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. 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.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Verifying Looking for regular tech news straight to your inbox? Source: hibobbie.com The company also raised an impressive $70 million in funding in June to acquire the legacy pediatric nutrition brand Nature’s One, bringing its total kitty up to $142 million and helping to secure its competitive advantage in the industry going forward.

Startup 213

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 213

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California. Want to be an entrepreneur? Techpreneurs.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

He outlines well the following benefits of outsourcing and freelancing, and I agree: Serving your business well is a competitive priority. With worldwide instant access to skills and alternatives via the Internet, I see a much more competitive and skilled remote workforce than ever before. with experience.

Outsource 123

Outsource Startup Technical Review Training 123

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

In a larger public company, it’s all about making your quarterly numbers, versus investing in strategic growth alternatives that may not pay off until several quarters later. In my experience, even in startups, longer-term strategy often gets pushed off the agenda due to current challenges. Cote, former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

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. Periodically we do portfolio reviews to evaluate whether we have enough diversified risk across the fund. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

It must be understandable, written down, and verifiable, with regular measurements and metrics to make it real, benchmarked against the competition. Companies with great service routinely spend 3% to 5% of salaries training team members – experienced as well as new. Make your service deliver process “happy.”

Startup 154

Startup Training Customer Custom 154

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

For starters Uber itself has had to lay off 27% of its workforce due to the pandemic and has been severely impacted financially from the crisis with no immediate respite in sight. Even more likely is eventual technology disruption where drones deliver foods and make it hard for existing car delivery services to compete.

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242

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. Fables of the reconstruction.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

For example, even though Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook as an innovative product, most experts believe it was successful due to his relationship with Peter Thiel and other top VCs that he convinced to invest early. Relationships are key to finding opportunities, building trust, and continuous learning.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

However, there is already the technology out therefrom San Luis Obispo-based Whitefox Defense (www.whitefoxdefense.com)  to both detect, and neutralize those drones. We spoke with founder and CEO Luke Fox to learn more about the company, and its technology. Explain how your technology works? How did the company start?

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2016

140,000 new startup companies are reportedly launched every day. While the epicenter of tech innovation is undeniably Silicon Valley, a tide of new hubs emerging across the globe are gaining recognition. There are so many startups, and a great demand for talent as a result of this. Our key markets are the U.S.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Startup Incubator Media 40

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Apparently with a physical storefront where it can convince customers of the wonders of on-demand mobility. Given the company is calling this a lifestyle store, the focus will likely be on showing how Lime’s scooters and bikes can become part of people’s lives and enhance their happiness, rather than on maximizing rental volume.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

I believe that over capitalizing companies too early often favors the VC. In the late 90′s I saw a dangerous trend creeping into the startup world, which was that companies were suddenly raising huge amounts of money too early in their existence. Over funding often produces bad behavior in early-stage companies.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

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. Understanding how your company will change as you move through these phases is critical if you hope to scale to a large business one day.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2015

Santa Barbara-based Ice Energy (www.ice-energy.com) has quietly been working away at developing energy storage systems to help smooth out the demand for energy on the nation's power grid. Can you talk about your technology? The reason they do that, is we solve the peak demand problem they have on the grid. megawatts of energy.

Southern California 100

Southern California Technical Review Demand Outsource Development 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. It’s worth a quick read. My argument is pretty simple. Look at Viddy & SocialCast.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2019

Senior leaders need to be personally involved in defining the tests and reviewing results and implications. Jeff Bezos always instills a sense of urgency by demanding business plans from business leaders on how they would disrupt their own lines of business. Experiment, fail, rinse, and repeat. Stay hungry even when you are successful.

Commerce 89

Commerce Artificial Inteligence Cloud Computing Platform 89

socalTECH

MAY 8, 2015

In a world awash with on-demand startups, Los Angeles-based Serviz (www.serviz.com) stands out--not because of the market segment it is tackling, but because it was founded by two, very experienced serial entrepreneurs-- Zorik Gordon and Michael Kline. Our vision is really to become the premier provider of on-demand home services.

