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.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

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. Even when you’re getting the VC love this reality I imagined couldn’t be further from the truth.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Capital Ideas 275

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

She had emailed with a partner at a big VC fund and he had passed the request to a junior associate. You have to be sure that you’re actually qualified to raise VC, that you CAN get other meetings and you have to be very polite when you state your reasons why their request doesn’t work. The same thing happens to VCs.

Funding 217

Funding Newsletter Venture Capital Email 217

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. just don’t lead with them!

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

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. Through his research he helped bring ARPANET to Philadelphia in 1973.

Capital 284

Capital Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 284

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I write about sales often both because it’s the lifeblood of any organization and because in my experience it is the area in which more startups are least experienced or inclined. I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand.

Sales 150

Sales Startup Venture Capital Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Huge thank you to Steve De Long for the write up. My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. Go research it. Quick caveats: having fewer investors (3-5) is better than many investors (10-15) and PLEASE make sure you hire a great lawyer who has experience in doing start-ups to avoid pitfalls that will make VC harder down the line. They know all the VCs for intros.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Contrary to popular opinion I actually believe crowd-funding is best used after seed capital or venture capital. I invest heavily in relationships with journalists both because I like them and respect their profession and I know that there is a benefit to me in the long run if I’m not transactional in my relationships.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

When I described to people why I initially invested my calls went something like this, “He’s taken kicks to the face for nearly 2 years and is still standing. She did a bunch of research on it and finally found a small number of safe brands. Let’s be clear: AngelList doesn’t scare a single VC I know.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data. PHONE CALLS.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. If you invested in the first angel round of a startup company it is usually very hard to sell your stock – usually for many years if ever at all. I acknowledged this in the article. I’m just making the commentary.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

Xconomy

OCTOBER 1, 2019

Biologists have been using artificially created DNA, produced through what’s known as chemical DNA synthesis, as a research tool for decades. Now, as demand for engineered DNA rises, a handful of startups are vying to become the go-to provider for researchers looking for improved versions of the DNA sequences.

San Diego 43

San Diego Research Writing Demand 43

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

You’re writing a freaking blog post! I had a pre breakfast with a CEO of a company in which I invested talking about his next fund raising round. Separately, in the morning I called a seed-stage investor in NY and talked to him about investing in one of my companies. Can you please intro me to XYZ VC? Operations.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

I’m writing this post to make sure you’re all on that same playing field. In data analysis you want to look for “primary&# research, which means the person who initially gathered the data. The problem of amplification: The problem got worse as the data flowed out to the “bulge bracket&# investment banks.

Statistics 415

Statistics Startup Report Research 415

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.” I often tell people in this scenario to focus on a VC “fixer upper.” In fact, I would argue that most people don’t.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 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. If they’re only 1 of 5 they might rather just take the write off. Are Your Existing Investors Over Their Skis?

Startup 150

Startup Capital Funding Invest 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2010

Universities are brimming with new ideas from their students, their professors, and their own research, but need entrepreneurs from the real world to decide which ones are viable in the marketplace. Research and development. Start by contacting a professor in your area of interest or expertise. Legal advice.

Help 94

Help Startup Mentor Incubator 94

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

This does not mean you shouldn’t solve big, complex problems or write complex code. In a VC pitch this type of messaging will do just fine. Even the VC who invested in your deal struggles to properly position why you’re going to be huge when they’re calling big tech companies or other VCs on your behalf.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Press Venture Capital 370

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

Journalists don’t know enough about your company before the show, don’t have time for proper research, and you will be competing for their time afterward with 49+ other companies that want them to write about you. - By company 22 it’s hard to remember what any of them did. Many other great companies are not. -

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2012

Kind of like a law firm (or VC firm) with four partners but shortened to just two, people dropped off his second two words. I’ve wanted to write a blog post called “Mobile Second” for a long time to make this point more forcefully. BUT … try doing proper restaurant research on a mobile device.

Web 334

Web Mobile Startup Software Review 334

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 22, 2010

This week I was preparing for my weekly This Week in Venture Capital web show and was researching some of the deals that were announced for the week. If Skype continues its growth eBay should at least see a return on its investment. I’m writing this post from Shanghai. I’m spotting another trend.

Screening 266

Screening Screencast Web Yammer 266

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

The questions that a VC mulls before writing a check are precisely the questions you should be asking yourself. But this isn’t likely to be a VC-backable business (which to be clear is totally ok). Marketing with long payback is precisely what requires venture capital. Market Size. Market Structure.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

socalTECH

OCTOBER 10, 2012

The clean technology sector is infamous for taking a big toll on startups--requiring large investments, risky technology propositions, steep international competition, and fickle government policies. Big venture capital firms are only interesting in big plays. We're essentially helping people at the R&D stages.

Help 178

Help Startup San Fernando Southern California 178

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Many people will write the history on why Ring became an enormously successful company and why it became a real-world unicorn in a world when many startups are anointed that merely on paper. It is an LA-based company that was recently acquired by Amazon, which you can read more about in this incredibly well-researched article.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2010

And how do you think the next person who’s thinking about writing you a check going to feel about that sort of cavalier attitude with their money? Research this market by doing market sizing, looking at existing products, talking to customers and deciding how you will make money. And they’ve invested their time and trust in you.

Startup 308

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 308

socalTECH

MAY 11, 2010

Jody--an experienced entrepreneur who was most recently co-founder of a firm he sold to the Virgin Group, and has been involved with such firms as Lycos, Buydirect.com, and Xoom--told us the story of EcoMom, plus how he connected with McClure on the investment. So, I reached out to this VC I mentioned, who sent him an email.

Software Review 200

Software Review Commerce Startup Sites 200

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2011

I’m in the team centric sphere so every investment decision I make first & foremost centers on this plane. I made an investment in a company with deep domain knowledge. I’ll write that post one day – it is a very interesting story. I thought you were supposed to be VCs? ON LEADERSHIP. ON SUCCESS.

CTO Hire 363

CTO Hire Technical Review Startup Demand 363

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

aka: An Open Letter to the Next Big Social Network) - 500 Hats , November 1, 2010 I've held off writing this post for a long time, because I couldn't quite get my head around all the issues. But I didn’t write it for you; I wrote it for myself. How to Take Down Facebook -- Hint: It Ain't Twitter. but: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

SoCal Delicious

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

Write me an e-mail and let me know what youre up to! I’ve been asked a few times recently, “Wow, these analytics you write about are great, but how does a startup begin to bite off the relevant parts? I generally invest zero time into cute visualizations and graphs, and prefer to read the key numbers. as you go.

Startup 29

Startup IP Email Report 29