socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

Despite the increase in startup activity in Southern California, local venture capital funds are still few and far between, and a large chunk of the funding here is still from Sand Hill Road. Our 2008 fund is also performing incredibly strong. Being so open, when entrepreneurs think about capital, we want to be top of mind.

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

He eventually applied his lessons learned in these experiences when he founded Zag, a company that helps consumers buy cars over the Internet at pre-negotiated prices with nearly 4,000 dealers across the country [disclosure: my firm GRP Partners is an investor in Zag]. led by Altos Ventures and Maverick Capital, with Larry Braitman.

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 24, 2012

When I couldn’t talk David into doing early-stage deals back in 2008/09, I hooked up with the guy who seemed to be working with the largest number of high-quality LA startups I had encountered – Dave Young – and started working with him and Nicholas Hobbs of DLA Piper. There’s more!

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Startup Los Angeles GRP Partners 299

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I guess that makes USV, Spark Capital, Foundry Group, Accel, Benchmark, Revolution (along with several others) pretty happy right now. source: Capital IQ. source: Capital IQ. I said, “It’s much easier now than it was in 2008/09.&# Still, market amnesia by ordinarily rational actors always surprises me.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

I recently read the book eBoys about the founding of Benchmark Capital and the founding of eBay. Partners in VC funds only wanted to fund entrepreneurs who had a certain percentage of their net worth tied up in their venture. I run the recruiting process for my VC firm, GRP Partners. They finally quit. It was May.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital CTO Hire 293

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded in August 2008 in Palo Alto, CA, by Sam Christiansen and Keith Lee. When the show has been processed it will be available here (estimated 8pm PDT). Go Boulder!

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. For example, my firm, GRP Partners, has a $200 million fund that was closed in March 2009 and we have 4 investment partners. A round investor implies they are the “first institutional money in the deal.&# GRP Partners is stage agnostic.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

So as of 2008 total LP commitments were still at nearly $250 billion. side note: our last fund at GRP Partners is currently ranked as the 5th best performing fund of the year 2000. Our current fund was raised in 2008/09.] So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems. The top quartile funds have performed well.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. The Yin and Yang of Product and Engineering - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 22, 2010 For a tech company, product and engineering are the heart and soul of the business. Tesla is not.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 18, 2009

But then I got a call from my lead investor (coincidentally it was GRP Partners where I now am a partner) and they told me not to lose confidence. We commited to getting by on much less capital than was planned. Ask any entrepreneur who has been through the recent washout that began in September 2008.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Startup GRP Partners Venture Capital 298

SoCal Delicious

AUGUST 23, 2010

Southern California companies are second to only Silicon Valley in raising venture capital , there are three major universities to recruit talent – UCLA, Caltech, and USC – and a thriving startup community to mingle with. As of June 2008 Jason is now CEO and Founder of Mahalo, Inc. , He blogs here and tweets here.

Guide 42

Guide Startup Mahalo GRP Partners 42

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Understanding Venture Capital. I recently wrote a blog post on understanding how the size and age of a venture capital fund might affect you when you’re raising money. First Round Capital meets Chris’s definition of a “big fund&# and they do seed and A round investments.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Invest 265

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

We brought together Peter Cowen of Groundwork Equity , Mark Suster of GRP Partners , Rick Smith of Crosscut Ventures , and Richard Yen of Saban Ventures -- all of who will be on the judging panel for the Tech Coast Angel's Fast Pitch on February 24th, to give us a their hints and tips about pitching to venture capitalists.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Ideas Entrepreneur Invest 100