SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 23, 2012

Wednesday, August 29, 2012 -- Lunch and Learn: Venture Capital and Investments. How can businesses secure the funds and how should they spend the money? This program will focus on the various sources of fundings such as venture capital and different types of investments. Asian Business Association.

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital Capital Invest Entrepreneur 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2012

We asked the same four questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next week. The most significant news for GRP Partners in 2012 was the first close of our 4th venture fund.

GRP Partners 178

GRP Partners Southern California High Tech Venture Capital 178

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She hasn’t raised any venture capital. She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. But Tracy did what entrepreneurs do. More on that later. That may soon change.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). Ryan Blair: The theme around the fund is pretty simple. I'm a bit of an anti-VC, as you know.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2015

Crosscut Ventures has just announced their 3rd fund and clocking in at $75 million , which will be focused heavily on Los Angeles – FTW. This week Michael Dubin’s startup Dollar Shave Club announced a $75 million funding round at a rumored $650 million valuation. LA has grown up a lot over the past 5 years.

News 150

News Funding Venture Capital Dollar Shave Club 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Based on the final report for 2012 from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), it may appear that IPOs are back as a viable startup exit strategy. For the full year 2012, venture-backed initial public offerings raised $21.5 Identify the right people in the right venture firms.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Every year Upfront Ventures surveys Limited Partners (LPs) who are the main source of capital that invests in VC funds and thus the main source of capital that goes to startups to get an early-warning sense of the year ahead, leaving aside any Black Swans. Will they have enough capital?” Will it last?

Startup 286

Startup Venture Capital Seed Funding Capital 286

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2016

My partner Greg Bettinelli (worth following on Twitter) was recently named by The LA Business Journal as the “ Top deal maker in Los Angeles in Venture Capital.” From 2007-2012 I scoured LA constantly. But over time I found that with broader responsibilities (fund raising, recruiting, biz dev, etc.)

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Journal Invest Santa Monica 150

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2012

We asked the same four questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next week. Paul Bricault is Managing Partner at Amplify LA (Www.amplify.la), a hands-on startup accelerator and co-working and community space in Venice.

Southern California 215

Southern California Technical Review High Tech Venice 215

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I spent my days meeting companies, figuring out what areas of the market interested me and trying to get a sense for how VCs thought about fair valuations. I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. And VCs scrambled to raise their own funds.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2015

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. despite having been passed into law in early 2012 via the JOBS Act , and still has no scheduled date for availability, waiting for the rules to be finalized by the SEC.

Venture Capital 108

Venture Capital Angel Satisfaction Equity 108

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 29, 2016

GOAT just announced it raised $5 million in venture capital led by our friends at Matrix Partners. On the surface that sounds unremarkable — fundings happen daily. But this isn’t just any funding. That’s why this funding story is different. And here is Jason Del Rey’s announcement of the funding.

Venture Capital 199

Venture Capital Summary Writing Funding 199

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 18, 2015

There is a lot of uncertainty about the state of the private, high-growth technology markets and the venture capital markets that underpin them. Perhaps I would call it “Mourning in VC” as in mourning for the days of rational behavior. I spoke last week at the annual Cendana VC/LP conference. Are LPs to blame?

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Pricing Platform Marketing 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. VCs get paid to “put money to work.&#. I know not everybody agrees.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

and I thought if we brought the community together for common purpose we could create more of a sense of community to help new entrepreneurs get funded, assemble teams, raise profiles and help with biz dev, product, etc. Companies were getting funded more easily and many more companies were actually being created.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Startup Idealab Funding 290

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

I am thrilled to announce that we have added Hamet Watt as a Partner at Upfront Ventures. This is a big news day at Upfront Ventures. In other news we announced the closing of $61 million in funding at Maker Studios , which I’ll talk publicly about soon. Mark, why wouldn’t you fund him? Startup DNA.

Invest 340

Invest Venture Capital Startup News 340

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. ” I hear it when I visit LPs (the people who invest in VCs) all across the country, “Yeah, I haven’t been out there for a few years but I keep hearing that something is going on there.” for $565 million to Excite.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Today is amongst the proudest days I’ve had at Upfront Ventures — getting the chance to announce that Kevin Zhang has been promoted to Partner. years at Upfront has been both a pleasure and also has taught me a lot about venture capital. Kevin joined Upfront in 2012 as an Associate. Watching him develop over the past 4.5

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Invest Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). billion collected in 2012. I just don’t see it happening any time soon.

Invest 111

Invest Angel Funding Startup 111

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Mayor Eric Garcetti at Upfront Summit, February 2017 I first sat down with then councilman Eric Garcetti on the Ides of March 2012 — almost 5 years ago exactly. They always ask whether I see this as threatening as Upfront Ventures. But this post is about the broader context of LA. Are you kidding me? And this is true.

