Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Every new startup I know dreams of being funded by an angel investor. Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to see how the process works, several times from the startup side, and more recently from the angel perspective (as a member of an angel group selection committee). Prepare an investment-grade business plan.

Angel 89

Angel Funding Technical Review Startup 89

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 24, 2009

Los Angeles-based MyLife , the latest effort of former GreatDomains.com and Reunion.com CEO Jeffrey Tinsley, said today that it has launched its new people search service. Reunion.com (now MyLife) is venture backed with $25M in investments from Oak Investment Partners. READ MORE>>.

MyLife 100

MyLife Social Network Sites Networking 100

socalTECH

JUNE 29, 2011

Los Angeles-based Payoff.com , a new startup led by Scott Saunders, said Tuesday that it has officially launched its free, social finance site. Payoff.com's web site centers around sharing dreams and saving goals with others, and earning special badges for reaching steps along the way to those goals.

Sites 184

Sites eHarmony Web Los Angeles 184

socalTECH

APRIL 14, 2011

He was also the founder of Wallstrip, which he sold to CBS back in 2007, is an investor in a significant number of web and social media companies. Through Howards investment in betaworks, he also owns early shares in Twitter. Luck has it, I'm also a small investor though an investment in BetaWorks.

Ideas 248

Ideas Web Startup Content 248

socalTECH

JULY 7, 2010

Demand Media / Richard Rosenblatt / Los Angeles - Rosenblatt's last big win: MySpace, where he was Chairman, brokering its sale to News Corp. Getting lots of notice--and controversy--at Demand Media for its use of writers to create content specifically to attract web traffic. Less known--a healthy domain name registration business.

Southern California 228

Southern California Entrepreneur SoCal Mahalo 228

socalTECH

DECEMBER 5, 2013

Despite the huge surge of content specifically being developed for the web--and for sites like YouTube--making that content profitable and sustainable continues to be an issue for content creators. Josef Holm: Tubestart is a crowdfunding platform for YouTube creators, web series creators, and for digital video in general. READ MORE>>.

Content 231

Content Platform Sites Web 231

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 3, 2008

Los Angeles-based Reunion.com has merged with people search engine Wink, the two said this morning, to create a new online people search site. According to the firms, they will create what they call the "most comprehensive" online platform for people looking to find each other on the Web.

Social Network 100

Social Network Web Sites Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

JUNE 18, 2009

Our interview today is with Santa Monica-based OneCubicle (www.onecubicle.com), a new startup we ran across recently, which is looking to provide a more professional social networking site for younger people. Why did you decide to start yet another social networking site? Our demographic is the 22 to 32 year old.

Social Network 100

Social Network Entertainment Startup CTO Coach 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Our profile this morning is with Network Automation , a Los Angeles company competing in the IT automation market. Southern California--despite the lack of huge, name brand firms-- has a significant number of enterprise software companies, of which Network Automation is just one. The technology has just exploded.

Networking 214

Networking IBM IBM Pacific Palisades 214

SoCal CTO

MARCH 5, 2007

However, Elgg could power 100,000 networks and it would make no difference - there is no revenue stream as we give everything away under a GPL license. ► January (5) Los Angeles Web Developer Startup CTO or Developer When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Goo. in Computer Science.

Southern California 150

Southern California CTO Coach CTO Hire Social Media 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

Since then Mike his built his career by investing in early-stage companies (seed or series A), which is remarkable given that Polaris Ventures is a $1 billion fund. Simple: according to Mike Polaris has followed on nearly every seed investment that they’ve done. I shall be looking to replicate this in Los Angeles.

Venture Capital 230

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Fandango 230

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

So it’s really hard to draw too many conclusions about whether the investment really makes sense because often you learn stuff in the fund raising about the future strategy of the company that might make you much more excited than somebody on the outside might be. entrepreneur Wil Schroter (I am an angel investor in Affordit).

