Berkonomics

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Investors love it when entrepreneurs draw little or no money from their startups. That amount is almost always higher, much higher, than the amount budgeted for the entrepreneur. The post Should you include your sweat equity in a business plan? What are you worth to the business? A “messy” solution.

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Equity Journal Startup Email 156

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

On the phone … Me: So, you raised venture capital? Convertible notes have both features in them but for some reason entrepreneurs don’t understand it. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. We raised a seed round.

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Venture Capital Capital Pricing Doc 417

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

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Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

socalTECH

JUNE 29, 2017

Those local funds are on top of a massive injection of funding from out of area venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, and strategic investors. Investment interests: Consumer Internet, eCommerce, enterprise software, cloud computing, financial technology, advertising technology. Core Innovation Capital.

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Southern California Venture Capital Artificial Inteligence Capital 178

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2020

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. In fact, perhaps the most important model, equity crowdfunding for non-accredited investors was only legalized via the SEC in 2016, so its impact is still in the early stages.

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Berkonomics

APRIL 3, 2014

There are three classes of equity investors for early stage businesses that we have not yet considered. First, angel investment groups come in all sizes from a few organized angels to large groups of three hundred or more. Angel groups invest from $250,000 to $1,000,000 or more in qualified investments.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

Every investment so far in this YC batch (and there have been a lot) has been done on a convertible note.&#. I’ve written about the topic of convertible debt at length before specifically about how angels & entrepreneurs should think about pricing. Clearly this is is a trend and a topic that is interesting entrepreneurs.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Four reasons you should reconsider.

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Startup Invest Summary Resource 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Private endowments. Marty Zwilling.

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Equity Startup Technical Review Organization 94

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued? On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational.

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Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 26, 2020

The Los Angeles startup community is joining the rest of the world in mourning the death of NBA superstar, entrepreneur and investor Kobe Bryant who was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., Bryant launched his venture career with partner and serial entrepreneur Jeff Stibel back in 2013, according to Crunchbase.

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Venture Capital Los Angeles Legalzoom Calabasas 359

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 6, 2023

With the advent and growth of crowdfunding over the past few years, many entrepreneurs have predicted the demise of angel investment groups and venture capital organizations. That’s not as high as the failure rate with professional investors, but it should convince entrepreneurs that crowdfunding is still no panacea for funding.

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Equity Platform Entrepreneur Statistics 80

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 18, 2019

With an inaugural investment into the Los Angeles-based entertainment startup Culture Genesis , Clifford Harris Jr., ”, has launched a new syndicated investment vehicle called Tech Cypha. billion in 2018, a record for the region, according to data from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which In the U.S. Most share expertise as well as money.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Of course, you will find yourself in opposition to your investors and some of most of your board members if you do this after taking outside investment. I was able to negotiate a “put” of my shares back to the company at 5x my investment. For some, that comfort is worth forgoing building high equity value.

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TechCrunch LA

MAY 23, 2019

The Los Angeles ecosystem is $76 million stronger today as Fika Ventures , a seed-stage venture capital firm, announces its sophomore investment fund. Fika invests roughly half of its capital exclusively in startups headquartered in LA, with a particular fondness for B2B, enterprise and fintech companies.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Billionaire entrepreneur and "Shark Tank" co-host Mark Cuban is an outspoken proponent of the all-in early approach in a video interview, and made it clear that he gives no credibility and low odds to founders seeking funding who have not fully committed their time and efforts to their cause. The early entrepreneur lifestyle is not much fun.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2018

Yet crowdfunding is no panacea for hungry entrepreneurs and startups. Crowdfunding may look easy, via popular sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but their cost in time, effort, and money by entrepreneurs is daunting. In fact, there are many types of crowdfunding, including donations, reward, pre-orders, loans, and equity.

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Equity Entrepreneur Statistics Funding 72

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. Startup equity model. In Europe, other investors can buy equity, with platforms such as Seedrs. In the U.S.,

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Funding Startup Outsource Development Satisfaction 141

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Those of us in the business of calculating (guessing) this mythical peak in value often make the same mistake as our entrepreneurs. Companies sometime run out of cash in the midst of their increasing success, and often find that sources of loans or investment are not freely flowing at the moment of need. Or sell now?

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Pricing Invest Equity Entrepreneur 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2014

Every startup needs access to capital, whether for funding product development, for initial rollout efforts, acquiring inventory, or paying that first employee. Most entrepreneurs think first of bank loans as the primary source of money, only to find out that banks are really the least likely benefactors for startups. Micro-loans.

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Entrepreneur Capital Startup Funding 101

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

The subject of raising money is critical to many businesses and a passing option to others, depending upon the capital efficiency of the enterprise. Email readers, continue here…] Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally-generated funds.

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Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

Yesterday I wrote Part 1 of the series on the changes to the software industry over the past decade that has led to changes in the venture capital industry itself. Some have moved into later stage investments in an effort to “put logos on their websites.&# Surprisinly, this strategy works well with many entrepreneurs.

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Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Fourth, there is the matter of control.

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Resource Invest Summary Startup 180

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

The last thing a new entrepreneur wants to think about for a new startup is how it will end. Yet one of the first things a potential equity investor asks about is your exit strategy. The answer you give can make or break your ability to get an investment, so you need to have the right answer ready before anyone asks.

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Technical Review Equity Invest Startup 105

socalTECH

MAY 4, 2021

The company said the round was led by Tiger Global Management and included TPG, Tidemark, Owl Rock Capital and Meritech Capital, along with existing investor Spectrum Equity. The investment round firmly vaunts the company into unicorn territory. Kajabi's CEO and co-founder is Kenny Rueter.

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Commerce Coach Course Equity 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. What options do they have available to them, since they can’t sell a share of the company (no equity investment)? There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment. Private endowments. Marty Zwilling.

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Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2021

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

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Funding Startup Equity Invest 138

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2022

One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. On the other hand, venture capital organizations typically look for needs that exceed $2 million. How much equity ownership are you willing to offer? What business milestones have you met?

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Funding Startup Equity Invest 121

InfoChachkie

MAY 6, 2013

This is due to a fundamental disconnect between the increased activity of high-volume seed investors (that fill out lots of Seed rounds) and the relatively small number of Series A investors, who only make 1 or 2 investments, per partner, per year.". There is a similar Darwinian aspect to venture capital investing.

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Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Capital 246

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. Our last fund we raised was in 2012 and we began investing it in April of 2012.

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Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

“Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well. It's big, well known & we've invested in all of these really cool companies]. I know the firm well and I know the entrepreneur & his business well. There is no chance they’re going to invest and it’s not even a close match. What fits your schedule?

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

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Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

socalTECH

MARCH 15, 2012

Los Angeles-based ticketing and concert management firm Live Nation is getting into the early stage investment business, announcing Wednesday that it has established the LN Labs Fund , which will invest in early stage technologies and entrepreneurs. Size of the fund was not announced.

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Invest Funding Startup Equity 171

socalTECH

APRIL 12, 2017

Wallach on investments out of a new fund, Inevitable Ventures. How did you end up here in Los Angeles doing investments? Coincidentally, that was the exact same time in 2009 when I moved out, when Ashton Kutcher started first investing. Ron chose me to manage those investments. We brought in a third partner, Guy Oseary.

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