Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

I consider this trip the anniversary of the company’s starting up, and made the trip 11 years in a row. I’d often say: “I created the company so no one could fire me.” I never took a business course, never wrote a business plan, and never raised any outside capital. I had to be successful at my new software company.

Startup 204

Startup Software Review UCLA Sales 204

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. Some argue to simply eliminate software patents, while others put their hopes in U.S. Patent offices can’t keep up with software technology.

Patents 53

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

socalTECH

JANUARY 16, 2013

Lynda.com , the online video education provider which has been one of the region's most successful, bootstrapped companies--is no longer bootstrapped, after inking a massive, $103M growth equity round. Meritech Capital also participated in the funding. READ MORE>>.

Funding 178

Funding Santa Barbara ReachLocal Southern California 178

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series of posts and I need to file this one under both Raising Venture Capital and Startup Advice. I remember going to an Under the Radar conference in 2006 in the heat of the Web 2.0 There were tons of young entrepreneurs showing their latest Web 2.0 Cisco and others went out to fill out their Web 2.0

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets. Join a startup incubator.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The company--which is in the business of operating a content delivery network (CDN) to accelerate the delivery of web graphics, multimedia, applications, and more to end users-- recently disclosed it more than doubled its revenues in 2012, and has grown to over 230 employees--all due to a huge amount of demand for CDN services by its customers.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. What are related products/companies? Have you raised capital? Unfortunately, we are web, mobile, software, database guys.

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. What are related products/companies? Have you raised capital? Unfortunately, we are web, mobile, software, database guys.

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. Many of our job postings for Engineering positions describe the company as a place “where the word ‘millions’ is used frequently and in many contexts&#.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2011

I’m sure you have all been frustrated at least once at not being able to get the Internet domain name you want for your company. The simple answer is that if you want to be found and remembered on the Web, the perfect domain name can easily be worth several thousand dollars. Need wedding shoes? Register the name if available.

Company 81

Company Companies Pricing Web 81

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Los Angeles-based Signal Sciences (www.signalsciences.com), which develops web application firewall software, just inked a big, $35M series C funding round a few weeks ago, and now has plans to dramatically expand its hiring in Los Angeles. Tell us a little bit about this round? Were excited about both angles.

Startup 113

Startup Funding Technical Review Software Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Yeah, that was when I changed for me…” “…there was so much positive feedback on demystifying this one element of venture capital. This time frame – 2005/2006 – web 2.0 If you are outside internet software we are not going to invest. Brad’s start in Venture Capital. was starting. So if you are outside the U.S.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2011

I’ve just completed an investment in Ryan Carson’s new company, TreeHouse. So I invested in Maker Studios , which is now the 3rd largest producer of Internet video on the web. TreeHouse is also a video company. But its objective is to teach the world web design or to program computers. Americans watch 5.3

Invest 295

Invest Carson Technical Review Education 295

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital. Still though, when founders are seeking funding, “ 75 percent of the venture capital goes to three states: Massachusetts, New York, and California,” said Steve Case in an interview with Recode. Pledge 1% (San Francisco, CA).

Startup 140

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 8, 2011

The Spotlight is shining down these amazing LA companies! And now without further ado I present the Spotlight: LA Tech Summer Winners: Spotlight Companies. It gives music companies a direct pipeline to market their products and services to music fans. Spotlight: LA Tech Summer SuperDemo is all electric car company CODA.

CalTech 100

CalTech Technical Review Company Companies 100

Xconomy

MARCH 20, 2018

Mythic , which last year unveiled its novel computer chip designed for artificial intelligence, announced today that it has raised $40 million in a Series B fundraising round led by the venture capital arm of Japanese telecom and tech giant SoftBank.

Artificial Inteligence 77

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Venture Capital Software Review 77

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

The company was founded by Bong Koh, a former EIR at Prism VentureWorks and venture capitalist at Advanced Technology Ventures; he also co-founded ibeatyou. We're taking our cue from other companies like Yelp, and their Elite Yelpers program. What's the story on how you started the company?

