters: New York City Happy (furry) employees: Dogs are welcome in the office anytime, including at Moda Operandi’s weekly Friday happy hours. Biped employees also get bonus and equity at every level. Valuation: $330 million Explore jobs at Moda Operandi Follow Open-source operation: Databricks is helping companies like Salesforce, Viacom and Shell accelerate innovation by unifying analytics across engineering teams, data scientists and business partners. The company was founded by the creators of the open-source processing engine Apache Spark and is committed to continuing that open tradition. Databricks believes “that no computing platform will win in the big data space unless it is fully open.” Global headcount: 220 Global headquarters: San Francisco This is the droid you’re looking for: Databricks employees enjoy free catered lunch every day, Boba tea twice a week and the chance to spot an R2D2 model around the office daily. Valuation: $856 million Explore jobs at Databricks Follow Easier apps: Skuid is a champion of the better user experience, believing that low adoption rates of business software traces back to bad UX. Based in Chattanooga, Tenn., Skuid’s platform lets businesses build analytics apps with a drag-and-drop interface instead of coding. It scored a $25 million investment this year from Iconiq, the family wealth manager of tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg. Global headcount: 175 Global headquarters: Chattanooga, Tenn. Health, ensured: Skuid covers 100 percent of insurance premiums for its employees and their dependents. Total funding: $35.62 million Explore jobs at Skuid Following Taking the pulse: Glint attempts to go beyond the employee-happiness survey of old. One of its newest products, Narrative Intelligence, uses AI to analyze employee comments and provide a visual map of what employees care about. HR execs rejoice: No more reading through thousands of survey comments. Global headcount: 130 Global headquarters: Redwood City, Calif. Walk the talk: Based on its own employee feedback, Glint has added programs like No Meeting Wednesdays, volunteer