Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2012

Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. As startups pass through each stage, they need to use support resources wisely to minimize costs, wasted time, and maintain credibility to support movement to the next stage.

Resource 94

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 94

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 5, 2023

Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. As startups pass through each stage, they need to use support resources wisely to minimize costs, wasted time, and maintain credibility to support movement to the next stage.

Startup 122

Startup Funding Organization Incubator 122

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. Any new enterprise is at risk if there are not enough resources to get the company to breakeven, which is a proxy for stability.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Be accessible on social media, write a blog or articles for industry publications, and participate in conference panels and speaking engagements. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2016

Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) has just announced a brand new, $240M venture investment fund, led by longtime venture investing veterans Jim Armstrong, Sumant Mandal, Gregory Milken and Jamie Montgomery. We can now write $20M, $25M, and $30M checks to existing, breakout companies in our portfolio.

Southern California 113

Southern California Capital Funding Invest 113

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 16, 2019

The idea is to put women with check-writing abilities, typically partners and general partners, together in groups with newer VCs, typically with an associate or principal title, paired together. That Series B lead was Aspect Ventures partner (now a founding partner at aCrew Capital) Lauren Kolodny.

Venture Capital 184

Venture Capital Los Angeles Ideas Tool 184

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2020

In the process, you may save yourself considerable re-work and money, or even decide that your dream needs more time to mature, before you commit your limited resources, or sign up with investors to a painful and unsatisfying plan. Build and use social capital. Social capital is people and connections.

Startup 143

Startup Capital Resource Research 143

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2020

Popular programs like Opportunity Zones, New Market Tax Credits and Community Development Finance Institutions could be used to boost the government’s commitment with private capital, the plan’s authors argue. “Startups and small businesses are the engine of every local and regional economy,” writes Peterson.

Southern California 261

Southern California Los Angeles Incubator Rosemead 261

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Be accessible on social media, write a blog or articles for industry publications, and participate in conference panels and speaking engagements. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. Any new enterprise is at risk if there are not enough resources to get the company to breakeven, which is a proxy for stability.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

Just as I was getting the swing of things the world shifted beneath my feet and the stock market went into a free fall and venture capital all but shut down for nearly a year. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 15 million first checks but we also have three growth funds. Over the past 2.5

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

socalTECH

AUGUST 30, 2016

Rob Wiltbank and Professor Wade Brooks for Willamette University and the Angel Resource Institute (ARI). in active investments.

Tech Coast Angels 133

Tech Coast Angels Angel Truecar Southern California 133

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Earlier this week, Derek Norton , a long time advisor to the media, Internet, and technology industry in Los Angeles, announced a brand new venture capital fund called Watertower Ventures (www.watertowerventures.com). That's the first time organized, institutional, managed capital is coming into a company, right after friends and family.

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

If you’re an early investor like I am that often means writing the first $2-3 million check into a business that previously had either survived on fumes or on a $500,000 angel round. I have seen many companies raise their first $3 million and still act like a company that has no resources at all.

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Berkonomics

MARCH 15, 2012

This risk can be mitigated by finding a customer willing to purchase as soon as a proven model is completed, and willing to state this in writing. Any new enterprise is at risk if there are not enough resources to get the company to breakeven, which is a proxy for stability.

Outsource Development 200

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 200

socalTECH

JANUARY 18, 2011

What that did, is it helped us to expand the service to help publishers do the following: identify what content to write, how to distribute that content to various mediums, and how to monetize that content. Journalists are notorious for not wanting to write based on revenues or commercial intersts, or having anyone tell them what to write.

Marketing 232

Marketing Funding Content Writing 232

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital. Obviously you should have somebody that helps you research journalists, gets you meetings, pitches stories, helps prep you for interviews & helps make sure your writing is cogent. In a startup this is a mistake.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2011

Thiel is providing his mentees with capital to make their startups a reality. When you don't accept capital from someone else, you aren't beholden to anyone else's input. An inflated sense of financial well-being can result in sloppy budgeting and accounting as you write checks here and there without pause.

