Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

In normal times investors will look for “traction&# before investing. I spoke about this more in depth in these two posts: 4 things I look for in an investment & how to manage VC relationships. Like it or not – finance is a major job function in any company – startup or public company. I funded Ad.ly

Invest 411

Invest Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 411

Berkonomics

MAY 8, 2014

I am chairman of a company that, as I write this, is twelve years old and has not yet taken a dollar of outside investment. The company has been funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. Grant writing takes skill and immense amounts of time.

Company 166

Company Companies Writing Education 166

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” To be fair to TigerText they build a company focused on the healthcare industry and HIPAA compliance.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate. You see, investors invest in people, before they invest in ideas or products. If they won’t do it, they why would I as stranger invest in you? Be upbeat and respectful.

Invest 135

Invest Technical Review Startup Ideas 135

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Burn rate in case you don’t know is the amount of money a company is either spending (gross) or losing (net) per month. (it Conversely if you’re burning $600,000 per month (yes, some companies do) then you only have 5 months of cash left. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

We spoke with Meredith Finn a new Partner at March Capital--who headed up that the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur sessions this year--to hear more about her perspectives on investments, what the Rise of the Female Entrepeneur was all about, March's interests in artificial intelligence and more. What's your role at March Capital?

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

I’m very pleased today to announce that I invested, on behalf of GRP Partners, in Burstly alongside Rincon Venture Partners , an early stage VC in Southern California whith whom we love to work (and were our co-investors on RingRevenue ). Naturally I’m excited about this investment or I wouldn’t have done it.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

That great productivity drain that we somehow all buy into. So I ask you – if you’re being reactive to somebody else’s emails are you really being as productive in your company as you could be? You’re writing a freaking blog post! I spend tons of time each day on portfolio company issues.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 31, 2020

I was chairman of a company that, for twelve years never took a dollar of outside investment. The company was funded entirely by grants from the National Institute of Health, amounting to millions of non-dilutive dollars in all. The effort to write a grant request is not trivial. How refreshing! How grants are considered.

Equity 156

Equity Writing Education Research 156

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

In my last post I pointed out that many of the media commentators who have criticized the YouTube video network companies as not having strong businesses were mistaken. So what happens when production is reduced by 99% and distribution bends to infinity? Video production & distribution is becoming much more programatic.

Company 339

Company Companies Technical Review Content 339

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Bobbie One startup that's proved to have the formula for success this year is Bobbie – the first infant formula to be certified as organic by the USDA, and the fastest-growing product of its kind to enter the US market since the 1980s. Organic milk formula product Bobbie. million site visits in October alone. Gumroad homepage.

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

In the past year, it’s seen one of the most profitable venture-backed exits of any tech ecosystem (with the $4 billion sale of Honey to PayPal) and investors are minting billion-dollar companies in the region at a torrid pace. How much is Upfront focused on investing in the local LA ecosystem versus less geographically focused? .

Los Angeles 277

Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Just ask the people who poured money into once “hot&# companies like RazorGator or Friendster. And we all know that Ron Conway is considered the savviest of angel investors and yet by definition not all of his investments succeed. But the problem is that most deals – even really promising ones – fail.

Invest 288

Invest Angel Web 2.0 SEO 288

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

This is a post I’ve been dying to write for 18 months. I invested in LA-based Gogii , one of the fastest growing, most exciting mobile social networking companies you’ve never heard of and maker of a product called textPlus. I only recently invested and I only got here through persistence.

Gogii 310

Gogii Invest Blogging Startup 310

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 28, 2013

I am writing this article while sitting on a rooftop deck, overlooking the ocean in Baja, Mexico. Thus, the "best" place for you to start your company is the community you want to live in. There are obvious reasons to migrate your company to an established entrepreneurial community, such as Silicon Valley, New York or LA.

Santa Barbara 268

Santa Barbara Company Companies Startup 268

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. That company was Invoca, which just announced a $20 million fund raise led by Accel. At the time I pointed out: “If I had realized exits almost certainly it would be because I invested in a company that failed.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. Professional investors will probe these five risk areas and make the decision to invest based upon comfort with each. First: Product risk. . Are you ahead or behind the market with your product or service?