opportunities and adjustable-height desks for all employees. Total funding: $119.17 million Explore jobs at Glint Follow Standardizing software: Docker is an open-source platform that allows developers and system administrators to build, ship and run distributed applications. Its container-as-a-service platform packages software into standardized units for easier access by teams and clients, which can speed up software shipments as much as 7x for companies, according to Docker. Global headcount: 325 Global headquarters: San Francisco Who needs groceries: Employees at Docker can help themselves to lunch, dinner, snacks, and bottomless cups of coffee at the office. Valuation: $1.3 billion Explore jobs at Docker Follow Making free services pay: Credit Karma built a profitable business providing free credit reports, credit monitoring services, and — in the wake of the Equifax breach — free ID monitoring. Its services have attracted 75 million users to date, including almost half of all American millennials, according to the company. This year the fintech startup topped $500 million in revenue and opened new offices in Charlotte and Los Angeles. Global headcount: More than 700 Global headquarters: San Francisco Recharge in the office: Perks include an on-site spa for manicures and pedicures, nap nooks and dedicated rooms for music jam sessions, art creation and retro arcade games. Valuation: $3.5 billion Explore jobs at Credit Karma Follow Better sleep, wherever: Direct-to-consumer mattress maker Casper has gone beyond its flagship single product. It introduced products like a humidity fighting duvet, an adjustable bed frame and a dog bed. Casper has also gone offline in a big way this year, launching a roving “bedmobile,” retail pop-ups and a Target partnership that puts its products in stores across the U.S. Global headcount: 350 Global headquarters: New York City Sleeping on the job: New employees receive a full suite of Casper sleep products, from the mattress to pillows to sheets, to ensure they are well-rested. If mid-afternoon sleepiness hits, they also have access to office