Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. I agree with YouTube (that they provide more (hosting, ad sales, etc.)

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Custom 366

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2021

Being too late and you back an “also ran” You also need to be right about the team. I’ve sometimes been right about the market value but too early. You’re thinking about one bullet at a time. At Upfront we often talk about these as “shots on goal” (a fitting soccer analogy given the EURO 2020 tournament is on right now).

Funding 294

Funding Startup Writing Invest 294

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

And I found from experience – after investing in many other entrepreneurial businesses over the years – that this stage typically occurs first at about twenty employees or $3 million in net revenues (or gross profit) for most any kind of company. Well, the decision was what you expected.

.Net 156

.Net Los Angeles Content Entrepreneur 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Rose, according to his classic book, “ Angel Investing.” All startups always need more money.

Funding 144

Funding Startup .Net Invest 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Thus investing in startups should always be approached as a low odds game.

Invest 111

Invest Angel Funding Startup 111

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 31, 2023

Business success is all about meeting the needs of the modern buyer, who is more informed, has access to more choices, and is ever smarter about making purchasing decisions. Revenue performance needs to be applied to each individual program, and also rolled up to show the overall performance per dollar invested.

Metrics 102

Metrics Demand Paramount Content 102

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2023

Twitter showed no focus on revenue in the first five years, but was able to parlay 500M users into a $53B public company, and now growing revenue. Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion.

Organization 94

Organization Invest Custom Customer 94

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

[Email readers, continue here…] Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally-generated funds. There is a lot to say about retaining control. It is most often a win-win for both you and the strategic partner.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2020

Twitter showed no focus on revenue in the first five years, but was able to parlay 500M users into a $35B public company, and now growing revenue. Every startup dreams of achieving that milestone, when they can focus more on scaling the business and enjoying their earnings, rather than fighting for another investment infusion.

Organization 173

Organization Invest Custom Customer 173

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

One of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs make when they start a company and raise outside capital is figuring out what an acceptable “burn rate” is. That is, how much should your company be willing to lose in cash every month as you make investments in staff and equipment that funds technology, sales, marketing and management.

Startup 212

Startup Venture Capital .Net Capital 212

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

The speaks to the continued confidence in the venture capital markets and as I had predicted some time ago the VC markets right now are a great place to invest – especially relative to other places to put one’s money. Our last fund we raised was in 2012 and we began investing it in April of 2012. But that’s it.

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Berkonomics

JANUARY 13, 2022

How might you view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build? You no longer need to worry over daily cash or threats to your net worth. Email readers, continue here…] But what about the pause to celebrate? Think about investments and tax efficiency. Hit the beach.

Writing 156

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Sales 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 1, 2022

I tell entrepreneurs that Google was an “exception” to all the investment and startup rules, but I’ve always wondered what it takes to be an exception. Since every business is built by unique individuals, I’m totally convinced that exceptional people are the key to an exceptional company. Technology alone does not make a great company.

Startup 131

Startup Google Advertising .Net 131

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 7, 2017

And I found from experience – after investing in many other entrepreneurial businesses over the years – that this stage typically occurs first at about twenty employees or $3 million in net revenues (or gross profit) for most any kind of company. I built this business through my high school and college years.

.Net 243

.Net Los Angeles Content Email 243

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” I know this seems obvious but I promise you that even smart people forget this when talking about profitability. ” The Details.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2012

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” I’ve written about this before, but it’s a mysterious subject, and I’m always learning more. This one doesn’t help NewCo just yet.

Startup 108

Startup Invest Patents Outsource Development 108

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2010

It was especially fun for me because we got the chance to talk about the VC industry and how entrepreneurs should think about the VC industry in addition to discussing deals. Clearstone currently invests out of a $200 million fund based in LA with offices in Menlo Park and in India. Segment Two: “Deal of the Week”.

Clearstone 236

Clearstone Venture Capital ReachLocal Google 236

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

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? Derek Norton: I just closed on a new fund, worth $5M, which I raised from a group of high net worth, high profile LPs. We help companies do the same kind of thing, except with corporate development.

