socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

Earlier this month, the annual Montgomery Summit conference was held in Santa Monica, including a special portion of the conference dedicated to the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur. For myself, I'm largely focused on investments in enterprise software, primarily in the areas of application software and intelligence.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2016

During the Q&A I was asked about how I make investment decisions in early-stage businesses. I know that sounds trite but it’s the best way I can describe my early-stage investments. If I don’t do both then it’s highly unlikely I will invest. I know there will be good times and bad. Reasonably technical concepts.

Invest 254

Invest Writing Pricing Metrics 254

Berkonomics

JUNE 29, 2017

If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing 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.

Invest 243

Invest Entrepreneur Sales Startup 243

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 13, 2013

Saturday, January 19, 2013 -- First Time Entrepreneur Workshop. LAVA is extremely pleased to announce its next First Time Entrepreneur training program. The program is open to entrepreneurs that are starting companies in areas that are likely to draw venture capital investment.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur LAVA Training Venture Capital 100

TechCrunch LA

MAY 12, 2020

The group occupies some familiar spaces for past investments, with a focus on niche social communities, mobile media tools and augmented reality. Snap investment Hardworkers. Mogul Millennial : a media startup sharing professional resources for Black entrepreneurs. Yellow investment SketchAR. ”

Invest 237

Invest Startup Artificial Inteligence Class 237

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

If you aren’t willing to take some risk as an entrepreneur, then don’t expect any gain. Yet everyone has limits, and every investor implicitly has similar limits on what makes a startup investable, or one to avoid at all costs. Huge ramp-up time and money required. Marginal legality or poor public image. If you want U.S.

Invest 98

Invest Sites Technical Review Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2021

As an angel investor in early-stage startups, I’ve long noticed my peers apparent bias toward the strength and character of the founding entrepreneurs, often overriding a strong solution to a painful problem with a big opportunity. The return on character in business is well worth the investment. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 165

Entrepreneur Mentor Ideas Invest 165

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2015

You might even allow yourself to admit that you almost lost it all several times during this long run, and that only you knew how close you came to the abyss. Then you focus on the money in your bank account, smiling at the accomplishment of accumulating assets that are tangible and can be valued, perhaps for the first time.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Writing .Net Sales 120

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). 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!,

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 11, 2022

After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. The most investable ventures stem from painful needs by customers who have money to spend.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Invest Funding Patents 108

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 27, 2022

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Marketing News Slides 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 12, 2021

Sometimes entrepreneurs are so focused on making change happen for customers that they forget that continually changing themselves and their company is equally important. Negative advice on an unknown is easy and safe to give, so every entrepreneur hears it over and over. Changing times call for a new skill set.

Entrepreneur 167

Entrepreneur Technical Review Mentor Customer 167

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

If you Can’t Make Time, MakeSpace. A few months ago I wrote about an entrepreneur, Sam Rosen, whom we brought on as an EIR at Upfront Ventures. Now remember that Sam is an entrepreneur. I lost big time from this hurricane.”. I went back 2-3 times to retrieve stuff. Each time was a trip. Here’s the deal.

UCSD 340

UCSD Startup Ideas Course 340

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2022

Dave’s note: This is a reprint of a 2015 insight that seems to have struck a chord with investors and entrepreneurs. None of this advice has changed… Let me tell you a few short hair–raising stories of entrepreneurs who have raised money and regretted it later. The problem, of course, comes if the business fails.

Startup 317

Startup Entrepreneur Invest Course 317

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Billionaire entrepreneur and "Shark Tank" co-host Mark Cuban is an outspoken proponent of the all-in early approach in a video interview, and made it clear that he gives no credibility and low odds to founders seeking funding who have not fully committed their time and efforts to their cause.

Startup 128

Startup Entrepreneur Satisfaction News 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2023

As an advisor to entrepreneurs and active angel investor, I often get questions about the realism of the Shark Tank TV series, compared to professional investor negotiations. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons. Investors invest in people, more than ideas.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Sample Ideas Customer 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2023

Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea. These are more likely scalable and investable. Just because all your buddies think an idea is cool, that doesn’t mean it is scalable.

Tips 135

Tips Invest Startup Outsource 135

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2023

Indeed, while the rules and technologies for lead generation have changed, Forrester and other experts still see it as the most effective way for businesses with limited budgets to maximize their return on marketing investment (ROI). One of these experts, David T. Email marketing. Cold calling.

Marketing 114

Marketing Invest Social Media SEM 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2020

As I was watching the investor show, Shark Tank , on TV the other night, I was struck by how quickly and how extensively the sharks focused on the background and character of the entrepreneurs, compared to time spent evaluating their products. These can be honed over time, and can’t be easily faked.