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Mike Jones , Investor and Advisor Located In Los Angeles. Scott Sangster, President of Tech Coast Angels (Los Angeles)/CEO at OrganicStartup. OrganicStartup incubates and accelerates innovative ventures by providing them with strategic early-stage investment, advisory, and operational assistance. Dinesh earned his B.S.

Tech Coast Angels 96

Tech Coast Angels Idealab Angel Startup 96

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

To hear about the firm's interest in Los Angeles, and Southern California investments in general, we spoke with Fouad ElNaggar , Principal at the firm, to hear about where the firm is nowadays and what kind of investments it is making locally. Thanks for the time today. We really believe in the market.

Redpoint 154

Redpoint Southern California Cornerstone OnDemand Invest 154

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

Its also been interesting to see the interaction of tools involved - Social Networking, Blogging and a Discussion Group. Open Source Business Models, speakers for Web 2.0 I regularly do wine tastings here in Los Angeles with some interesting folks I know. to help bloggers and blog readers with comments.

Blogging 150

Blogging CTO Coach CTO Hire Southern California 150

socalTECH

MARCH 17, 2009

The firm recently relocated its headquarters from Hawaii, and we talked with Rob about why someone might need the service, how it's different from the scores of social networking sites on the web, and what problem it's trying to solve. There are so many social networking sites, how do you define what's relevant?

Social Network 147

Social Network San Diego Sites Startup 147

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

Bill Gross is the man responsible for the overwhelming amount of monetization on the web. I think the best solution for the social networking era is “in-stream&# advertising. I won’t belabor this – I have an investment in this space ( ad.ly ) so I’m biased. High Profile Deal of the Week: 1.

Venture Capital 271

Venture Capital Capital Google Platform 271

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

Sometimes, Ill use LinkedIn to contact my network, but mostly I still just go to their profile and email them. When I was looking for speakers for an event last fall on Web 2.0 , LinkedIn was a great way to reach out. User Interface Beyond the Web Site ► November (7) Negative Customer Acquisition Costs - Creative Sta.

CTO Coach 150

CTO Coach Southern California CTO Hire Social Media 150

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008

David Sacks, one of the co-founders of PayPal, pitched Geni.com, an online site focused on both family trees and social networking. The "best of show" prize went to Magnify360, which develops software for optimizing content and web sites for specific users. READ MORE>>

Southern California 100

Southern California Conference SoCal Startup 100

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

friend of mine asked me to chat with a startup he’d invested in. While Google fights on the edges, Amazon is attacking their core - Chris Dixon , May 22, 2010 Google is fighting battles on almost every front: social networking, mobile operating systems, web browsers, office apps, and so on. Here’s why. I know I do.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2012

Use the Internet and social networking instead of public relations companies and advertising agencies. Try Web-Ex, free teleconferencing, and Skype instead of international travel for client meetings. No need to make the assumption that you will need a rich uncle or an angel investor for every idea you come up with.

Startup 102

Startup Search Engine Optimization SEM Social Network 102

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

One of the great joys of doing the web series This Week in VC every week is that I get to spend time with great people debating the issues of our day including how our industry is evolving as well as insights into how companies got started, got their initial traction and dealt with adversities. Oh, yeah. We then spoke about startups.

Startup 286

Startup Venture Capital Web Ideas 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2013

Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, venture capitalists, or Angels. Personalize a simple web site. Don’t expect that you can create a new social networking site in your garage, and steal all the users away from Facebook. The cost of entry has never been lower.

Sites 78

Sites Commerce Startup Tool 78

socalTECH

AUGUST 3, 2009

Sean is looking to locate his startup in the area, so we sat down with Sean to learn more about the company's software, as well as what brought him to the Los Angeles area. What is Jute Networks? Our company, Jute Networks, is a startup that is about a year and a half old. We're specifically not a social network.