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

There is much discussion online and also in small, private groups, about why the price of technology companies – public and private – are falling. Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization. Mostly, no.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. As I was trying to figure out the role I wanted to play in the VC world I decided I wanted to focus on businesses that were building deeply technical products to solve problems for business users.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

They have marked-up paper gains propped up by an over excited venture capital market that has validated their investments. Logic tells me the following: It is hard to make money angel investing. Too many angel deals just means more to watch and invest in for the ones that do succeed (if the VCs can get in at reasonable prices).

Invest 299

Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Even with product businesses, it’s the ultimate way to build your brand credibility, bring in customer leads, and get feedback from your target market. You should start blogging about your business before you have a product, to test interest and establish your credibility. An informal writing style is generally recommended.

Blogging 135

Blogging Services Search Engine Optimization Web 135

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

When I first started writing this blog several years ago I had less followers than you have right now. But the realist in me knew I couldn’t write daily nor could I convince you to think to check out my blog with regularity. In Gabe’s post he explained why TechMeme was having editors write headlines. I should know.

Writing 326

Writing Buzzfeed Social Media Blogging 326

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

The critical success factors for a product business are well known, starting with selling every unit with a gross margin of 50 percent or more, building a patent and other intellectual property, and continuous product improvement. Low cost and low margin products can be winners, if the volume is high enough.

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Great content again in September that meets at the intersection of startups, technology, product and being a Startup CTO. If you asked me to tell you a list of three of the best decisions in my life, I can certainly tell you that regularly writing is one of them. Why You Should Write. Why You Should Write. Kanye West.

Startup 191

Startup Product Technology Venture Capital 191

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2011

It was a pleasure to write them myself. He was a life-long entrepreneur and the first business he created out of college (actually, he founded it while he was at Caltech) was a company that manufactured high quality audio speakers. So he launched a company with exclusively paid search. Summary notes, as always, provide below.

Competition 350

Competition Idealab Product CitySearch 350

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Topics we covered: B2B Companies You haven’t seen the full extent to how the correction is going to affect you. I pointed out that throughout history building companies has always taken time and we as a market have put an urgency to rush growth rates. A seed company hasn’t ramped up its cost base. Harry posed these questions.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

It is in her blood to see this journey through and try to launch her product or service to the world. Does your investor eat, sleep, breath your industry or product? I have placed a much bigger emphasis on falling in love as a criterion for my making an investment. Does she live your journey?

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

Tech companies have spent the past decade or more developing innovations that can be applied to old-world industries like agriculture, construction, energy, education, manufacturing and transportation and logistics. ” Climate resiliency . Given the steady drumbeat of climate disasters that hit the U.S.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. sold to Disney for $670 million and since our first investment was at < $10 million valuation we did quite well. Maker Studios?—?sold

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Last month, the product launched with $1.2 Creators and influencers like Bernstein are forging a path from content creator to full-fledged business, with multiple revenue streams via podcasts, licensing deals, branded merchandise and even software products. “A million in funding from Rebecca Minkoff and other unnamed investors.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2017

Those requests will always be rejected, since investors invest in people, rather than ideas, and want to look the top decision maker in the eye and gauge their ability and conviction. The implications to you and your company are also large, so be prepared. As your company grows, you have to host customer seminars.

Company 97

Company Companies Entrepreneur Custom 97

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. You can’t really succeed in life if you are not happy.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Berkonomics

MARCH 14, 2019

Of course, we are speaking of increased valuation of your company when we speak of “wealth.” Professional investors will probe these five risk areas and make the decision to invest based upon their comfort with each. First: Product risk. . So, let’s examine them and mitigate them. Make you wealthy someday.

Outsource Development 120

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 120

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Simply, it’s offering a specific product or service to a specific group of people. Where else are consumers going to find your product, if no one else is offering it or if other companies offer it, but haven’t found the right niche audience? You’ll wonder: ‘’Is this a worthy investment with probable payback in revenues?

Marketing 266

Marketing Resource Advertising Social Media 266

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

We are going to write checks of between $100,000 and $500,000, and we are going to invest in what we are calling first institutional capital. That's the first time organized, institutional, managed capital is coming into a company, right after friends and family. Where are you planning making investments?

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145