Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

I wrote this overview of the LA Tech Ecosystem in December and on page 15 you’ll see a host of amazing VC firms at all stages from pre-seed through to early-B rounds. https://medium.com/media/3c33723f326245292958d4b055dfb424/href Today we learned that another great fund was announced — Fika Ventures. We love LA!

Dollar Shave Club 321

Dollar Shave Club Cornerstone OnDemand Riot Games Venture Capital 321

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2016

It’s often called the “double opt in” as in you make sure both sides are ok with an introduction before creating it. A person at a board meeting starts listing all the people they know at companies a, b and c. Many of us go one step further and almost always ask the recipient if it’s ok to do an introduction before we do it.

Innocal 255

Innocal Conference Help Study 255

socalTECH

OCTOBER 10, 2013

DogVacay , the online peer-to-peer marketplace for pet sitting services headed by Aaron Hirschhorn, has scored $15M in a Series B funding round, the company said this morning. The site originally grew out of the experience of husband and wife team Aaron Hirschhorn and Karine Nissim Hirschhorn and their own side business petsitting dogs.

Venture Capital 174

Venture Capital Sites Los Angeles Capital 174

socalTECH

APRIL 1, 2013

San Diego-based Proximal Data , which develops serve-side caching software for accelerating I/O access to virtualized machines, said this morning that it has raised $2M in a Series B round of funding. The funding came from Divergent Ventures, along with existing investors Avalon Ventures.

Software 124

Software Avalon San Diego Design 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2021

Feld and Mendelson identify the five most common negotiating styles that you will see on both sides of the table, and talk about how you can best work with each of them: The Bully (aka UAW negotiator). You may end up negotiating both sides of the deal, which is sometimes harder than having a real adversary.

Funding 131

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Customer 131

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

We both agree that the later-stage valuations are being driven up to a point that feels irrationally priced [he uses b-round SaaS valuations as an example and I am willing to be even more broad based]. I wrote my version here and Scott wrote an excellent write-up of his views here.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital SaaS Writing Funding 309

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

How does control start to change at the B-round of funding? If you are a super hot commodity then you may possible retain some board control through the B-round of financing with a 3–2 structure where the 2 is one seat for the A investor and one for the B investor. If your metric move immediate up-and-to-the-right?

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 31, 2011

In this case, the system will be made up of a classic two-sided market: Job Seekers Jobs / Employers And like most two-sided markets, the value to either side is most often proportional to the number of users on the network’s other side. How hard is it to find matches on either side? Who would be willing to wait?

eHarmony 204

eHarmony Marketing Startup Zag 204

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2017

Eventually the b *g wears thin. Why Great Executives Avoid Shiny Objects was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. We all know people who love to talk up their game but never deliver. Lots of people start, very few finish.

Activity 297

Activity Blogging Email Startup 297

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 31, 2011

In this case, the system will be made up of a classic two-sided market: Job Seekers Jobs / Employers And like most two-sided markets, the value to either side is most often proportional to the number of users on the network’s other side. How hard is it to find matches on either side? Who would be willing to wait?

eHarmony 196

eHarmony Marketing Startup Zag 196

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2022

On the marketing side of the equation, there are so many “marketing gurus” and “marketing resources” out there, the real challenge for most of us is to sort out the basic do’s and the don’ts that apply to startups. Be passionate about what you do, but develop a really strong plan, and a strong plan B too.

Marketing 141

Marketing Startup Social Media Technical Review 141

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2011

If you look at Diagram B you’ll see that the people you’re presenting to can look you in the eyes and glance up at the screen. If you show up early to set up then it’s easy to stake out the right seats (Diagram B). When they choose the latter they are totally tuned out to what you’re saying.

Tips 392

Tips Screening Slides Venture Capital 392

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Yet in my experience on both sides of this equation, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs focus only on the best idea , assuming that it will attract the right investors. You need to show you have a “Plan B,” and a never-give-up mindset, in handling any competitive threat or customer reaction. In reality, that’s only half the story.

Ideas 140

Ideas Entrepreneur Equity Resource 140

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 7, 2014

My speculation is that entrepreneurs had more options and wanted to take less dilution so the old $5 million for 33%-40% of your company no longer made sense and on the VC side it made no sense to pay $20 million pre ($25 million post, which implies the VC gets 20% of the company = 5/25). [If Why the latter?

Seed Funding 399

Seed Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 399

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

We''ve helped close 34 seed and Series B deals over the last nine months, and we''re growing really rapidly. You have to be able to connect with, communicate with, and stimulate the two sides of an investor''s brain. One is the rational side, the part that cares about the investment return equation on how to make money.

Venture Capital 174

Venture Capital Invest Platform Entrepreneur 174

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 20, 2010

Mark Suster – Both Sides Of The Table. I recently read a book I'd highly recommend to every reader of this blog called "Yes, 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive” by Robert B. If you are not already a subscriber of Mark’s Both Sides of the Table blog , you need to be. Click Here to Read More >>>.

Southern California 113

Southern California GRP Partners Blogging SoCal 113

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

If you want to see a short spot that outlines the importance of the restaurant industry arming itself with better software tools to serve and market to their customers you may enjoy this 60-second video that makes it clear why it matters.

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

Company A lost $2 million in Year 2 while Company B broke even. I also wouldn’t be so quick to say that Company B is run worse than Company A. In this scenario even though Company B initially looked prudent, it turns out that the investment that Company A made in people led to a higher annual growth rate.

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

SoCal CTO

MAY 18, 2010

“they are (a) invalid constructs, (b) totally unnecessary, and (c) a massive tax on and retardant of innovation. How To Communicate with your Investors between Board Meetings - Both Sides of the Table , May 1, 2010 Good advice around board communication.

