Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2020

As an investor, innovation is a term I certainly like to hear these days, but many of you entrepreneurs try to take it to the next level, by claiming to have a “ disruptive innovation.” You may offer a different application for an existing product, a new pricing model, or a new level of support. Experience is a great teacher.

Startup 129

Startup Artificial Inteligence Examples Google 129

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 25, 2013

By now you will likely have read Andy Dunn’s scathing post about Venture Capitalists in which he decries the industry’s masses. After all, I am no stranger to the publicly expressing the frustrations of dealing with the downside of this industry as I wrote about in 2006 when I was an entrepreneur. But VC is like congress.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Invest Funding 374

socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2019

Thin Line--formed in partnership with LA's Wavemaker Partners--is hoping to take advantage of the growth in the clean technology market to find startups able to tapping into those now established markets, without the huge investment requirements of those first wave of clean technology companies. Talk about the new firm and the new fund?

Invest 113

Invest Capital Venture Capital Idealab 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I became a VC 12 years ago in 2007 when the pace of deals was much slower. 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. I thought this was a good time to reflect on some lessons of the past 10 years.

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. I acknowledged this in the article.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

It requires you to expend your two most valuable resources, your time and your money. Yet, it does nothing to help you execute your business model. However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

I have a motto in business and life, “give before you get.” But less as a complaint and more as advice to younger networkers, the more you invest in relationships the more you will get when you need. One of the most common questions I hear from first-time entrepreneurs is, “How do I meet angels?

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. I promise it’s not just you and I hear it from nearly everybody I know.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 1, 2010

Although the plot was obviously devised for comic effect, it serves to illustrate that non-conventional methods of infiltrating Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) are often effective. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. Entrepreneurs constantly have to capture the attention of larger companies.

Company 124

Company Companies Email Press 124

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

It’s meant to be a bit provocative but the reality is that I give this advice to entrepreneurs all the the time and I usually leave the “e&# off of the end. I learned all of this myself on your side of the table raising money at my first company. Let’s say the company had raised $15 million. It is 2010.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 289

InfoChachkie

MARCH 16, 2010

If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. When someone knocks on your door and tells you they want to buy your house, it is not appropriate for them to then ask, “So how much do you want for it?” However, in many cases, acquiring companies behave in a less rational manner than Mr. Jackson.

Company 160

Company Companies Pricing Santa Barbara 160

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs who meet me for the first time like to ask is, “Do you miss being an entrepreneur? Aren’t you ever tempted to go back and do it again?”. If you’ve taken the roller coaster ride that is a startup – you know what I’m talking about. On Being an Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Ideas 384

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

We caught up with Amos to learn about his new book, and to gain some tips for startup entrepreneurs on how to figure out when you're actually ready to scale your sales team. Thanks for the time today, to start off, tell us a little bit about what you do? How did you end up at Techstars Austin? Donnelly in 2007.

Sales 113

Sales Startup Custom Development Framework 113

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry. But any entrepreneurs raising capital should keep in mind that this opening of the markets could possibly be temporary. overvalued) and sell when the fall precipitously.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Startup Invest Funding 263

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. You need the whole package. Few people have it.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital CTO Hire 293

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2015

*. If you are a 20-something tech entrepreneur you could be forgiven for thinking that seed-stage investors, Angellist Syndicates and widely available angel money always existed. Let me take you back just 10 years ago to 2005 in Silicon Valley where I returned after 11 years of living in Europe. But not many others.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Invest Cloud Computing 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

What do you get when you combine 7 panelist plus one moderator on to a stage for 30 minutes to talk about a serious topic? My friend Ethan Anderson put it best to me after the panel, “You probably shouldn’t have been up there. We need venture debt, factoring companies and public markets. Answer: Not much.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. If you are interested the Vimeo is here. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. I recently spoke at the Founder Showcase at the request of Adeo Ressi. I believe that.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

socalTECH

MAY 1, 2019

What you are up to with this new company? There isn't a solution available for those, at least, not an affordable, modern solution where you need a little bit more help. What is it that you're doing here, that you weren't able to do at LegalZoom? That's when you have to find a lawyer.

Legalzoom 127

Legalzoom Startup Incubator Services 127

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. 9) I believe that entrepreneurs who are driven by a compelling mission that is not based on making lots of money have a much higher propensity for success. This clearly helped you establish credibility in the early days of lynda.com.

