socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

Despite the increase in startup activity in Southern California, local venture capital funds are still few and far between, and a large chunk of the funding here is still from Sand Hill Road. The firm just announced that new fund, and a new name, Upfront Ventures (www.upfront.com). Tell us about the new fund?

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

socalTECH

JANUARY 18, 2011

This morning, Pasadena-based Perfect Market (www.perfectmarket.com) announced a new, $9M round of funding for the firm's technology, which is used to help publishers monetize their content. Congrats on funding. It's some of the kinds of things Demand Media does, except, for the newsroom. Their content is pretty much event based.

Marketing 232

Marketing Funding Content Writing 232

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

As investors continue pouring funding into artificial intelligence and consumer habits shift, many AI and subscription model startups have been enjoying rapid growth. RunwayML Runway is an applied AI tool artists can use to create AI-generated media, like video, audio and text. Runway AI user interface. million in 2023, up from $181.5

Startup 210

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 210

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 25, 2023

The cost of entry has never been lower, with new tools to create your own website , and free social media to get your message out everywhere. By far, the majority of new businesses I know are self-funding (bootstrapped) from your own savings and prior assets. Explore multiple sources based on your level of need and risk.

Social Media 98

Social Media Metrics Media Tool 98

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

Los Angeles-based Maple Media (maplemedia.io) recently announced a big, $30M funding from Shamrock Capital, to assemble a collection of mobile applications in the utility, productivity, games and entertainment verticals. What's the idea behind Maple Media? What's the idea behind Maple Media?

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2017

Recently the firms two founding partners (and also Managing Partners) —  Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham  — decided to transition management of the firm to Andy Weissman (who joined in 2012) and Albert Wenger (joined in 2008 and writes one of the most thoughtful blogs in our industry ). Maybe that’s USV, too.

Venture Capital 161

Venture Capital Funding Capital Startup 161

TechCrunch LA

JULY 2, 2020

From larger fund investors like Mark Suster and Kara Nortman at Upfront Ventures to Dana Settle at Greycroft Partners; to early-stage investors like Will Hsu at Mucker Capital; TX Zhuo at Fika Ventures, the responses were generally upbeat about the future opportunities for Los Angeles startups.

Los Angeles 277

Los Angeles Venture Capital Capital Invest 277

socalTECH

JUNE 5, 2013

San Francisco-based Scripted.com announced a funding round yesterday, saying it has raised a Series A worth $4.5M, from Crosslink Capital, Redpoint Ventures, James Currier and Stan Chudnovsky from Ooga Labs, Branchout CEO Rick Marini, Bebo co-founder Michael Birch, Military.com co-founder Chris Michel, along with Paige Craig. READ MORE>>.

Southern California 159

Southern California Redpoint Writing Venture Capital 159

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. Assess your own resources as well as funding sources.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2017

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. On the social media side, the stakes are just as great.

Media 55

Media Social Media Startup Training 55

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. On the social media side, the stakes are just as great.

Training 93

Training Media Entrepreneur Social Media 93

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

Silicon Valley and the media industry that surrounds it values youth. It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales. that plays a leading role in funding in the Central Coast of California.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

Very few people fund individuals. Professional angels / former entrepreneurs / seed funds – In Silicon Valley there are people like Ron Conway, Jeff Clavier, Mike Maples and many more. The key to getting money is that the people writing the check trust you. This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Earlier this week, Derek Norton , a long time advisor to the media, Internet, and technology industry in Los Angeles, announced a brand new venture capital fund called Watertower Ventures (www.watertowerventures.com). We sat down with Derek to learn more about the new $5M fund and what it's all about. Tell us about the new fund?

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 22, 2019

We had met previously when Trevor was a product manager at YouTube and Upfront had funded the largest video producer on YouTube, Maker Studios. Projector lets you layer all types of media together. Want to preview your presentation on social media? Why don’t our work tools offer the same modern communication style?

Startup 191

Startup Social Media Slides Design 191

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. So I think it’s now fair to rate me at 9/10 on follow-on fundings. I am closing 3 new fundings in April (2 new, 1 follow-on).

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2018

Our sources put the company’s funding somewhere around $6 million in its recent funding round. McFedries, brud ‘s founder and chief executive, confirmed that the Miquela account had been hacked in a text exchange with me, writing, “some redditor idiots hacked the page we think.” ” That was a lie.

Social Media 254

Social Media Los Angeles Media Geni 254

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

In that article I talked about how PR drives: recruiting, employee retention, biz dev deals, funding and even M&A and that often “attribution” to your PR activities is unknown. Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital. I have no money?

