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. Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2020

Seed deals, for example, are easier to get funded than a late-stage deal for obvious reasons. But there are some deals that will get funded even though not necessarily seed: If you’re in an anointed category that will serve a post Covid-19 world well. Of course I believe the market has slowed down massively. In a word: Yes.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Writing 263

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Of course, previous successes provide more direct evidence of a network of the right people.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2015

Based on my experience as an investor and mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, one of the quickest ways to kill your credibility and your startup is to offer a poorly written business plan, or none at all. Of course, if you don’t yet understand all the elements, it’s time to learn.

Startup 109

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Funding is depleted before customer sales ramp up. The world today never stands still.

Startup 131

Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Seed investors are aplenty and of course they need downstream money to fuel their early-stage bets. Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, Of course I would like to be in every great deal ever done.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

Fariborz Masseh: The idea of funding a business plan competition is not a new idea. In 2003 or 2004, I moved to California, and decided to change from running an engineering company into running a hedge fund. Now, I run a hedge fund and finance firm in Southern California. It has been done before, at a number of schools.

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Of course, previous successes provide more direct evidence of a network of the right people.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing.

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Customer Custom 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2014

He’s an incredibly smart investor and somebody that I actually consider to be a mentor to myself. His fund is > $500 million and I guaranfuckingtee he ain’t calling me if that company is crushing it. Of course I ask more politely that than. You have a big fund. He was calling me about the A round.

Venture Capital 333

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Email 333

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Over the past 4 years LA’s tech fundings have growing at a 30% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) which is > 4 times the US average VC CAGR (7%). Of course that’s not disputable. Both are massively funding other LA tech companies through what Fred Wilson once defined as “recycled capital.”

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

Fred has of course been a public mentor to us all with his market-defining terminology that he popularized including “freemium” and “mobile first.” What you may not know is that Fred has been a behind-the-scenes mentor to many of the newer VCs in the industry including myself. This works brilliantly.”

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2020

It goes without saying that if you find yourself in a really negative headspace PLEASE reach out to any trusted mentor, friend or family member. Of course that doesn’t change the outcome, but it’s the humane thing to say. I imagine many of you are, too. you should do all that you can. you should do it.

Demand 215

Demand Guide Customer Custom 215

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. You need funding, and plan to get it from friends and family.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 109

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined some time ago from a funding perspective. The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Funding or rollout stage.

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Ideas 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2010

They are likely to be able to get grants to fund development for you in strategic focus areas, like alternative energy sources, that would otherwise cost you many thousands of dollars.< Every university has educational courses and can provide assistance on creating your initial plan. < Business plan creation.

Help 94

Help Startup Mentor Incubator 94

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

I’m sitting at my computer now at 9.00pm writing this – which is an hour earlier than I normally write (there are about 8 women at my kitchen table having a book club (aka excuse to drink wine & gossip so I’m locked in another room writing. They could chat about it with their peers or mentors.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 21, 2014

You join teams that got good write-ups on TechCrunch, have great VCs, have star CEO’s, whatever. Our founder, Yves Sisteron, was my mentor and board member at my first startup. Writing a book will be fun. “Getting the band back together” doesn’t stop for me with just our fund. You REALLY know.

CTO Hire 320

CTO Hire Startup CTO Coach Venture Capital 320

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2019

Image via Wikipedia As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Guide 87

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Of course, previous successes provide more direct evidence of a network of the right people.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2017

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing.

Company 97

Company Companies Entrepreneur Customer 97

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2013

Aspiring creators learn by connecting with top web filmmakers and YouTubers on a topics specific to the web: developing a web series, producing web series, writing for genres like comedy & sci-fi, directing, editing, camera, Kickstarter funding, show hosting, distribution, and marketing. How does it work?

Web 93

Web USC Course Guide 93

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

Of course that’s true. I’ve tried over the years to write many times about the realism of the downsides of being an entrepreneur because there is a complete cognitive dissidence between what you read about yourself in the press and what you feel internally about where you’re at in the journey.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

What Miigle does is make it easier for entrepreneurs to grow their ideas and startups by connecting them with people including other entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, potential product users who share their interests and want to help. Have you been funded yet? How do you expect to get funded? I want to change that.

Startup 101

Startup Ideas Platform Entrepreneur 101

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

Of course, before you can communicate a vision, you have to have one. The most common solution is that you “bootstrap” your business, or fund it yourself, at least to the point that your “traction” is evident (you have a product, you have customers, you have revenue). There is no substitute for experience and mentoring.

Startup 94

Startup Resource Social Network Mentor 94

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Ryan Blair: The theme around the fund is pretty simple. Of course, not all VCs are like that, and I've started some good relationships with them, but others are complete a**holes. I learned a hell of a lot, invested my gains, and set up my venture fund, knowing I was going to monetize the network I had created.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2012

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Media Customer Custom 126

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2010

Of course, before you can communicate a vision, you have to have one. The most common solution is that you “bootstrap” your business, or fund it yourself, at least to the point that your “traction” is evident (you have a product, you have customers, you have revenue). There is no substitute for experience and mentoring.

Startup 93

Startup Resource Mentor Writing 93

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. In reality, investors fund people, not ideas. That’s not bad, but who wants to be average? How can you improve your odds?

Startup 100

Startup Ideas Entrepreneur Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2013

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing.

Startup 116

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 116

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Based on my experience as a mentor and an entrepreneur, if you fail on your first startup, you are about average. Of course, a real entrepreneur always takes a failure as a milestone on the road to success. In reality, investors fund people, not ideas. That’s not bad, but who wants to be average? How can you improve your odds?

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Ideas Resource Statistics 109

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

In the original version of his post, Andy writes. Most top tier VCs return about 3x invested capital and outlier funds (the best of a vintage) might return 6-8x. But the larger funds usually have lower returns because they are often investing bigger dollars at later stages with less risk and therefore lower returns. Yeah, true.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

As of writing, my twin and I serve as the Co-CEOs and Co-Presidents at LAGbook. Who are your mentors, role models? We don’t have mentors at the moment. Students have to register with their matriculation numbers, and supply upon registration, their course of study, faculty, department, mode of entry, year of entry etc.

Social Network 100

Social Network Networking Advertising Startup 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

I finally got around to writing it having read Fred Wilson’s post about what a CEO does. Naturally the countries reacted negatively to reporting to a centralized figure in the UK (and of course to no longer reporting to the CEO). And as a VC, mentor, angel investor and founder of Launchpad LA I live it as a routine of my life.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Sales Customer 319

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

The second is that they are usually very experienced operators that can mentor the founding team. Of course there is usually an inverse relationship between how senior the person is, how much time they have available and on the other side how much time they’ll spend helping you and getting involved in details.

Startup 187

Startup Writing Venture Capital Oracle 187

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

Welcome to the Lost Decade (for Entrepreneurs, IPO’s and VC’s) - Steve Blank , July 15, 2010 If you take funding from a venture capital firm or angel investor and want to build a large, enduring company (rather than sell it to the highest bidder), this isn’t the decade to do it. Not so bad. Metrics availability.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217