Both Sides of the Table

MAY 3, 2015

Scott Belsky (@scottbelsky) April 29, 2015. I went as far as to call it the best Tweet of 2015 so far because it encapsulated my advice so succinctly. Sometimes this feedback is sufficient to start to erode his confidence in pursuing the deal. The same is true at startups. You’re a startup, not GE.

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Startup Venture Capital Invest Framework 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2020

As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. Startups need to build a large passionate group of fans before the campaign. Startup revenues come later.

Startup 151

Startup Equity Funding Demand 151

Tech.Co

APRIL 24, 2018

But if you’re a startup founder, you too have the chance to find your own moment in the spotlight. Over the past decade, startups that have been part of the Startup of the Year programs have made new partnerships, grown into household names, and collectively raised billions of dollars in funding. A Strong Alumni Network.

Startup 70

Startup Competition Google Capital 70

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

Incubator 106

Incubator Startup Help Resource 106

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Grocery delivery startup Good Eggs is announcing that it has raised $100 million in new funding, and that it’s planning to launch in Southern California in either the summer or fall of this year. Image Credits: Good Eggs. And it sounds like he isn’t in a rush to launch in a bunch of new markets.

Southern California 318

Southern California Orange County San Diego Commerce 318

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Let me start with the news that I’m excited to share with you. Competitive (Athlete: skier & rowed at Princeton, hates losing at everything she does). Startup CEO experience (Founded P.S. XO along with my good friend Soleil Moon Frye. She rolls up her sleeves and helps get tasks done rather than just directing people.

Venture Capital 408

Venture Capital Startup Outsource Development CitySearch 408

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization. Most are sitting on large portfolios of private companies that are raising money now or will need to do so in the future and they know that they’re up against some headwinds.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California. Techpreneurs.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

Our 3rd fund began investing in March 2009 (raised in 2008) and our 4th fund started in April 2012 so this fund will naturally begin investing around March / April 2015. Our investment strategy has always been to do predominantly Series Seed & A round deals, which makes up > 85% of our first investments.

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

The smart ones get some extra support early on critical decisions, and work a bit harder on issues that are common startup killers. Don’t wait for the first cash-flow crisis to start talking to investors. Resist the temptation to be defensive, and don’t assume you are somehow smarter than the competition.

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Startup Mentor Entrepreneur Social Media 96

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kaufmann Foundation , the numbers are finally here to show it. The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Measuring progress with big data and analytics.

Startup 61

Startup Social Media News Tool 61

Xconomy

DECEMBER 5, 2018

The pharmacy industry’s transformation is accelerating, as traditional drug retailers strike deals to expand their businesses and fend off technology startups encroaching on their territory. Like others in its industry, Alto offers online ordering and delivery (including same-day delivery) of prescription drugs.

Commerce 71

Commerce Competition Mobile Invest 71

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

If you sold your last startup for $800 million, you probably already know how to build a business, and even conservative investors won’t worry about the quality of your next business plan. Most investors tend to think of startups without a plan as expensive hobbies. Marty Zwilling ** First published on Entrepreneur.com on 1/16/2015.

Startup 109

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2016

Entrepreneurs and startups are big believers in innovation, but sometimes they forget that innovation must be continual to assure long-term success, rather than the one big-bang idea that initiated their journey. Catching up later is not a viable strategy for survival. Target a portfolio of solutions, not just one product.

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Startup Organization Demand Customer 58

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

The bad news is that many are already doing it, with competition growing, so the longer you wait, the less chance you have of getting there first. Too many entrepreneurs still think plans are for investors, and investors are required to build a startup. But don’t wait too long to get started. Both are wrong.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Social Media Outsource Development 108

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2012

New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. The middle and above-middle class population of China will grow from 172 million in 2010 to 314 million in 2015. Not every international market matters, but some are larger than life.

Marketing 104

Marketing Startup Patents Offshore 104

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2015

If your startup culture doesn’t include a sense of urgency, your probabilities of long-term success are miniscule. It does mean a proactive and ever-vigilant plan to keep moving forward with the market and stay ahead of competition, even if you must make your own products obsolete. Customers and opportunities don’t wait.

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Startup Social Media Customer Custom 103

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

According to a 2015 study from Frost & Sullivan and the (ISC)² Foundation, there could be more than 1.5 Companies around the world are reevaluating their methods for recruiting and retaining top talent and, even in innovation hubs like Boston, there is serious competition for talent.

Study 93

Study Competition San Diego Company 93

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2015

Creating a successful startup is all about marketing these days, no matter how compelling your solution. What most entrepreneurs fail to appreciate is that even the most basic marketing takes time, money and creativity, and even the best still may not succeed in winning over competitive approaches or the status quo.

