Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

I think you’ll really enjoy this video , but as always I have summary notes for those with less time. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you. Prior to starting FC, he was co-investing with David Frankel and Eric Paley as individuals.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2011

Messenger : Paige Craig, CEO BetterWorks, Angel Investor, former Marine. Paige is a gifted communicator and my summary does not do him justice. He offers a number of worthwhile tips and tricks that I was not able to capture in the textual summary, so the 14-minute audio file is well worth your time.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Executive team.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

Every investment so far in this YC batch (and there have been a lot) has been done on a convertible note.&#. I’ve written about the topic of convertible debt at length before specifically about how angels & entrepreneurs should think about pricing. angel, seed) you’re taking the most risk.

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

We have made 5 online video investments in total – some we will talk about later this year. Content is a “hits driven business” and therefore you can only invest in platforms not media. You must invest in technology. I believe that the high revenue share YouTube takes encourages platform competition.

SEM 150

SEM Content Platform Acquisition 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Lower costs to start a business (95% reduction), many more companies created & funded by angels / seed. pre-money valuation you certainly would want to exercise your right to continue investing if you had prorata rights.

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Social Media Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2010

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. A loan officer, angel investor, and venture capitalist are all looking for different things in a business plan. you still have to write the plan for a particular audience.

Writing 97

Writing Summary Ideas Research 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2015

Here are the most common elevator pitch missteps I see often as an angel investor and advisor to startups, with some quick advice on how to address each: Insist on leading with the story of the company. Your second sentence should acknowledge competition, but highlight your added value. You don’t have time for any story at this point.

Startup 104

Startup Summary Patents Examples 104

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. ” So other partners at the firm might sling mud at your ideas as you go for approval on an investment. Lots of it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Or read the quick, informative summary below the image! Since selling Matt has gone on to become one of the smartest angels I have seen operate. Matt’s commitment to re-investing in tech startups is reminiscent to this great Fred Wilson post of “recycling capital. &#. Here’s a summary of our interview.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Executive team.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Angels are also moving up-stage, leaving a bigger and bigger black hole for new startups. So what can entrepreneurs do to get to the head of the venture capital investment queue and position their startup for a winning IPO? Follow with a killer executive summary, investor presentation, and financial model.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

There’s plenty of capital out there, but there’s also a lot of competition for startup funding. If you go this route, be careful to make the stakes clear: i.e., that they could lose their whole investment. Angels (invest their own money) and super angels. His best advice: take capital where you can get it.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

This financial leader could well have come through the finance org at another startup or at a larger company but they often also can come from strategy consulting (Bain, BCG or McKinsey) or through investment banking (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.). We built a strong brand in the city and acquired a ton of organic traffic.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

No summary of what we did, no easy way for me to recommend my trainer to my friends, and no way for me to easily book the next appointment. After the session, Andy posts a summary to Jenna’s profile with the details of their workout and a few words of advice. Any competition in LA? Why did you venture into fitness?

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Executive team.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. If you don’t, somebody else WILL!”

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

Angels are also moving up-stage, leaving a bigger and bigger black hole for new startups. In fact, most of the most active investment firms are located there, although NY now has moved solidly into second place (ahead of Boston). So what can you do to get to the head of the venture capital investment queue?

Venture Capital 93

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2013

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment.

Technical Review 97

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2012

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Until recently it was headquartered 2 blocks from our offices in Santa Monica so we literally saw it emerge under our feet and we proudly invested in the last 3 rounds of financing. You can expect some strong competition, but it’s unlikely that there will be 5 great scooter companies. having raised $300 million?—?less Not at all.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

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.) Fred Wilson wrote perfectly about sticking with struggling investments. Most VCs are book smart. It’s not you.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an Angel investor. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2018

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Investors invest in the jockey, more than the horse. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information.

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I wrote the summary notes in this blog post. 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. That notes only told part of the story.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

There are various models of this but amongst the most successful I’ve seen executed is FabFitFun , based in Los Angeles. Curation is obviously also a form of competitive advantage for companies like StitchFix, TrunkClub and DailyLook who offer stylists to help you curate your clothing experiences. even a DTC company?—?if

Product 296

Product Course Custom Customer 296

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Pitching a VC.&# Getting a meeting with a prominent angel or VC is difficult enough. A polite follow up email saying, “just wanted to follow up with a quick summary of some exciting news.&# Yes, I know only 2 weeks has passed. Do a 5-page PowerPoint competitive assessment.

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

SoCal Delicious

JANUARY 9, 2014

Design as an afterthought Mistakenly, many early-stage startups often don’t see value in investing in design early on, believing it is a luxury which can be bolted on later like some kind of magic stardust. Get some customers and investment will come a lot easier. Forget funding and find a customer that will pay for your product.

Startup 78

Startup Design Custom Customer 78

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was an angel investor in his company, made a bunch of calls on his behalf and then I personally sent it out on AngelList. When I described to people why I initially invested my calls went something like this, “He’s taken kicks to the face for nearly 2 years and is still standing. Through this process he raised $2 million.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

If you don’t want to read that post, the summary is: Open source computing drove computing costs down 90%, which spurred innovation in technology. Some have moved into later stage investments in an effort to “put logos on their websites.&# The Blurring of Investment Lines. Will public investments come next?

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 3, 2013

Watch the 30-minute interview to hear why but summary notes below. Let me start by saying that Clayton is one of the most influential people on my thoughts about markets that led to both the concept behind my first startup and my main theses in investing. We also spoke about technology systems in the perspective of global competition.

Venture Capital 403

Venture Capital Education Offshore Outsource Development 403

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2019

Most people will be engaged by a single-page double-sided glossy executive summary, and offer support or the right people to move forward. If you are an entrepreneur who doesn’t feel comfortable writing, there are many advisors, investment attorneys, and independent contractors who are available to help, for a fee.

Ideas 126

Ideas Slides Sample Examples 126