Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Even though the color of their money is always green, all startup investors are not the same. Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Personally visit another startup funded by this investor. It’s no fun for either side.

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Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Earlier this week, Good Growth Capital (www.goodgrowthvc.com) announced it has started looking at investments in Southern California, adding Krisztina Holly as West Coast Venture Partner for the firm. Our Infinite Corridor Fund makes pre-seed to seed investments in transformative science startups, primarily MIT-related.

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Southern California Capital Technical Review Startup 124

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Here, we have Greg Martin, Founder and Managing Partner of Archer Venture Capital (www.archervc.com). 2020 was a crash course in leadership and we saw many great entrepreneurs step up and rise to the challenge. What are you most looking forward to in the technology/startup world in 2021? Contact our editors for details.

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Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Brentwood 124

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Our interview this morning is with Kelly Perdew of Moonshots Capital , a Los Angeles based investment firm that makes seed stage investments in early stage companies�and in particular, for this Veterans Day, in companies founded by military veterans. Great catching up with you, tell us a little bit about your new investment fund?

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Capital Startup Invest Training 223

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. The rate of new entrepreneurs increased between 2013 and 2019, from 280 out of 100,000 to 310 out of 100,000 of the adult population. Establishing your brand with interactive social media.

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Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2022

The good news is that a recent Kauffman Early-Stage Entrepreneurship (KESE) Index shows the highest level of new business activity recorded in the last two decades, and the cost of entry at an all-time low. In this context, it’s time for every business, not only startups, to take a fresh look at the basics of business success.

Startup 112

Startup News Framework Outsource 112

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 4, 2021

An entrepreneur lifestyle that continues to gain in popularity these days is being a “social entrepreneur.” Whether the objective is to generate profits or social capital, the common element for all entrepreneurs is the recognition that there is a problem which needs solving, or there is an opportunity to improve the status quo.

Entrepreneur 138

Entrepreneur Funding Invest Activity 138

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2020

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture you will love this message. Don’t start by committing more than you can afford to lose. Testing for real is the assumption behind approaches such as Lean Startup.

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Startup Capital Resource Research 143

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. Today, we share the thoughts of Kelly Perdew , the founder and Managing Director of Moonshots Capital (www.moonshotscapital.com). Since 2010, $6.3B

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2021

Some people even believe that entrepreneurs must be born with the right genes, and no element of education is relevant. In my view, the most effective entrepreneurs are those with a background of an array of real-life experiences, both positive and negative, as well as good academic and coaching activities.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Tips Writing Coach 149

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2023

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture you will love this message. Don’t start by committing more than you can afford to lose. Testing for real is the assumption behind approaches such as Lean Startup.

Startup 142

Startup Capital Resource Research 142

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

It really is possible for an introvert to succeed as an entrepreneur, even though you can’t expect to start and build a business alone. Every entrepreneur, especially an introvert, can benefit from the perspective of another business person, ideally one who has prior experience in the domain you are about to enter.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

In the old days, every entrepreneur planned on taking their startup public, and making it big. Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is finally up from the dead zone of the last two decades, and is now double the rate back in 1999. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

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Startup Report IBM IBM 98

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2021

Startups are the corporations of the future, so I have long believed that entrepreneurs who study existing corporate models, rather than ignoring them with disdain, will likely profit from the exercise. These are all huge challenges, as well as huge opportunities, for entrepreneurs. Economic instability. Societal upheaval.

Marketing 135

Marketing Startup Entrepreneur Social Media 135

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2013

A few weeks ago, the University of Southern California announced a new startup incubator, the Viterbi Startup Garage ([link] backed by such notable investors as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the United Talent Agency. What''s the mission behind the new startup incubator? That''s basically how the program come about.

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Incubator USC Startup Artificial Inteligence 233

socalTECH

JULY 30, 2019

Startup accelerator operator Techstars --which has a big presence in Los Angeles--has raised a big, $42M funding round, led by SVB Financial Group (the holding company of Silicon Valley Bank), and which also included Foundry Group and its other existing investors. READ MORE>>.

Startup 113

Startup SoCalTech Los Angeles Class 113

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Because I’ve asked more than 100 VCs similar questions I start to notice patterns in thinking.

