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

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 1, 2019

Defy , the early-stage venture investment firm founded by Neil Sequeira and Trae Vassallo, is putting a new twist on the venture partner model as it brings Brian Lee and Sujal Patel on board to help out with investing and guiding companies in the firm’s portfolio. Just don’t call them venture partners. million round.

Invest 109

Invest Legalzoom Los Angeles Blogging 109

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2013

I’m a big fan of mentoring in business, and have been at different times on both the contributing and receiving end of the process. These days, I seem to often hear from entrepreneurs who are struggling to find a mentor, or complaining about their lack of effectiveness. When you meet with a mentor, you should lead the discussion.

Mentor 102

Mentor Startup Coach Entrepreneur 102

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

I’m a total believer in servant leadership and mentoring others, but nobody wins when you are in charge as an entrepreneur, and the business fails because you didn’t do your job. Your productivity can be severely compromised by lack of balance, making you ineffective in managing key tasks and people around you.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2012

I’m a big fan of mentoring in business, and have been at different times on both the contributing and receiving end of the process. These days, I seem to often hear from entrepreneurs who are struggling to find a mentor, or complaining about their lack of effectiveness. When you meet with a mentor, you should lead the discussion.

Mentor 94

Mentor Coach Entrepreneur Press 94

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Troy represents what I believe the best magic of Los Angeles is – the merging together of creative talent with technical talent and he brings the lessons learned from these two fields into investments nationally. So I guess Troy and Lady Gaga were touring in search of this product / market fit.

Mentor 150

Mentor Venture Capital Marketing Product 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

The core of the investing job of course is investing dollars into startup companies and helping as a mentor, advisor and board member on the companies in which you’ve invested. Marketing, recruiting, building data products & tools, event management, analyzing the portfolio, etc. So What Does All This Mean?

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 10, 2022

In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground. There are many ways to add levity to a tough challenge, and engaging the team occasionally in some fun activities will work wonders for your team’s productivity and motivation.

Examples 145

Examples Mentor Activity Product 145

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

Designed to be a collaborative startup company incubator alongside corporate partners, Launchpad focuses on developing new consumer tech businesses focused on M13’s main investment areas: health, food, transportation, and housing. M13, for its part, is developing a strong team of women partners who are investing at the firm.

Startup 178

Startup Incubator Los Angeles IP 178

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. Shares views and learns from a personal mentor. Visibly demonstrate the highest integrity.

Entrepreneur 168

Entrepreneur Mentor Metrics Customer 168

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. For investors, this is the idea stage , where you may have a great idea, but no plan, product, or customers, and probably no success record in this business domain. Congratulations!

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 29, 2017

Leaders who are able to optimize these find multipliers of 20 percent up to nine times the average productivity. Many venture firms go even further, by insisting on investing their own key players in an interesting startup, before they commit any funds. Time investment standards fall directly on the CEO.

Product 58

Product Startup Guide Framework 58

socalTECH

AUGUST 25, 2015

Tucker Kain: In 2012, when the current ownership group bought the Dodgers, the group they pulled together was pretty heavily investment focused. They all had come from backgrounds as investment professionals, which is how they had built their own businesses. How did the idea to launch your own accelerator come about?

Startup 100

Startup Invest Resource Entertainment 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2023

It has a huge impact on productivity, as well as morale and loyalty to the company. Trust causes the brain to release oxytocin, which stimulates productivity and raises motivation. He cites eight leadership actions, which I also recommend, from a non-scientific perspective, as a mentor to entrepreneurs. Marty Zwilling

Claremont 101

Claremont Mentor Study Startup 101

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Venture and angel investing has long been considered a man''s world--with domination of the industry, executives, financiers, and others by men, with only a few exceptions. The Pipeline Fellowship--founded by Natalia Oberti Noguera--says it has been running angel investing bootcamps for women, looking to active more female angel investors.

Angel 276

Angel Invest Mentor Technical Review 276

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Too many relationships never advance beyond this stage, resulting in poor communication, no cooperation, low trust, and low shared productivity. Workship - Mentor. This is a productive working relationship where one party, more knowledgeable and/or experienced, takes an active role in fostering the advance of the other.

Mentor 91

Mentor Competition Summary Coach 91

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Investment experience (5 years a VC at Battery Ventures). Operating experience (Helped run parts of CitySearch & UrbanSpoon, tons of product management experience, Board of Hatch Labs which helped spawn Tinder). For starters we’re an LA-based venture fund who invests nationally (and sometimes internationally, but less so).

Venture Capital 408

Venture Capital Startup Outsource Development CitySearch 408

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2016

According to Startup Next, it helps startups prepare for accelerators and seed investment, using mentors and other founders to help startups with pitches, and puts them through a series of weekly seminars around pitching their company, market sizing, finding product/market/fit, and other topis.