Riot Games 191

Riot Games Los Angeles Technical Review Venture Capital 191

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

Changes in the Software World & in Venture Capital. But notably you had the following changes: Horizontally scalable computing & storage systems, which meant you required less capital up front for hardware. million under management across three funds. And then the world changed. Changes in the Startup Ecosystem.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Capital Funding 390

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2012

We met at a private party hosted by his venture partner Mike Yavonditte and I outlined my concerns for the lack of precision of the algorithm. I had been hanging around Klout for a year and many of my friends had angel funded the company and were champions. 2:00 Why don’t you like the term VC? I was used to this debate.

Cornerstone OnDemand 303

Cornerstone OnDemand Venture Capital GRP Partners Startup 303

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

But honestly there are times when being a VC can feel like that, too. But a couple of people replied with responses of such lack of comprehension that I thought it was worth expanding on for first-time entrepreneurs. VENTURE CAPITAL. And finally that brings me to obvious topic of venture capital.

Startup 363

Startup Venture Capital Coach Press 363

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2014

More and more entrepreneurs are hearing about the successful graduates and investors queued behind a few well-known startup incubators, including Y Combinator, TechStars, and the Founder Institute. Y Combinator , led by Paul Graham, claimed success in 2012 with 172 companies over 7 years, which then had a combined value of $7.78

Incubator 103

Incubator Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor 103

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

The new hot topic for entrepreneurs the last couple of years is crowd funding, which is anticipated to at least supplement, if not replace, the slow and mysterious process of current Angel and venture capital investors. Good-cause crowd funding. Pre-order crowd funding. Rewards-based crowd funding.

Funding 99

Funding Satisfaction Sites Outsource Development 99

SoCal Tech Calendar

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012 -- Deconstruct Your Deck: How to Build an Effective Investor Presentation. The evaluation is provided by veteran LA VC Jon Funk of Ocean Road Partners and another invited social angel investor. See [link] (more)

Venture Capital 113

Venture Capital Activity Entrepreneur Funding 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2013

It was a particularly rough December in what proved a difficult 2012. Example: Fred Wilson writing his end of 2012 post wrote. But it comes across as a whiny complaint about the shitty year that 2012 was. But the reason I couldn’t publish that post is it didn’t capture the greater picture that 2012 represents for me.”

Writing 313

Writing Venture Capital Blogging Startup 313

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

This is the third article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). I should say that I agree that naive optimism in entrepreneurs can produce higher beta (upside or flops) and that’s good from an investment standpoint if you’re looking for big returns.

Invest 284

Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 284

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2013

I believe the days of the “job work” mentality are thankfully waning, with more people looking to get satisfaction by making the world a better place, rather than just tolerating brain-numbing work to fund enjoyment elsewhere. Thus a record number of entrepreneurs (and employees) are getting rich.

Startup 109

Startup Entrepreneur Social Media Satisfaction 109

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine recently included UCSB in its Top 50 Schools For VC Backed Entrepreneurs at number 37. A decent showing, but well below a number of larger schools, as the ranking is based on the number of graduates who secured VC funding. Techpreneurs.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 30, 2011

TechZulu is excited to invite you to the 2012 Startup and Entrepreneurial Forecast taking place on Tuesday Jan. We have a line up of amazing speakers who will share their insights and forecast for startup trends in 2012. The panel is comprised of Southern California’s Top VC’s, Angels, and Startup Accelerator founders.

Tech Coast Angels 105

Tech Coast Angels Startup Angel Southern California 105

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 12, 2012

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 -- Building and Growing Great Businesses. Speakers: Tarang Shah is a venture capital professional. See [link] (more)

SoCal 100

SoCal Southern California Coach Venture Capital 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

Wednesday, November 14, 2012 -- Elevator Pitch Competition. This maxim has special meaning for entrepreneurs seeking funding. Venture capitalists and angel investors are busy people with hectic schedules. MIT Enterprise Forum of the Central Coast. You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

Competition 113

Competition Enterprise Forum Venture Capital Entrepreneur 113

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

Because my role as a VC requires me to take and endless stream of meetings I long ago decided I need to learn as much as I can from the meetings I attend so I often just ask tons of questions and assimilate knowledge. When I think about what defines us as a VC I think: Operationally knowledgeable / strong startup competence.

Venture Capital 360

Venture Capital GRP Partners Startup Invest 360

SoCal Tech Calendar

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Thursday, February 9, 2012 -- The Employee-Ownership Alternative: Building the Company You Want. Entrepreneurs have choices about the kind of company they want to create.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Equity Examples Entrepreneur 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2013

The number of startups getting seed funding in 2012 jumped by 65% over the previous year to a total of 1749, according to a recent report by CB Insights. million) made by either Angels or venture capitalists, or both. This is great evidence that the recession drag on funding new startups is behind us.

Startup 99

Startup Invest Venture Capital Seed Funding 99

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

It’s what life was like as an entrepreneur. I’ve been on the road much of 2012 and part of 2011. According to the SEC we’re not allowed to market the fact that we’re fund raising, so I won’t. So it is now publicly known that we have closed $150 million in our 4th fund. And so it goes again.

Blogging 420

Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420