Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

The practical uses for uBeam technology is limitless. If electricity could be transferred like WiFi but as safe as a soundwave we use on pregnant women’s bellies and at a price-point that was attractive this is a multi-billion market. Did anybody hold patents that would prevent us from using this technology? Was it safe?

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. However, they have been sending VCs far more investment checks in the last ten years than they’ve gotten back as distributions.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

socalTECH

MAY 26, 2009

Last week's angel investment report by the Angel Capital Association reported that investments by angel investors dropped nine percent in 2008, with a hefty percentage of angel investors--40 percent--expecting this year will be a down year. Tags: angel investment capital venture.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Invest Tech Coast Angels Westlake Village 100

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

The process for retailers and brands to liquidate excess inventory hasn’t changed very much, if at all, and while some retailers were able to build operational infrastructure to service the off-price channels, it continues to be a constant pain point. Ghost is not alone in developing technology focused on inventory.

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

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

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). We feature a prominent speaker at every event.

Venture Capital 241

Venture Capital Technical Review Southern California Company 241

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

In a bid to prevent the damage from those plumbing failures and also help save water, Los Angeles-based Flo Technologies (www.meetflo.com) has developed a water monitoring device and shutoff valve for your home, which is connected to your smartphone and its own app. Plumbers are not exactly known for their adoption of high tech products.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Technology Startup Artificial Inteligence 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. They often create the biggest tensions between investors who are investing at different stages in the business. Put simply – if you invested early in Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I had dinner this week with a top new customer at one of our enterprise software investments. I wish I did more enterprise software investing because when I attend meetings like this I realize that this is my core DNA – rolling out business software solutions to customers. If they want to invest that’s great.

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. What price? I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). There is one source that was always problematic for me – intros from investment bankers. They are venture bankers not investment bankers. What stage?

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

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. These resources often include a cash investment, as well as office space, and consulting. Apply for contests and business grants.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

As I’m generally a believer in ‘pricing rounds’ I initially didn’t agree with the premise of the post. Most investors wait to see who else is investing. &# Social Proof&# weighs heavily on investors in making their decisions. Investors who commit early deserve to have a lower price. Photo credit: D.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. As a startup in this phase you often raise capital, get press, hire staff and everything feels possible. As an early-stage VC I love this phase. were more distributed.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

But that doesn’t mean that people are paying rational prices as investors based on intrinsic value. Rational people can disagree and some may argue that today’s prices are rational and under-pinned by economic drivers. All of that might be true, but the 2006 price might still be over-valued. That’s fine.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. What price? I tapped my friends at big tech companies (Salesforce, Google, Oracle). There is one source I never liked and no early-stage VC should – investment bankers. They are venture bankers not investment bankers. What stage?

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. Internet scale.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2015

Thus founders seeking funding for a good cause or a new technology often seize on grants from universities, government agencies and philanthropic organizations as free money to solve their problems. After months of preparation, you should expect another six to nine months for reviews and funding cycles. Technology is not enough.

Pricing 100

Pricing Equity Technical Review Research 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

During my time in Silicon Valley, I was struck by the fact that most successful entrepreneurs seemed to personally know and regularly hear from all the “movers and shakers” who had the investment capital and leadership they needed. Maintaining an insatiable curiosity about change.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

I understand this instinct for more capital and I have two very different personal experiences: In my first company we raised an A-round of $16.5 There is a general guideline of how much investors want to own in order to invest in your company and the norm is 15–30% with the most common range 20–25% per early stage round.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capitalists) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. These resources often include a cash investment, as well as office space, and consulting. Apply for contests and business grants.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

Ideally, such early-stage investors should have the experiences and motivation to help their ventures establish a sustainable business model, rather than simply writing a check before moving on to their next investment. In such instances, take their money and work diligently to convert them into a disengaged investor. Yep, Sounds Good.

Angel 217

Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” Bowery Capital). AngelList 101 : As you know, AngelList is a platform where angels can invest in semi-screened tech deals. They will have to negotiate price and terms.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

In the startup world, the former happens when a VC makes a bad investment, and the latter occurs when they miss a great opportunity. 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. These resources often include a cash investment, as well as office space, and consulting. Apply for contests and business grants.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Until recently it was headquartered 2 blocks from our offices in Santa Monica so we literally saw it emerge under our feet and we proudly invested in the last 3 rounds of financing. Today the company officially announced its most recent round of capital ?—?having having raised $300 million?—?less There is nothing viral! Not really.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

Well, the venture capital industry has changed a lot in the past 20 years … and we have too. VC has operated as an “old boys club”, with access to capital often requiring entrance through an elite university engineering department in one of two cities. What’s up with that? Upfront seemed to fit the bill.

Funding 343

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Startup 343

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Consumer spending is 70% of the economy and will continue to be stretched – We can look all we want at tech innovation, VC funding cycles and hot M&A deals, but ultimately growth and therefore investment must be underpinned by revenue. Bad stock markets mean less IPO’s and lower prices for M&A.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Startup Funding Technical Review 269

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

There are many times when being overly capitalized before you’re ready is a negative. otherwise I prefer to invest less and risk less). Plus, most early-stage M&A fails so this isn’t likely a good use of capital for a young company). Availability of Capital. We want a strong balance sheet (um, ok.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2010

Funk is a venture capitalist who founded OceanRoad Partners and has been a Managing Director with Allegis Capital, where he invested in Sandpiper Networks, Rent.com and Shopzilla. Previously, we reviewed the performance of southern California technology IPO's from 1995 through the end of 2000. READ MORE>>.

Southern California 145

Southern California Allegis Technical Review Acquisition 145

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Yet talk with people at Twitter these days and many seem to feel like they are part of a movement – and that doesn’t just come due to product success. Those are the easy cases.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

The key to being able to run a business that isn’t yet profitable (on operating margin) is availability of capital to finance losses and preferably at a cost that isn’t too punitive to the founders and employees. The reason one would accept losses is when they are investments in fueling faster growth. If you can’t raise — you’re dead.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 12, 2014

Left to Right: Joichi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab; Mitch Kapor, Partner, Kapor Capital; Trabian Shorters, Founder and CEO, BMe Community; Van Jones, Co-Founder and President, Rebuild the Dream; Former Special Advisor to The White House; Chris Tucker, Actor and Comedian; Founder, Chris Tucker Foundation; Laura Weidman Powers, ?Co-Founder

Conference 88

Conference Technical Review Education Startup 88

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

I had worked as a tutor for Princeton Review, and Jake for Kaplan. We thought, we could put out a better product than Kaplan or Princeton Review, which would be more compelling, and also would tie in a strong social mission. We never took a dollar of outside capital, from the founding until this round a couple of months ago.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

socalTECH

JUNE 25, 2013

Participating in the round is Quest Venture Partners, Siemer Ventures here in Los Angeles, Telegraph Hill Capital, and a number of great angel investors. We''ve been bootstrapped since we launched, and already got to half a million in revenues on a total initial investment of $13,000. That round is really to fuel us going forward.

Services 215

Services Technical Review Startup Pricing 215