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Startup Marketing Entrepreneur Social Network 97

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2015

Image via Flickr by Side Wages Some entrepreneurs forget that they need an innovative business model along with an innovative solution to have a successful startup. That’s why I say “two heads are better than one” in a startup. Business work should start only after the product is done."

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Startup Social Media Competition 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

A popular myth these days is that successful entrepreneurs must attract investors to get their businesses going, when the reality has been that more than 80 percent of new businesses are started and grown with no outside investment at all. Salaried staff will never have the commitment of co-founders that depend on the success of the startup.

Startup 101

Startup Entrepreneur Equity Summary 101

StartUp Beat

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

What do entrepreneurs do when they finally establish their startup? Do they hibernate in their offices, trying to come up with creative solutions? Or do they read up on other success stories for inspiration? Europe’s largest invitation-only event for early-stage startups, set in Cologne, Germany emerges in its 7th iteration.

Conference 40

Conference Startup Artificial Inteligence Competition 40

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

We were both in college when we came up with the idea. We were both very good friends, living together, and we came up with the idea and thought this could go everywhere. After a couple of months, we realized there was something special about this, and starting building a team, and tackled the website and partnerships.

Commerce 140

Commerce Help UCLA Organization 140

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2015

Every entrepreneur needs a value proposition statement for his or her startup that can hook potential investors and partners in less than a minute -- the short time you might join them in an elevator on the way to their offices. Build up for the punch line at the end. Always start with a hook to get the investor’s attention.

Startup 104

Startup Summary Patents Examples 104

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Orange County startup Beatshare --backed by the Tech Coast Angels, Pasadena Angels, Harvard Business School Angels, and Archangels, among others�thinks it's figured out the formula to make music the message in its mobile app. Barry was a lead mentor there at Chapman University's Launch Labs, and we paired up. What is Beatshare?

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach Startup Pasadena Angels 100

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

I too have taken shots at MBA’s, describing why they are not typically well suited for startup life in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs. However, as we talked, he opened my eyes to the fact that an impressive number of very successful startups were founded by graduates of top MBA programs. billion from 2010-2015.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Allegis Startup Competition 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

We caught up with Fuel50 founder and CEO Anne Fulton to learn more about the startup. Anne Fulton: Fuel50 is a career pathing startup, part of the HR technology landscape. How did you start the company? Even when I had babies, I started a company making baby clothing with designers for a few years. What is Fuel50?

Help 100

Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

With so many smart technology devices and users— six billion Internet of Things (IoT) connections in 2015—we’ve long surpassed the adoption phase. Now, the focus has shifted to refining and improving features to help products stand out from the competition, especially in the realm of security. Embracing Cyber Security.

Startup 40

Startup Examples Networking Conference 40

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 29, 2020

The firm, which underwent a significant restructuring over the last two years, went on an investment tear over the course of 2019 as new partners went out to build up a new portfolio for the firm — almost of a whole cloth. Kleiner Perkins gets back to early-stage with its $600M 18th fund.

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IBM IBM Venture Capital Invest 164

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

This dual-leadership approach would have avoided the frustration I felt in a startup a few years ago where beta customers loved our software solution as a free prototype, but we couldn’t sell one in the first few months for a price that seemed reasonable for all our work and innovation. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Pricing Startup Software Review 108

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2018

San Diego-based uCast Global (www.ucastglobal.com), backed by Gary Winnick, is looking to tackle that entire area of content distribution, and is led by startup veteran Dr. Kanaan Jemili. We caught up with Kanaan to learn more about uCast Global. Weve also developed technology that allows them to get a really easy start.

Content 113

Content Startup Mobile Platform 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2011

These days, I’m hearing more and more about Location-Based Services (LBS) as the next big opportunity for startups. If your B2B contacts are frequenting other non-competitive local businesses, LBS data could point you to more lucrative business partnerships. See who checks into your competition. Understand the competition.

Services 91

Services Startup Competition Entertainment 91

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. the more money you give a startup the faster they grow.

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2015

In summary, the transformation starts with placing leaders with a purpose at the core, hiring talent with a purpose at the frontier, and then building and extending the culture of purpose both inside and outside the organization. Companies can use this strategy to improve their profitability and competitive advantage.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Organization Startup Pricing 117

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

Aspiring entrepreneurs often ask me what to do first when starting a business. The date of incorporation is the official start date for your business, so progress from this point will be scrutinized by investors. Start with the simplest legal entity, to minimize liability and taxes.

Entrepreneur 59

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Ideas 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 22, 2015

We all have to communicate and collaborate with other people at work, but most of us start out instinctively trying to maintain an emotional distance from others in the work environment. Yet the 2015 Office Romance Survey by Vault, Inc. Yet the 2015 Office Romance Survey by Vault, Inc. Can be a competitive advantage.

Startup 96

Startup Course Competition Social Media 96