Startup 92

Startup Capital Blogging Ideas 92

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

One of the questions we discussed is, “How much capital should a startup raise?” ” Fred & I are both in agreement that there is a tension between capital constraints and creativity. There are some firms that pull resources from deals that aren’t quite working and put all of their time into their mega hits.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2018

In the process, you may save yourself considerable re-work and money, or even decide that your dream needs more time to mature, before you commit your limited resources, or sign up with investors to a painful and unsatisfying plan. Build and use social capital. Social capital is people and connections.

Startup 94

Startup Capital Resource Research 94

Berkonomics

MAY 29, 2014

Assists you in raising capital. In addition, it helps you focus your ideas and determine how to best manage your available resources including capital, cash, and people. Studies found that people who write plans are more likely to put their goals in action and increases your likelihood of success. Determines feasibility.

Startup 166

Startup Guide Help Mentor 166

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2018

I have seen this in cases where a fight would take the CEO’s time & attention away from important business dealings or where the cost of not settling is huge (as in, inability to raise more capital until the dispute is resolved). My scarcest resource was time and it was important to put my time against the most productive activities.

Startup 199

Startup Writing Demand Equity 199

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. As startups pass through each stage, they need to use support resources wisely to minimize costs, wasted time, and maintain credibility to support movement to the next stage.

Funding 94

Funding Startup Organization Incubator 94

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Few of your contacts will be willing to use their valuable social or political capital helping you with a sales effort, and you will definitely strain your relationship with the intermediary if not a close friend. After all, you have a paying relationship with these resources, and asking for help is not considered a daunting request.

Ideas 120

Ideas Sales Competition Venture Capital 120

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

Most relevant to startups is the push to fund initiatives and technologies that can help prevent or protect against extreme wildfires; rising sea levels and hurricanes; new agriculture resource management; and “climate-smart” technologies. ” Climate resiliency . Outages cost the U.S.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Once people who do not know you and have no vested interest in your company's success begin expending their time, money and resources to leverage your value proposition, you are gaining traction. In a like manner, proudly profess your traction to your target VCs until they either write you a check or ask you to look elsewhere.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital RSS Custom Customer 265

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2013

Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. As startups pass through each stage, they need to use support resources wisely to minimize costs, wasted time, and maintain credibility to support movement to the next stage.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Funding Incubator Startup 102

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term. Have you raised capital? We can likely provide technical strategy help at little to no cost, but hard core development generally requires that you have found someone to do it for you for equity or that you have some capital available (think $50K+).

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

And I try my best to point them to resources that can help them longer term. Have you raised capital? We can likely provide technical strategy help at little to no cost, but hard core development generally requires that you have found someone to do it for you for equity or that you have some capital available (think $50K+).

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

This has led VC & entrepreneur bloggers alike to similar conclusions: start raising capital early and be careful about having too high of a burn rate because that lessens the amount of runway you have until you need more cash. But the hardest question to actually answer is, “What is the right burn rate for your company?

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. As startups pass through each stage, they need to use support resources wisely to minimize costs, wasted time, and maintain credibility to support movement to the next stage.

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Resource 93

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Be accessible on social media, write a blog or articles for industry publications, and participate in conference panels and speaking engagements. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 72

Services Startup Training Writing 72

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

Of course that website isn’t completely up to date but it’s a great resource for seeing the overall picture. Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data. PHONE CALLS. Enter phone calls.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. ” I believe firmly in capital efficiency in the early days.

Funding 150

Funding Venture Capital Startup Marketing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2016

In the process, you may save yourself considerable re-work and money, or even decide that your dream needs more time to mature, before you commit your limited resources, or sign up with investors to a painful and unsatisfying plan. Build and use social capital. Social capital is people and connections.

Startup 68

Startup Capital Entrepreneur Resource 68

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

To grow faster businesses need resources in today to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year. Venture capital isn’t right for many business but if you do want to raise from a VC at some point you need to understand that often investors care more about growth than profits. See appendix if you want to know more on this.)

Startup 227

Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 27, 2014

Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Be accessible on social media, write a blog or articles for industry publications, and participate in conference panels and speaking engagements. Capture your “secret sauce.” Start with a service you know and love.

Services 105

Services Startup Training Writing 105