Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2021

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Fundraising is indeed brutally tough at all stages, and seed funding is the hardest to find.

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Software Review Seed Funding Funding Startup 123

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Every year Upfront Ventures surveys Limited Partners (LPs) who are the main source of capital that invests in VC funds and thus the main source of capital that goes to startups to get an early-warning sense of the year ahead, leaving aside any Black Swans. Note that all of these names were not started in Silicon Valley. Will it last?

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Startup Venture Capital Seed Funding Capital 286

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

They dream of appearing at the door, with their idea on the back of a napkin, and popping out a few months later with investor money to burn. Y Combinator , led by Paul Graham, claims success with 3000 companies over 15 years, with a combined value of over $300 billion. Initial funding. Follow-on funding and connections.

Incubator 146

Incubator Technical Review Entrepreneur Mentor 146

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

Linktree leads the space, securing a recent $45 million Series B raise to build out e-commerce features, but Beacons boasts competitive creator monetization tools with just a $6 million seed round in May. Linktree has been around since 2016 and has more funding than its up-and-coming competitors. With its $5.5 With its $5.5

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

Prior to then the concept of “seed funds” barely existed and as I’ve argued before the seed fund phenomenon was largely driven by: Open source + horizontal computing + Amazon AWS. In other words, it isn’t that VCs suddenly got smart, it’s that the costs of starting a company went down dramatically. Rise of Angels.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Funding Seed Funding 150

socalTECH

APRIL 10, 2018

It's a term to help people understand that we're here to help companies get ready to scale. The concept, is we want o get them to an accelerator, get them investment, or get them to revenueany one of those paths would be great. other companies, which are already off and running are ready for aceclerators and seed funding.

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Startup Seed Funding Mentor Ideas 172

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 8, 2016

The company--which is led Dr. Renee Dua--said McCourt was already a founding investor in the company, having invested in the company's seed funding via Jamie Enterprises. Dua said McCourt will be "an invaluable asset" in the growth and success of the company.

SoCalTech 100

SoCalTech Seed Funding Demand Los Angeles 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2022

With the cost of entry at an all-time low, and the odds of success equally low, more and more entrepreneurs are starting multiple companies concurrently. In your weekly meetings, it’s as easy to cover multiple company issues as one. Many entrepreneurs love investing in other startups.

Entrepreneur 145

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Course 145

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 23, 2015

Crosscut Ventures has just announced their 3rd fund and clocking in at $75 million , which will be focused heavily on Los Angeles – FTW. This week Michael Dubin’s startup Dollar Shave Club announced a $75 million funding round at a rumored $650 million valuation. This is not your dad’s LA. They had only one problem.

News 150

News Funding Venture Capital Dollar Shave Club 150

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 19, 2018

million in seed funding to begin building a manufacturing facility and expand its presence in Los Angeles as the city continues to grow as a hub for robotics and automation. . That was around 2017, when the two first began brainstorming how they would build their company. Elementary Robotics has raised $3.6

Los Angeles 207

Los Angeles Angel Artificial Inteligence CalTech 207

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea. Thus it is always a question of what you qualify for, and what you are willing to give up, to turn your dream idea into a viable business.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea. Thus it is always a question of what you qualify for, and what you are willing to give up, to turn your dream idea into a viable business.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

” I found myself nodding through all of it with quotes like, “Seed investing is the status symbol of Silicon Valley,” said Sam Altman. I save room in literally every deal to invite angels (or seed funds) to co-invest with me. By March, a month after Mr. D’Angelo agreed to invest, CodeFights had raised $2.5

Angel 150

Angel Startup Seed Funding Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

The problem with VC Seed Funding – Chris is right to raise the issue with entrepreneurs because there have been instances where large VC funds have set up seed programs where the investments have been used as “options.&# There are many problems with this. Why are VC’s really doing seed deals?

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Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Invest 265

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

This is a relatively new term loosely applied to angels who invest their own money in a portfolio of startups (typically 20 or more) and are willing to lead multiple rounds, usually starting with a seed round. Business accelerators like YCombinator and TechStars are sometimes able to help startups looking for seed-stage funding.

Funding 104

Funding Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding 104

TechCrunch LA

MAY 13, 2020

Sharon stresses that his company is based on the latest science and that nothing that’s included in Taika’s coffee-based drinks is a novel compound or regulated substance. “ We are, as a company, we’re very much science aware and science supported,” said Sharon. “We have no added sugar in the coffee. .”

Startup 284

Startup Los Angeles Seed Funding Product 284

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

A very big thanks to Alexandra Harris, the founder of FanCause , a company that aims to connect entertainment brands with their fans to raise money. At Sony, he didn’t feel like he could “steer the ship” and get his ideas heard so he left and started GUBA, GUBA had no seed funding. Sounds like a noble cause.

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Fundraising is indeed brutally tough at all stages, and the seed funding is the hardest to find.

Software Review 106

Software Review Funding Startup Seed Funding 106

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

Meredith Perry came up with the idea for uBeam while still in college at University of Pennsylvania and like many great inventors won her school’s business plan competition. It turns out that while she had the right idea the materials needed some reworking to come in at the cost structure required to build a business at scale.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

socalTECH

AUGUST 19, 2014

We recently spoke with co-founder and CEO, Justin Wu to learn more about the company, which so far has received a small seed funding from Warner Bros. as part of that company''s Warner Media Camp accelerator. Justin Wu: Last year, we talked to Media Camp about our idea, when it was at a much earlier stage.