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Mentor Metrics Customer 168

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

So, to help other female entrepreneurs, they founded TuesdayNights (www.tuesdaynights.org), a group in LA which helps female entrepreneurs connect with capital and each other to improve their access to capital. What is the most difficult challenge that women entrepreneurs face?

Help 224

Help Entrepreneur Capital Startup 224

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally generated funds. And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Venture Capital 295

Venture Capital Startup Class Invest 295

socalTECH

JANUARY 22, 2019

This morning's interview is with Kevin O'Connor , a longtime investor and serial entrepreneur, who is now running venture capital investment firm ScOp Venture Capital. Just this past September was a year with Amazon, when I left, and we started investing in September under the new name, ScOp Venture Capital.

Venture Capital 145

Venture Capital Startup Invest Capital 145

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. This usually means not taking money from equity investors, since investors want fast growth, high profits, and an exit event, to allow investments to be recouped. A lifestyle business becomes an integral part of an entrepreneur’s identity and their life.

Entrepreneur 148

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 148

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2022

As the economy rebuilds after some tough economic times, more and more people seem to be turning to entrepreneurship and their dream lifestyle as an alternative to traditional employment. It is not for everyone, as the entrepreneur’s path is fraught with challenges. Problem solvers make successful entrepreneurs. Learn to lead.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Resource 110

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 18, 2019

With an inaugural investment into the Los Angeles-based entertainment startup Culture Genesis , Clifford Harris Jr., ”, has launched a new syndicated investment vehicle called Tech Cypha. And that’s by coming together to pool our resources so we can invest more.” who’s better known as “T.I.”,

Invest 187

Invest Los Angeles Resource Venture Capital 187

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2021

Therefore, the least you can do is take advantage of some of the self-assessment tools and guides around, like the classic book “ The Entrepreneur Equation ,” by Carol Roth, which highlights personal characteristics and skills required. That should indicate that a lot of entrepreneurs get more than they bargained for.

Entrepreneur 169

Entrepreneur Startup Statistics Guide 169

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 10, 2022

By most definitions of the term, an entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business, incorporating innovative changes to existing products, services, business models, and creating new markets. One way of identifying the right characteristics and approaches is to take a hard look at entrepreneurs who have done it.

Examples 131

Examples Entrepreneur Technology Resource 131

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

I have saved this next story until now because it is one of my favorites, and certainly illustrates the point about timing being a combination of luck and skill as well as anything I could devise from fiction. The company of eight was engaged in web design, which, early in the growth of middle-sized business on the web, was hot at the time.

Sales 120

Sales Web Design Web Design 120

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2021

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. The one-page Oprah plan is a good executive summary, but it’s not enough to get the investment. Stick with the simpler words and phrases, like "use" instead of "utilize" and "then" instead of "at that point in time."

Invest 135

Invest Tips Writing Content 135

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

But as sweet as that success has been (we invested pre-revenue in a small team) today my even more important news was the further expansion of our partner ranks. That feeling happens 2-3 times per year maximum. At every entrepreneur event I through between 2008-2012 I invite Hamet because he was a great mentor for entrepreneurs.

Invest 340

Invest Venture Capital Startup News 340

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2023

It’s easy for an entrepreneur or a CEO to feel like a leader when things are going well, but the challenge is to keep that confidence and drive in the face of economic downturns, business turnarounds, and stressful personnel situations. Successful CEOs and entrepreneurs instead listen, learn, empathize and include everyone in the challenge.

Tips 97

Tips Organization Ideas Course 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2020

Every entrepreneur knows that good demand generation marketing is the key to growth these days, but very few have the discipline or know-how to measure return in a world of a thousand tools and techniques. Return on investment for demand generation.

Marketing 174

Marketing Invest Demand Metrics 174

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. I had been thinking a lot about this recently because I’m often asked the question of “what I look for in an entrepreneur when I want to invest?” I had invested in myself for years.

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know, rather than angel investors or professional investors (VCs). In fact, most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate. Nobody likes a downer.

Invest 135

Invest Technical Review Startup Ideas 135

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2020

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. This model facilitates donations to charities and creative projects, and has been around for a long time via sites such as GoFundMe. Donation good-cause model. In the U.S.,

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Outsource Development Satisfaction Equity 129

socalTECH

JANUARY 29, 2020

This week, Los Angeles-based Crosscut Ventures announced a brand new effort to provide health and wellness to the founders of companies it invests in, helping those founders with well being, mental health, stress management, coaching, and leadership development. Tell us about this new program? It's a comprehensive bucket.

Invest 113

Invest Framework Coach Startup 113

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner. Four reasons you should reconsider.

Startup 120

Startup Invest Summary Resource 120