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 111

Startup Training Services Writing 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2019

Now, even the earliest stage startup can rise to visibility or be forever lost by their first media spotlight, so it behooves us all to know the rules early. Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. On the social media side, the stakes are just as great.

Press 96

Press Entrepreneur Social Media Training 96

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2016

Here’s an example of a recent Snapstorm on negotiations: https://medium.com/media/ecca992139dedfef9ac6dc1a6afe432e/href So for the people who still don’t get why I’d use Snapchat — in no particular order let me say: I enjoy doing it. I LOVE writing. But writing takes more time and some days I don’t have that. I do these, too.

Snapchat 200

Snapchat Blogging Venture Capital Writing 200

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity. Tracy is knowledgeable enough to talk tech and swap design & product stories with other founders, but she realized early that networking amongst this group and reading and writing in their journals would not bring her more customers.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

The first check I wrote was just over 10 years ago into a company called Invoca who just announced a new $56 million in funding led by Scott Hilleboe at HIG Growth Partners. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 15 million first checks but we also have three growth funds.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

When Nivi published the series he titled it “the top 10 things I look for before I write a check.&# As a result I felt compelled to add this final attribute because it matters a lot to me. I know that many media outlets would like to portray this in a different way but knowing many of these individuals I believe it is true for most.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Funding 284

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2023

The Internet is the source of data for alternative views, and social media allows direct customer interactions to test these views. The act of communicating and writing enhances learning. With this principle, real entrepreneurs start with a conviction that new learning will reveal flaws in existing models, leading to new opportunities.

Social Media 120

Social Media Startup Entrepreneur Education 120

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Assess potential for funding or bootstrapping. If you will need to supplement your own funds and assets for your business, don’t wait for a crisis to enlist family, friends, angel investors, or start a crowdfunding campaign. Remember that investors tend to fund entrepreneurs, not ideas. No presence gives you no credibility.

Startup 114

Startup Tips Coach Satisfaction 114

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

The double-digit drop actually came from Meta’s earnings report which investors feared would be indicative of a broader revenue slump across social media stocks. I’ve been writing quite a bit about crypto lately, and this week I dug into a particularly interesting facet of the industry called DAOs.

Marketing 246

Marketing Newsletter Technical Review News 246

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

Don’t let your passion convince you that word-of-mouth and viral marketing will suffice against well-funded competitors and ever more demanding customers. Set specific targets on the sales channels and marketing initiatives you need, including the use of social media, brand building, franchising, trade shows, affiliates, and distributors.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

We all read them to get a sense of what is going on in the world, peeling back layers of the old world in which media was too scripted. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Along the way, they created a supportive community of emotionally attached stakeholders that would be the envy of any Social Media Manager. I said, ''Hey, listen were going to start writing this newsletter and it''s going to highlight our trials and tribulations, our failures and our successes. Here''s how they pulled it off.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Warren’s plan called for regulators to be appointed to oversee the unwinding of several acquisitions that were critical to the development of the core technology that make Alphabet’s Google and the social media giant Facebook so profitable… and Zappos. — Balaji S. .” ”

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2010

By Adam Hoeksema According to a report distributed by the Angel Capital Education Foundation , total startup funding from venture capital funds, state funds, and angel investors totals approximately $20.8 Tags: entrepreneur startup friends and family funding business. billion annually. Have an exit strategy.

Funding 90

Funding Startup Blogging Invest 90

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Some entrepreneurs love to talk and produce videos, but hate to write anything down. Contrary to popular belief, most investors are not looking for entrepreneurs who are desperate for funding. In this context, investors are attracted to thought-leaders visible on social media, and people with strong technical credentials.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Next she took to Instagram, a new social media platform that quickly became the most effective tool in a blogger’s toolkit. million in funding from Rebecca Minkoff and other unnamed investors. The first phase was the rise of the media platforms: YouTube, Instagram, etcetera, that allowed creatives to build audiences.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2022

Yager outlines in her book just a few of the reasons why an entrepreneur needs to overcome the fear, and master the art of speaking in public, and I’ve taken the liberty of adding a few occasions from my own business experience: You need funding, and have to address a group of investors.

Marketing 113

Marketing Entrepreneur Customer Custom 113

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2011

Journalists write stories that have an appeal to readers whether the accusations have merit or not. Find other media outlets to tell your story. Journalists aren’t going to write about you all the time unless you’re Facebook. Use it as an excuse to get a journalist to write about you. You just burned a story.

Startup 329

Startup Press Training Media 329