I think you should first really step back and ask if you need that role filled. Are your sales growing? Are they growing as quickly as you'd like? Do you think someone could push that needle? I've worked at companies with strong focus on sales and some where there were no sales people at all. It...
Do you have any internal sales professionals? You should at LEAST have an internal sales director who sets the strategy for a sales force. Then you determine if the proper path is a contracted sales force. I've known companies that have used outside sales teams however NONE that have seen the typ...
I'd suggest forgetting about trends, and instead focusing on finding problems that lots of people will pay you to solve for them. Here are some ways to get started: (a) Have a clear idea of the few areas where you may have a view of what lies just beyond the edge (technology evolution, market ...
If you want long term evangelists you're going to have to think outside of the relationship between your product and the customer and focus specifically on the customer. Identify the influencers who are already engaging your brand through social media channels and see what you can learn about t...
AngelList is your best bet. Since you're asking the question, chances are you don't have a way to get introduced to these investors. The simple truth (like it or not) is the chances very low that you'll get a deal done without an introduction from someone they trust. AngelList can help with th...
The viral strategy needs to be a natural extension to the app that requires SMS - not sure you want to just use it for the sake of it being viral (seems forced). A perfect example of this is the Twist app. The app tells someone you are meeting with when you will arrive. When you set up a twist ...
Typically open-source projects that end up generating a profit have an active product that's already being used. So step 1. Is to open source it and see if anyone uses it - then you can make money in a bunch of ways. Checkout Wordpress, MySQL, Linux for examples - but typically it's providing p...
One option is to provide dedicated support while letting the code be open. There are plenty of businesses that run on open, freely available architecture, and they make all their money by selling a "Pro" plan that allows people the security of being able to pick up the phone and ask a question. H...
Not sure about order management, but you should check out seopanel.in - it's a free, open source SEO management dashboard that you can setup on your own hosting. It's not very user-friendly, need to get used to it but it does track everything nicely. Depending on how you want to manage your ord...
Backwards. I'd make sure that person didn't stay in the company. "One dirty fish muddies the whole pond" It's not personal or malicious - they're just not the right fit. A great skill set, while very important is always secondary to cultural fit if you really want your company to flourish.