Segment the Market

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Market segmentation divides your target market into logical groups based on needs, location, or other factors.

The purpose of market segmentation is to identify the most profitable customer segment to pursue.

This becomes your ideal customer profile.

Segmentation also lets you customize your product for the customer based on their needs.

Market segmentation can be based on psychographic factors such as activities, interests, beliefs, and opinions.

Luxury brands use these factors to find customers who aspire to a higher lifestyle.

Demographic factors can be used.

Banks target customers based on their income, education, and marital status.

Behavioral factors can be used.

Online consumer sites look for buying patterns, brand loyalty, and location of purchase.

Finally, geographical factors can be used.

Those selling outdoor lawn equipment will segment based on geography, climate, and size of city.

Consider these factors in segmenting your market to find the ideal customer profile.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Identify the Ideal Customer Profile

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In researching a market it’s important to identify the ideal customer profile.

The ideal customer is the one who is best suited to buy your product or service.

A startup should focus on finding and selling to ideal customers instead of selling to anyone.

Here are the steps to identify your ideal customer profile:

Review your customers to identify the characteristics of the best ones.

List out their characteristics including:

What problem are they solving?

What size budget do they have to solve the problem?

What else do they bring such as education, experience, or training?

What position do they hold in their company?

Interview ideal customer candidates for the following:

What do they read?

Where do they hang out?

What are their overall goals?

What attracts them to events, content, or networks?

What do they not want?

What networks do they join?

What other activities do they engage in?

Combine the answers into an ideal customer profile that you can use for your sales and marketing activities.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Size the Market

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Sizing the market is a key step in researching an industry.

Follow these steps to size the market for your startup.

Define the total available market which is anyone you can sell your product to.

Next, define the total serviceable market which is the segment of the market you can reach.

Then define the total serviceable obtainable market which is the portion of that market you can win.

With this information, you can calculate your market volume which is the number of transactions you can generate.

First, calculate the penetration rate which is the number of customers divided by the market size times 100.

For example, if you sell to grocery stores in a state, then your penetration rate is the number of stores you currently sell divided by the total number of stores in the state times 100.

Now calculate market value which is found by multiplying the average sale per grocery store by the number of stores you have.

If you sold $20K per year to a store and you are in 100 stores, then your market value is $2M.

Finally, segment your market into logical groupings.

In our example, we could divide the stores by geography and treat the stores in each direction such as north, south, east, and west as a separate segment.

Use these steps to calculate your market size, volume, and value.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Analyze Industry Trends

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

When conducting market research for your startup, it's crucial to differentiate between primary and secondary research.

Primary research involves gathering data directly from individuals, which provides firsthand insights into customer experiences and needs.

It helps you understand the target audience through methods such as interviews, focus groups, surveys, and observation.

Secondary research relies on existing studies and reports, enabling you to quickly gather industry information.

It allows you to analyze trends, benchmark competitors, and identify gaps that your startup could address.

Here are some key steps for conducting your market research:

Start with primary research by interviewing potential customers to gather their insights.

Conduct focus groups to obtain deeper opinions on your product concepts.

Utilize surveys to quantify customer preferences and behaviors.

Complement this with secondary research by reviewing industry analyst reports and studies relevant to your market segment.

Analyze the combined data to identify key trends, challenges, and opportunities that inform your business strategy.

Once you've gathered and analyzed the information, develop a dual approach using both primary and secondary research to refine your product and go-to-market strategy.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Merom Klein and Louise (Yochee) Klein, co-founders of Courage Growth Partners. Located in San Francisco, California, Courage Growth Partners specializes in helping startups cultivate a strong company culture to drive adoption and success. They work closely with emerging companies to develop techniques that enhance the pitching process and improve communication with investors. Their insights on organizational culture aim to create environments where innovation can thrive and align interests among all stakeholders.

Merom Klein is a business psychologist and leadership expert with extensive experience guiding startups in effective leadership and innovation practices. His partner, Louise Klein, brings expertise in strategic partnerships and organizational development, enriching their approach to supporting startups in navigating the complexities of early-stage growth. Together, they focus on building cultures that foster collaboration, engagement, and shared goals among teams, allowing startups to approach their pitches with authenticity and confidence.

In this episode, Merom and Louise share valuable perspectives on the importance of nurturing a strong enterprise culture from the very beginning of a startup's journey. They emphasize that as soon as a few individuals come together, a company culture begins to form—and being intentional about it can lead to significant advantages down the line. Among the highlights discussed are the five key strengths of a healthy culture that can resonate positively with investors, the need for a "win-win-win" mindset, and the concept of cultivating work as a service to enhance employee engagement and performance.

Visit Courage Growth Partners at www.couragegrowthpartners.com, LinkedIn, and on Twitter. Reach out to them at www.linkedin.com/company/courage-growth-partners and on Twitter.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Identifying Competitors Through Market Research

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In researching a market segment for launching a startup, identifying competitors is a key component of the work.

Competitors tell you a great deal about the customers, challenges, and composition of the market.

To find the competitors approach the market as a prospective customer and search for solutions online.

This includes searching both the web and social media for a solution to one of the problems you’ve identified in the market.

Capture the results in a competitor map.

In reviewing competitors look for their positioning in the market.

Are they trying to be a differentiated solution or the lowest cost?

This will help define the careabouts of the market.

Map out the value chain of the market and notice where customers and competitors sit.

In a value chain, there are often multiple customers one could pursue.

Look where the competitors are clustered and where they are not.

Check the competition's business model by how they make money.

Examine the amount of money each type of customer has to spend.

Compare the competitor map with the value chain map to see where opportunities may lie.

Look for open spaces that no competitors are directly targeting.

Capture the results in a value chain and competitor map.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Questions To Use in Market Research

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In researching a market use these questions to find out more:

Who are these people in the market?

Where can you find them?

What are their challenges?

What do they aspire to achieve?

What do they read?

What do they buy?

Who are their thought leaders?

Use these questions to find out more about their customers:

What dollar level do they deal in?

How do you reach them as customers?

How do the transactions flow?

Would you like them as your customers?

What do the customers complain about?

Use these questions to find out more about their competitors:

Who are the primary competitors?

What do they offer and what is their value proposition?

Use these questions to map out a potential solution for your target market.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Perform Secondary Research

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Secondary research provides additional information about a market.

Typically the information is free and accessible online.

This includes web searches, market reports, and industry news.

This research is easier to perform since you don’t have to reach out to people for interviews or surveys.

It helps define overarching trends which may not be clear from customer interviews.

It can inform your market research plan and help define what primary research may be needed.

Here are some key steps to perform secondary research:

Start with online searches using keywords around your product, industry, or problem to be solved.

Capture key documents available such as market reports, industry studies, and articles discussing the problem.

Build a list of competitors and research each one to learn more about their offering.

Capture the results into a competitor map.

Compare the information from multiple sources to gain a better understanding of the space.

Analyze the data and draw conclusions from it such as current challenges the customer faces, and trends showing where the industry is headed.

Make sure to verify the sources of the secondary data.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.