TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Capitalism is fundamentally about timing, since market competition is about finding opportunities before others. Start writing down predictions about people, companies, and markets. We get at least a dozen at the TC offices every week, which is why we write about books so often around here these days. When should a VC invest?

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Don’t believe that Silicon Valley myth that all you have to do is sketch your idea on the back of a napkin, and investors will line up to give you money. Based on my experience as an angel investor and a mentor to dozens of entrepreneurs, having no business plan is the quickest way to define yourself as just a dreamer, or at best a hobbyist.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2010

By Mahesh Raj Mohan Writing a business plan can be a difficult process. Even if you know your product/service suite down cold, understand the strengths/weaknesses of the competition, and have built pro forma financials that are sane. you still have to write the plan for a particular audience. What does that mean? compelling.

Writing 97

Writing Summary Ideas Research 97

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

We talked with Noah about how the company grew out of a business plan competition at the University of Southern California, his recent funding from the Maverick Angels, as well as how the firm hopes to stand out among a crowded list of comparison shopping sites. Noah, thanks for the interview. So, we decided to go out and do it.

USC 207

USC CPC Sites Startup 207

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

It’s true the some VCs have started writing so many checks that they resemble stock pickers but the majority of us still have less than 10 board seats at any time and tend to go pretty deep so the result is that we care deeply about where we commit our time. Did they have the right skills? Would they build a world class team.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

The solution here is to never stop the fundraising cycle, moving quickly from friends and family, to angels, to venture capitalists. Keep control by writing every check personally, and manage receivable and payables tightly. Your customers and competition make unexpected moves. The world today never stands still.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities. For instance, a services business or an opportunity with limited growth potential might be a good fit for an Angel investor, but not a venture capitalist. Competition.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2015

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and Angel investor, I still see too many common failure causes that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down.

Startup 105

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Ideas 105

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2020

Smith , the founder of Croquet (www.croquet.io), a new Los Angeles startup which actually has its roots at the very beginning of the modern computing era. The idea is pretty simple. In the real world, the idea that what you see is what I see is a central aspect of our experience. Are Android and iOS then your competition?

Platform 168

Platform Startup Examples Web 168

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2016

There are a lot of other competition shows and reality show, which are much more predatory and cut-throat, and it's nice for our entrepreneurs to not only get a real investment, but get great feedback. How did you get involved with angel investing, initially? Anyone can write a check, but not everyone can provide intellectual capital.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Invest Competition 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

I had an enjoyable conversation this morning with a young team straight out of college this morning and they were calling to ask advice on how to approach fund raising (angels vs. VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. It’s not you.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2016

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many shortcuts leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. I believe the old adage that you don’t know what you don’t know until you try to write it down.

Startup 57

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Ideas 57

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. Sustainable competitive advantage. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Startup Writing Competition 94

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2008

What's the whole idea behind WordHustler? In their case, people write their scripts on a web site, and when they're done, they can submit them to contests with a single click. What kind of writing and writers are you targeting? People can write comments and rate publishers, which we vet very carefully.

Writing 209

Writing Hollywood Startup Sites 209

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Many people start companies arse backwards.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

After you have successfully attracted angels or venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet, there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check. Sustainable competitive advantage. This is the dreaded “due diligence” process.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Writing Competition Tips 90

socalTECH

OCTOBER 10, 2012

The clean technology sector is infamous for taking a big toll on startups--requiring large investments, risky technology propositions, steep international competition, and fickle government policies. That was the genesis for the idea for the company, which was to build tools for that new market. Who would use your equipment?

Help 178

Help Startup San Fernando Southern California 178

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

If I’m interested I get to spend more time with them, if I’m not I don’t have to – A few companies per month come in that have fascinating business ideas that warrant my spending more time trying to understand their people, company, technology and market. I’ll write about that in a couple of weeks.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2014

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Otherwise you will find yourself a year later being no closer to a product that you were yesterday, with no idea why. But having no process does not make you more competitive. Develop your business plan. Funding process.

Startup 107

Startup Outsource Development Training Outsource 107

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. But having no process does not make you more competitive.