Startup 271

Startup CTO Coach Activity Software Review 271

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets. Apply for contests and business grants. Join a startup incubator.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

This latest round valued the company in excess of a billion dollars, entering them into the overly-hyped Unicorn Club. In contrast, low-volume, high-conviction investors like Rincon only invests in a handful new companies each year, making it much more costly (in dollars and effort expended) to invest in a loser.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets. Join a startup incubator.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in very early stage companies. I used an image from Roger Smith that describes the varying roles of a CTO as the company matures. In December 2007, I described how I commonly take on an Acting CTO Role in a Start-up.

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2009

One of the firms launching this week there is Los Angeles-based NativeTung (www.nativetung.com), which is developing tools to help web sites translate and create multilingual versions of their sites. We spoke with Idris Manley , founder of NativeTung, last week, to hear more about the company. What is NativeTung?

Startup 133

Startup Technical Review Social Network Content 133

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. And he was still in the process of raising additional capital, so it was equity only. In my view, the very fact that they feel that the technical development of a web startup is only worth a couple percent speaks volumes.

CTO Hire 241

CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity Develop 241

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

What I want to answer with this post (long though it may be) is: Why did Web 2.0 Brands didn’t advertise their web pages they advertised “AOL Keywords.&# If you were a newly minted, venture-backed consumer Internet company you had to have a deal with AOL to reach your customers. Social Networking in Web 1.0.

Social Network 297

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Web 297

socalTECH

JULY 21, 2011

The firm announced a funding round last week, from DFJ Frontier, DFJ JAIC, Gold Hill Capital, and angel investors Gil Elbaz (Factual), Auren Hoffman (Rapleaf), and Walter Kortschak (Summit Partners), and many others. How did the company come about? Initially, we're supporting Foursquare, Facebook Places, Gowalla, and Twitter Places.

Social Media 248

Social Media Zumbox Media Startup 248

Xconomy

MAY 29, 2018

The Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and related technologies are being used to connect ovens, refrigerators, and other kitchen appliances to the Web. Feeling unsure about cooking that fish dish? Smart ovens can more accurately calibrate temperatures to avoid over-cooking.

Artificial Inteligence 85

Artificial Inteligence Help Startup Web 85

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

View the Slideshow A little more than a year ago, amid a resurgence in San Diego’s software sector, Xconomy identified a baker’s dozen of local tech companies to watch in 2016. The idea was to feature early stage companies in the region that have not attracted much attention or raised a substantial amount of startup capital.

San Diego 40

San Diego Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup 40

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

The United States is now a debtor nation to China and that the bill is about to come due. Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Who better to answer than the company's engineering lead. call to arms.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

What I want to answer with this post (long though it may be) is: Why did Web 2.0 AOL was controlled by one company and the Internet was distributed. AOL controlled the services, taxed companies to access users and decided what was good or bad. Social Networking in Web 1.0: cheap accessible digital hardware].

Social Network 318

Social Network Networking Web 2.0 Startup 318

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets. Apply for contests and business grants. Join a startup incubator.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 87

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. Thus is venture capital. Tempus Fugit.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets. Join a startup incubator.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 105

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

I spoke about how Amazon Web Services deserves far more credit for the last 5 years of innovation than it gets credit for and how I believe they spawned the micro-VC category. The fact that today’s Internet bubble does not represent all companies does not disprove its existence. I spoke about a lot of things during the keynote.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 4, 2014

It’s almost been a work week since Techzulu and Gadget Review’s REACH | The Connected Future and we’re still reeling with excitement. He reminds us that there was also a time when major companies like Washington Mutual, and Linen ‘n’ Things toppled. More streamlined production with companies like NEST.

UCLA 99

UCLA Technical Review Software Review Incubator 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The problem is that professional investors (Angels and Venture Capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets. Join a startup incubator.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The problem is that professional investors (Angels and Venture Capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Leave the world of new computer chips and new drugs to the big companies, and people with deep pockets. Join a startup incubator.

Startup 123

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 123

SoCal Delicious

OCTOBER 8, 2012

CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=FB CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=GOOG CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=I/DRG CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=I/HOM CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=I/ISV CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=I/MED CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=M/TEC CODE=DJII-DJN SYMBOL=MDA.T Financial News. Professor Journal. SmartMoney. Student Journal. WSJ Classifieds.

Los Angeles 44

Los Angeles Software Review Technical Review Journal 44