nap pods for a quick snooze. Valuation: $920 million Explore jobs at Casper Follow Making search flexible: Elastic believes that good things come from connecting the dots — lots and lots of them. The company builds open-source data software for easier search, logging, security and analytics in real-time. Elastic’s products have been downloaded more than 150 million times and its community has grown to more than 100,000 developers across 100 countries. Global headcount: 600 Global headquarters: Mountain View, Calif. Distributed talent: Elastic searches far and wide for the best tech talent regardless of location — and embraces a distributed workforce model. The company started with employees in places like Amsterdam, London, Prague and Barcelona. Valuation: $700 million Explore jobs at Elastic Reported by: Chip Cutter, Susan Jackson, Laura Lorenzetti and Ashley Peterson Corrections: Valuations and funding for Sprout Social, Udacity, Aryaka Networks, Convoy, Pinterest and Cylance have been updated with information directly from the company. Global headcounts for Ring, Darktrace, Pinterest and Airbnb have been updated. WeWork recently acquired Flatiron School; it was incorrectly stated as the company's first acquisition.
    CB Insights
    2017年11月05日
  • CB Insights
    CB Insights 创始人:我在创业过程中犯过的 54 个错误 编者按:对于创业者来说,一路都是摸着石头过河,难免走一些弯路,犯一些错误。CB Insights 联合创始人兼 CEO Anand Sanwal 列出了自己在创业初期所犯过的 54 个错误清单,涉及企业创立的方方面面,希望这份清单对其他企业家也能够有所帮助,或者让你开怀一笑,或者让你知道你并不孤独,你所犯过的错误他们也犯过。 今年对于 CB Insights 来说是非常棒的一年:收益增长,团队不断壮大,业务水准维持较高水平。 但也有不尽如人意的地方。 我们也经历过艰难的阶段,犯了许多,许多的错误。大多数的错误是由于我所做过的一些事情(或者我没去做的一些事情)导致的,对于我犯过的错误,搞砸的事情我也列了一张清单。 在这里,我将这份清单公开,与你们共享,一方面时刻警醒自己,另一方面也以这样一种公开的方式让我们的团队保持坦率的特质。此外,我也希望这份清单对其他企业家也能够有所帮助,或者让你开怀一笑,或者让你知道你并不孤独,你所犯过的错误我们也犯过。 如你接下来会看见的一样,我所犯过的错误涉及企业创立的方方面面,从人力资源到公司文化,从产品到销售,从运营到管理。没错,我就是你们所说的“多才多艺”的人物。 我整理的这个列表内容没有特定的顺序,只是按照类别进行了汇总。你可能会发现,其中的一些错误是相互矛盾的。没错,创立一家公司就是这么凌乱的事情。 文化 #1、错误地认为文化会自发形成 这是我随着 CB Insights 规模扩大收获最大的一件事情。最初,我认为只要我们雇佣了有才智的员工,提供了很酷的内容,让客户感到开心,那文化自然而然就会形成。事后我发现,文化是会自发形成,但自发形成的这种文化并不是我们想要的文化。要想将公司的操作系统构建成我们想要的样子,那我们必须积极去构建,而不能指望它自发形成。 于是,我们创建了一个文化代码文档(Culture Code)。