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2020

Our interview today is with Greg Martin , co-founder of LiquidStock (www.liquidstock.com), an investment fund which offers up a way for employees of private companies to exercise their stock options before an IPO or acquisition. However, as companies have stayed private longr, I saw there was a trend happening.

Startup 113

Startup Paramount Invest Capital 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 9, 2011

The study found that about 70 percent of the startups spun of USC are still in business, and about roughly half of those startups have been located in Los Angeles County. READ MORE>>.

USC 200

USC Southern California Study .Net 200

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2018

the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get I’m about to offer you some fund-raising advice that flies directly in the face of what most conventional wisdom will tell you. These collective sets of documents form the basis of what somebody looking at investing would call “financial due diligence.” It doesn’t.

Funding 336

Funding Venture Capital Startup Email 336

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. Test your projections against actual published reports from similar companies. What is the need you fill or problem you solve? Competition.

Sales 102

Sales Custom Customer Outsource 102

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. However, they have been sending VCs far more investment checks in the last ten years than they’ve gotten back as distributions.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

He did note that in the four markets where the company has gone live since launching its business in January 2019 — San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire , and Sacramento — has yielded an annualized revenue run rate of over $400 million in gross merchandise value (the total value of home sales transacted on its platform).

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2017

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Rose, according to his latest book, “ Angel Investing.” All startups always need more money.

Startup 76

Startup Angel Funding .Net 76

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

Almost anyone who has sold a company has a story to tell about their good deal, the problems with the buyer, a last-minute change of terms, or more. I’ve been offered $15 million for my company and my partner is suing me for all I am worth. How the industry was growing around the company. The year was 1998.

Sales 120

Sales Web Design Web Design 120

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2015

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Rose, according to his recent book, “ Angel Investing.” Neither does David S.

Startup 106

Startup Angel .Net Entrepreneur 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you. Yet with the many options available, there is no excuse for not living your dream, rather than dreaming about living. Marty Zwilling

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 27, 2014

Entrepreneurs typically embrace celebrity investments, while most sophisticated investors prefer to avoid famous entertainment or sports personalities on the cap table. Celebrity investors aside, I am a fan of high net worth individuals who are willing to allocate some of their risk capital to foster a startup''s success.

Entrepreneur 193

Entrepreneur Technical Review Hollywood Southern California 193

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

With the advent and popularity of crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , as a winning alternative for funding your new venture, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs are confused about the need to ever seek a professional angel investor. In the real world, most angels are regular business people like you and me.

Funding 119

Funding Startup Platform Examples 119

SoCal Tech Calendar

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

In the current economic and venture capital climate, angel investment is one of the most critical sources of start-up capital. These groups are comprised of high net worth individuals who meet -- formally or informally -- to vet and discuss deals and learn about the best new business opportunities. See [link] (more)

Capital 113

Capital Angel .Net Startup 113

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2014

Talk about what''s going on at Rightside, and what the business looks like now? The decision was made over a year ago now, to break those two pieces into two separate companies. We''re also partnering with companies like Donuts to provide a platform to host their registry. Do you have some key goals for the new company?

Demand 231

Demand HTML Web Media 231

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 24, 2019

Image by Origa via Wikipedia I tell entrepreneurs that Google was an “exception” to all the investment and startup rules, but I’ve always wondered what it takes to be an exception. Since every business is built by unique individuals, I’m totally convinced that exceptional people are the key to an exceptional company.

Google 98

Google Startup Advertising .Net 98

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

Frank takes a look at the angel investing process, and thinks about how to make it better: There must be a better way. If I claimed I'd lost 40% of my net worth no one would be surprised, I'd be in good company. If I'm such a smart guy why can't I make any money at angel investing?

Screening 100

Screening Tech Coast Angels .Net Invest 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you. Yet with the many options available, there is no excuse for not living your dream, rather than dreaming about living. Marty Zwilling.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311