SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I received an inquiry from a reader of my blog and thought I would provide some thoughts, but would definitely welcome input: I am an unpaid CTO of a small startup. I tried to argue that the equity should be what it was at the time I joined and discussed but there was no formal agreement at that time.

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2013

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. 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. Think minimum spending. Creative marketing.

Equity 96

Equity Startup Summary Tips 96

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a weekend newsletter that dives into the week’s noteworthy news pertaining to startups and venture capital. Before I jump into today’s topic, let’s catch up a bit. Last week, I profiled an e-commerce startup Part & Parcel. Startup Spotlight: Landline. IPO Update.

Services 207

Services Startup Venture Capital Redpoint 207

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 31, 2012

Jeff (also an HBS alum) co-teaches the LTV course with Professor Eisenmann about a student of theirs who had written a blog post about sales taking on some of my previous assertions. Her post is short & well written so definitely worth a read if you’re a startup person and want to hear some sensible views on sales.

Startup 319

Startup Sales Course Competition 319

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

Final startup grind from msuster. And the folks at Startup Grind have been kind enough to invite me to present this morning in Mountain View on the topic. And you need to be careful about giving up control to cofounders as much as VCs. PMs are a vital part of a tech startup. figure out roles. identify gaps. and so forth.

Startup 388

Startup Slides Outsource Development Sales 388

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

Seth Levine of Foundry Group addresses this important topic this morning on his blog with a post, “ Has Convertible Debt Won ?&# Convertible debt is an investment that “converts&# into equity in the future usually at a discount to your next funding round price and sometimes has a “cap&# (maximum price).

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

If you really want to start a business your way without a boss or professional investor hovering over you, then just fund it yourself or through friends and family, and grow it organically. According to Investopedia , over 90 percent of successful businesses currently start this way. Operate small, but show a big-company image.

Social Media 169

Social Media Startup Equity Summary 169

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Let’s set up a framework. Profitability.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

It is also a result of pent-up demand. So we loaded up on flat screen TVs, multiple generations of iPods and trips to Hawaii. So we loaded up on flat screen TVs, multiple generations of iPods and trips to Hawaii. We spent our future since the equity was artificial. So why the ’09 bounce? See point 2 below.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Startup Funding Technical Review 269

Xconomy

MAY 2, 2019

A new venture capital firm, which in November marked its launch by raising a $53 million-plus fund to invest in startups, has made its first investment.

Equity 93

Equity Venture Capital Software San Diego 93

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2012

We’ve grown accustomed to a professionalism where we know when a work issue comes up we can count on each other for a quick Sunday call between family time. And that person has almost certainly chosen specifically to be a startup lawyer over serving other types of customers because he or she enjoys working with entrepreneurs.

Startup 363

Startup Venture Capital Coach Press 363

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 11, 2010

I recently wrote a blog post about why I believe that startup teams in close proximity perform better. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – I got a similar lukewarm reaction when we started Launchpad LA and that seems to be going pretty well. In fact, this is the set up Jeff had as he was between gigs.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Incubator Entrepreneur 285

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

I often advise startup companies not to try and pin all of your brand equity into an announcement. It’s something you must earn over time by living up to the name you define. We are trying hard to live up to the guidelines we laid out for our investors, our portfolio companies and our community.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Startup Blogging Platform 324

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes. Shame about that pesky FAS 157 ruling.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 1, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series on Startup Advice. If you’ve read my blog for a while you’ll know that I’m a fan of starting businesses in a non-traditional way. I recommend that you start a company by yourself and own 100% of it. I recommend that you start a company by yourself and own 100% of it.

Startup 289

Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur Sales 289

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. 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. Think minimum spending. Marty Zwilling.

Organization 111

Organization Startup Summary Entrepreneur 111

Xconomy

JANUARY 23, 2018

In a blog post called “Fixing the Inequity of Startup Equity,” it offered a raft of free documents companies can download to more easily implement a 10-year exercise window. They’ve extended the window to exercise options for employees who have at least a minimum period of service.

Startup 64

Startup Blogging Equity Sites 64

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

It’s the lifeblood of any organization and yet most startups don’t have any sales DNA on their teams. It’s important enough that I dedicate a tab on my blog to startup sales & marketing. 24:00 Selling a startup today. when is the right time to hire your first sales employee? junior vs. senior?