新的团队成员加入时,由于他们没有经历过公司的艰苦时期(例如,简陋的办公环境以及产品陷入困境等),那他们就可以利用这个文档来了解公司对他们的期望,以及他们能够期望从公司得到一些什么收获。 #2 、与团队成员一对一交流不够 定期反馈(双向)很重要。我在这方面做得不够好,这也直接导致了团队成员不知道他们自己工作表现如何,我自己的工作也无法得到他们的反馈评价。这种反馈循环很重要,尤其是对一个处于快速发展阶段的公司来说尤其重要,因为在这个阶段事情会频繁而快速地发生变化。我之前在一家大公司工作时已经体会到了这种缺乏反馈所造成的困扰。当时,在对我进行每年一次的年终评估时,他们对我说,“你需要在 X 项目上多上心”,我心里想,“那你们为什么要等到年底才来跟我说这些?” 所以,对反馈缺乏的问题必须要及时做出改变。 #3 、 没有一个 360° 全方位反馈机制 我们没有一个系统的方式,能够让团队每一位成员以及成员与我之间进行相互反馈。对许多人来说,要当面向另一个人传递一些不好的信息是很难的一件事,但是,如果我们想要真正对自我进行改善,我们需要促成这样一种反馈机制。 #4、 没有向团队成员提供更多有关公司发展方向的信息 因为我与公司团队成员是处于一个开放式的同层办公环境内,我便想当然地认为他们知道当下所发生的事情,因为他们可以听到我说的话,也能听到其他人所说的话。我这个思维逻辑存在一个问题,那就是其他人都专注地忙于自己的工作,他们根本无暇静静地坐在那里听我的各种动静。 所以,尽管团队成员知道一周接一周的公司战略安排和计划,但公司总体的发展方向、背后的原因以及如何去实现这一目标这些信息却并没有很好地传达给他们。现在回想起来,我才意识到自己真得是低估了公司发展蓝图这一信息,我应该将这些信息内容传达给我的团队成员。有了充分的知情权以后,他们也可以放开手去做,大大提高成功的可能性。 #5 、没有让团队成员及时知晓每个人的工作进展 你肯定经历过这样的一些场合,公司业务人员向其他成员进行一个演示,来展示一个全新的功能或者是一个改进后的产品界面,而其他人在此之前是完全不知情的。这并不是一个好现象。 这表明我们没有让其他人了解我们当下所从事的工作内容。了解团队其他同事所从事的工作内容是一件好事,因为这有助于我们更好地完成自己的工作。如果我们的研发团队正在做内容部分,那我们业务人员就应该去了解客户的需求,这明显是最有益的局面。这种信息交流有利于整个公司的发展。 #6、糟糕的新成员入职过程 我们将新成员直接扔到深水区。让他们自己设置电脑,给一个让他们感到云里雾里的项目。没有一个系统的过程,让人感觉很零碎。 这样的入职培训过程让我想到了之前在 First Round Review 上看到的一个关于人力资源方面的笑话,其中说到“昨天是我们在招聘你,但是今天你要学会成为我们的员工。”我们现在所做的入职培训非常不理想,现在回想起过去只能付之一笑了。 随着 Jeneuse、Forrest 和 Harrison 加入我们团队,我们从上到下重新改善了新成员入职过程。它仍然不完美,但相比过去,新成员已经有了更好的入职体验,这还是值得庆幸的一件事。 #7、 没有为小成就而欢呼庆祝 任何一个组织结构,都绝不会在一夜之间突然由籍籍无名的状态直接摇身一变功勋加身。它不是二进制系统,而是随着时间的推移一点一点的递进成功的层级。以我最为一名创始人兼 CEO 的角度来看,我们公司现在是成功的,但这是一种中等普通程度的成功状态,我们还可以更加成功。话虽如此,这并不意味着对于我们现在取得的“小成就”、“小胜利”就无需庆祝。 对小成就进行庆祝并不意味着我们在这场博弈游戏中缺少远见和终极成功的欲望,并不能说明我们满足现状。相反,这恰恰是一种证明我们有上进势头的方式,庆祝是为了让整个团队都知道,都保持这种上进的势头。 #8 、应该增加团队坐在一起吃饭的机会 我们公司为团队成员提供午餐津贴,他们都是从 Seamless(美国的一家著名在线订餐公司)订购午餐。我注意到有越来越多的成员开始聚在公司用餐区一起享用午餐,我意识到提高团队成员坐在一起吃饭的频率是一件好事。随着公司发展,团队壮大,要继续做到这一点可能会面临一些挑战,但是至少在目前能做到的时候,让他们聚到一起用餐仍然是非常有价值的一件事。 #9、没有给其他人清楚的指示,想当然地以为他们自己会搞清楚 虽然我们一直自诩“足智多谋”,但这并不能成为我们说半拉子话的借口,不能一味地指望别人会自己“搞清楚”我们所下达的含糊不清的指令。让自己的指令尽量充实,讲清楚对于每一个人的要求很重要,因为这样会直接提高实践办事效率,最终加快整个公司的发展速度。 人力资源与招聘 #10 、不要盲目招聘聪明人 如果你的公司是像 Google 这样的大公司,面临很多的方方面面的问题,那招聘大量的聪明人是一个有效的策略。但是对于正处于成长阶段的初创企业来说,这一策略对我们并不适用。过去,我们聘请了许多非常聪明的人,但是当时心里对他们却并没有一个明确的角色定位,只是寄希望于顺其自然,希望随着公司发展,能自然而然搞清楚他们应该承担的角色。 