Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

I even prefer to fund entrepreneurs who have experience some level of set-backs in their careers or startups because I think it brings a humility to decision-making that I find healthy. I talk about failure a lot because I think it can be tremendously instructive and I think that success without failure often masks underlying lessons.

Startup 261

Startup Press Blogging .Net 261

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Over the past 4 years LA’s tech fundings have growing at a 30% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) which is > 4 times the US average VC CAGR (7%). Of course that’s not disputable. Both are massively funding other LA tech companies through what Fred Wilson once defined as “recycled capital.”

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

But when I’m looking to write my check I need to look in the eyes of the captain — the maestro who brings the whole orchestra together. If your idea is so amazing that it warrants my hard-earned angel money or the money of my LP investors from our fund then why should I take a risk on you if you won’t take a risk on yourself?

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital CTO Hire 293

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!” To grow faster businesses need resources in today’s financial period to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

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? Most VCs fund companies with a degree of traction.

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Tech.Co

APRIL 11, 2018

You’d be forgiven, then, for assuming the city is seeing a net loss of tech workers. Workers are seeking destinations that are large, tech-friendly, on the rise, and — of course — have a lower cost of living, even if not a particularly low one. If they leave, they take their massive influence and venture funds with them.

Report 70

Report .Net Template Writing 70

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2013

The sad truth is that cash flow surprises kill many startups, even though they should have been adequately funded to survive. Of course, you can’t predict everything, but writing down what you know will identify existing problems sooner, and allow other team members to help. You can be on budget, and still run out of cash.

Startup 114

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 114

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2016

Of course, you can’t predict everything, but writing down what you know will identify existing problems sooner, and allow other team members to help. I recommend that you buffer your initial requests for funding by 25%, and then add a line of credit, to cover contingencies and minimize the chance for negative surprises.

Startup 64

Startup Sales Layoffs Slides 64

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 17, 2011

I taught a somewhat crazy course about writing and deploying a scalable website in Ruby on Rails and deploying it in EC2. But throughout the transition I had my safety net. I’m sure we missed out on a number of great people, but the net effect is that everyone in the team is focused on the same mission. Same everywhere.

Cloud Computing 188

Cloud Computing Santa Barbara EC2 Startup 188

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

some fun, big tech issues like privacy, net neutrality, location-based services and real-time data. When I meet with Tom offline it’s obvious that he immediately is thinking about product issues, technology trends, funding rounds, etc. The team, of course, is just as important as the product or idea.

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

In more than a decade of writing about the Internet and tech-enabled businesses I’ve learned that mobs don’t do nuance well. The crypto in cryptocurrency is of course referring to cryptography on the ability to encrypt your transactions so they can’t be modified after they have been written to the blockchain.

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Course Startup Framework Marketing 280

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 2, 2016

I am not writing about this out of the blue – this seems to be the topic of the day in my social stream based on blogs written, retweets rendered and attaboys handed out. We invest large sums of our after-tax money into our funds and this gets a long-term capital gain tax rate when we make a profit. It is seldom ever mentioned.

Startup 150

Startup Course Writing Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Our firm has funded many of them. The truth is that many “unicorns” have reached the status solely because the funding markets have said so. For a fee, of course. And of course it’s not just our industry – it’s pervasive in society, this short-cut mentality. At least for now.

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Technical Advisors Startup Writing Blogging 150