Commerce 153

Commerce Content Downey Media 153

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2011

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Fundraising is indeed brutally tough at all stages, and the seed funding is the hardest to find.

Software Review 98

Software Review Funding Seed Funding Startup 98

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 6, 2020

A few of the highlights include biking as one of the few bright spots, how some companies have pivoted to providing rides to healthcare workers and insights on how the industry and cities might have reacted had the pandemic occurred two years in the future. These times have sparked a host of new ideas. A novel rewards program.

Layoffs 136

Layoffs Startup Newsletter Santa Monica 136

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2016

It’s very easy in venture capital when you’ve seen thousands of companies have read thousands of decks and spreadsheets and been to numerous conferences and exchanged ideas with other investors and entrepreneurs to feel like “you know better” and that’s precisely what we try to encourage Team Upfront not to feel or how not to behave.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Invest Course 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

AngelList 101 : As you know, AngelList is a platform where angels can invest in semi-screened tech deals. As an angel you can look for the social proof in deals “Dave Morin is investing …” to make your decision. AngelList Syndicate leads don’t take any fees on the investment, which should help with returns.

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Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Any longtime readers of this blog will know that I often try to simplify complex ideas into a simple parable that is easier to remember to set the tone of one’s behaviors. You won’t be open to new ideas, new sources of deals, fortuitous meetings, new relationships that can yield results down the line. Lines, Not Dots.

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Startup Technical Review Venture Capital Email 317

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

500 Hats , January 10, 2010 Developing new startup ideas - Chris Dixon , March 14, 2010 Batch Processing Millions and Millions of Images - Code as Craft , July 9, 2010 jQuery Plugin: Give Your Characters a NobleCount - The Product Guy , March 23, 2010 How do the sample Series Seed financing documents differ from typical Series A financing documents?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

and I thought if we brought the community together for common purpose we could create more of a sense of community to help new entrepreneurs get funded, assemble teams, raise profiles and help with biz dev, product, etc. Companies were getting funded more easily and many more companies were actually being created.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Startup Idealab Funding 290

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2019

Image via Flickr by watsonsinelgin With the cost of entry at an all-time low, and the odds of success equally low, more and more entrepreneurs are starting multiple companies concurrently. In your weekly meetings, it’s as easy to cover multiple company issues as one. Many entrepreneurs love investing in other startups.

Startup 99

Startup Entrepreneur Resource Course 99

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

Los Angeles-based Crosscut Ventures (www.crosscutventures.com) is one of the newest venture capital funds in the area, and has quietly been working on funding local companies over the last year. Let's start with an overview of the fund. What do you invest in? We closed our fund in August of 2008.

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Southern California Startup Palomar Rustic Canyon 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

A while back I heard a talk by Dave McClure, a long-time angel investor, who also proclaims to be one of the “new breed” of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, as CEO of 500Startups , which is either a micro-VC seed fund, or a startup incubator, or both. He is going gangbusters, and is now targeting a $50M second round of funding.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Seed Funding Incubator 101

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Him: But when I raised my first round we didn’t know how to price the company. Me: There is no rational explanation for valuations of A round companies by ANY objective financial measure. In finance they call it “terminal value” but the truth is the price is as arbitrary at your A round as it is at your seed round.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Capital Pricing Doc 417

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2014

They dream of appearing at the door, with their idea on the back of a napkin, and popping out a few months later with investor money to burn. Y Combinator , led by Paul Graham, claimed success in 2012 with 172 companies over 7 years, which then had a combined value of $7.78 Initial funding. Follow-on funding and connections.

Incubator 103

Incubator Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2011

Recently I heard a talk by Dave McClure, a long-time angel investor, who also proclaims to be one of the “new breed” of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, as CEO of 500Startups , which is either a micro-VC seed fund, or a startup incubator, or both. Series-seed round. Incremental investment may follow. Super Angels.

Startup 92

Startup Funding Seed Funding Incubator 92

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2010

Yesterday I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Fundraising is indeed brutally tough at all stages, and the seed funding is the hardest to find.

Software Review 95

Software Review Startup Seed Funding Funding 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2013

They dream of appearing at the door, with their idea on the back of a napkin, and popping out a few months later with investor money to burn. Y Combinator , led by Paul Graham, recently claimed success with 172 companies over 7 years, which now have a combined value of $7.78 Initial funding. Follow-on funding and connections.

Incubator 115

Incubator Help Startup Technical Review 115

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2018

I always answer that there isn’t any magic, and contrary to the popular myth, nobody is waiting in the wings to throw money at you, just because you have a new and exciting business idea. Thus it is always a question of what you qualify for, and what you are willing to give up, to turn your dream idea into a viable business.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Funding 96

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

One would think entrepreneurs would never want less available cash – until such time as their competitors ridiculously and unnecessarily all raise $50 million in the name of a “land grab” thus making it much harder for your totally reasonable company to attract investors. For investors life is no different.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150