Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 14, 2010
How to Interpret Analyst Reports. The headlines in the media are filled with that latest stats. Stats sell. The stats are often quoted from the latest reports. People then parrot them around like they’re fact when most of them are complete bullsh*t. People throw them around at cocktail parties. Often when they do I throw out my favorite statistic: 73.6% of all statistics are made up.
Eric Greenspan
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
How many BBB logos are there? What is the Better Business Bureau? It’s not a government agency. It’s not policed by a government agency. It’s not even run like a top down corporation. It’s a franchise model, run by local “owners&# or “President/CEOs.&# It is a private institution run by local presidents that make their living on selling local merchants on becoming a member.
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socalTECH
FEBRUARY 1, 2010
This morning, Fullerton-based iChange (www.ichange.com) is announcing that it has raised a round of funding, and has appointed Stuart MacFarlane as its CEO. Stuart is a Managing Director at Momentum Venture Partners , and former CEO of Insider Pages. Momentum is also the source of the new funding. Momentum Ventures is a firm which has been very active providing management expertise in Southern California, helping promising technology firms.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 23, 2010
So you have a great new product or service that you and your associates love. Early adopters should climb all over each other for a look. But what have you done to test the concept against the realities of the marketplace? Have you developed a prototype, alternate pricing schemes, even a PowerPoint mockup to show to potential buyers? I would be very, very nervous without testing the product in the market as early as possible, ready to make changes and enhancements before committing to
Advertiser: Aggregage
Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.
Tech Coast Venture Network
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
Manal Richa Being an entrepreneur and a business owner, a crucial part of your daily life is to concentrate on building relationships that last and which you can hopefully leverage on the long run. How? you may ask… Well, obviously through networking , attending events and mixers, following up with people and helping others. Some of us, who are not “ born &# with the skill to network, need to understand that networking is a skill that can be taught, learned or developed.
InfoChachkie
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
The man at left built the first personal computer. He also spearheaded a number of fundamental software breakthroughs, including creating the basic hardware / software architecture which resulted in the creation of the third-party personal computer (PC) software industry. If this gentleman was such a pivotal player in the early days of the PC revolution, why is he essentially unknown to most entrepreneurs under forty years old?
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Eric Greenspan
FEBRUARY 23, 2010
140conf LA Meetup hosted by Jeff Pulver and Eric Greenspan. Hello again! We had a blast together in December at our first #140conf LA Meetup at Yahoo! didn’t we? Thanks to Jeff Pulver for another great event. Well, we couldn’t leave well enough alone so we’re gonna do it again and this time, it will be bigger and better. Once again, I’ll be your co-host and emcee.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2010
San Diego-based Castle Access , a provider of enterprise data center services, said today that it has received a multi-million dollar, strategic equity financing. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The firm said the equity funding will go to increase its investments in its data center services, and for infrastructure expansion. Piper Jaffray & Co. advised the firm in the funding.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
This statement could be considered controversial. We have previously made the case that professional investors demand more in the form of restrictive covenants and lower valuations. Now we explore the other side of that coin. Professional investors usually bring “smart money” to the table, defined as money that comes along with good advice and great relationships for corporate growth.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
By Bob Arciniaga In developing the content for this article, it was very apparent this advice is not only critical for startups but for most companies. The suggestions are even more vital in a startup environment with constrained resources. A properly built advisory board can be a huge strategic advantage to any company. On the other hand, an advisory board put together haphazardly can be the biggest mistake for a company in the early stages of business.
Jason Nazar
FEBRUARY 1, 2010
This month’s Startups Uncensored will be on “Google Adsense for Websites”. It will be an open and frank town-hall conversation talking about how to best optimize and monetize your website with Google Adsense. We are joined this month by two senior members of the Google Adsense team from Mountain View, California who have worked with hundreds of publishers to maximize the revenue they’re able to make with Google Adsense. .
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
This is part of my series on Startup Advice. When I worked in London there were a ton of Aussies. I love working with Aussies because their outlook on life seems very similar to what I grew up with in California. Pretty laid back and non-hierarchic. I also loved learning all of their sayings. My favorite was when I guy told me to beware of Crocodile Salesmen.