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Startup Framework CTO Coach Sales 407

socalTECH

OCTOBER 20, 2017

Los Angeles and San Diego are among the metro areas with the highest startup activity, based on a new report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Miami was ranked number on in the nation. Miami was ranked number on in the nation.

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San Diego Los Angeles Report Angel 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. “There’s something going on in LA.” LA By The Numbers.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 21, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. He’s always open for business.

Entrepreneur 290

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 290

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Kara said “no” because she wanted to start her own company, which she did and I backed. In any job you either find leadership opportunities for your best people BEFORE they ask or other people start asking them to become leaders somewhere else. Leadership is about recognizing your next generation of talent and helping lift them up.

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Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

SoCal CTO

MAY 14, 2012

Ben Kuo just posted on SoCalTech: Are the good times for startups back? At the event, the enthusiasm for startups was palpable. Certainly it feels like there's been a recent surge in Startup activity here in Los Angeles and as well nationally. It has gone from 2 or 3 a week about a year ago to more than 5 per week.

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Los Angeles Angel Startup Miramar 254

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

Every entrepreneur has an idea for transforming a market with innovative new technology, or transforming society with a new process. Entrepreneurs who have been really transformative, like Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, seemed to know how to deal with all the right elements. Find enough venturesome capital. Failure is an option.

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Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Competition 171

socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2019

There's a new opportunity in clean technology investments, according to venture capitalist Aaron Fyke , the head of a new, Pasadena-based venture capital investment fund, Thin Line Capital (www.thinlinecapital.com). think there ended up with mult-hundreds ofmillions given to BrightSource. Lots has changed since 2009.

Invest 113

Invest Capital Venture Capital Idealab 113

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

In the days leading up to TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018, The Economist published the cover story, ‘Why Startups Are Leaving Silicon Valley.’ ” Venture capital investors are deploying capital outside the Bay Area more than ever before. ’ The author outlined reasons why the Valley has “peaked.”

Venture Capital 279

Venture Capital Startup Capital Entrepreneur 279

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Most of what I think about startup communities came from mentorship by Brad Feld through hours of private discussion and debate.

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Startup Venture Capital Press San Diego 378

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

The realm of an entrepreneur is all about change, but in my experience as a mentor to business founders, I hear too much about incremental change, and not enough about revolutionary change. Today every small business can look big, via a modern website, visibility on social media, and taking an active role in popular causes.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Social Media Artificial Inteligence Examples 103

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 19, 2020

A new initiative from a Los Angeles investor is taking stock of venture firms and their ability to commit capital in an effort to match firms that are still open for business and cutting checks to startups that are fundraising in the age of COVID-19. There’s also a list for startups that are looking for cash.

Venture Capital 135

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Los Angeles 135

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Let’s set up a framework. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

We’ve grown accustomed to a professionalism where we know when a work issue comes up we can count on each other for a quick Sunday call between family time. 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.

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Startup Venture Capital Coach Press 363

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2013

Obviously, a key factor is always the state of the economy and the mood of the venture capital community. The good news is that both of these are looking up these days. California (Silicon Valley), New York (NYC), and Massachusetts (Boston) are the places to be in the US for venture capital attention. No surprises here.

Venture Capital 95

Venture Capital Capital Startup Funding 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2022

By definition, most entrepreneurs are thought leaders. They have the ability to recognize a market need, the skills to design and implement a solution, and the drive to start a business from that solution. Most entrepreneurs are not both. Most entrepreneurs are not both. It all comes from within themselves.

Startup 147

Startup Competition Entrepreneur Training 147

socalTECH

JULY 23, 2012

There's been a surge in startup accelerator activity in Los Angeles in the last year, as interest in starting a company in the region has grown, and a wide range of experienced entrepreneurs and investors have pitched in to help companies get to the next level. Of that, $97.47

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Los Angeles Angel Report Startup 234

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. If you need funding for these early stage activities, I have some suggestions on better strategies to follow. Specialized VCs start to jump in at this stage. Commercial product prototypes.

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Resource Ideas Funding Research 102

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? The most connected and high-potential founders start with wads of cash.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Yet I can assure you that people who are paranoid, or want to avoid all risks, won’t be happy as entrepreneurs, so it’s all about balancing the risk-reward scale.

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Ideas Tips Technical Review Patents 159