Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

And as a result of this there are now very robust secondary markets where founders and seed-funds alike are selling down their ownership long before an ultimate exit. It’s just now that we’re Seed Investors. We can’t wait for customers to use the product for 12–18 months and do customer interviews or look at purchase cohorts.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

An impressive number of new VCs have been created – most of them with new seed funds. It’s when the noise stops and you can actually get customer attention, press articles and VC meetings. Work with customers on business cases (for internal use) and ask for case studies (for you to publish in marketing).

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

When a product is truly unique and demanded a retailer willingly promotes and sells it en masse in part because it does get margin on the good but also because it brings customers in the door who spend on other products. Ariel understood her customer?—?the So Why Does This Matter? the modern buyer of home products?—?better

Product 296

Product Course Customer Custom 296

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

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

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). I raised a small seed round. I have no money?

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2009

A few years ago it became fashionable for large VC’s to do seed funding. Many VCs who do lots of seed stage deals are very supportive and active. I think they definitely qualify as a VC and not a seed fund. What exactly is seed funding anymore? They do many early-stage deals.

Seed Funding 283

Seed Funding Venture Capital Funding Software Review 283

socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2018

in a seed funding round. The funding was led by Moonshots Capital, and also included Techstars and Luma Launch. Fortunately, the Director of Global Customer Experience at Google, became our first investor, so we could start and figure out the content problem for small and medium businesses.

Help 133

Help IP Content Google 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2016

On the other hand, if you can qualify for membership in a top-ranked accelerator , such as 500 Startups , AngelPad or TechStars , you will get a rigorous development program, top-quality professional guidance, and some seed funding to move you ahead of the crowd. Costs, returns in equity and funding access.

Incubator 58

Incubator Startup Seed Funding Equity 58

socalTECH

OCTOBER 23, 2012

I then went on to work for McKinsey for a couple of years, then got involved in Eric Schmidt's seed fund, Innovation Endeavors up in Palo Alto. I have been doing seed stage stuff for a while. TX Zhuo: I consider us a late seed investor. TX Zhuo: I think, at the seed level, experience is really important.

Funding 253

Funding Startup Invest Commerce 253

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. As always it comes down to competition.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Invest 265

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Incubator 87

Incubator Startup Resource Seed Funding 87

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Ann Wang: Thanks to the recent Forbes competition, and a lot of momentum from that, we actually are opening up a round for seed funding in the next month or two. We have had a lot of great conversations, both before the competition and during the competition, and we now have some new conversations that are really exciting.

Commerce 140

Commerce Help UCLA Organization 140

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Incubator 106

Incubator Startup Help Resource 106

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

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 14, 2015

Good news, Fixed , the San Francisco app that helps drivers fight tickets has just launched in Los Angeles after raising an additional $650,000 in seed funding last February. Fixed is not without competition, LA-based Cited launched last year and charges 20% of the cost of the ticket. If you lose you pay $1.95 convenience fee.

Los Angeles 40

Los Angeles Angel Software Review Seed Funding 40

InfoChachkie

APRIL 14, 2014

ABC has even created an incubator-style program in which startup non-profits compete for $100,000 in seed funding. It’s an open competition that awards $100,000 and a year of management support to the most promising early stage nonprofit that is helping low-income Chicagoans to rise out of poverty.

Organization 199

Organization Startup Technical Review Invest 199

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2018

The insurance industry is an old industry, with a lot of contradictions--it's one where the more claims insurers pay to help customers, the less money the insurers make--and it's also one that hasn't been disrupted much yet by technology. However, overall we'll be customizing that out. It will become much more customizable.

Technology 165

Technology Startup West Los Angeles Platform 165

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Sure, there will always some seed funding (10% of overall deal flow), but you can bet that this money goes to entrepreneurs who have been there before and won. Use friends, family, and angels, if possible, to get a product, revenue, and customers first before the VC connection. Line up a winning team.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

A few are still trying to make a profitable business out of nurturing startups, but it’s a challenge to make money when your customer startups don’t have many resources to give. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors.

Incubator 98

Incubator Startup Help Resource 98

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

billion jump in funding over the same quarter of 2010 with a similar number of deals, so it clearly shows a trend to larger deal sizes for fewer startups. Sure, there is always some seed funding (10% of overall deal flow), but you can bet that this money goes to entrepreneurs who have been there before and won.

Venture Capital 93

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 93

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

You are particularly vulnerable if: You have revenue concentration (few customers each providing a large total of percentage of your revenue). You have a large number of startup customers (because when markets crash they have a funny way of going bankrupt quickly or cutting burn precipitously).

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 18, 2012

The term “Articles” can be misleading, as articles on exploreB2B can take many forms: industry insights, expert experience, customer stories or questions and business needs – even a detailed product description. Competition? How unique are you from the competition? Any funding yet?

Networking 71

Networking Help Social Media Platform 71

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

For a high-volume seed fund that adds many portfolio companies every year (such as our friends at 500 Startups who invest in over 100 distinct companies annually), the cost of a bad affirmative decision (a false positive) is quite low, since it accounts for a relatively small portion of their total fund.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

It included one firm who I asked not to call Salesforce.com as a reference (they were our largest pilot customer) and in their kindness they called Marc Benioff (the CEO) and asked his opinion. So far at the company I have raised seed funds of $500,000 of which $470,000 is still in the bank so I’m in pretty good shape.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

There are too many deals to look at, too many seed funds or angels asking you to look at deals and weekly “demo days” with manicured and monocultural presentations crafted by experienced story tellers to help even the mundane idea sound like it will. For investors life is no different.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

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. Now, Snipfeed enters the ring with its own $5.5 Image Credits: Snipfeed. With its $5.5

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

I remind founders that the no’s come early because it’s super easy to qualify out a deal that you know is unlikely due to stage, focus, geography, competitive deal you’ve done or even just the fact that you’re too busy right now. When investors hear that somebody else wanted to fund you it gets their FOMO going and they pile on.

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

This has led to the creation of incubators, accelerators and seed funds. Contrary to some press reporting, the boom in startups, the creation of accelerators and seed funds as well as the deserved popularity of AngelList do not signal doom for our industry. Thank you, Aaron Sorkin! The Exit Problem.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

The expanding pool of angel, seed, and super seed funds is another. The right way to position against competition - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , August 23, 2010 This is Part 4 of the series: 5 lessons from 150 startup pitches.?? There is no competition. You can bootstrap your way into existence.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

We provide turnkey digital messaging appliances for enterprises, service providers and software developers to send marketing, e-commerce, CRM and customer service email. StrongMail’s software ensures reliable and timely delivery of their critical customer communications. SMS, MMS, Instant Messaging, etc.)

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

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. A” round investors or late-stage seed investors will take a market risk (they want to see the product, vision and maybe even the first customers, and they bet on there being a big enough market). “B”

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

No, that IS NOT a competitive advantage - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 12, 2010 This is part 1 of the series: 5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches. 0160; If I need $250,000 to get to 100 customers, or $1 million to get to X, and I can raise both amounts from either Angels or VCs, where do we turn? Make it unique.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217