Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

We all know that funding markets have changed for startups. The trends are well understood: more angels, more seed funds, more crowdsourcing and so forth. We are doing what we do – writing larger checks and playing an active role at the company. Does he blog about venture capital and try to advise entrepreneurs?

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

Heck, stick around and watch me discuss the seed funding debate that is going on right now and what is happening in the VC industry overall. I give a sneak peek at a blog post I’m writing on the topic next week. We also talked about whether VC is shrinking and what that would mean for entrepreneurs if true.

Venture Capital 210

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Southern California 210

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Just 3 years ago there was talk of institutional investors “not being able to write small enough checks.” ” The new narrative is “will my seed funds be able to fund the prorata of their winners?” ” Stated simply – if you seed funded Uber at $4.5m Why is this?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2018

We sat down with Kelly ahead of the announcement to chat about the new fund, why they think military veterans are particularly well suited as startup entrepreneurs, why the two went from organizing individual deals for funding to a formal fund, and more. Usually, an entrepreneur, hearing that, won't say no.

Capital 164

Capital Funding Startup Venture Capital 164

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

One of my favorite entrepreneur-Twitterer weighed in, “You want to keep tapping into their collective intelligence so you keep saying ‘Thank you for the feedback’ and they keep sending it,” Ms. I save room in literally every deal to invite angels (or seed funds) to co-invest with me. Morrill said.

Angel 150

Angel Startup Seed Funding Invest 150

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Constance Curtis: I have been a successful entrepreneur for the past thirteen years. At that time, I didn't know it would cost me $14,000 to hire my own personal matchmaker, and leaving my first meeting when I learned that, and being an entrepreneur, I realized I had identified a huge problem. How did you start the company?

Startup 203

Startup Entrepreneur Southern California Netflix 203

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

It should help some entrepreneurs to better access early-stage capital and should allow some angel investors better access to deal flow. If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. million round I might write $1.8 – 2.2 Both are right.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 15 million first checks but we also have three growth funds. The advantage is that in many of our best deals we now have $50+ million invested so we can really support entrepreneurs as their businesses scale. VCs have different views and strategies on this.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. I didn’t want to write it because I have mixed feelings about AngelList. I didn’t want to write it because the bloggosphere doesn’t always do nuance well. So why I am writing it then? But it +is+ an anti-entrepreneur stance.&# A few reasons.

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2013

If we count seed funds and large angels maybe that number goes up by 2x? I always tell entrepreneurs, “ Clean Your Own S**t Up First. ” (before fund raising). But here’s the kicker. Point is – it’s a small industry. Everybody knows everybody. And most VCs are over-whelmed with deals.

Pricing 302

Pricing Seed Funding Invest Venture Capital 302

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

The value that is being “added” is often at arms length or via a specialist who interacts with the entrepreneur. But like a Darwinian experiment, the extent to which these gifts are utilized remains entirely up to each individual entrepreneur.

Web Design 103

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 103

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

In the old days there usually weren’t convertible notes on early-stage deals and there weren’t party rounds with 20 angels or 6 seed funds. What I’ve found over the years is that this forces way more clarity on the entrepreneurs at fund raising time. It’s very simple. You want to raise $7 million?

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2016

As I have pointed out in previous posts , 91% of VCs surveyed believe prices are declining (30% believe substantially) and 77% believe that funding will take longer than it has in the past. I’m surprised how few entrepreneurs have this open conversation with their investors. Wouldn’t you rather know where you stand?

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

InfoChachkie

JUNE 9, 2015

With top-ranked accelerators Lauchpad LA closing its doors and Y Combinator rebranding itself as a seed fund, it seems fair to ask the question, “Are Accelerators Dead?”. My Forbes co-contributor Geri Stengel concurs that something is happening in the Volunteer State, writing last month about that state’s emerging women entrepreneurs.

Startup 100

Startup Class LAMP Santa Barbara 100

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

People say we’re crazy, but we know creators are legit businesses,” Karat writes on its website — the company didn’t respond to a request to chat about what they’re working on. Podfund , for example, writes checks sized between $25,000 to $50,000 to emerging podcasters. We are in phase three of the influencer economy.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

The value that is being “added” is often at arms length or via a specialist who interacts with the entrepreneur. But like a Darwinian experiment, the extent to which these gifts are utilized remains entirely up to each individual entrepreneur.

Web Design 40

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 40

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 17, 2012

They are used by almost all the entrepreneurs I met with and have gained some serious traction in the marketplace. Almost, two years since the inception, he has built up a team and product making a name for himself as one of the city’s most promising entrepreneurs. I met the team briefly while on the facility tour with Nasser.

