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. Sales and marketing strategy.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

By now you have many smart people around your board but probably people who don’t totally understand the nuances of your employees, customers, sales reps, marketing messages, technology challenges, competitors and strategic choices. how much energy to put into channel partners vs. direct sales. how to evolve our management team.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

There just aren’t enough angel investors and VCs to go around. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board. These looming constraints can turn your startup dream into a nightmare, all to increase funding.

Funding 104

Funding Summary Entrepreneur Acquisition 104

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2023

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Here is a summary of the key stages along the way: Idea and seed stage.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Satisfaction 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2020

If ten percent of these numbers, multiplied by your average product price, will get you the revenue you need to scale your business, you will get the love you need from angel and venture capital investors. The wealth of data available online is already much larger than the entire Library of Congress, and much more current.

Marketing 157

Marketing Statistics Research Report 157

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. In sales there are also three rules: Qualify, qualify, qualify.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

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. It’s always impressive to have stand-alone supporting documents for product specifications, sales plan details, and backup financial reports.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

And great management is able to morph a company to adopt without destroying the culture of the company in the process. What if you were the investor and someone walked into your office handing you a business plan executive summary that floored you with its brilliance? This is serious stuff.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Summary Entrepreneur Incubator 240

socalTECH

JANUARY 21, 2010

For today's Insights and Opinions piece, we have an article from Dave Berkus , an angel investor and blogger at Berkonomics , who gives a good summary and rundown of the various different places you can raise money for your business. For you who fit that description, nice work.

Southern California 145

Southern California High Tech Summary Capital 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2019

There just aren’t enough angel investors and VCs to go around. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board. These looming constraints can turn your startup dream into a nightmare, all to increase funding.

Summary 121

Summary Startup Entrepreneur Funding 121

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2020

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Here is a summary of the key stages along the way: Idea and seed stage.

Ideas 127

Ideas Entrepreneur Satisfaction Summary 127

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business for 4-6 months. “COGS” represents the amount that each sale costs you.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

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. Connections?

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

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. It’s always impressive to have stand-alone supporting documents for product specifications, sales plan details, and backup financial reports.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

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. Skip the sales pitch and avoid preaching. You don’t have time for any story at this point. Build up for the punch line at the end.

Startup 104

Startup Summary Patents Examples 104

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2011

Early in a services business there is usually no profits as the company reinvests in hiring people to grow, but by $20 million in sales the company should at least be pulling in 10% profits (if not more) depending on how much is reinvested. Who are your competitors – how much do they charge?&#. It’s pure irony.

Services 332

Services Venture Capital IP Startup 332

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2012

They are your route to angel money. Your entrée to sales meetings. Helping with a Sales Lead. People need access to angels and VCs. But all too frequently people send angels & VCs too many unqualified intros. In Summary. Intros.They’re the lifeblood of networking – the currency of mavens.

Email 359

Email Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 359

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

If ten percent of these numbers, multiplied by your average product price, will get you the revenue you need to scale your business, you will get the love you need from angel and venture capital investors. The wealth of data available online is already much larger than the entire Library of Congress, and much more current.

Research 87

Research Marketing Statistics Report 87

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

CEO Flow

MARCH 2, 2009

Bio summary: Aaron Ross is the founder of CEOFlow , which helps CEOs understand how to create predictable revenue, through guidance, groups and consulting. We intend the group to be mostly CEOs of B2B companies and companies with some direct sales.

Santa Monica 40

Santa Monica Los Angeles Finaventures Angel 40

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

socalTECH

APRIL 4, 2013

That''s what Los Angeles-based FieldLevel (www.fieldlevel.com) has been working on, making it easier for coaches to network and exchange information on athletes. It''s much like a sales team might use software to find leads. Form there, we got interest from incubators, angel investors, and venture capital.

Coach 252

Coach USC Statistics Startup 252

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. As soon as you bring in investors, they force you to plan for an exit (merger or sale) in three to five years. Don’t think about the exit.

Organization 111

Organization Startup Summary Entrepreneur 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2018

There just aren’t enough angel investors and VCs to go around. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board. These looming constraints can turn your startup dream into a nightmare, all to increase funding.

Summary 79

Summary Startup Entrepreneur Funding 79

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2015

There just aren’t enough Angel investors and VCs to go around. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board. These looming constraints can turn your startup dream into a nightmare, all to increase funding.

Funding 102

Funding Summary Startup Entrepreneur 102

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 Everything is for sale but it’s the price that moves the timing. Big thank you to Darius Vasefi , of EyeOnJewels for the write up.

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

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. Bobby’s strong sales acumen, genuine charisma and leadership abilities make him an invaluable asset to the founding team. Why did you venture into fitness? Have you raised any funding yet?

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Here is a summary of the key terms to expect on the term sheet, or the contract between the founder and investor: Consideration given for the money invested. Investors want a contract preference to get their total investment back first in any company sale, to prevent founders who are struggling from deciding to sell at a loss.

Demand 105

Demand Startup Equity Invest 105

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

Los Angeles. You can hire a talented head of marketing, business development, technology and sales. I believe you can attract people to relocate to Los Angeles but it’s likely that they’ll come from locations other than Northern California. You need to for conferences, business development and often for sales.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2013

Another alternative is to download from my website a free sample model that I built for a specific startup, with elements suggested by Angel investors and venture capitalists, ready to be customized to your business.

Startup 101

Startup Sample Summary Pricing 101

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2015

As a mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs and startups, and an Angel investor, my passion is to find and nurture those entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas and acumen, to make them into successful business owners. Here is a summary of the key stages along the way: Idea and seed stage.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Ideas Satisfaction Summary 109

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

Best is if you have a combination of ad revenue, sponsorships and some forms of non ad revenue (subscriptions, merch, music sales, etc.). Summary : YouTube as a customer acquisition tool to building great online businesses is unrivaled today. Your tech needs to add value to content producers, the audience and advertisers.

SEM 150

SEM Content Platform Acquisition 150

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. It’s always impressive to have stand-alone supporting documents for product specifications, sales plan details, and backup financial reports.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Statistics 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2014

If 10 percent of these numbers, multiplied by your average product price, will get you the revenue you need to scale your business, you will get the love you need from angel and venture capital investors. A common excuse I hear from entrepreneurs for not doing the work is that real market research takes too much time and costs too much money.

Marketing 97

Marketing Entrepreneur Statistics Research 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2014

There just aren’t enough Angel investors and VCs to go around. Most public shells ready for sale are not listed on a national securities exchange, but are instead traded in a less glamorous setting, such as the OTC Bulletin Board. These looming constraints can turn your startup dream into a nightmare, all to increase funding.

Funding 98

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Summary 98