Eric Greenspan
FEBRUARY 25, 2010
Curious how you get so many spam messages in Twitter? It’s not rocket science. I just got this one: “hi, i’m 24/female/horny… i have to get off here but message me on my windows live messenger name…&# You probably did too. I know @mayhemstudios, @marshacollier and @TopBrokerOC did (thanks you three!). So, how does this happen?
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 26, 2010
It's been awhile since we caught up with the folks at Los Angeles-based Oversee.net (www.oversee.net), which has a very big businesses in the domain name area, so we thought we'd sit down and hear how things are going for the firm. We talked with Jeff Kupietzky, CEO of Oversee. What businesses is Oversee.net now in? Jeff Kupietzky: There are three primary areas we play in, but what ties them all together, is the mission to increase the value of Internet real estate.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
This insight follows closely the conclusions from the previous declaration, that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more. And yet, in an earlier insight, we spoke of the problems that come when taking unstructured investments from friends and family.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
By Evan Britton Each day, millions of internet users post updates on a variety of social networking sites. People make these updates to post what they are observing right now or give their opinion on something that is currently happening. Because of all of these updates, there is a wealth of real-time information on the web. This information is often relevant and useful for entrepreneurs and startups - so you need to understand the alternatives and implications.
Jason Nazar
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
Last evening I gave a presentation on Marketing and Publicity for Startups at the Founders Institute at their 2010 San Diego session. Included below is the presentation I wrote and gave. If you’re in the internet startup space and want to learn from the masters of Marketing and Publicity you should be following folks like Michael Arrington of TechCrunch , Jason Calacanis of Mahalo , Peter Pham of BillShrink , and Philip Kaplan of Blippy and Mark Suster of GRP Venture Capital.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 4, 2010
This is part of my series on Entrepreneurial DNA that was originally published on VentureHacks. I know this series has been running for a while (and is getting long in the tooth) – I promise it’s nearly over. I started with a “top 11″ list – only because I couldn’t fit them into a top 10. But in the end I ended up with 12.
Eric Greenspan
FEBRUARY 5, 2010
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. TED…a conference where people tell interesting short stories of their experiences in life. These are Ideas Worth Spreading, according to TED’s mission. Ideas Worth Spreading huh? I shall soon confirm. TED is 50 or so 18 minute “unrehearsed&# presentations from some of the biggest names in the world and some that few have ever heard of, all converging at an event said to be spectacular and “life changing.&# This is what I’ve garnered from
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
Los Angeles-based My Damn Channel , the online original video site run by Rob Barnett, said Thursday that it has been selected by Fox as a premium distribution partner for the network's original web series. According to My Damn Channel, it will also start developing and producing original new series together with Fox. Financial details on the partnership were not disclosed.
Tech Zulu Event
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
This coming Friday and Saturday (February 12 & 13) TechZulu will be presenting The BIL 2010 Conference live. For those who may not know what BIL is: "the concept of the BIL Conference started in late November 2007, when Cody Marx Bailey proposed the idea of going out to Monterey, CA and crashing the TED Conference to Todd Huffman and Bill Erickson.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 28, 2010
I always love to get questions from my readers, and I answer them all, but sometimes I feel like the “Dear Abby’ for entrepreneurs. Many of the questions I get make me realize how well off most of us are, as we understand the challenges that others have to face. If you have some insights, don’t hesitate to let me know. Here are some real cases: Dear StartupPro, I am a minority looking for funding for a Home HealthCare Service business.
CEO Flow
FEBRUARY 1, 2010
Want the peace of mind and freedom that comes with knowing you have all the support you need from your own people? Coming in March to Amazon, the CEOFlow book: Tags: Featured.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 27, 2010
Nature vs. Nurture. You’ve all heard the question before. Let’s talk about kids for a moment. I grew up believing that human behavior was 20% nature, 80% nurture. Now that I have two boys (4 and 7) I’m convinced it’s the other way around. There’s no question that both factors are involved. There have been many studies done on the topic including looking at twins raised in separate families.
