socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2010

For today's Insights and Opinions section, where we feature insights and analysis from the local technology community, we have an article from Jeff Cohn , an entrepreneur and veteran of the angel and VC investment community here in Southern California. However (More.).

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. I often tell people that raising venture capital is more difficult than getting married. Not so in venture capital. You’re tied at the hip to your VC. But what about once you have a term sheet?

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. It in not uncommon to see a VC talk about “total assets under management&# as in “We have $1.5

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

A major chunk of this activity is provided by the newer class of “super angels,” who often look more like micro-VCs, except that they are investing their own money. Institutional venture capital dispensed in 2021 reached record highs of almost $330 billion, up significantly from the last few years.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Raising Venture Capital. Not so in venture capital. You’re tied at the hip to your VC. You’re tied at the hip to your VC. Get to know VCs over a long period of time so that when you’re ready to get engaged you feel you know their character.

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InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

The same should be true of an entrepreneur who is attempting to secure money from sophisticated investors. The steps outlined below represent an ideal approach to raising capital from sophisticated investors. You might be at Step 2 with one VC and Step 3 with another. Even the most jaded VC cannot resist authentic flattery.

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socalTECH

AUGUST 19, 2019

Our video interview today--where we interview the startup entrepreneurs, investors, and others in the technology industry across Southern California--is with Alice Cheng , an Associate at Upfront Ventures (www.upfront.com), a Los Angeles-based venture capital investment firm.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which In the U.S. Most share expertise as well as money.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 25, 2009

Beware of VC Seagulls, who shit on you and then fly away (or worse yet leave you with Red Herrings). I write this post as a warning to pick your VC’s carefully. I like to say to first-time entrepreneurs, picking a VC is more permanent than marriage. I guarantee this is a bad VC. There are many great VCs.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Technology pilots. Commercial product prototypes.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “ Pitching a VC.&#. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. A large part of my series has been outlining what the typical VC PowerPoint presentation should look like. You want to build a dialogue where you get to know the VC with whom you’re meeting. It happens.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2018

As an advisor to new business owners, and an occasional angel investor, I see new business proposals daily, many seeking investors to fund early research and development (R&D) of a new product idea. Funding new product research and development is just too risky, with a large time delay before any return is likely.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

A major chunk of this activity is provided by the newer class of “super angels,” who often look more like micro-VCs, except that they are investing their own money. Institutional venture capital dispensed in 2019 was down a bit from record highs the previous year, but up significantly over the last few years.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

article in a series on what it takes to be a great angel investor (and why this should matter to entrepreneurs). After that it’s domain experience, access to VCs and deep pockets. It’s hard for me to imagine that angel investing outcomes judged 10 years from now will have a drastically different profile.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

This episode of This Week in Venture Capital featured Michael Montgomery, president of Montgomery & Co. If you don’t know Montgomery & Co it is one of the premier technology & media focused investment banks in the country (and as Michael corrected me they also have a strong Healthcare / Med tech practice).

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socalTECH

MAY 2, 2013

Despite a growing technology industry here in Southern California, local investors and entrepreneurs tell us there''s still a shortage of local, venture capital. Explain what kinds of investments TenOneTen makes or hopes to make? David Waxman: We''ve been making investments since the beginning of the year.

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TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

“The climate-oriented investment in Biden’s new plan would be roughly ten times what came through ARRA,” wrote Shayle Kann, a partner with the investment firm, Energy Impact Partners. ” Climate resiliency . Given the steady drumbeat of climate disasters that hit the U.S.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2012

I still get business plans, looking for an investor, that say all too clearly that the primary “use of funds” will be to do research and development (R&D) on some promising new technology, like superconductivity or cancer cures. This stage is the transition to pilot-scale research on the technology. Technology development.

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InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

The reality is that most venture capitalists are not very venturesome. Thus, it is incumbent on entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into viable businesses before seeking venture funding. Entrepreneurs Are Never Stuck. Wiley entrepreneurs pre-sell their products and get customers to fund their businesses.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

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Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 22, 2017

Join us at Cal State Los Angeles for a full day of innovations and technologies presented by the region's finest researchers and inventors! This technology preview is geared for Serial Entrepreneurs, Angel Investors, and Venture Capital Investors. See [link] (more)

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which In the U.S. Most share expertise as well as money.

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InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

MBA’s are an easy target for entrepreneurs’ scorn. I too have taken shots at MBA’s, describing why they are not typically well suited for startup life in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs. Ventures In Which An MBA Education Is A Plus. My contrarian nature sparked, I began researching MBA led startups. “When M.B.A.’s

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

My friend and fellow SoCal venture capitalist Peter Lee wrote a post about the different roles within a VC and spent much time on the role of an associate. These are the permanent members of a VC. The process for raising money from a VC is a sales process and as such much of what is taught in enterprise sales can be applied.

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Venture Capital Sales Entrepreneur Startup 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. Yet I still get too many business plans that clearly are looking for money to do research and development (R&D) on a new and unproven technology. Technology pilots. Commercial product prototypes.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 1, 2010

In today’s post I want to talk about the concept of a VC flightpath. This is my description of a VC process, not one I’ve heard from other VCs so don’t expect it to be accepted nomenclature. I have no idea why, but that’s always how it always felt to me when I was an entrepreneur raising money.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2016

years at Upfront has been both a pleasure and also has taught me a lot about venture capital. We generally look for associates who are deeply quantitative, have great research & analytical skills and often have the tool kit for framing and making complex decisions. Watching him develop over the past 4.5

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Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

Ask yourself these key questions to prepare for a raise—because if you don’t ask yourself these questions, you can be sure that the VC on the other side of the table will…and you better be ready: 1. Do your research. Every successful—and unsuccessful—entrepreneur knows that a good idea isn’t enough. Images Via Shutterstock.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. As a VC I also have to fund raise every three years and these posts 100% apply to VCs raising money, too. Below is the outline Upfront. Lemons ripen early The hardest thing about fund raising is how dispiriting it can be.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

According to a well-researched Motly Fool report, the challenge is very real, since around half of all businesses fail in the first five years. The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

If you read this blog often you'll know that I'm a huge fan of First Round Capital. They have totally changed the way you run a VC firm, investing heavily in systems & events for their founders that are pushing the boundaries of the way our industry works. Investing Strategy. and Half.com.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

According to a Gompers and Lerner study, the challenge is very real, with a majority of new ventures that don''t attract investors failing within the first three years. 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.

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socalTECH

APRIL 30, 2012

The equity round was led by BASF Venture Capital GmbH, Total Energy Ventures International and Keytone Ventures, and also included Khosla Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, CalPERS Clean Energy & Technology Fund represented by Capital Dynamics and PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

I use George Bush vs. Al Gore as allegory and I’ve been using it with entrepreneurs for years to sink in a simple point about how to communicate with the market. Most Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs I know are more like Al Gore. In a VC pitch this type of messaging will do just fine. It is election season.

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Entrepreneur Startup Press Venture Capital 370

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 8, 2013

is one of the most common questions I hear from early-stage entrepreneurs. To new entrepreneurs, this can seem like one of those vicious cycles: “I don’t have any connections to VCs so therefore I can’t make any connections.”. Once you have your list, talk to other entrepreneurs to get their impressions and feedback.

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Venture Capital Tips Incubator Startup 86

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2018

Investors are pouring millions into the creation of a network of shared kitchens, storage facilities, and pickup counters that established chains and new food entrepreneurs can access to cut down on overhead and quickly spin up new concepts in fast food and casual dining. Other deep pocketed companies have also stepped into the fray.

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