我们没有一个组织结构,也没有时间来搞清楚这个问题,这对于他们也不公平。因为聪明人想要得是能够积极管理自己的事业,他们对于自己的职业发展目标也有很高的期望。我们试图在公司发展过程中来搞清楚他们的角色和定位,这一开始听上去可能会比较吸引人,让人感觉兴奋,但其实无论是对他们,还是对公司这招都不奏效。 #11、不要在重压下招聘 每次只要我有了“我们非常需要一个人担任这个职位”的感觉后,去抄近路,走捷径去聘用人员,填补一个职位空缺,那效果往往并不好。 #12 、未能当断则断 对于炒人鱿鱼的决定往往让我感觉很痛苦,时间一天一天的过去,情况不断恶化,我却仍然没有采取行动。除了浪费的时间之外,需要做的工作依然没有完成。在大公司中,一个 30 人规模的团队有那么几个不尽职的人可能无伤大雅。但是,在一个快速发展的科技初创企业中,这是让人无法接受的事情。所以,对于炒人鱿鱼这一类艰难的决定,必须当断则断,尽快实施,然后翻篇。 #13、对于招聘岗位预测度不够 对于人员需求提前的预测和准备不够。结果,招聘的动作总是太晚,这就意味着有些关键的岗位没有及时的安排、覆盖到位。 #14、动作太慢,痛失人才 有几位我曾经交谈过几次的求职者,我觉得他们具有改变领域游戏规则的潜质。但是我动作太慢,或者说被一些细节耽误,最终失去了招聘他们入职的良机。 #15、不要将新员工当作救星 过去,我往往会对新员工寄予很高的期望,相信他们进入公司,能够神奇地解决我们遇到的一些棘手的问题。问题就在于我的这种期望/希望往往是不现实的,所以结果也只能是以失望告终。所以现在,我尝试着调整自己对于新员工的期望,将其控制在合理的范围内。这样一来,有些时候,他们会让我感觉惊喜,他们的表现会让我惊叹,但我不会再将予新员工当作是救星般的人物。 #16 、 不要忽略求职人员的人品要素 个人工作技能会随着时间发生变化,但人品个性却很难改变。 #17、 忽略背景调查 过去有一段时间,对于求职员工我根本就不做背景调查,不去了解他们以前的工作背景。并且,我也不知道如何去了解。我只是机械的接受团队做出的决定,不过多地询问。但是现在,我已经改变了这一作风,我会在背景调查方面向他们提出一些尖锐的问题,去探究隐藏在表面之下的真相。通用规则—如果背景调查不够顺心,那不要向他发出 offer。 #18、 过早聘用远程工作人员 在真正弄清楚我们的工作流程和基本流程之前,我们就聘请了远程工作人员。这是一个很大的败笔。未来,我们可能会再次启用远程工作人员模式,但错误在于我们过早地进行了尝试。 #19、没有及时聘请客户成功经理 我们的产品一开始就有一个非常好的客户保持率,但是随着产品开发的进程加快,我们没有及时聘请客户成功经理去积极确保客户了解产品的新功能,从而确保他们成功地运用产品,这对于我们造成了一定的损失。认为客户会自己了解新功能根本就是不合理的期望,弄清楚我们产品对于他们的价值并不是客户的分内之事,这是我们的分内之事。 除此之外,客户成功经理在客户负面流失方面有着强大的影响力,推荐 Lincoln Murphy、Christoph Janz 和 Tomasz Tunguz 的文章供你参考。 价格 #20、错误地认为便宜的价格有助于取胜 在公司创立初期,我们试图在价格方面与竞争对手一较高下,现在回头去看,这根本就是一个错误的竞争策略。现在,我们的产品价格是以价值为依据,虽然现在的价格较最初相比上涨了十倍,但这样有助于我们专注于正确的客户类型,为他们提供正确的产品功能来满足他们的需求。 #21、 在价格方面“耍嘴皮子” 下图是我们公司早期版本价格页面的一个屏幕截图。听过“豪华轿车计划”吗?肯定没有听过。 我错误地认为会有人喜欢这个页面,然后会神奇地呈现出病毒式传播速度。哈,我真是愚蠢又搞笑。 销售与市场营销 #22、没有足够地关注销售 我们公司首先是一家技术和产品驱动的公司。如果一天中我能有额外一分钟的时间,那我通常都会将这一分钟用在产品方面。所以,我们在开始时投入了大量的时间进行产品方面的修补,而没有走出办公室,去销售 CB Insights。我在销售方面的迟缓动作对我们公司的利润产生了很大的影响,本来我们可以更早地开始赚更多的钱。 #23 、试图使用行话来显得高端、大气 以前,我似乎认为使用“最佳实践方案”或者是“系统效应”以及“社会化”这样的行业术语能让我们显得更加严肃,更高端大气上档次。但事实上,过多地使用行业术语与我们想要创建的品牌和形象并不相符。老实说,这些术语显得我们很机械化,很白痴,很无趣。 并且,这样会直接影响到我们的资讯订阅量。我们的资讯订阅量实现快速增长的一个原因就是,我们采用了更加日常对话式的措辞和语气,像普通人一样与人交谈。2013 年 2 月份,订阅用户达 1 万人次。到 2014 年 5 月份,订阅人数达到 27400,到 2014 年 12 月,用户人数已增长到 5 万多名。 当然,放弃使用行业术语并不是订阅量增长的唯一原因,也不是最主要的原因(我们的数据科学团队提供的数据驱动下的内容才是主要原因所在)。 #24、认为合伙伙伴关系可以解决分销问题 我错误地认为起初在销售方面的弱势可以通过创建合作伙伴关系来解决,以为他们能够为我们解决销售和营销问题。这些合伙交易耗费了我们一定的时间,但却并未奏效。如果连我们都不能售出自己的产品,那寄希望于别人简直就是愚蠢至极。 #25、在低质量销售线索上浪费时间 我们每天平均会收到 100-200 个试用注册申请。其中许多试用都来自我们的目标市场,过去我们曾浪费了大量的时间试图抓住每一个销售线索。现在想起来觉得可笑,但当初我们确实想要抓住每一个可能用户。但是创业初期,团队规模往往很小,这样做的后果就是在一些可能性极低的销售线索上浪费了时间,进一步导致对优质线索的忽视。 #26、试图提供一个能够讨好所有人的价格体系 七八年前,公司创立之初,我们曾试图提供两套价格体系,一套面向公共机构客户,另一套面向初创企业客户。我抗拒去挑选出一个市场,因为让客户“拥有选择权”看上去似乎是一个不错的注意。但我们很快便意识到,选择一个市场才能让我们更清楚地把控我们的信息内容和方法,帮助我们找到更精确的细分目标市场。 #27、与客户见面的次数远远不够 长期以来,我一直认为现场会议和面对面销售已经成为过去时代遗留下来的产物。但随着时间的推移,我所学到的一点是,通过现场会议和面对面销售,讲述我们公司发展的方向有助于我们获得一些宝贵的见解,从而对产品的提升方向了然于心,也有助于我们反思当下的不足之处。除此之外,这些形式也会为我们提供竞争性情报信息以及市场洞察力,并能为我们带来新业务。 有多种这样的互动方式存在。有时,可能是像我们之前在旧金山举办的那种晚餐,与十家企业的并购和策略客户一起用餐;有时,可能是客户来到我们的办公室,与我们的产品团队会面,强调他们希望看到我们产品哪些方面有更多或者更少的功能。通过这些与客户的会面,我们时不时地会看到一种普遍的趋势浮现出来,有助于我们了解应该优先关注哪些方面,考虑哪些因素。举例说明,RRE Ventures 公司负责人 Steve Schlafman 和 FirstMark Capital 创始人 Amish Jani 都曾来过我们的办公室,在谈话中,他们分别提到自己经常使用 CB Insights Chrome Plugin。实话实说,在插件方面我们并没有投入太多的精力,进行相应的改进,但他们的反馈让我们了解到,我们应该在插件方面投入更多,让其发挥出更大的价值。 #28、将失去看得太重 如果我们一周内签了 5 个新客户,但是流失了一个客户,我会将关注点放在丢失的这一个客户上。虽然,在 SaaS 公司发展过程中,客户流失是一个重要的杠杆,但我对流失的关注却会导致适得其反的效果。我应该将这些关注转化为与团队成员一起探讨的动力,想出在这种情况下我们可以做出的改善,然后将此事翻篇。我也应该庆祝我们一周新签的 5 名客户这一胜利,对于取得的胜利没有表现出兴奋对于整个团队来说是丢失了一次激励的机会。 #29、错误地对销售持有“销售型”角色认知 在创立 CB Insights 以前,我从来没做过销售方面的工作。起初,我以为销售有一定的套路和风格,要有类似“将冰卖给爱斯基摩人”这种将看似不可能的事情做成的精神。但这不是我的风格。我本质上是一个内向的人,如果要去做这种销售那可想而知肯定是一败涂地。但是,当我只是突出我对客户需求的理解,发出希望他们挑战自己,通过使用我们的产品来思考更好的办法这一呼吁后,我的销售成果却开始见效了。 #30 、在销售过程中没有向客户提出足够的问题 我并不是那种天生的销售人才,我也从来没有认真观察过一个优秀的销售人员都是怎么做的。所以,我的销售观就是我进行宣传介绍,客户买或不买就是他们的事了。这就意味着在销售过程中,一直是我在唠唠叨叨说个没完,介绍我们产品的一系列功能,忽略了客户端的诉求和感受。 这种全程由我介绍、机械式的销售方式效果并不好。 于是,我开始同那些做过销售的人取经,他们分享给了我很多宝贵的经验。其中最重要的一点就是要向客户提问问题,将整个销售过程变成一个对话或者交谈的形式。我开始向客户提问,发现这有助于我们了解客户的痛点问题,这样大大提高了会话质量,最终的销售结果也有所改善。 #31、后续产品功能演示跟进工作不到位 我会给出一个很棒的产品功能演示,但是后续不会适当地跟进,未能确保客户在试用过程中获取到了价值。但其实,这是实现次优成交率的一个好办法。 #32、没有开门见山,向客户发出销售请求 以前,我不愿意开门见山,向客户直接发出销售请求,因为我感觉这样会让人感觉不太舒服。但是,事实证明,我再次犯了一个愚蠢的错误。没有直接发出销售请求,就等于是拖延了最终的交易时间,也让我花费了太多时间在那些不可能转化成为真正客户群的人身上。能够快速获取客户一个否定的回答其实仅次于快速获取肯定回答这一情境。在客户身上拖延时间并不是一个好主意。 #33 、不要在潜在客户心中埋下怀疑的种子 不要向潜在客户提供可以让他们拒绝你的产品的理由。我曾经就做过这样的傻事。 