Eric Greenspan
FEBRUARY 5, 2010
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. TED…a conference where people tell interesting short stories of their experiences in life. These are Ideas Worth Spreading, according to TED’s mission. Ideas Worth Spreading huh? I shall soon confirm. TED is 50 or so 18 minute “unrehearsed&# presentations from some of the biggest names in the world and some that few have ever heard of, all converging at an event said to be spectacular and “life changing.&# This is what I’ve garnered from
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 16, 2010
For this morning's interview, we talked with Noah Auerhahn , President of San Diego-based Extrabux (www.extrabux.com), an online site focused on providing consumers with comparison shopping combined with discount offers. We talked with Noah about how the company grew out of a business plan competition at the University of Southern California, his recent funding from the Maverick Angels, as well as how the firm hopes to stand out among a crowded list of comparison shopping sites.
Tech Zulu Event
FEBRUARY 26, 2010
Join us tomorrow as we stream the ProductCamp Socal event Live starting at 9:00am PST. What is ProductCamp? ProductCamp is a great opportunity to learn from, teach to, and network with professionals involved in the Brand/Product Management, Marketing, and Development processes in Southern California! It's FREE to attend and you can register here.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. That doesn’t mean you have to be a social butterfly to succeed, or introverts need not apply. It does mean that you need to look, listen, and participate in the business world around you, and network through all available channels, like business-oriented social networks online (LinkedIn), local business organizations (Chamber of Co
Daradiction
FEBRUARY 26, 2010
The past two months has been a blur. I wake up early, at my desk by 7am. It’s back to back meetings till really late at night. Highlights: We’ve closed significant funding for CitySourced/FreedomSpeaks. We’ve been nominated to Davos. We were selected to the Finals of the Knight Foundation grant. Lord knows I’ve been busy, but even though we’re seeing traction, I still don’t feel like I’m really getting that much done, sorta spinning my wheels.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 8, 2010
This is part of my ongoing series on Raising Venture Capital. I often tell people that raising money is worse than getting married. I have to be careful in how that sounds because I love my wife and am happily married. But the truth is that in marriage if you’re unhappy you can at least get divorced (in most countries). Not so in venture capital.
Eric Greenspan
FEBRUARY 26, 2010
Tags: Eric Greenspan plain english Twitter.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2010
Equipois , the developer of a mechanical arm--based on Hollywood's Steadicam--for reducing the weight of tooling and other objects, took the top prize and was ranked in 1st place overall in Wednesday evening's Tech Coast Angels Fast Pitch. The annual Fast Pitch competition pitted 10 companies against each other in 90-second, elevator pitches to a panel of 10 judges.
Tech Zulu Event
FEBRUARY 25, 2010
Guest Post by Jeremiah Abraham of Twiistup. Multi-tasking drivers can breathe a small sigh of relief. If you're like me, you probably find yourself fiddling with your iPod, reaching for that water bottle sitting in your backseat, or trying to untangle those darned ear buds to answer a call -- all while speeding down the freeway. It's risky, but your hectic life demands it.
Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
Know your market and competition, or don’t spend a dime on anything else. I have stated previously that I love absolutes – statements with no wiggle room for gray-area responses. Well, here is one of those, and it deals with market research first and foremost. . Let me tell you a short story at my own expense. In 1994, (I know a long time ago), I invested over a million dollars into a company whose entrepreneurs had a vision that I bought into for many reasons,
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
A while back I found some great product leadership guidance in “ The Secrets of Tuned In Leaders ”, by Craig Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott. They did a series of interviews with CEOs to understand how technology companies create success, and why most fail. They found many similarities between the companies that are winning in the marketplace and those that are struggling.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 21, 2010
One of the investment themes I’ve been focused on in the past 3 years has been Performance-Based Marketing. When I started investing the US advertising market was $300 billion with only 10% of it ($30 billion) of it being online and measurable. One recession later and the US advertising market is about $245 billion – but still only 10-12% is online and measurable.
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