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. And it wasn’t just Google Ad Words that originated in Los Angeles.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Troy represents what I believe the best magic of Los Angeles is – the merging together of creative talent with technical talent and he brings the lessons learned from these two fields into investments nationally. ” Lady Gaga played 4-5 clubs a night in Los Angeles and New York when she was a relatively undiscovered talent.

Mentor 150

Mentor Venture Capital Marketing Product 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2023

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Entrepreneurs in this category are real risk takers, such as Elon Musk.

Entrepreneur 118

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network SpaceX 118

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2022

Aspiring entrepreneurs who struggle in a corporate environment often can’t wait to start their own company, only to find that relationships are even more critical and volatile there. The message here is not to use the public personas of leaders and entrepreneurs as the model for building and maintaining your business relationships.

Oracle 113

Oracle Entrepreneur Outsource Development Mentor 113

socalTECH

APRIL 15, 2010

Los Angeles-based Launchpad LA , the startup mentoring effort spearheaded by GRP Partners' Mark Suster, is announcing this afternoon that it has selected 10 startups for the second season of the program. Tags: incubation mentoring startup launchpadla. READ MORE>>.

Class 188

Class GRP Partners Mentor Incubator 188

socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2011

Irvine-based K5Launch , a new venture accelerator started by angel investors Amir Banafatemi, Ray Chan, David Cheng, and Kai Tao, is looking to spawn the growth of startups in Southern California, saying today that it has launched its efforts in the area. READ MORE>>.

Orange County 208

Orange County Southern California Seed Funding Mentor 208

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2016

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Entrepreneurs in this category are real risk takers, such as Elon Musk.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Social Network SpaceX Ideas 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). So, now, as a VC, I swore I'd never treat entrepreneurs like those VCs treated me. I love entrepreneurs.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 1, 2019

Vassallo and Sequeira prefer the term “sage” to describe the folks they’re looking to bring in to help mentor their companies. As talented multi-time operators, seed investors and current CEOs, Defy Sages bring their operating experience, domain knowledge, and networks to help our portfolio.

Invest 109

Invest Legalzoom Los Angeles Blogging 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2018

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Funding 96

socalTECH

JANUARY 31, 2013

It was standing room only at StartEngine 's Demo Day Wednesday afternoon, held at Santa Monica's Cross Campus , as the startup accelerator launched eight of its latest startups into the world, after a 90 day process of mentoring, honing their business model, and heads down development. It's unclear.

Startup 256

Startup Commerce Santa Monica Mentor 256

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

The cost of entry to the entrepreneur lifestyle is at an all-time low, but the challenge of winning and success is at an all-time high. Customers have come to expect disruptive change, so yet another social network is not the way to get traction. Entrepreneurs in this category are real risk takers, such as Elon Musk.

Entrepreneur 143

Entrepreneur Social Network SpaceX Ideas 143

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. Those are fundamentals that don't change.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2011

One of the biggest complaints you hear from both entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles, is the lack of a credible, visible startup accelerator in the Los Angeles area. We caught up with Erik to hear more about MuckerLab, and its efforts to grow the Los Angeles technology ecosystem. Erik, thanks for the time.

Technical Advisors 176

Technical Advisors Startup Southern California Los Angeles 176

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2010

Bockerstette, Main Street Venture Fund Angel investing in most parts of the country remains a relatively informal and unstructured process. The depressed economy has dampened the angel community’s appetite, making the identification of the trophy investor more important than ever. For an angel investor, it’s a buyer’s market.

Entrepreneur 83

Entrepreneur Mentor Invest Angel 83

socalTECH

JUNE 20, 2012

There is a large menu of startup accelerators in the Los Angeles, but one of more established efforts in the area is LaunchpadLA ([link] The effort actually started as an informal mentoring program, but has grown and expanded to follow the accelerator model. Then, it turned out, all of those companies did really well.

Class 261

Class Mentor Startup Santa Monica 261

InfoChachkie

MARCH 5, 2012

In 1961, after 70-years, professional baseball created its first expansion teams – the Angels and Twins. If you use the mentor-driven model that we pioneered at TechStars, you get entrepreneurs who are deeply connected with the broader entrepreneurial landscape. Since 1961, professional baseball has grown from 18-teams to 30.