Services 100

Services ReachLocal Demand Startup 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. While Google and Facebook will buy “acquihires” (at least as of Dec 2011), many acquirers hate the idea of buying companies that aren’t profitable. ” But they want to do it with leverage.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2019

Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Today around 90 percent of successful startups are still acquired by bigger companies, as the safer and preferred method of growth and funding. Increased liability risk exposure.

Startup 84

Startup Technical Review Report IBM 84

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. There is an inherent value that any company has. I acknowledged this in the article.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Yet they still see warning lights in many geographies around the world, due to political uncertainties. Public companies are always at risk for takeovers.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Report Entrepreneur 87

InfoChachkie

MAY 19, 2011

As noted in parts I and II of this series, agreements with Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) can be alluring and potentially fatal. This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. 250 per hour, plus materials and associated out-of-pocket expenses).

Outsource Development 193

Outsource Development IP Technical Review Entrepreneur 193

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

If you're an employee in a big company, sometimes it can feel like you're not sure when your career is going. Anne Fulton: Fuel50 is a career pathing startup, part of the HR technology landscape. We're a disruptor, the third wave in human resources technology. How did you start the company? What is Fuel50?

Help 100

Help Southern California Startup Technical Review 100

Southern California Edison Blog

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

Dark fiber allows large enterprises, educational institutions, media companies, and government agencies to leverage the high bandwidth capabilities. Companies can lease dark fiber from network solution providers to obtain exclusive use of the fibers for a duration of time. So what is dark fiber?

Networking 49

Networking Education Technical Review Organization 49

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2018

As a long-time advisor to entrepreneurs and business owners, I rarely find someone who doesn’t proclaim that the business world is changing rapidly, with new technology, new customer expectations, and new cultures. It takes a well-rounded and motivated team to run a competitive business today. Once gone, customers won’t be back.

Technical Review 84

Technical Review Customer Custom Startup 84

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2013

It must be understandable, written down, and verifiable, with regular measurements and metrics to make it real, benchmarked against the competition. Companies with great service routinely spend 3% to 5% of salaries training team members – experienced as well as new. Make your service deliver process “happy.”

Customer 92

Customer Custom Startup Services 92

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. Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2009

In the recent surge in interest in the clean technology and energy investment area, we're constantly surprised by the number of startups in the area focused on some aspect of the industry. Let's start on the technology side--can you tell us about the technology, and its origins? It's very simple, from the technical perspective.

UCLA 159

UCLA Technical Review El Monte Startup 159

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 5, 2014

Companies are constantly looking for the next way to get their brand out there, whether it may be through viral marketing campaign or through simple advertisements, but a marketing agency can only do so much. Tongal gives companies a chance to work with its creative community, all 50,000 of them, to help their next video.

Ideas 80

Ideas Technical Review Startup Statistics 80

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 22, 2016

Costs for advertising on Facebook are increasing, due to high demand, and their profits continue to soar. How can your company best benefit from social networking ads in 2016? The way to get ahead of the competition is to look at what they’re doing right and do it better.

Marketing 40

Marketing Social Media Social Network Technical Review 40

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 25, 2016

According to many observers , we can thank or blame technology for these higher expectations, providing information at the speed of light, leading everyone to expect more. Some entrepreneurs are so focused on their technology, they assume their customers think the same way. Every job on your team drives your customer experience.

Customer 55

Customer Custom Startup Coach 55

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 23, 2012

These individuals would have undoubtedly helped the company avoid some of its intellectual property and employee compensation lawsuits. " I recently performed a 360-Review on two Co-Founders who were the company's CEO and CTO. 2) Modern Day Water Cooler, Neighborhood Pub And Hair Salon. "When 6) Frat Brother CFOs. "The

Startup 268

Startup Tips CTO Coach Technical Review 268

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. Fallacy: Startup ventures tend to evolve, especially after you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. Secure Your Intellectual Property Too Early.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 10, 2013

However due to much controversy and competition, the same hasn’t played true while at large events (*cough* SXSW ). Today that changes as two major brands Callaway and Uber, partner to offer on-demand rides at one of the largest events in sports.

Software Review 104

Software Review Technical Review Social Media Course 104