Startup 109

Startup Incubator Seed Funding Platform 109

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2010

For me Pier Loans fall under the category of “penny wise, pound foolish.&# What VCs who have never been entrepreneurs and have therefore never been on the receiving end of small bridge loans don’t realize is that they skew the behavior of startup management teams in ways that can be self destructive. And it adds up.

Startup 290

Startup Funding Venture Capital Pricing 290

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt. It became a huge kerfuffle with many VC partners writing to thank me for the post, which exposed those that gave their industry a bad name. And covered we did.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” And one that you get to write. I’m just pointing out that it’s not for most people. It could be a stepping stone.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

In most cases if you can’t get a prototype done you’re probably not an entrepreneur. Professional angels / former entrepreneurs / seed funds – In Silicon Valley there are people like Ron Conway, Jeff Clavier, Mike Maples and many more. Surround yourself with great advisors or other entrepreneurs.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

For a high-volume seed fund that adds many portfolio companies every year (such as our friends at 500 Startups who invest in over 100 distinct companies annually), the cost of a bad affirmative decision (a false positive) is quite low, since it accounts for a relatively small portion of their total fund. It's Me, Not You.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 17, 2012

They are used by almost all the entrepreneurs I met with and have gained some serious traction in the marketplace. Almost, two years since the inception, he has built up a team and product making a name for himself as one of the city’s most promising entrepreneurs. I met the team briefly while on the facility tour with Nasser.

Startup 56

Startup Incubator Seed Funding Platform 56

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

Will Zell (CEO) is based in Columbus, OH, and is an Empact100 entrepreneur who was honored at The White House in 2011. Zach Ferres (Chief Technology Officer) has been an entrepreneur since the age of 15. Any funding yet? We have received seed funding from a friend and it is personally funded.

Mentor 94

Mentor Platform Social Network Chief Technology Officer 94

Steve Reich

AUGUST 15, 2015

If you can’t raise from a few strong angels, from seed funds or from a VC then raising from a ton (let’s say 20+) angels is a perfectly acceptable strategy. ” Everyone has a vision that one or two “Super Angels” will write million dollar checks and all will be well. ” Well said, Mark. .

Angel 40

Angel News Pasadena Angels Seed Funding 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

In a world where the economy only heads in one direction (read: 2009-2014) most investors & entrepreneurs forget to pay attention to gross burn. If you have raised a limited amount of money from angels, accelerators or seed funds be very careful about having a high burn rate.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

I’d like to explain as best I can my opinion on what is going on because most of what I hear from entrepreneurs is not only wrong but is reminiscent of what I heard in 1997-2000. ” “This will be great for VCs and bad for entrepreneurs.” Of course a group of 10 seed funds can’t fix the prices of a market.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

Many entrepreneurs let the early rejections get to them and it’s normal because when you hear “no” you think “what’s wrong with me!?” When investors hear that somebody else wanted to fund you it gets their FOMO going and they pile on. When you’re funded you’re often over-funded. Happy raising.

Press 232

Press Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 232

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

He blogs to 10,000 web entrepreneurs at Software by Rob and co-hosts the podcast Startups for the Rest of Us. We had to write a CRM to keep track of them all. While I agree that many VCs are crummy seed investors, I think there are some that are excellent seed investors. What’s going to happen in the future?'

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

No rule is ever absolute no matter how it sounds when one writes a blog. But the firm that funded my first startup was loyal to me for having stuck around in what they knew to be pretty tough times and having suffered much dilution. They seed funded my second company and even let me buy some IP in exchange for debt to get started.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Sales Software Review 285

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

“Transition from CEO&# Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves how they can best serve the company to move it forward. Additionally, entrepreneurs get tired. Again, a startup and its culture are fragile, and entrepreneurs are fragile in the sense that they are self-motivated by their own emotions and inspirations.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. While not 1999 all over again but I am observing first-hand the signs of funding frenzy.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

Grade A Entrepreneurs , September 5, 2010 Why Krispy Kreme failed in Australia - Start Up Blog , November 3, 2010 Mellow Johnny’s: Retail Stores as Community Hubs - IDDICTIVE.COM , July 14, 2010 Is crowdfunding an option for my business?

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

In my ongoing quest to get you good transcripts of the wonderful interviews we’ve done in the past, I present you with one amazing interview here with Tom McInerney – a friend, co-investor, former entrepreneur turned angel investor and “wizard of Oz&# behind the scenes at the uber hot startup Klout. 0:28:00) & (0:31:27).

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

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. In a nutshell, he’s my kind of investor.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217