以前我在 CB Insights 上展示 Investor Search 时,在展示结束之时,我会这样说: 这个搜索工具能够让你了解物联网领域所有活跃的投资者,但它并不能告诉你哪位投资者是最活跃的。 现在,我们在 CB Insights 已经提供了排名搜索功能,便于客户了解投资者活跃度。虽然在此之前,用户无法通过 CB Insights 了解这一信息,但其实我根本就没必要说上述那一番话。我们的 Investor Search 是一个很好的工具,我只需要向潜在客户展示只有 CB Insights 能够提供的功能即可。但我却告诉他们这一工具所做不到的事情,在一定程度上相当于是否定了这个工具。其实,这些潜在客户可能根本就不关心我所说的投资者活跃度排名查询这一功能,但我却亲手在他们心中埋下了一颗怀疑的种子,导致他们产生 “CB Insights 还有其他什么做不到的事情吧!”类似的质疑。 所以,根本就没有必要去说类似的话。潜在客户会主动向你提问,询问产品是否能够满足他们的需求。如果他们提出这样一个问题,我们应该诚实地回答“是”或者“否”,但是在此之前主动提供给客户可能让他们拒绝你的产品的理由实在是一个非常糟糕的销售策略。 #34、浪费时间试图找到新的客户获取渠道,而未能充分利用现有有效的渠道 我花了很多时间来思考新的客户获取渠道,却未能充分利用现有有效的渠道。我们发布的数据驱动研究内容缺乏一致性,我们的订阅节奏也是如此(虽然这样,但仍发挥出了有效作用)。这是由于我们对公司指标理解不够,总是急切地寻求下一个新事物。因此,也就导致我们在寻求新渠道方面浪费了大量的时间,而没有坚持内容至上的原则。 意识到这一点之后,我们快速进行了调整。 2014 年年底,我们的内容/数据科学团队已经有六员大将,2015 年,团队成员又扩展到了 10-12 人。 #35、应该更早地推出我们的 T 恤,并寄给客户 客户喜欢又酷又潮的范儿。我们的 T 恤很酷,又有个性,穿上之后俨然就是银行业中最酷的群体。 #36、在那些想与“CB Insights 进行整合”的人身上浪费时间 我们收到了大量的邮件,寄信人想将我们的数据整合到他们的产品之中,或者是对我们产品进行贴牌处理。其中,在这上面投入的时间中,98% 的时间都相当于是打了水漂。跟这些人打交道让我明白了,他们或者是没有钱,或者是压根不知道他们想要什么或者在做什么。 现在,我已经学会了快速分辨其中的价值信息,不在这上面浪费时间。 #37、对我们的技术过于自谦 这条可能听上去会让你感觉我在吹牛,但请听我解释: 无论多复杂的事情,都给人看起来很容易就做成的感觉,这种举重若轻的风格是我们一直引以为豪的一点。因为,我错误地以为客户只关心结果,不关心过程。但后来,我发现事实并非如此。因为,我发现许多企业将机器学习和大数据之类的流行语用于产品的宣传内容中,而客户也表现得十分兴奋。 所以,我意识到我们也需要做出一些改变。虽然没必要也加入流行术语的狂潮之中,但我们可以多谈论一下我们用来获取金融和收购数据的数据挖掘技术,或者是我们的内容营销服务背后的学问所在。 并且从另一方面来看,不强调我们自己的技术工作在公司人才招聘方面也有害而无益。 #38、应该更积极主动地与媒体接触进行宣传 关于我们公司的新闻报道着实不少,但其实在很早期的阶段,我们就看到了一些企业和投资者身上有趣的发展趋势,有着我们独到的见解。我们应该更早一些积极主动地与媒体接触,而不是坐等着他们上门拜访。 产品 #39、 错误地接受非客户人群(永远不可能成为客户的人群)的意见 并不是所有的反馈信息都值得我们一视同仁的去对待。现有客户人群以及高潜力客户人群的反馈拥有很高的价值。与我们提供业务相似的同行企业家的意见也同样值得我们重视。除此之外,听取其他人群的意见通常是浪费时间之举。 我认为马克库班(Mark Cuban)说过的一句话用在这里正合适: 永远不要听那些不需要承担后果的人给出的建议。 #40、盲目追随新潮流 追逐盛极一时的新事物往往是在浪费时间。还记得曾经备受追捧的游戏化吗?我曾以为这就是人们想要的,于是我们也在这上面做了相应的投入,事实证明是我错了。 初创企业更多的是死于消化不良,而非饥饿。有许多时候我都会被一些新的机遇所吸引,但这些新事物通常并没有什么价值,或者是势头太小,根本兴不起什么波澜。也许当我们公司规模壮大的时候,我们可以一一关注,不放走任何一个机遇。但如果你的团队,只有十人、十五人或者是二十五人,我们就需要有所侧重,而不应该一视同仁。 #41、应该尽早推出一个“不那么精致”的产品版本 我一向很抗拒负面反馈,于是,在本应该发布产品的时候,我们却又投入了大量的时间,对产品的一些关键功能进行打磨。正如著名的天使投资人雷德·霍夫曼所说的那样: 如果你的首版产品完全没有让你感到尴尬,那你肯定是发布的太晚了。 #42、过于关注竞争对手 在过去几年的时间里,有大大小小的几家公司进入我们的业务领域。相比较而言,他们的资金更充裕,曝光机会也更多。我曾经十分关注他们的一举一动,但随着时间的流逝,他们却一家家的消失了。我也因此意识到,我对这些初创企业的“迷恋”纯粹是自我意识在作祟。 