Startup 150

Startup SaaS Metrics Patents 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

Current round: $20.0mm Series-B led by Andreesen Horowitz, with USV and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures. Offers virality optimization tools and A/B testing inside Facebook. Current round: $7.0mm Series-B led by MK Capital, withClearstone Venture Partners and Shasta Ventures. Current round: $16.5mm in Series-B. Kontagent. -A

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

InfoChachkie

APRIL 30, 2012

A/B Testing – We learned that orange was the ideal color and that a burst was better than a circle via rigorous A/B testing. A/B testing requires marketers to leave their egos and emotions at the door and allow quantifiable metrics to drive their decisions. Common Name – As Cialdini, et al note in Yes!

Study 243

Study Advertising Research Customer 243

socalTECH

APRIL 19, 2018

Brett Crosby: The big news, is we announced our Series B funding round, led by World Innovation Lab, as well as Andreessen Horowitz, Thomvest, Colchis Capital, Felicis Ventures, plus a couple of new investors, Solon Mack and Navitas Capital. Tell us a bit where PeerStreet is nowadays? Brett Crosby: There are three major factors.

Funding 113

Funding Platform News Capital 113

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

My pal Dave doesn’t visit the right side of the Haimish Line – he lives permanently on the right side ! He talked about how Neeleman worked at Southwest Airlines but couldn’t keep his job because at management meetings he was too impatient to sit through a bunch of corporate b t without speaking up and saying it was wrong.

Startup 309

Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2018

We have our own A/B testing platform, and my team is responsible for that solution for desktop and native apps, not only for Walmart.com, but also online groceries and the market. From a scale perspective, we process anywhere from 11 to 12 million desktop requests daily, and on the mobile side, 22 million requests a day.

San Diego 100

San Diego Southern California Technology Artificial Inteligence 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2018

We have our own A/B testing platform, and my team is responsible for that solution for desktop and native apps, not only for Walmart.com, but also online groceries and the market. From a scale perspective, we process anywhere from 11 to 12 million desktop requests daily, and on the mobile side, 22 million requests a day.

San Diego 100

San Diego Southern California Technology Artificial Inteligence 100

socalTECH

JANUARY 11, 2019

We're a multi-sided marketplace, start with the driver. In terms of artist side, the reason they use us is an alternative to radio promotion and marketing. Some artists are also using this for split and A/B testing. In terms of the artist side, we now have 2,000 artists. Explain what Steereo is and how it works?

Startup 113

Startup Advertising Marketing Platform 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2015

The grass is always greener on the other side. As someone who has experience on both sides of this fence, I’m convinced that the move from employee to entrepreneur is far more risky. If you are planning a corporate escape as your next move, it pays to think hard about a plan B, just in case this one doesn’t work out.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Statistics Startup Class 104

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

As a general rule I prefer that founders avoid strategic investors in the A and B round of financing when the company is more nascent and include strategics in later rounds when you can invite multiple ones at the same round and you cannot be seen as being in any one particular strategic investor’s pockets.

Startup 255

Startup Venture Capital Writing Training 255

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

Moving a VC from an A to a B doesn’t mean they aren’t still your top pick, it just means your chances are less likely and your extremely limited resources should be allocated elsewhere. 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.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

Having read his latest op-ed on email I know why I erred towards the side of of not loving his book as much as some did. It’s a craft that sincerely should be taught at b-schools. I think his advice is this op-ed is bananas. Apparently he’s an “organizational psychologist professor and thinks that it’s rude not to answer email.

Email 250

Email Writing Conference Mobile 250

InfoChachkie

MARCH 1, 2012

For years the note was improperly scored as a B-minor chord because that was the conventional note one would expect following a C and D chord progression. The typical approach during the 1960’s was to put a “throwaway” song on a single’s B-side. Your startup should strive to offer as much value to its customers as possible.

Tips 259

Tips Startup Entrepreneur Product 259

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 27, 2013

Join TechZulu as we celebrate LA’s most exciting tech creations of the moment with the brightest digital minds and engineering talents this side of Fresno. If you prefer an elevator, take the ground level entrance on the west side of Building B. It’s a gathering of friends and tech enthusiasts of all stripes.

UCLA 104

UCLA Southern California Santa Monica Pricing 104

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

How to go for the close Some Advice Before You Hit the Fund Raising Trail was originally published in Both Sides of the Table on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. If you want some more reading on this topic … I’ve written some relevant posts in the past here: A.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

socalTECH

JANUARY 11, 2019

We're a multi-sided marketplace, start with the driver. In terms of artist side, the reason they use us is an alternative to radio promotion and marketing. Some artists are also using this for split and A/B testing. In terms of the artist side, we now have 2,000 artists. Explain what Steereo is and how it works?

Startup 100

Startup Advertising Marketing Platform 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2013

Scott Morrow: The original business plan was to be a B-to-B, data network to help travel agents book hotels offline, at these boutique, independent luxury hotels. On the flip side, that 16 years means we have bad habits, and our culture was not aggressive, hard charging, and did not have an accountable structure.

Pricing 256

Pricing Sites Marketing SEM 256

socalTECH

AUGUST 10, 2012

What we provide, is a management system, a universal tagging system, so that instead of a customer deploying a tag or page code with vendor A, vendor B, and so forth, they just include a universal tag they deploy once. It's mutual on the IT side. Ali Benham: There are several reasons. One big reason is just marketing agility.

Startup 171

Startup Marketing Customer Custom 171

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 17, 2019

Feld and Mendelson identify the five most common negotiating styles that you will see on both sides of the table, and talk about how you can best work with each of them: The Bully (aka UAW negotiator). You may end up negotiating both sides of the deal, which is sometimes harder than having a real adversary.

Entrepreneur 80

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Funding 80