Startup 102

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 102

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

Without taking a dime of outside capital, the company has achieved impressive success in a competitive, SaaS market segment, landing companies such as Nike, Intuit, NASA, AutoDesk and PBS. Greathouse: How did you come up with the idea for ProductPlan? Semick: It wasn’t our first idea. and what we wanted to avoid.

Venture Capital 115

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

Los Angeles-based Maple Media (maplemedia.io) recently announced a big, $30M funding from Shamrock Capital, to assemble a collection of mobile applications in the utility, productivity, games and entertainment verticals. What's the idea behind Maple Media? You're known as quite the angel investor here in companies (ie.

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

As an angel investor, I routinely toss business plans that focus too much on today, and don’t talk about tomorrow. I was happy to see a real focus on preparing for tomorrow highlighted in a new book, “ Start a Successful Business ,” by Colleen DeBaise, who has made a career of studying and writing about entrepreneur challenges.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Technical Review Software Review 57

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I talked about this in the TWiVC video but I didn’t do a good enough job of writing it up in the summary notes in the post. And it’s almost universally true that the new band of angels & seed investors are product gurus. No, the ideas aren’t conflicting. Isn’t it antithetical to my arguments above?

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2010

Even when your startup is a one-man show, you will soon find that you are “out of control,” unless you start organizing and writing down how and when key things need to get done. Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. But having no process does not make you more competitive.

Startup 95

Startup Outsource Development Writing Training 95

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Traction means forward progress. Register some intellectual property.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 28, 2012

A month ago, I participated in my first ever Startup Weekend event in Los Angeles, California in the co-working spaces at Coloft. I pitched an idea that was voted in the top 12 but couldn’t form a complete team. The following week, I joined AT&T Hackathon at iO/LA in Hollywood and again pitched the idea.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas San Diego Mentor 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2013

Write down the key elements of your business plan very early, and keep it current as things evolve. Otherwise you will find yourself a year later being no closer to a product that you were yesterday, with no idea why. But having no process does not make you more competitive. Develop your business plan. Funding process.

Outsource Development 92

Outsource Development Training Outsource Metrics 92

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

Jenna can write a recommendation on Andy’s profile or send an email to friends recommending Andy, one of his workout plans or the fitness event she’s registered for. Any competition in LA? We haven’t identified any competition in LA, specifically. Our team is very well-rounded, so we don’t worry too much about the competition.

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Fast early growth in a market is often eroded when competition gets fierce and prices are forced down due to competition.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

socalTECH

JUNE 30, 2010

Last week, Los Angeles-based Stroome (www.stroome.com), a new startup originally spawned out of a project at the USC Annenberg School of Communications, won $200,000 in the 2010 Knight News Challenge. The idea emerged from that real life pain in the market, and as we like to say, we've grown incrementally from there.

Journal 187

Journal USC News Startup 187

socalTECH

JANUARY 25, 2010

Lunch.com is based in Los Angeles. Back at that time, I had people ask my--why would I ever want to read what other people are writing, isn't that what professional authors and journalists are for? The third, and the most powerful motivator, is the idea of a similarity network. There is a lot of competition for reviews/etc.

Content 204

Content Startup Sites Manhattan Beach 204

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2012

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Traction means forward progress. Register some intellectual property.

Startup 104

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 104

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2010

As of the last four months, we've had about 200,000 plus downloads, a bunch of great write ups, and a lot of mom bloggers who have been reviewing the app and writing stories on it. So when it came out, immediately you see the user interface, and the idea of simplification, saving, and sharing is right there.

Mobile 168

Mobile .Net Pasadena Software Review 168

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Since selling Matt has gone on to become one of the smartest angels I have seen operate. Big thank you to Darius Vasefi , of EyeOnJewels for the write up. o Put a timeframe/money – competition in the picture. He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2011

I hear a lot of entrepreneurs contemplating their great “idea” for several years with little discernable progress, and looking for money to start. Forcing yourself to write down a plan is actually the only way to make sure you actually have a plan. Traction means forward progress. Register some intellectual property.

Startup 101

Startup CTO Hire Press Customer 101

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Pipeline Fellowship teaches women to become angel investors and become a more powerful and helpful voice in the investment world. We like to give women a chance to see and learn all about investing and what it takes to become an angel investor. I’m passionate about women becoming angel investors.

Mentor 84

Mentor Invest Entrepreneur Startup 84