socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing. Mike Napoli: Actually, we are seeing entrepreneurs. Mike Napoli: We've revised the way we review companies at the prescreening stage.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2022

I’ve learned over the years that you need to start with specific goals, a focused strategy , and a motivated and prepared team in order to penetrate competitive defenses. Too many entrepreneurs I know charge into battle with only their passion, and hope for the best. Capitalize on territory the competition has not penetrated.

Marketing 125

Marketing Technical Review Startup Resource 125

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Small Business Grants to Apply For Today If your business doesn't have enough capital to take on future debts or has a unique specialism or back story that could catch the eye of grantors, it might be a good idea to apply for a grant. It's competitive though – last year 18,000 applicants competed for only 12 slots.

Technical Review 193

Technical Review Software Review Startup Competition 193

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

But if you level up , raise capital and grow customers, revenue and staff – life changes. The “span of control” for a growing tech startup is probably 6-9 people. You help them prioritize their objectives and review the results. Extremely talented people are ultra competitive. You set direction.

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 103

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. In this case the barrier would be reduced access to capital.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? They were a way to gather cheap capital.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Fortunately, for those headed to SXSW, Startup Night SXSW 2018 , presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo, will be filled with investors from a multitude of industries who are looking to discover and fund startups building the latest solutions and tech innovations. Joanne Chen, Partner at Foundation Capital.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital. BlackTech Week was created in 2014, and in four short years, they’ve gained over 2700 participants, 150 speakers, and 3 pitch competitions.

Startup 140

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. His focus is on entrepreneurs in America, but what he says applies to every other country as well. This next frontier lies in building enterprises as an entrepreneur, rather than waiting for innovation and opportunity from large corporations.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Offshore Technical Review Outsource 87

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

It really is possible for an introvert to succeed as an entrepreneur, even though you can’t expect to start and build a business alone. Every entrepreneur, especially an introvert, can benefit from the perspective of another business person, ideally one who has prior experience in the domain you are about to enter.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Mentor Activity Startup 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location. The list goes on and on.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. His focus is on entrepreneurs in America, but what he says applies to every other country as well. This next frontier lies in building enterprises as an entrepreneur, rather than waiting for innovation and opportunity from large corporations.

Startup 126

Startup Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Offshore 126

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and Venture capital is about backing the leaders of tomorrow who imagine the world as it should be and aren’t constrained by what it is today. She had all of the skills and traits we sought?—?leadership, And all the platform stuff. I’m only 52!

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). 15 years ago we were at the peak of Internet hype with the launch of many over-capitalized businesses with a market size & opportunity was limited.

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2019

How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Technology Startup Social Media 87

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. It was actually a really good year last year.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. ” Climate resiliency . Fables of the reconstruction.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). The grant source often gets overlooked, but it should be a major focus these days when relevant due to the Obama administration initiatives on alternative energy and healthcare. Government grants.

Funding 130

Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. Typically this means describing interactions with customer groups, real customer feedback, and showing an understanding of price sensitivity, alternatives, and competitive offerings.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. Will our strategy change now that we have 40% more capital? . We raised $280 million.

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. Far from it. Lots of it. It was an early and smart bet.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2021

The biggest challenge for every entrepreneur and every startup today is to get noticed and remembered in today’s information overload. The number of entrepreneurs worldwide is huge, starting an estimated 50 million new businesses per year, or 137,000 per day. These attributes include the following: Specific moment-in-time indication.

Startup 125

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 125

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Value is created through diligent hard work. Rationale: My idea is so mind-blowingly fantastic that I must immediately spend some of my precious capital to protect it. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2013

On the other hand, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. This next frontier lies in building your own enterprises as an entrepreneur, rather than waiting for innovation and opportunity from large corporations. Existing technologies have been “commoditized” globally. Competitive advantages are rapidly vaporizing on these.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Offshore Startup Technical Review 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2020

From my consulting with entrepreneurs in Europe and other countries, I’m convinced that we all could benefit from adapting to meet their environments. He comes from a background in venture capital from inside and outside the Valley, as well as entrepreneurship work with startup efforts around the world.

Ideas 124

Ideas Venture Capital Software Review Technical Review 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2017

How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Technology Startup Social Media 60

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2014

Many entrepreneurs fantasize about days longer than 24 hours, convinced that their new venture could change the world, if they just had more time. However, this topic is particularly critical to entrepreneurs, who struggle with challenges and crises every day that they didn’t anticipate.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Technical Review Email Social Media 105

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I also wonder about the entrepreneur who would sign a term sheet that came from somebody they hadn’t gotten to know over time. Great entrepreneurs pivot.

Entrepreneur 291

Entrepreneur Startup Google Yammer 291

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. This is total bullshit.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2022

How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology.

Startup 89

Startup Technical Review Technology Social Media 89

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

One the most frequent questions asked of me by entrepreneurs is, "How can I become a Venture Capitalist?" The inquiry is common because being a VC is (to an entrepreneur, at least) a sexy job. In contrast, an Angel Investor is someone who invests their own capital. Microscopic Industry. Hang Out With VCs - VCs love free help.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location. The list goes on and on.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

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 don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you. West Coast”).

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281