Software Review 300

Software Review Sales Tips Help 300

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Search Engine Optimization 103

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 103

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

I spoke at Stanford last year about starting a tech company. They really cleverly chopped the video up into small bite-sized segments. Here is a quick summary of my POV: When you start a company a 50/50 partnership seems obvious. One person gets married or has kids and starts to de-prioritize the business.

Startup 393

Startup Equity Funding Summary 393

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about “ the politics of startups ” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology. A co-founder who started by working hard but gets sucked into the tech party circuit and has more interest in socialize than building cool s**t.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Startup 89

Startup Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 89

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-time CTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. There's a lot on my blog already around this topic. I often will tap into that network to try to help find people for startups.

CTO Hire 282

CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 282

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Startup 108

Startup Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 108

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 18, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Startup Lessons.&#. Yesterday I wrote a blog post ( here ) in which I urged people to not have too many founders. To be clear – it is not about being stingy with or hoarding equity – it is about having a prenuptial agreement. He started a company with 2 others.

Startup 251

Startup Equity Venture Capital Entrepreneur 251

Xconomy

MARCH 21, 2018

Many top food companies are increasingly pumping money into supporting young, innovative startups, according to a recent analysis by CB Insights. The big guys are starting to figure out that they can’t really innovate well enough within their own organization,” says Robyn Metcalfe, director of Food+City , a multi-departmental.

Incubator 91

Incubator Startup Equity Organization 91

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

I read commentary or Twitter or blogs and realize that there are also strongly held convictions that there are these evil VCs who do terrible things to mostly altruistic founders. Boards are not appointed to be founder-friendly lapdogs for the 1–3 founders who start companies and usually own the largest equity positions in the company.

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2013

I’m fully convinced that both inspiration and perspiration are always required in a startup. Those at the other extreme don’t look up from the grindstone long enough to notice whether all their work is producing sweat equity or just sweat. Starting a business may be fun, but it’s not easy. Marketing is top priority.

Startup 100

Startup Patents Competition Social Network 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Andy is a leader in the Southern Californian innovation ecosystem and has started, led or invested in more than two dozen tech start-ups.

Southern California 113

Southern California SoCal Pasadena Startup 113

SoCal CTO

APRIL 27, 2011

Several people have recently come to me to help them source and/or hire full-time CTOs for their startup having found me through my post that looks at: Startup CTO Salary and Equity Data. There's a lot on my blog already around this topic. I often will tap into that network to try to help find people for startups.

CTO Hire 225

CTO Hire CTO Coach Technical Review Startup 225

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Yet it always amazes me that I can find two different startups, seemingly working on the same problem, with one having a burn rate several times higher than the other. They understand startup realities. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Search Engine Optimization 124

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 124

socalTECH

JUNE 15, 2010

Santa Monica-based Rubicon Project , the online advertising optimization firm founded by Frank Addante, is on track to do $100M in revenues this year and will reach profitability in Q4, according to a blog post by Addante Tuesday afternoon.

Clearstone 232

Clearstone Santa Monica Advertising Blogging 232

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you. 2. Chris then discussed his time as founder and CEO of SiteAdvisor, his first venture-backed startup.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Proficio, a Carlsbad, CA-based startup providing cybersecurity protection services for middle market companies, has raised $12 million in an investment round led by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. The Los Angeles-based private equity firm provided funding from its Kayne Partners Fund Group, which invests in high-growth technology businesses.

Equity 40

Equity Los Angeles Invest Networking 40

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Behind most great startup success stories is a long list of mistakes! Every startup mentor has his favorite list of basic strategies to avoid pitfalls, and I’m no exception. Every startup mentor has his favorite list of basic strategies to avoid pitfalls, and I’m no exception. Assume your initial strategy will be wrong.

Tips 102

Tips Help Startup Blogging 102

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. If I check Twitter it’s usually because I’m waiting for a meeting to start and I never write posts during the day. By having 5 or 6 blog posts with different points of view they could draw more inferences.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Xconomy

MAY 30, 2016

Lita Nelsen has seen it up close—and played a part in its evolution—from her studies there in the 1960s, to her business-school fellowship in the late 1970s, to her 30 years working in MIT’s Technology Licensing Office. And so that’s what Stanford did, so it was set up in that model. I wasn’t the director then in ’86.

Startup 67

Startup Compton Research Technology 67