Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. I said both in the article but felt compelled to provide a statement up front for the skimmers.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2013

I miss blogging because it serves as a great repository for me of my current thinking, as a way of organizing my thoughts and clarifying what I think and as a conversation started with so many of you (as Hunter Walk elegantly said, “Blog not to show how smart you are, but in the hope of soliciting feedback from smart people.

Writing 313

Writing Venture Capital Blogging Startup 313

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

That’s how it felt then and a bit how it feels in May 2011. This is a theme that comes up in one the most influential business books for me of the past decade, The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb where he talks about the role that luck plays in business success. If you’re a tech startup person I know you know what I mean.

Startup 391

Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

I myself coined the term ENIFA (everyone now is a f **g angel) in 2011 but it didn’t stick as well as the term Unicorn did. I love how open Danielle has been throughout the development of her startup Mattermark including honest reflections of when she has changed her opinion. I agree up to a point. Hua of Apptimize.

Angel 150

Angel Startup Seed Funding Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

Paul Kedrosky made the case for “naive optimism&# being an important part of startup success. This is where VC comes in and why it’s needed in the industry no matter how much populist sentiment exists against the VC industry. got picked up early without raising a lot of VC. So where are we now?

Invest 284

Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 284

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

I recently sat down with Matt Coffin , the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.&#. Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet. Or read the quick, informative summary below the image!

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

I attempted to do a fair balance job of an increasingly important service – AngelList – started by a friend of mine – Nivi with the feelings of a colleague who I respect – Bryce – who has opted out of the service. This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. So why I am writing it then?

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 25, 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011 -- startupSD: Mark Suster from Both Sides of the Table. Mark Suster is a 2x entrepreneur who has gone to the Dark Side of VC. Mark is a UCSD graduate and writes one of the best startup blogs on the Internet. Mark is a UCSD graduate and writes one of the best startup blogs on the Internet.

GRP Partners 100

GRP Partners UCSD SoCal Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Paul Kedrosky made the case for “naive optimism&# being an important part of startup success. This is where VC comes in and why it’s needed in the industry no matter how much populist sentiment exists agains the industry. In the latter case many companies (Flickr, Delicious, Blogger, Writely, etc.)

Invest 152

Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 152

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. The three largest webmail services had over 1 billion global users at the end of 2011. But let me start with some data. Much more data in the full post. 94% of all online adults use email.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

Serial entrepreneur, venture investor and startup accelerator pioneer Brad Feld has notoriously mocked traditional marketing throughout his career. For a long time, I had a line which was, ‘Whenever I hear the word marketing, it makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth.’”. Write Your Own Playbook.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

As a fourteen-year veteran of the venture industry I have often heard the phrase, “value added investors”, which is usually touted by certain VC’s as their biggest differentiating quality. But like a Darwinian experiment, the extent to which these gifts are utilized remains entirely up to each individual entrepreneur.

Web Design 103

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 103

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. I said that I felt that Micro-VCs were the most important change in our industry. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. source: Capital IQ.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

I’ve been on the road much of 2012 and part of 2011. But for some strange reason they make you file your progress on fund raising, which is the widely picked up by the press. I plan to write about it early next year when we’re all through. And why I woke up at 4.50am. And so it goes again. Entrepreneurshit.

Blogging 420

Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

As a fourteen-year veteran of the venture industry I have often heard the phrase, “value added investors”, which is usually touted by certain VC’s as their biggest differentiating quality. But like a Darwinian experiment, the extent to which these gifts are utilized remains entirely up to each individual entrepreneur.

Web Design 40

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 40

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

Last year I was on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley meeting with one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the country. The VC partner, somebody I greatly respect said, “Yeah, we like Gil and what they’re doing. That’s convenience when your VC is hoping to write the next $20 million check.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

Right now they’re setting up 500 free corporations for first time entrepreneurs. There are hundreds of entrepreneurs here in Los Angeles who are building awesome companies, writing awesome books, making awesome movies and are trying to solve important problems to help make this world a better place. Thank you @eminutes. .

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

Some really great stuff in 2010 that aims to help startups around product, technology, business models, etc. 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? 500 Hats , February 1, 2010 When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My original thinking from Oct ’09 was, while I didn’t (and still don’t) have a crystal ball I worried that: consumers were over-stretched with debt (and make up 77% of the economy), unemployment would continue to rise, which in turn would drive the stock market south and cut the rate of M&A activity and VC investment even further.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298