In August, Startup50 and Sierra Ventures teamed up to issue a new challenge to startups, one that would help them navigate rapidly changing market conditions. We asked startups to develop a plan to win over enterprise customers in a tough market. The Customer Challenge started with 53 startups. They entered the challenge by completing an…
More than 50 startups competed to earn a shot to pitch enterprise technology buyers from Sierra Ventures CXO Advisory Board. We announced the finalists in a live webinar that was plagued with technical issues. However, Jeff has narrated the slide deck, using AirDeck, the platform partner for this challenge. You can view the presentation and…
The Challenge: How to land enterprise customers in a tough economy Overview: Winning new customers in a recession is a major challenge for any IT company, especially as enterprises cut spending and look to consolidate vendors. Startups, in particular, face an uphill battle landing their first customers, gaining reference customers, and then expanding their customer…
Last week, we showcased four startups that aced the first Big50-2020 challenge, Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic. This week, we’re featuring five newcomers to the competition, startups competing for the first time but which offered plenty of actionable information about how to weather a major market-disrupting crisis. As challenge 1 winners, these startups have earned 10…
The first Big50-2020 Challenge is complete. We asked startups to tell us how the are navigating the CV-19 pandemic, and we had a flood of strong entries. Today, we’re announcing four winners in the alumni category. These startups have all participated in previous Big50 competitions, and/or they have been featured in Jeff’s startup roundups for…
Big50-2020 startup competitors, here is your first challenge: Navigating the Global Pandemic To participate, complete the short survey below, which should take 5-10 minutes to complete, and I’ll pick 2 winners to feature in upcoming stories on Startup50. I’ll pick one winner at random and one based on your answers to the open-ended questions (there…
The Big50-2020 Startup Competition is now open! Tech startups founded in 2011 or later are eligible for this year’s Big50 Startup Competition, but your organization must be an actual startup to compete. In other words, spin-outs, subsidiaries, and cool ideas with no funding and no customers. . . are not really startups, at least as…
Tech startups founded in 2011 or later are eligible for this year’s Big50 Startup Competition, but your organization must be an actual startup to compete. In other words, spin-outs, subsidiaries, and cool ideas with no funding and no customers. . . are not really startups, at least as far as this competition is concerned. If…
Nominate your startup for my Network World “Hot Startups to Watch” story! If you work for, represent, or have invested in a Network Automation startup that hopes to streamline enterprise and/or cloud datacenters, please nominate them through the link below. . . but first, be sure to read through our requirements to be sure that your startup…
I have a unique coverage opportunity for startups, VCs, and other investors. I’m working on a couple of stories for IDG Insider Pro. The first story will look back on the important startup and datacenter trends of 2019, while the second will look ahead to the startup, investment and tech trends that will influence the…