Startup 270

Startup Incubator Doc Mentor 270

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). At this point, most Angel investors and a few early-stage VCs will be happy to talk, assuming you have the business model validated, and a large opportunity.

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Capital Class Startup 55

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2013

MuckerLab , the Los Angeles startup accelerator headed by Erik Rannala, is presenting its newest startup class today in a Demo Day. MuckerLab's prior class included such hot Los Angeles startups as SurfAir, Retention Science, Wallaby, and InstaCanvas. READ MORE>>.

Class 159

Class Startup Incubator Los Angeles 159

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

As a business advisor, I meet many business professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs who are anxious to be their own boss , or have an innovative idea to start or acquire a new business. Assess who you can get for value and mentoring. Be ready to network for investors and team members.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Of course, you need to listen for biases, but local angel group leaders can quickly tell you who the bad angels and good angels are, and what kind of terms they typically demand. Network with other entrepreneurs. Check track record on the Internet and social networks. Validate business and financial status.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Offshore Invest Social Network 96

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2014

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Funding Equity 113

socalTECH

APRIL 8, 2013

What''s the idea behind the incubator--which gives its startups $20,000 in capital, education, mentoring, working space, and more--and how is it tied to USC? There''s a shortage of those types of people in Los Angeles. We''re giving them access to capital, mentors to build companies, and all here in Los Angeles.

Incubator 233

Incubator USC Startup Artificial Inteligence 233

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2010

The group--which was started by Richard Koffler and John Morris , two well known investors in Los Angeles--has been trying to help connect CEOs with interesting university and other technology projects. What is the idea behind the Tech CEO Network? The Tech CEO Network is there to fill the gap. Thanks for the time today.

Networking 215

Networking Research Startup USC 215

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2020

Aspiring entrepreneurs who struggle in a corporate environment often can’t wait to start their own company, only to find that relationships are even more critical and volatile there. The message here is not to use the public personas of leaders and entrepreneurs as the model for building and maintaining your business relationships.

Oracle 124

Oracle Entrepreneur Outsource Development Mentor 124

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

Visible networking is turning into a really great opportunity to get to know people better, get to meet new people, and have some interesting conversations. He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. How did you transition to entrepreneur? Tell me a bit about your background.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. BlackTech Week was created by the leadership team from Code Fever to accelerate and support the innovation of black communities through training, networks and funding. “ In fact, for the most part, all you need is a laptop and Wi-Fi connection.

Startup 140

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2012

We asked the same four questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next week. We launched a Digital LA - Women series with four panels starring female founders, entrepreneurs, developers and PR, which will also continue into the new year.

Dollar Shave Club 272

Dollar Shave Club Technical Review Santa Monica Southern California 272

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2020

In fact, I see more and more evidence that new entrepreneurs are coming from the older age groups (age 45-64), and success rates move up with age. We summarize the advantages of older entrepreneurs along the following lines: Think life-changing, not lifestyle entrepreneurship. Find and see the opportunities hidden in plain sight.

Startup 129

Startup Entrepreneur Coach Mentor 129

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2016

The Techstars Health Accelerator recently set up shop in Los Angeles with Cedars- Sinai�the second, Techstars powered startup accelerator in the city--in a move to help healthcare startups get to market quicker. Omkar Kulkarni: The program is a three month, residential program here in Los Angeles, which is physically located at Cedars Sinai.

Mentor 100

Mentor Startup Coach Ideas 100

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2016

The Techstars Health Accelerator recently set up shop in Los Angeles with Cedars Sinai�the second, Techstars powered startup accelerator in the city--in a move to help healthcare startups get to market quicker. Omkar Kulkarni: The program is a three month, residential program here in Los Angeles, which is physically located at Cedars Sinai.

Mentor 100

Mentor Startup Coach Ideas 100

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2011

According to Pasadena-based green marketplace firm OnGreen , the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), UC Los Angeles (UCLA), and University of Southern California (USC) scored a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help foster student entrepreneurs via a business plan competition run by the group called First Look West.

CalTech 165

CalTech UCLA Southern California Pasadena 165

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

In the aftermath of the recent pandemic, which caused many businesses to close, a new raft of business workers and entrepreneurs are deciding to pursue their own dreams of being a new business owner, and controlling your own destiny. Network extensively for partners, investors, and suppliers.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98