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

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2014

Most entrepreneurs work long hours and weekends to get the job done. If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Thus you should do the same or more due diligence on educational background, previous work, and references.

Software Review 107

Software Review Entrepreneur CTO Hire Outsource Development 107

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

There were startups and a software industry but barely. I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. Between 2006–2008 I sold both companies that I had started and became a VC. There was no money train. It was 1991.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

socalTECH

JUNE 4, 2014

However, Egg Baby--the title from newly funded Nix Hydra (www.nixhydra.com)--seems to have cracked the code for how to get new, young, female consumers to become game players. The company just raised a $5M funding round for its efforts, from Foundry Group and a number of angels. How did the company start?

Software Review 113

Software Review Startup Mobile HTML 113

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital. In 2006, a passion to help startups grew into Tech Cocktail , a company whose mission was to showcased burgeoning companies in bars around the country.

Startup 140

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 140

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. The startup was listed in TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2023 too, alongside industry heavyweights like Nvidia and SpaceX.

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2016

For example, even though we were leading an entrepreneurial effort within IBM, we found it a challenge to deal with the inbred mainframe culture, reverence for process, and accounting practices of a large company. No consideration can be given to experience running a startup, breadth of skills, or even thinking like an entrepreneur.

IBM 85

IBM IBM Entrepreneur Technical Review 85

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. Failure to prepare for due diligence. Not doing due diligence on the funding source.

Software Review 98

Software Review Funding Seed Funding Startup 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. Some argue to simply eliminate software patents, while others put their hopes in U.S. Patent offices can’t keep up with software technology.

Patents 53

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2023

I recommend that every entrepreneur and small business investigate and implement as many as possible of his seven new business force multipliers that I will paraphrase here: Information sharing through social media networks. Soliciting user-generated online feedback and reviews. Crowdsourcing for funding and ideas.

Social Media 106

Social Media Software Review Course Networking 106

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based web hosting and cloud computing provider DreamHost (www.dreamhost.com) raised a big, $30M funding round for the company--the first in the company''s long history. The company- now has around $50M in recurring annual revenues. Our target market is entrepreneurs, creatives, and developers.

Software Review 238

Software Review Cloud Computing Technical Review Platform 238

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. Most entrepreneurs work long hours and weekends to get the job done. Thus you should do the same or more due diligence on educational background, previous work, and references.

Software Review 88

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 88

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. Failure to prepare for due diligence. Not doing due diligence on the funding source.

Software Review 95

Software Review Startup Seed Funding Funding 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world. get the attention of the market they choose. The list goes on and on.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. One theme I saw repeatedly this year was companies continuing to do things the same way, ultimately getting the same results.

Dollar Shave Club 113

Dollar Shave Club Userplane Tsavo Malibu 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2013

This is counter to the traditional business premise of “control,” so many companies are still pushing back. When done well, an organization’s online community can become a competitive advantage. Search, combined with ratings and reviews become key in separating the useful from the rambling. What do you think? Marty Zwilling.

Social Media 102

Social Media Entrepreneur Software Review Social Network 102

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? Since 2010, $6.3B

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2020

I recommend that every entrepreneur and small business investigate and implement as many as possible of his seven new business force multipliers that I will paraphrase here: Information sharing through social media networks. Soliciting user-generated online feedback and reviews. Crowdsourcing for funding and ideas.

Tips 124

Tips Social Media Software Review Course 124

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

If you have a software development background like mine, Im sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Factor in all the cost elements.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

SoCal CTO

APRIL 8, 2010

9 Reasons Why Many Smart People Go Nowhere - Life Beyond Code , March 29, 2010 You would have met many smart people who live a mediocre life. Death By Competitive Analysis - Steve Blank , March 1, 2010 Trading emails with a startup CEO building an iPhone app, I asked him why potential customers would buy his product.