Entrepreneur 245

Entrepreneur Training Startup Web 245

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. 9) I believe that entrepreneurs who are driven by a compelling mission that is not based on making lots of money have a much higher propensity for success. . This clearly helped you establish credibility in the early days of lynda.com.

Entrepreneur 245

Entrepreneur Training Startup Web 245

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Since its origin as an academic research project in 2007, Eucalyptus has become the dominant open source cloud solution, boasting over 25,000 clouds formed. According to Marten, “We enable companies to run, within their own firewall, a cloud that behaves exactly like the public clouds, exactly like Amazon.

Cloud Computing 212

Cloud Computing Santa Barbara Platform Resource 212

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 8, 2011

I concluded that it is an effective tool for leveling the playing field between sophisticated investors and emerging entrepreneurs. I have subsequently recommended the book to number of students as well as emerging entrepreneurs, all of whom expressed positive feedback. . We decided to do it in a way that was accessible.”.

Venture Capital 224

Venture Capital Writing Entrepreneur Blogging 224

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

But can you really cross over from spotting music talent to spotting tech talent? The old saying in Hollywood is that “It’s not what you know but whom you know” but the truth is always more deceptive and the tech industry is a lot more susceptible to this notion than you may think.

Mentor 150

Mentor Venture Capital Marketing Product 150

InfoChachkie

APRIL 21, 2013

You can watch Sarah tell her compelling story in the following 15-minute excerpt from her recent UC Santa Barbara talk. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! It was that love of serving people that led me on my long journey of starting a company.". That video is.

Networking 214

Networking Startup Santa Barbara RSS 214

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

I become a venture capitalist in September 2007 – exactly 6.5 That company was Invoca, which just announced a $20 million fund raise led by Accel. At the time I pointed out: “If I had realized exits almost certainly it would be because I invested in a company that failed. years ago. ” Still.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

In the Los Angeles startup world, there are lots of high profile, buzzy companies which have lots of attention and funding--but which haven''t earned a dime of revenue. However, this town is also full of very profitable, growing, and revenue generating companies-- which have for the most part been below the radar.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

I believe the rise in angel investing is here to stay and the professionalization of this class (aka “super angels&# or “micro VC&# ) is a good thing for the VC industry and for entrepreneurs. I believe that if you have 5 distinct skills you have a good chance at making great returns. I assure you.

Invest 306

Invest Angel Venture Capital Slides 306

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

Lower costs to start a business (95% reduction), many more companies created & funded by angels / seed. Note the full presentation deck with additional slides can be found on SlideShare here or you can simply scroll through it at the bottom of this post.]. ” Stated simply – if you seed funded Uber at $4.5m

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

socalTECH

OCTOBER 26, 2016

We spoke earlier with Cody Simms , Executive Director of Techstars America and who leads the program in LA, to hear more about why the startup accelerator operator is opening up its third accelerator here, why Los Angeles has turned out to be one of the leading sources for startups across its network, as well as Cody's advice to entrepreneurs.

Startup 100

Startup Los Angeles Mentor Class 100

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”. Imagine how difficult it would be to score in hockey if you were required to rely on someone who is not your teammate to convince another third-party, whom you have not met, to take a shot on your behalf. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for.

.Net 182

.Net Satisfaction Entrepreneur Customer 182

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2013

I miss blogging because it serves as a great repository for me of my current thinking, as a way of organizing my thoughts and clarifying what I think and as a conversation started with so many of you (as Hunter Walk elegantly said, “Blog not to show how smart you are, but in the hope of soliciting feedback from smart people.

Writing 313

Writing Venture Capital Blogging Startup 313

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2011

Los Angeles area entrepreneurs, investors, and startups have gotten to know Paige Craig fairly well over the last few years, as he's made many investments in the local ecosystem. What we're giving companies, is a platform to create, manage, and measure perks for all of their employees. Paige Craig: It was a couple of things.

Startup 216

Startup Technical Review Software Review Platform 216

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2011

Company : FindTheBest. Pull Quote: “If you are smart, competitive, hard working and passionate about what you do you will have the best experience of your life. Pull Quote: “If you are smart, competitive, hard working and passionate about what you do you will have the best experience of your life.

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur Competition Software Review Course 232

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”. Imagine how difficult it would be to score in hockey if you were required to rely on someone who is not your teammate to convince another third-party, whom you have not met, to take a shot on your behalf. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for.

.Net 168

.Net Satisfaction Customer Custom 168

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Public companies are always at risk for takeovers.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Report Entrepreneur 87