May 01 2009
In our consulting practice, we define a company’s market traction by its ability to get paying customers who love their product and recommend it to others. Arriving at this place means a company has done a lot of things right: They’ve defined their target market clearly and identified their ideal customer, thus providing a focal [...]
Jan 23 2009
The majority of new products fail. Statistics on the exact percentage that fail may be a matter of some debate. Still, most product innovators and academics would agree that more than half of new products fail to meet their financial goals in the marketplace. Why? EcoStrategy Group has compiled a list of the top 10 [...]
Aug 27 2008
Most companies struggle with responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP). First comes, “Should we respond to this?” and then, “OMG, what did we get ourselves into?” Whether your company is a cleantech business or not, you’re likely to find yourself in the position of determining your response strategy. We’ll talk about how and why [...]
Apr 11 2008
The Clean Tech Open launched its California competition this week, in the fabulous Rotunda of the new San Jose City Hall. San Jose is the hosting city, and Mayor Chuck Reed was on hand to kick off the event. He threw a challenge to the assembled group of entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders. “Bring us [...]
Dec 06 2007
Now we really get into the “art vs science” —but don’t believe this for a minute. Forecasting is one area where math applied does give you some real data to match against the revenue plan. First, put a scoring system in place so that every possible deal has an objective frame. Match it to your [...]
Nov 20 2007
At last week’s Cleantech Crossroads* event in San Francisco, architects were well-represented among the attendees. It’s clear that architects play a pivotal role in green building. They do something every day that most businesses, institutions and individuals may undertake only once a decade. Because architects design large and complex building projects that have long-lasting effects [...]
Oct 29 2007
In August and September of this year, full-page ads appeared in my town’s local newspaper, the Los Altos Town Crier. “Brilliant!” I thought, after glancing through the ad. The headline was targeted specifically at Los Altos and Los Altos Hills residents and contained a simple call to action: “Act Now and Save 15-20% on a [...]