金钱买不来执行力。我们企业能走到现在,是由于我们将客户利益放在首位,而客户才是掏钱买我们产品的人。我经常忘记我们拥有的这个制胜法宝,真是愚蠢。 #43、被竞争对手牵着鼻子走,忽略了客户的诉求 以前我过度关注竞争对手的一举一动,也会不由自主的产生“我们也应该这样做”的想法。但事实上,我们也这样做的效果往往很差。在这方面我总结出了两点: 1) 如果我们被竞争对手牵着鼻子走,忽略了客户的需求,效果往往并不好。是客户付钱给我们。我需要做的是倾听他们的诉求,其他人的意见就无关紧要了。 2) 相比竞争对手来说,我们的团队对于市场走向有着更为准确的把控。我们应该相信我们的直觉。 管理与基础设施 #44、长期在环境恶劣的办公室办公 我们最开始是在一间 125 平方英尺的办公室办公,我这人有一点很奇怪,就是很喜欢过紧衣缩食的生活,但在办公室方面我做的确实太过分了。 在我们最近更换办公场所之前,我们之前的办公场所,面积 900 平方英尺(约 80 平方米),却一度塞满了 18 名员工。到午餐时间,光是那个饭味夹杂在一起,就足以让人崩溃。这样狭小的空间,团队与团队之间要各自协作根本就是不可能的事,更不用说新员工初来乍到,看到这种场景会作何感想了。 #45 、没有及早地将工资结算、支付等财务工作外包出去 很长一段时间以来,我都是自己操作工资结算、税务扣缴以及申报等工作,不得不说,这让人感觉十分痛苦。后来,我们将这些工作交给了 ZenPayroll,他们干的相当不错。 #46、没有决绝地让糟糕的咨询顾问走人 听上去很简单,但做起来往往很难。无论是哪一类顾问(法律、财务或者公关等),合作过一段时间之后,通常都对你的公司已经非常熟悉了,所以之后要想换人,再交给一个新顾问去处理,听上去让人感觉十分犯怵。 事实也确实是这样。 但随着时间的推移,我也意识到,与其拖拖拉拉,留着这名表现糟糕的老顾问,倒不如快刀斩乱麻,迎面挑战这种迟早要到来的痛苦的换人过渡期。因为相比短暂的痛苦过渡期来说,留着这名顾问会让你更加头大。 其他 #47 、不注重穿着打扮 在过去很长一段时间里,我真的是只有一件西装。所以,在有些必须要正装出席或者要在媒体面前露面的场合,我都是穿这一件衣服。这其实是很荒谬的一件事情。现在,我已经多添置了几套西装,并且在穿着打扮方面也会更加注重得体。 #48 、购买客户的产品 我曾经这样做过几次,因为我认为对于支持我们业务的客户,我们也应该给予他们支持。这样做大多数情况下效果也不错,但一旦出现了差错,事情就会变得麻烦起来。所以,在决定是否要购买他们的产品时,我应该基于客观事实,将他们看作是纯粹的供应方来看待,而不应该考虑到他是我们的客户,掺杂个人主观情绪,错误地认为由于我们之前的供需关系存在,他们就肯定会是很棒的供应商。 #49、直接与朋友做买卖 我有一些朋友恰好也是我们产品的目标客户人群,我也错误地直接与他们展开了产品销售活动。但是,我也发现对于我的这些朋友,如果是由我们团队的其他人与他们直接进行这个对接,效果会很好,剔除个人情谊因素,更加关注于产品本身,对他们、对我们都是更为明智的选择。 #50 、理会网络喷子 与网络喷子对骂可能会让人感觉出一口气,但我想说,根本没必要同他们斗气。时刻谨记这样一句话: 我早就知道,不要和猪一般见识,你只会惹一身泥垢,而且猪就是喜欢你跟他一般见识。 #51 、创业初期,公司名字不太惹人爱 我们公司最初的名字是 ChubbyBrain,有着这样一个名字,高盛可能不会成为我们的客户。如果还有什么更糟的,那就是我们为 ChubbyBrain 设计的标志了。 #52 、在“交际”上浪费时间 我时不时就会收到邀请我一起喝个咖啡的电子邮件。在美其名曰的“交际”上,我浪费了大量的时间。现在,对于这些会面我都会强迫自己去衡量议程和目的因素,这样来确定是否有必要的理由去赴约。虽然这样做可能会与一些“偶然机会”擦肩而过,但是我发现与那些有明确理由邀请你赴约的人会谈,成效会更加显著。 #53、采用单向确认邮件列表方式 单向确认用户只需要提交注册表单,不管激活还是未激活,都会进入营销列表。我很快就意思到这种方式的弊端所在,现在我只接受双向确认方式,只有用户点击激活邮件的链接,才能进入营销列表。 #54、 与风险投资人的会面未能全力以赴 有一些风险投资人会打电话给我,邀请面谈一下,看是否有他们能帮上忙的地方。我觉得绝对不能拒绝这些潜在金主的邀约,但问题在于当时公司并不需要融资,我去赴约后的表现也缺少积极性,就像一个毫无准备的考生站到了考官面前。结果自然也是,一头雾水的我未能良好地呈现出 CB Insights 和我们团队的面貌。 所以,无论你与风投人的会面是多么的不正式,你都要需要认真严肃的对待。否则,你就不该与他们见这次面,见面也是在浪费双方的时间。 【编译组出品】编辑:杨志芳 36氪 APP 下载 广告 本文来自翻译:medium.com,如若转载,请注明出处:http://36kr.com/p/5081195.html
    CB Insights
    2017年06月28日