Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

And there’s none that makes me happier than to announce that Jordan Hudson has been promoted to a Principal at Upfront Ventures. What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. VC firm admin. Portfolio community building.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

and I thought if we brought the community together for common purpose we could create more of a sense of community to help new entrepreneurs get funded, assemble teams, raise profiles and help with biz dev, product, etc. Throughout all of these years I was a full-time VC so Launchpad really came out of evenings and weekends for me.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Startup Idealab Funding 290

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that Venture Capital and Angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2013

I’m very excited to be finally be able to announce that this week we’ve added Sam Rosen to our ranks at GRP Partners in the role of entrepreneurs-in-residence – EIR. We’re excited to continue to grow our investment professional staff and will continue to do so over the course of 2013 & 2014 with our new fund.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Based on the best evidence I can find, the genesis of this trend and the advantages come from several evolutionary changes in the startup investment industry, and some innovations driven by the recent recession: Venture capital funds are still recovering from the recession. Some VC firms are bogged down by their own weight.

Angel 104

Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

After all, Glossier’s founder and CEO Emily Weiss is very, very far from the first entrepreneur to profit off of our desire to look good. Nasty Gal CEO Sophia Amoruso is credited with coining the term in the title of her 2014 memoir, “#Girlboss,” which chronicled her rags-to-riches success and was adapted into a Netflix show.

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

by Michael Woolf that is worth any startup founder reading to get a sense of perspective on the reality warp that is startup world during a frothy market such as 1997-1999, 2005-2007 or 2012-2014. Of course a lot of this also comes down to investor trust. (it is also the title of a fabulous book from Internet 1.0

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine recently included UCSB in its Top 50 Schools For VC Backed Entrepreneurs at number 37. A decent showing, but well below a number of larger schools, as the ranking is based on the number of graduates who secured VC funding. Techpreneurs. All-Star Alumni.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2014

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” 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.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Funding Equity 113

TechCrunch LA

JULY 21, 2020

When Upfront Ventures partner Kara Nortman first met Natalie Portman a few years ago to talk about ways their non-profit organizations All Raise and Time’s Up could collaborate, she never realized they’d eventually be partners on a sports franchise. That non-profit is also a partner with Angel City. “In

Writing 171

Writing Los Angeles Equity Startup 171

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. billion by 2014. Of course that website isn’t completely up to date but it’s a great resource for seeing the overall picture. Much more data in the full post. There are 2.9

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 21, 2014

In light of a less than savory PR landscape, I saw this event to be an important call to attention to the developements towards the Bitcoin industry for 2014, as well as geographically important gathering of minds and enthusiasts in the space. A profile of the state of the Bitcoin industry and its presence of female entrepreneurs.

Startup 104

Startup Venture Capital Draper Invest 104

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”). billion collected in 2014. They will need more money.

Startup 106

Startup Angel Entrepreneur .Net 106

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Bain Capital Ventures' Jamison Hill. The company plans to give creators and influencers more independence from existing platforms by allowing them access to funding from a team well-versed in their unique capital needs. Another company, Tribe , has similarly raised VC to grow its American footprint.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. With small amounts of money invested (sub $3 million) the risks are reasonably low for most VCs and the consequences of bad decisions or decisions a VC has limited say in is tolerable.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

This year’s TZ #startupforecast (Jan 28, 2014) was no exception. Peter Csathy – CEO Manatt Digital Media Ventures, accomplished media and digital media entrepreneur. Richard Wolpert – Managing Director of Amplify.LA, startup incubator and Venture Advisor at Accel Partners. Summary of Topics.

Startup 95

Startup Google Education Venture Capital 95

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 4, 2014

Because these considerations can be quite complex, very emotional and have long-term implications, smart entrepreneurs don’t hesitate to get some legal advice at this early stage, in drawing up an agreement document to be signed by each of the co-founders. Martin Zwilling First published on Entrepreneur.com on 7/28/2014.

Equity 104

Equity Patents Startup CTO Hire 104

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. I spent a bunch of time thinking about this position — especially since Beezer is an investor in Upfront Ventures. I’m still not sure.

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Invest Funding 150

Xconomy

JULY 10, 2016

I got off relatively easy with a short course of chemotherapy and radiation. Bock, who died last Wednesday at 56, was a life sciences entrepreneur and investor who helped start or finance dozens of companies that have a combined market value estimated today at roughly $70 billion.

San Diego 40

San Diego Startup Avalon Venture Capital 40

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2014

The very mention of the word fundraising can illicit some powerful emotions among entrepreneurs. On one end, entrepreneurs who have (at minimum) built something customers love and are willing to pay for, and the other hand, investors who are looking for the very companies who fit that profile. Introducing SeedInvest. 116,105,000.

Invest 100

Invest Startup Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

I love the enthusiasm, the boundless energy and the sense of possibility that comes from having an idea that hasn’t yet been beat up in the marketplace of competing ideas, customer contracts, VC skepticism, jaded journalists or fickle consumers who are on the The New, New Thing. It’s the nature of most entrepreneurs, honestly.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2013

is already well above the dot.com bubble of 15 years ago, although we have slipped a bit this year from the high point of 320 new entrepreneurs out of 100,000 adults in 2011. Thus a record number of entrepreneurs (and employees) are getting rich. Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.

Startup 109

Startup Entrepreneur Social Media Satisfaction 109

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

.” I applaud all efforts by people to take on this issue and especially be Adeo who – let’s be honest – was really the first champion of trying to make the VC world more transparent by launching TheFunded, which didn’t exactly endear him to VCs initially. They’ll get priced soon enough by a VC.”

Startup 354

Startup Pricing Equity Venture Capital 354

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

Founder, Founder, Founder At Upfront we talk regularly about how 70% of our investment decision in Seed and A rounds is the quality of the entrepreneur and 30% is the quality of the idea. Jamie Siminoff is not only one of the single best true entrepreneurs in Los Angeles, he’s amongst the best we’ve worked with in the country.

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 18, 2015

There is a lot of uncertainty about the state of the private, high-growth technology markets and the venture capital markets that underpin them. Perhaps I would call it “Mourning in VC” as in mourning for the days of rational behavior. I spoke last week at the annual Cendana VC/LP conference. Are LPs to blame?

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Pricing Platform Marketing 150