Networking 113

Networking Startup Social Network Software 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

Use the Internet and social networking instead of public relations companies and advertising agencies. Try Web-Ex, free teleconferencing, and Skype instead of international travel for client meetings. No need to make the assumption that you will need a rich uncle or an angel investor for every idea you come up with.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Search Engine Optimization SEM 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, lawyers, venture capitalists, or Angels. Personalize a simple web site. Don’t expect that you can create a new social networking site in your garage, and steal all the users away from Facebook. The cost of entry has never been lower.

Startup 100

Startup Commerce Sites Blogging 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

What I’d like to do is tell you the story of how the investment came to be, what my thesis is / was and share some thoughts on macro trends. The Team – I’m on record as saying that 70% of my investment criteria are team related. I’m also on record as saying I invest in lines & not dots. He wanted to be an entrepreneur.

Invest 303

Invest Company Companies Web 2.0 303

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, venture capitalists, or Angels. Personalize a simple web site. Don’t expect that you can create a new social networking site in your garage, and steal all the users away from Facebook. The cost of entry has never been lower.

Commerce 99

Commerce Startup Sites Tool 99

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

It is an opportunity to get frank feedback from VCs, angels, peers and the technolust. Mixergy and AsAble are also joining us to bring you an amazing VC/Angel Panel. This Panel is filled with investing super stars who will be going over must have content for all the startups and entrepreneurs out there. Adrenaline Fueled Angel.

Social Media 71

Social Media Technical Review Mixergy Tech Coast Angels 71

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

We would like give a huge thank you to Social Media Week and the supportive startup community here in Los Angeles. For those who ever said there is no startup community in Los Angeles I most certainly beg to differ. VC/Angel Panel. Adrenaline Fueled Angel. Panel speakers: Paige Craig , aka. The Startups.

Social Media 60

Social Media Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Venture Capital 60

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Solaborate is a blend of great social network platforms, by taking in all the greatest bits and putting it all into one. Consumers all have access to social networks, but the business-side has never really caught on. LB: We are definitely looking for more investments. What are your next steps?

Social Media 92

Social Media Social Network Tool Mobile 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, venture capitalists, or angels. Personalize a simple web site. Don’t expect that you can create a new social networking site in your garage, and steal all the users away from Facebook. The cost of entry has never been lower.

Commerce 88

Commerce Startup Sites Tool 88

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2010

Last week, Los Angeles-based EcoMom (www.ecomom.com) launched its "green" parenting site, with backing from Dave McClure. For lack of a better word, it's really social shopping--not in the way of using social networking to drive sales, but because moms are social, to allow them to share information regularly online.

Software Review 200

Software Review Commerce Startup Sites 200

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2010

Use the Internet and social networking instead of public relations companies and advertising agencies. Try Web-Ex, free teleconferencing, and Skype instead of international travel for client meetings. No need to make the assumption that you will need a rich uncle or an angel investor for every idea you come up with.

Startup 50

Startup High Tech Search Engine Optimization SEM 50

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 11, 2011

PayDivvy according to CEO Mike Melby is: “the first and only social bill pay solution. PayDivvy provides a smarter way to manage bills by allowing you to pay, send and share bills…simply and socially…via web or mobile. But it is really the secondary social layer that makes this new technology incredibly exciting.

Conference 96

Conference Orange County Technical Review Software Review 96

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2011

Well, Los Angeles based Near Networks (www.nearnetworks.com) is looking to both reach customers online, and avoid the tacky, lousy production of typical small business ads, with a new service. What is Near Networks? That has allowed more creative people to get into video, without having to make such a huge investment it.

Networking 150

Networking Search Engine Optimization Product Startup 150

socalTECH

JUNE 30, 2009

We currently have data on 3900 counties, 1900 cities, including emails, web forms, web sites, telephones, faxes, you name it. The other feature that sets us apparent, is our integration with social media. Kurt and I are pretty Web 2.0 I started designing web sites, at a rudimentary level, right out of college, in 1997.

Startup 100

Startup Writing Southern California Email 100