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. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

I was always fond of saying about fund raising, “When the hor d’oeuvres tray is passed take two and put one in your pocket for later. Constraints can spark creativity Of course it never feels this way when you’re the founder, but constraints can actually force creativity. People do what people do. You have money, you spend it.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

Thus the top priority of every entrepreneur who wants funding should be to build and highlight their “dream team” of co-founders, executives and advisers, to attract the biggest and best investors. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor. Do your networking with investors well before the funding pitch.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 105

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

socalTECH

JUNE 4, 2018

com) recently , announced a new healthcare focused venture capital fund, worth $25M. We caught up with one of the co-founders, Jay Goss, about what the new investment fund is looking for in a startup, and the types of investments it makes. First, tell us about the fund and what you are looking to invest in?

Startup 113

Startup Technical Review Software Review Artificial Inteligence 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

Very few people fund individuals. I’m a software guy so I’m sure there are cases where building isn’t feasible. In most cases if you can’t get a prototype done you’re probably not an entrepreneur. Surround yourself with great advisors or other entrepreneurs. Team: You need a team.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

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. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

Perhaps the most misused terms I see these days from entrepreneurs involve CAC (customer acquisition costs) and LTV (life time value) and a lack of understanding these critical components is driving many companies to premature failure. So I spend an inordinate amount of time with entrepreneurs focused on payback. End of story.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2014

The very mention of the word fundraising can illicit some powerful emotions among entrepreneurs. On one end, entrepreneurs who have (at minimum) built something customers love and are willing to pay for, and the other hand, investors who are looking for the very companies who fit that profile. Introducing SeedInvest.

Invest 100

Invest Startup Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

In our industry we always talk about funding big ideas or funding things with more meaning. And of course we believe huge returns come with big platform initiatives like Grove. And of course we believe huge returns come with big platform initiatives like Grove. But it will take time.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Software Review Startup Ideas 150

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

over the course of 2020 (and their combined estimated price tag of nearly $100 billion), it’s not surprising that the Biden plan begins with a focus on resiliency. The vast majority of those are nowhere up to modern codes. ” 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

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. We are experiencing a frenetic time. For investors life is no different.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 87

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2013

They can read reviews, see pictures and even talk to the family before confirming. I typed in my brothers zip code and ton of houses popped up in his area and I was able to search out on a map view. I then clicked on reviews, looked at pictures and read the owners descriptions of what they were looking for. I registered.

Venture Capital 344

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review San Diego 344

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Southern California's technology community--despite all of the recent excitement around Silicon Beach--continues to be underserved in terms of capital, with a lack of venture capital funds (with money), and other private technology investors. We are focused on the investment in and acquisition of software firms that are generating $2.5M

Acquisition 168

Acquisition Software Review Technical Review Equity 168

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Last week, Santa Monica-based Revolution Prep announced its first, institutional round of funding, worth $15M, from Kennet Partners. The company provides SAT, ACT, and other similar test preparation courses and related software. I had worked as a tutor for Princeton Review, and Jake for Kaplan. We started in 2000.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

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. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 123

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 123

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2013

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. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival.

Startup 102

Startup Technical Review Oracle Entrepreneur 102

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

And here’s an important point that I think modern entrepreneurs often forget: Investors are “co-owners” of your business. Reviewing financial & operational performance. Planning and dealing with extra-ordinary events: M&A, fund raising, crises. Mentorship. As You Start to Mature. And so on.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2017

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. Having a great idea in the wrong place won’t get you the funding you need, the experienced domain experts you want, or the pilot market results you need for survival.

Sites 59

Sites Startup Technical Review Oracle 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 1, 2017

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs, like online web sites and smart phone apps. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Develop 70

Develop Development Product Startup 70

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

If you look at what you go through, starting high school, and maybe even middle or grade school, you go through your educational life managing courses, relationships with your teachers, and relationships with your parents. It's started with managing courses and grades, on to a whole array of other services. Talk about your background?

Education 124

Education Startup Course Tool 124

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

” I mention journalists here because they perpetuate the myth that focusing on profits is ALWAYS the right answer and then I hear many entrepreneurs (and certainly many “normals”) repeating the same mantra. You may have leverage when you DO need to fund raise. There is a healthy tension between profits & growth.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 23, 2012

For example, if your startup is building a high-tech software product, a dream team of advisors would be a former CEO or high-level exec in another software company, a former software marketing executive, and a former financial executive. Later on during funding or execution, rejection can cost you your company.

Startup 95

Startup Technical Review Software Review High Tech 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2018

My first advice for new entrepreneurs is to pick a domain, such as online web sites and smart phone apps, that doesn’t have the sky-high up-front development costs. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows. Solicit funds from friends and family.

Startup 53

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 53

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

It’s what signals to existing investors how quickly their teams need to be fund raising and the level of risk the company is facing and also it signals to potentially new investors both how quickly you need to raise (ie you have less leverage if you’re in a rush) as well as how much cash you’ll need if they fund you.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2010

My favorite new software tool is DailyBurn. Problem is – Weight Watchers software TOTALLY SUCKS. There is, of course, a paid version. If you have an iPhone you can scan the UPC code on the food you eat and they will be entered directly into DailyBurn done through a partnership with a company called Occipital.

Technical Review 278

Technical Review Software Review Startup SoCal 278

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2011

For example, if your startup is building a high-tech software product, a dream team of advisors would be a former CEO or high-level exec in another software company, a former software marketing executive, and a former financial executive. Later on during funding or execution, rejection can cost you your company.

Startup 95

Startup Technical Review Software Review High Tech 95

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

In our industry we applaud the efforts for entrepreneurs to have tried and we know that today’s failure can bring the experience for tomorrow’s success. If you look at the structure of the travel industry above – of course we know that the hotel industry is fragmented while the airline industry is reasonable consolidated.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 4, 2014

It’s almost been a work week since Techzulu and Gadget Review’s REACH | The Connected Future and we’re still reeling with excitement. And of course, we’d like to thank our amazing panels of speakers for pouring their knowledge into the mental chalices of our present and virtual attendees.

UCLA 99

UCLA Technical Review Software Review Incubator 99

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2010

For example, if your startup is building a high-tech software product, a dream team of advisors would be a former CEO or high-level exec in another software company, a former software marketing executive, and a former financial executive. Later on during funding or execution, rejection can cost you your company.

Invest 50

Invest Technical Review Software Review High Tech 50

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had intended to talk about how bad the process could become, not to name-and-shame anybody (and The Funded was not yet around). We have also been very busy with our next release, which is due out by December 11th (but I’ll save that for a different post). Dare I steer off the course from the tried-and-true PowerPoint ritual?

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274