Los Angeles 100

Los Angeles Startup Angel Mentor 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

There is always the next generation of workers coming of age who expect more, as well as the current generation already having the lowest engagement and productivity levels that business has ever seen. Spend more time mentoring and coaching your team. The future of work is definitely changing, accelerated by the current pandemic.

Tips 159

Tips Satisfaction Coach Mentor 159

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2015

Perks include office space, prototype lab, production facilities, mentoring, and investments up to $150,000 in the first 4 months. They are just over the halfway mark with their current class and have been continuously improving their program to increase the value for their entrepreneurs, their products and their business.

Startup 40

Startup Invest Chatsworth Mentor 40

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

It has a huge impact on productivity, as well as morale and loyalty to the company. Trust causes the brain to release oxytocin, which stimulates productivity and raises motivation. He cites eight leadership actions, which I also recommend, from a non-scientific perspective, as a mentor to entrepreneurs. Marty Zwilling.

Claremont 172

Claremont Mentor Study Startup 172

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2021

As a business mentor, I sometimes feel besieged by people begging for my view and support of their latest idea. There are lots of resources available for that question, including the Internet and mentors like me. Pitching” is the insider term for presenting your product idea to people who could conceivably buy it or fund your efforts.

Ideas 136

Ideas Entrepreneur Mentor Resource 136

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, crowdfunding still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. Product pre-order model. In the U.S.,

Funding 141

Funding Startup Outsource Development Satisfaction 141

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 23, 2022

Many of you business leaders I work with, and entrepreneurs I mentor, have a great strategy and an innovative solution , but struggle with building and motivating the team necessary to run your business. Becoming a totally connected business leader is a very different challenge from building a product, or defining a good strategy.

Mentor 108

Mentor Social Media Coach Customer 108

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

Almost every entrepreneur and new business owner I mentor is certain that his/her idea has a very high probability of success, and all find it hard to believe that ninety percent of startups ultimately fail. I realized that he and I see several common patterns that account for a large percentage of new venture failures.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 3, 2015

In building successful businesses, I find that creating a new and innovative product or service is usually the easy part. Most investors admit that they invest primarily in people, not ideas, and they inherently believe that they can sense this leadership ability needed to get the rapid growth and 10x return we all strive for.

Product 103

Product Coach Framework Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 9, 2023

In addition, relationships found through networking can make your life a lot more satisfying as well as more productive. For example, if you are an entrepreneur seeking investment or a cofounder, there is no substitute for networking at industry and startup conferences in your area. Make the process a give-and-take rather than one-way.

Networking 104

Networking Mentor Conference Summary 104

socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2011

The accelerator said that it is aiming at helping entrepreneurs--particularly in the social and mobile technology space--in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange County with pre-seed funding and mentoring. READ MORE>>.

Orange County 208

Orange County Southern California Seed Funding Mentor 208

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. For investors, this is the idea stage , where you may have a great idea, but no plan, product, or customers, and probably no success record in this business domain. Congratulations!

Startup 148

Startup Ideas Equity Invest 148

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2020

Too many relationships never advance beyond this stage, resulting in poor communication, no cooperation, low trust, and low shared productivity. Workship - Mentor. This is a productive working relationship where one party, more knowledgeable and/or experienced, takes an active role in fostering the advance of the other.

Mentor 135

Mentor Competition Summary Coach 135

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Strategic planning is a required ongoing investment. Even the best college degree is not a substitute.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2020

    We became the largest accelerator in Southern California with 80 investments in over 30 countries globally. We now invest in more companies, include better trainers and involve 3 times more investors in the demo days. it's hard to describe just how good our investment, growth, operations and outreach team is.

Southern California 113

Southern California Technical Review Santa Monica Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan. Investor agreements should always be reviewed by an attorney who is familiar with startup equity investment deals.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

As an investor in startups, I most often see entrepreneurs who are technologists, or at least have a real passion for a specific product. They rarely highlight their marketing and relationship skills , even though, in my experience, these are more often the key to success in business than product skills.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2022

One of the attributes that I often recommend to the business professionals and entrepreneurs I mentor is to always be totally accountable for your actions and ideas. I too often see people who are quick to make excuses, blame failures on peers or customers, or see management as the reason for their lack of productivity.

Activity 109

Activity Organization Mentor Training 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

This investment can get your startup off the ground in an otherwise impossible financial situation, but should not be viewed as the main reason for joining. Expert mentoring and training. Every successful incubator has strong leadership and staff with business and investment credentials. Peer support.

Incubator 146

Incubator Technical Review Entrepreneur Mentor 146

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

In my role as a mentor to business professionals and entrepreneurs over the years, I have found that it’s important to take a hard look at the relationships around you on a regular basis. But, like most other skills, you can learn from these priorities: Everyone benefits from active mentoring. A good coach is not a critic.

Tips 95

Tips Mentor Coach Activity 95