Startup 150

Startup Software Review Competition SoCal 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

Burstly, a Santa Monica based company, provides an open and free ad management platform that helps mobile application developers better monetize their inventory. As I naturally get asked all the time why we invested in Company A or Company B, I thought I’d just put forth my thesis in writing.

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2015

What is it to start up a company, and run it to the brink of shutdown�only to have it acquired and restarted immediately? We caught up with co-founder Joey Flores on the story behind the company's brush with death, and its recent acquisition by You42, which was announced last week. So, we decided to shut down the company.

Software Review 100

Software Review Startup Metrics Content 100

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 13, 2012

The Thursday launch of Data Collective demonstrates the increasing uptake of Big Data and signals a new door for entrepreneurs building Big Data companies. ” Matt Ocko also revealed to Silicon Beat that they have been getting a lot more press inquiries due to the number of deals they were doing. Founded Two Years Ago.

Technical Review 74

Technical Review Entrepreneur Oracle Software Review 74

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. As such, they are hesitant to acquire a company which has not sought formal protection of their IP for two reasons. Intellectual Property (IP) is an ugly thing at a startup.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2017

Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. Most entrepreneurs work long hours and weekends to get the job done. Thus you should do the same or more due diligence on educational background, previous work, and references.

Software Review 56

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development CTO Coach 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2012

Companies today are paranoid, afraid that even their friends will steal their business. It’s a great survival strategy for small companies or entrepreneurs, and a good expansion strategy for even the largest companies. You see this every day in retail outlets that are not “ company stores.”

Company 96

Company Companies Startup Examples 96

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Also at Startup Night will be 25 diverse and innovative startups showcasing their latest products, competing for prizes including: $1K from LaunchKC , Business Extra Points from American Airlines , and a fast tracked spot to the Startup of the Year semifinals competition at Innovate Celebrate 2018. Joanne Chen, Partner at Foundation Capital.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2009

With open source software (LAMP stack) and cloud computing infrastructure it just wasn’t that expensive to get your company going and founders just wanted to raise less money. I told entrepreneurs that it was a bit of a Faustian bargain. If a VC term sheet comes in they begin their due diligence process.

Seed Funding 283

Seed Funding Venture Capital Funding Software Review 283

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2012

This is counter to the traditional business premise of “control,” so many companies are still pushing back. When done well, an organization’s online community can become a competitive advantage. Search, combined with ratings and reviews become key in separating the useful from the rambling.

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Social Network Software Review Social Media 97

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. Many of our job postings for Engineering positions describe the company as a place “where the word ‘millions’ is used frequently and in many contexts&#. Here’s why.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 1, 2010

Although the plot was obviously devised for comic effect, it serves to illustrate that non-conventional methods of infiltrating Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) are often effective. Entrepreneurs constantly have to capture the attention of larger companies. Review the person’s publicly available information from social media sites.

Company 124

Company Companies Email Press 124

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

Most entrepreneurs work long hours and weekends to get the job done. If both of you are experts at software development, even though one loves design and the other loves coding, that still won’t get the marketing done. Thus you should do the same or more due diligence on educational background, previous work, and references.

Software Review 103

Software Review Equity CTO Hire Outsource Development 103

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2011

I often hear the qualms of business-smart but non-technical entrepreneurs, wondering if they really have a chance in this high-technology marketplace. If you are an entrepreneur, like Andrew Mason , CEO of Groupon, with a degree in music and no technical business partner to be found, your job is a bit harder.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Entrepreneur Outsource Development Outsource 94

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

This latest round valued the company in excess of a billion dollars, entering them into the overly-hyped Unicorn Club. 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

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. It is an LA-based company that was recently acquired by Amazon, which you can read more about in this incredibly well-researched article.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2011

Company : FindTheBest. Pull Quote: “If you are smart, competitive, hard working and passionate about what you do you will have the best experience of your life. With that said, what books, blogs or other resources do you recommend for emerging entrepreneurs? You can build software a lot quicker and cheaper as well.

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur Competition Software Review Course 232

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. This benefits you, the entrepreneur. It takes options off of the table.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374