Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

I recently sat down with Matt Coffin , the founder of LowerMyBills, which sold for $400 million but was very nearly a bankruptcy only a few years early, and talked “startups.&#. Matt is one of the most transparent, focused & honest startup guys you’ll meet. Or read the quick, informative summary below the image!

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Custom Customer 304

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

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

I continue to collect great content that is the intersection of startups, products, online and technology. 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: Something is Still Missing.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

I attempted to do a fair balance job of an increasingly important service – AngelList – started by a friend of mine – Nivi with the feelings of a colleague who I respect – Bryce – who has opted out of the service. This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. So why I am writing it then?

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My original thinking from Oct ’09 was, while I didn’t (and still don’t) have a crystal ball I worried that: consumers were over-stretched with debt (and make up 77% of the economy), unemployment would continue to rise, which in turn would drive the stock market south and cut the rate of M&A activity and VC investment even further.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

I define a "VC" as, "a professional investor who deploys third-party funds into relatively early-stage companies." All you need do to become an Angel is identify a promising venture and write a check. In addition, establish relationships with the accountants, bankers, lawyers and investors who comprise your local startup world.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

Paul Kedrosky made the case for “naive optimism&# being an important part of startup success. Either downside scenario requires angel deals to be funded further. I know that in late 2010 it’s not as popular to say this because we’re in the era of “super angels&# and feel-good startups. It’s hard to say.

Invest 284

Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 284

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. The three largest webmail services had over 1 billion global users at the end of 2011. But let me start with some data. Much more data in the full post. THE FULL STORY. PHONE CALLS.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

I’ve heard it many founders of VC backed companies in LA who tell me that in their NorCal VC meetings they are told, “we might be interested but we’d want you to relocate to the Bay Area if we funded you.&#. Funding is different outside of Silicon Valley. As a result many funds are OK with big bets.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2010

The competition is set up to award $50,000 to the best team each year, and is also tied to a class on entrepreneurship for engineering students. Fariborz Masseh: The idea of funding a business plan competition is not a new idea. Can you talk about your background and how you ended up here?

Competition 154

Competition Southern California Mentor USC 154

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

He said, “They need an unbiased view of the fund raising environment because there is too much misinformation and everything seems to be changing fast.&#. I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. People get too worked up over the word. – you’re very well positioned as a fund. I believe that.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Steve Jillings has a long track record of running successful startups in Southern California, ranging from such companies as FrontBridge Technologies (sold to Microsoft in 2005 for over $200M) and Vantage Media (acquired in 2007). To learn more, we caught up with Steve. Every other hand goes down, and ours stays up.

Marina Del Rey 238

Marina Del Rey Startup IP Examples 238

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2011

I know it’s easier to write “horse race&# stories about who’s signing up more users, raising more funding or who’s “hot&# lately. Google started as a place where you came to be taken via links to other people’s websites. They’re an open feed. Google was duuumb.

Social Media 274

Social Media Google Media Startup 274

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Paul Kedrosky made the case for “naive optimism&# being an important part of startup success. Either scenario requires angel deals to be funded further. I know that in late 2010 it’s not as popular to say this because we’re in the era of “super angels&# and feel good startups. Not everybody agreed.

Invest 152

Invest Angel Venture Capital Startup 152

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 9, 2012

The startup has released free online educational materials in beta to the public. At the moment the startup has released biology, economics, psychology, sociology, anatomy and physiology, history and writing online materials for use in colleges. Boundless Learning is replacing the expensive college textbook for free.

Education 61

Education Journal Content Writing 61

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

But like a Darwinian experiment, the extent to which these gifts are utilized remains entirely up to each individual entrepreneur. We heard how Jeff transitioned from a start-up founder to an institutional investor when he helped found Amplify towards the end of 2011. Setting up for Eric Garcetti.

Web Design 103

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 103

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 6, 2014

To get some up to speed, Rap Genius , as a team and company have upheld a reputation as anomalies in the tech world. What You May Not Know: They were considered one of the fastest growing companies in their Y-Combinator batch (same as Reddit, Summer 2011) and successfully raised a total of $16.8 Rap Genius, Black Sheeps of Tech.

Startup 93

Startup Mobile Entertainment Sites 93

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 22, 2012

Formerly an area considered PayPal ‘s domain, new companies are setting up shop in the online payments sector and capitalizing on what they say is the giant’s weaknesses. TechZulu caught up with the founders of WePay and bring you the latest. BusinessWeek named Bill and Rich two of the Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs of 2011.

Startup 71

Startup Tool Capital Custom 71

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 23, 2013

Founded in the summer of 2011 and their first product out a few weeks ago amSTATS wants to help users to follow fitness events and programs near them and find a great fitness trainer to help them stay fit. TechZulu caught up with Michael Piermont, amSTATZ Chief Executive Officer and this is what he revealed. What problem do you solve?

Social Network 92

Social Network Networking Training Summary 92

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2012

Occasionally on this blog I break away from industry commentary and write more broadly. It’s why I still randomly meet up with people I’ve met on Twitter or this blog. 2011 was the first year I went to SxSW. As a founder you end up having to deal with a lot of sensitive information & discussions.

Startup 319

Startup Organization Entrepreneur Blogging 319

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

I’ve been on the road much of 2012 and part of 2011. According to the SEC we’re not allowed to market the fact that we’re fund raising, so I won’t. But for some strange reason they make you file your progress on fund raising, which is the widely picked up by the press. And why I woke up at 4.50am.

Blogging 420

Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

We caught up with the CEO William Zell. Will Zell (CEO) is based in Columbus, OH, and is an Empact100 entrepreneur who was honored at The White House in 2011. A graduate of Ohio Northern University , Ferres built a digital marketing agency called BounceFire , which was acquired in May 2011 by a company in Phoenix, AZ.

Mentor 94

Mentor Platform Social Network Chief Technology Officer 94

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

But like a Darwinian experiment, the extent to which these gifts are utilized remains entirely up to each individual entrepreneur. We heard how Jeff transitioned from a start-up founder to an institutional investor when he helped found Amplify towards the end of 2011. Setting up for Eric Garcetti.

Web Design 40

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 40

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

Right now they’re setting up 500 free corporations for first time entrepreneurs. There are hundreds of entrepreneurs here in Los Angeles who are building awesome companies, writing awesome books, making awesome movies and are trying to solve important problems to help make this world a better place. Thank you @eminutes. .

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78