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. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

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. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

SoCal Tech Calendar

JULY 30, 2020

Monday, August 3, 2020 -- Fixing the Top Fundraising Mistakes Startup Entrepreneurs Make. Join JJ Richa in a fireside chat with Scott Fox, CEO of the OC Startup Council, for a discussion of the top mistakes that early stage entrepreneurs make when pitching their startups for funding. See [link] (more)

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Slides Startup Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Patents Ideas Sample 101

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.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. With information overload due to the Internet, you need to find your customers, rather than assume they will find you.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 23, 2021

Gates’ call is being met by startups and public companies hailing from everywhere from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv, London to Los Angeles, and Berkeley to… um… Chicago. The company aims to have its first product approved by European regulators by 2023 and notching commercial sales by 2025.

Chief Technology Officer 261

Chief Technology Officer Technical Review Software Review Product 261

InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

In order to extract value beyond your Angel investors' cash, you must first assess three important parameters: (i) the relative strength of their personal brand, (ii) their ability to add operational value, and (iii) the amount of care and feeding they will demand from you. Four Common Angel Archetypes.

Angel 217

Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

During the holiday season, our tradition over the last few years has been to post reflections on the past year and some predictions for 2019 from Southern California's technology industry. My biggest takeaway this year was truly understanding the strength and cohesion of the Los Angeles startup community.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Startup Coach 157

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

Who are the top tech companies to work for in Los Angeles? popped up consistently in an informal (and highly non-scientific poll) of a number of readers, executive recruiters, and others in the Los Angeles area, who cited growth, brand, profitability, and other factors in their suggestions to us of the top companies.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Company Companies Southern California 279

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). Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away.

Ideas 159

Ideas Tips Technical Review Patents 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2013

I see now emerging a new wave of investors, popularly known as “super-Angels,” micro-VCs, or “super-seed” investors. Due to the struggling economy as well, traditional individual Angel investors haven’t been able to fill the gap. Technology costs are plummeting, meaning you can do more with less.

Angel 92

Angel Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup 92

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

(In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Entrepreneurs make fast decisions and move forward knowing that at best 70% of their decisions are going to be right. This paralyzes most people.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Fortunately, for those headed to SXSW, Startup Night SXSW 2018 , presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo, will be filled with investors from a multitude of industries who are looking to discover and fund startups building the latest solutions and tech innovations. Lisha Bell, Deal Flow Lead for Pipeline Angels.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. uBeam’s tech does work and I have safely seen it demo’d in the real life many times. Entrepreneurs. ” **.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

The dinner parties now are filled with self-righteous angel investors bragging about how many deals they are in on. Logic tells me the following: It is hard to make money angel investing. The best angels will do very well just at the best real estate investors did well in good times and bad. It is slowly becoming Florida Condos.

Invest 299

Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” Nail the solution.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

In a bid to prevent the damage from those plumbing failures and also help save water, Los Angeles-based Flo Technologies (www.meetflo.com) has developed a water monitoring device and shutoff valve for your home, which is connected to your smartphone and its own app. Where are you now, and can people buy the product?

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Technology Startup Artificial Inteligence 113

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). We want to have startups we can get productive or generating revenue pretty quickly.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. The reality is that angel investors are humans, and personal traits often make or break the relationship, even before the investment is considered. Listens before answering questions.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Angel Technical Review Course 96

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 27, 2014

Entrepreneurs typically embrace celebrity investments, while most sophisticated investors prefer to avoid famous entertainment or sports personalities on the cap table. A well known (non-celebrity) tech investor who judiciously adds value, provides reputational validation and is relatively effortless to interact with is ideal.

Entrepreneur 193

Entrepreneur Technical Review Hollywood Southern California 193

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I recently wrote a post on angel financing covering the topic of convertible notes but I realized I was thinking about the issue more from investor perspective and a very narrow topic of how to price the round. This post is for those who want to raise angel money. Product : You should build a product or a prototype.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

I thought I’d try to look at it from a different lens, that of the entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you should assume that. But the majority of VCs & Angels all speak. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. At what valuation?

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

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

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans take too much time, are inaccurate, and rarely add value. Most VCs and Angel investors don’t read unsolicited proposals, unless they have met you first, or have a glowing recommendation from another investor or acquaintance.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

InfoChachkie

JULY 21, 2016

The reality television show Shark Tank makes for entertaining content but many of its underlying messages are potentially detrimental to tech entrepreneurs. Thus, emerging entrepreneurs should parse fact from fantasy by watching the show with an experienced business pro. According to David S. Shark Tank Distortions.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Entertainment Technical Review Ideas 100

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 12, 2013

But I could see the connection between his background and my personal compulsion to use a product solely on its design factor. Yes I’m aware I used a product for two weeks and didn’t bother getting the name of it). This was the same company, whose product I’d used years before, solely on design aesthetics.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Design Product Patents 92

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Venture and angel investing has long been considered a man''s world--with domination of the industry, executives, financiers, and others by men, with only a few exceptions. The Pipeline Fellowship--founded by Natalia Oberti Noguera--says it has been running angel investing bootcamps for women, looking to active more female angel investors.

Angel 276

Angel Invest Mentor Technical Review 276

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2015

If you think you are the perfect fit for the entrepreneur lifestyle, but you’re not yet sure if you’re ready to start your own, then I recommend that you take a job with an existing startup first to validate the culture realities against your dream. Hang out where entrepreneurs meet. Explore investor websites and conferences.

Sample 101

Sample Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup 101

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Bartering technically means exchanging goods or services as a substitute for money.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Many new entrepreneurs are so excited by their latest idea that they can’t resist contacting every investor they know, assuming the investor will be equally excited and want to contribute immediately. Attached is a copy of my full business plan for your review.” I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Entrepreneur 119

Entrepreneur Technical Review Statistics Startup 119

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology.

Slides 147

Slides Funding Technical Review Startup 147

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than angel investors or professional investors (VCs). You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products.

Invest 135

Invest Technical Review Startup Ideas 135

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

What's the best way to reach out and recruit diverse candidates for your technology company? It's not easy, which is why Los Angeles-based Divercity.io is an HR tech platform that makes it very easy for companies to source diverse talent. How do you create those communities, and are those focused on different technical areas?

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Startup Platform Resource 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. The reality is that angel investors are humans, and personal traits often make or break the relationship, even before the investment is considered. Listens before answering questions.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117