Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

For reference, here is a quick summary of key elements which most investors include in their due diligence process: Key personnel review. A smart investor will take an independent final reading in the market on barriers to entry, active competition, demographics, and price sensitivity. Traction in the marketplace.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

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. Here is a quick summary of the priorities normally covered by the due diligence process: Evaluation of key players. This is the highest priority item.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

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. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

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. Make yourself accessible.

Summary 246

Summary Tips Sales Entrepreneur 246

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2014

Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition. Realistically frame the competition. If you really believe that IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle are your competition, you probably don’t have a business.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Competition Technical Review Oracle 103

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

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. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

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. Hopefully it will entice you to come back and watch the show at a later time! West Coast”).

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 27, 2013

Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition. Realistically frame the competition. If you really believe that IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle are your competition, you probably don’t have a business.

Startup 103

Startup Competition Technical Review Oracle 103

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

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

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

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. Why would an angel agree to a convertible note with no cap? That’s not the typical angel investor.

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

Yet to develop audiences you also need to understand: compelling content, sound, special effects, etc which is why most online video startup digital media companies are in Los Angeles or New York and not Silicon Valley. Summary : YouTube as a customer acquisition tool to building great online businesses is unrivaled today.

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. Summary: Cheap, mobile, social, global, always-on, one-click-purchase =.

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

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. List and describe your competition, direct and indirect, including customer alternatives. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

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. This means build a plan that hits all the hot buttons; problem/solution, executive team, competition, business model, reasonable financial projections, and what’s in it for the investor. Line up a winning team. Marty Zwilling.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

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. Here’s a summary of our interview. o Put a timeframe/money – competition in the picture. Big thank you to Darius Vasefi , of EyeOnJewels for the write up.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

There’s plenty of capital out there, but there’s also a lot of competition for startup funding. Angels (invest their own money) and super angels. If you’re raising funds from angels you’ll likely need to get investments from several different players. His best advice: take capital where you can get it.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

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. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

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. List and describe your competition, direct and indirect, including customer alternatives. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

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. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

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

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. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

Angels are also moving up-stage, leaving a bigger and bigger black hole for new startups. This means build a plan that hits all the hot buttons; problem/solution, executive team, competition, business model, reasonable financial projections, and what’s in it for the investor. Line up a winning team. Marty Zwilling.

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. Here is a quick summary of the priorities normally covered by the due diligence process: Evaluation of key players. This is the highest priority item.

Technical Review 97

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 97

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. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Funding 62

Funding Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup 62

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

You can expect some strong competition, but it’s unlikely that there will be 5 great scooter companies. Does it surprise you that the fastest-growing “unicorn” was launched in Los Angeles and not San Francisco? Summary Bird has created a brand-new transportation sector that has captured the imagination of riders and investors alike.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

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. Here is a quick summary of the priorities normally covered by the due diligence process: Evaluation of key players. This is the highest priority item.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

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.) Summary: Team Leadership skills, operating knowhow and industry knowledge are all tremendously important.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

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 Customer Custom 296

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

In the case of MakeSpace we had huge initial successes in New York City as Rahul led the scaling of our drivers, our trucks and our warehouses and we figured out the right price points to beat the local competition. We have been able to build deep customer insights on product, pricing, service, geography, competition, etc.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2010

Here is a summary of the steps I recommend along the way: Turn your dream into a vision. Find friends, Angels, or VCs to fund your plan. Of special importance are changes in the following areas: technology, competition and new legislation affecting your planned business. What is the difference between a dream and a vision?

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Summary Entrepreneur Coach 91

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

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. List and describe your competition, direct and indirect, including customer alternatives. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

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. Here is a quick summary of the priorities normally covered by the due diligence process: Evaluation of key players. This is the highest priority item.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. Fast early growth in a market is often eroded when competition gets fierce and prices are forced down due to competition. They both raised angel / seed money of $1.5 Revenue is Not Revenue is Not Revenue. Not necessarily.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

For simplicity I’ll assume you’ve raised some money from angels or seed investors and you’re either raising an A round or a B round of venture capital. As a VC I of course want you to come see only me because that means I have no competition and have time to properly get to know you. How Many Investors Should You Speak With?

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

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