Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Email readers, continue here…] Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally-generated funds. Strategic partner” investors: If you can find a strategic partner willing to invest in your enterprise, consider it a blessing.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

There are dozens of sources to help you construct your business model, and a good example is a classic book by venture capital investor Elizabeth Edwards, simply named “ Startup ,” which is really designed as a handbook for launching a company for less. Test your projections against actual published reports from similar companies.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

The speaks to the continued confidence in the venture capital markets and as I had predicted some time ago the VC markets right now are a great place to invest – especially relative to other places to put one’s money. Our last fund we raised was in 2012 and we began investing it in April of 2012. But that’s it.

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Berkonomics

APRIL 14, 2012

There is a natural fear of giving too much information to investors after the initial investment is received. First, let’s cover the absolute minimum legal requirement a company has to provide to its investors. Of course, a public company is not entitled to pare its information to reduce exposure to competitors.

Class 202

Class Report Competition .Net 202

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

Smart entrepreneurs are now starting to look at this option again, as well as the challenges of running a public company. Last year was quite a year for IPOs, largely influenced by the significant rise in the number of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) who went public, despite almost uniformly negative returns.

Startup 98

Startup Report IBM IBM 98

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. If you don’t, somebody else WILL!”

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” This time I’ll use a hypothetical health-care web site company named NewCo as an example to illustrate the points. This one doesn’t help NewCo just yet.

Startup 108

Startup Invest Patents Outsource Development 108

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

To refresh your memory, angel investors are typically high net worth individuals, accredited by the SEC and willing to invest their own money in a high-potential startup for a share of the ownership. For very competitive environments and disruptive products, you may want to limit your visibility before a high-profile rollout.

Funding 119

Funding Startup Platform Examples 119

InfoChachkie

MARCH 16, 2010

However, in many cases, acquiring companies behave in a less rational manner than Mr. Jackson. Citrix politely approached us, told us they had an interest in acquiring our company and then asked us, “How much?”. Our response was that there was no “price” as our company was not for sale. We were not rude nor indignant.

Company 160

Company Companies Pricing Santa Barbara 160

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

This statement leaves no confusion in the minds of investors, or customers, of what the company does and how it is different (and better) than the competition. Ideally the solution embodies intellectual property that you own, giving you a sustainable competitive advantage. Value is perceived only in the eyes of the customer.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

In my experience, finding real innovation in existing company environments is even tougher. Creating intellectual property, including patents, is the key to long-term value and a sustainable competitive advantage. They benchmark their ideas against competition, use metrics to track acceptance, sales growth, and return on investment.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

He did note that in the four markets where the company has gone live since launching its business in January 2019 — San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire , and Sacramento — has yielded an annualized revenue run rate of over $400 million in gross merchandise value (the total value of home sales transacted on its platform).

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2012

Sara focuses upon another side of small business financing not typically considered in the angel and venture world, financing from sources for companies that will probably never be attractive to those niches. . Here’s the new truth: It is rare to get anyone to invest in an idea these days. Your business plan is ready.

Funding 192

Funding Entrepreneur Startup Invest 192

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2019

Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Today around 90 percent of successful startups are still acquired by bigger companies, as the safer and preferred method of growth and funding. Increased liability risk exposure.

Startup 84

Startup Technical Review Report IBM 84

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

I was happy to see quantified evidence of this in a new book, “ Winning on Purpose ,” by Fred Reichhheld, creator of the Net Promoter system of management, in concert with Darci Darnell and Maureen Burns. A popular set of metrics for customer views is the New Promoter System ( NPS ), available from Bain & Company.

Customer 114

Customer Custom Satisfaction Metrics 114

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

While there is much discussion about VCs starting to pull back on their investments into startups, the LPs we surveyed don’t expect to slow the pace of investment into VC funds themselves – at least for the foreseeable future. The Biggest Area of Concern is Late Stage Investments.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2010

Email readers continue here.]. Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally-generated funds. Better yet, the valuation of your enterprise is often higher than if the same investment were taken from a professional investor.

Venture Capital 174

Venture Capital Invest Class Entrepreneur 174

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2014

Twitter showed no focus on revenue in the first five years, but was able to parlay 500 million users into a $22 billion public company, now growing revenue. Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings rather than fighting for another investment infusion.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Organization Invest Customer 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. Selling at smaller retailers will net you fewer customers and higher margins.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2016

Twitter showed no focus on revenue in the first five years, but was able to parlay 500M users into a $22B public company, now growing revenue. Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion.

Startup 58

Startup Organization Invest Customer 58

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2010

In business, one important measure is the value of the company. That’s because a company’s value is a composite of all of the quantitative and qualitative factors that comprise a company: revenues, expenses, risks, growth prospects, quality of the management team, competitive advantages, strength of the intellectual property, and so forth.

.Net 89

.Net Metrics Competition Template 89

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Today around 90 percent of successful startups are still acquired by bigger companies, as the safer and preferred method of growth and funding. Increased liability risk exposure.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Report Entrepreneur 87

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

This latest round valued the company in excess of a billion dollars, entering them into the overly-hyped Unicorn Club. In the startup world, the former happens when a VC makes a bad investment, and the latter occurs when they miss a great opportunity. Yet most VC's bury their failures under six feet of denial. Unicornless.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

Additionally, independent organizations, such as Pitchbook, compile annual lists of the number of VC-backed companies launched at US Universities. Thus, cast your research net beyond VC-backed companies to fully understand a school’s ability to foster viable businesses. Are funds available to invest in student businesses?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Class Patents 100

InfoChachkie

JULY 11, 2011

The nature of the company’s business model requires it to fund certain costs before it is paid by its customers. Thus, even though the company is cash flow positive, its growth is constrained by the amount of payables it can fund. As with most negotiations, competition is the only way you will obtain an optimal result.

Equity 235

Equity Startup Invest Funding 235

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

People are even talking about “decacorns" -- investable companies with net worth now exceeding $10 billion -- like Dropbox and Pinterest. Seed-round investment. This term refers to an initial venture-capital investment, often wrongly sought to seed early product development. Could your startup be the next one?

Startup 57

Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 21, 2014

The Bitcoinference served as day 1 of 2 for 500 Startups’ “Commercism” series, with an official agenda that covered industry happenings, social dynamics, and a look into the investment environment. What is it Like to Raise Money for Bitcoin Companies? Getting Things Started. Bitcoin, litecoin, maybe doge.

Startup 104

Startup Venture Capital Draper Invest 104

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Smart entrepreneurs now avoid this option like the plague, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Today 70 percent of successful startups are still acquired by bigger companies, as the safer and preferred method of growth and funding. Public companies are always at risk for takeovers.

Startup 98

Startup Technical Review Report Entrepreneur 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2012

There are dozens of sources to help you construct your business model, and a good example is a recent book by venture capital investor Elizabeth Edwards, simply named “ Startup ,” which is really designed as a handbook for launching a company for less. Test your projections against actual published reports from similar companies.

Sales 97

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 97

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is at an all-time low, and most entrepreneurs avoid this option like the plague, knowing the process is painful, and public company executives are seen as greedy sharks. Public companies of any size must comply immediately with the full reporting requirements of the SEC.

Startup 97

Startup Report Entrepreneur Statistics 97

socalTECH

JUNE 25, 2009

Cliff Rees: We're a software as a solutions company. One of the other things we do very well, and where we have engineering expertise, is we provide one-off, interactive IVR solutions for media companies in the Los Angeles Area. Los Angeles-based XCast Labs (www.xcastlabs.com) announced earlier this month that it has raised a $2.7M

IP 165

IP Pasadena Angels Pasadena Los Angeles 165

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2011

There are dozens of sources to help you construct your business model, and a good example is a recent book by venture capital investor Elizabeth Edwards, simply named “ Startup ,” which is really designed as a handbook for launching a company for less. Test your projections against actual published reports from similar companies.

Sales 98

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 98

socalTECH

JULY 13, 2009

Mark has also been quite active mentoring entrepreneurs, We caught up with Mark to hear about what kinds of investments GRP is looking at nowadays, his view on the software-as-a-service market, and how best to approach him with a pitch. We invested in Overture, which was sold for $1.2

GRP Partners 157

GRP Partners Southern California Santa Barbara Rustic Canyon 157

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Men have dominated the world of investment. There were only 22% women who invested in 2012. Natalia Oberti Noguera is on a mission to help change the demographic of investment with her Pipeline Fellowship. TechZulu speaks with Natalia about Pipeline Foundation and her goals to change the face of business and investment.

Mentor 84

Mentor Invest Entrepreneur Startup 84

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2015

People seem polarized between, “that’s what it takes to succeed” to “I can’t believe what a heartless, intolerant and misogynistic company culture they’ve built.” Think your favorite company Apple is a cake walk? So where do I finally net out? You travel at the pleasure of your boss.

Startup 150

Startup Demand Organization Social Network 150

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

Working with professional athletes combined with my natural leadership ability and experience in business development makes me uniquely suited to lead a technology company in the health and fitness industry. Any competition in LA? We haven’t identified any competition in LA, specifically. Athletes can join for free.

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92