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. Some quick highlights include: The Role of a Seed Stage VC. Jeff and his peer group have done an excellent job at creating a new category of seed-stage VC.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Invest Cloud Computing 150

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2018

We sat down with Kelly ahead of the announcement to chat about the new fund, why they think military veterans are particularly well suited as startup entrepreneurs, why the two went from organizing individual deals for funding to a formal fund, and more. We deployed a little over $10 million from the syndicate since 2014.

Capital 164

Capital Funding Startup Venture Capital 164

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2014

What you’ll see if you watch the video is an unscripted and unfiltered look into how Scott Kupor & I see some of the changes and challenges of the venture industry. The only point we didn’t seem totally aligned on was what we happening to the “middle of the VC market.” tl;dr version. And we ended.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital SaaS Writing Funding 309

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. ” I hear it when I visit LPs (the people who invest in VCs) all across the country, “Yeah, I haven’t been out there for a few years but I keep hearing that something is going on there.”

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

socalTECH

DECEMBER 16, 2015

The University of California system said Tuesday that it has launched a new venture capital fund, with $250M in investments, to specifically invest in opportunities emerging from the University of California's ten campuses. The UC System said the new fund will be led by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vivek Randadive.

Funding 100

Funding Venture Capital Invest Capital 100

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

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Nearly four months ago we rebranded at Upfront Ventures. You can watch the video above for a very brief overview of why we rebranded and where we see our place in the VC ecosystem along with what has changed in our industry. Relaunching our brand is part of our larger initiative to build a VC firm of the future.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Startup Blogging Platform 324

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2014

I’m a strong believer that investors invest in people, before they invest in a business plan, or an idea. Obviously, a key factor is always the state of the economy and the mood of the venture capital community. Investing is all about people-to-people relationships. entrepreneur funding venture capital'

Funding 108

Funding Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup 108

Xconomy

OCTOBER 25, 2016

According to the National Venture Capital Association and PitchBook , this past quarter $15 billion was invested in 1,810 deals , which compares unfavorably to both the prior quarter ($22.1 billion, 2,559 deals), signaling perhaps a period of digestion given how much had been invested during the 2014-2015 window.

Venture Capital 40

Venture Capital Capital Activity Invest 40

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 27, 2014

A major chunk of this activity is provided by the new class of Super Angels, who may look more like micro-VCs, except that they are investing their own money. Individual angel investors have been filling the gap, and now match VCs in total amount invested. Some VC firms are bogged down by their own weight.

Angel 104

Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2015

Most aspiring entrepreneurs understand that you can’t build a business if you won’t commit to delivering a product or service, but many are hesitant or refuse to commit to any financial forecasts. Calculate investment amounts and timing. When you start a business, as in most other venture, having no plan is a plan to fail.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Startup Pricing Sales 102

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. otherwise I prefer to invest less and risk less). (it is also the title of a fabulous book from Internet 1.0

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

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

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 25, 2016

It is no secret that the number of private companies with valuations in excess of one billion dollars has skyrocketed since the start of 2014. As show in CBInsight’s chart, the number of such “unicorns” created during the first half of 2014 was roughly equivalent to the number created during the prior three years.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Invest Venture Capital 100

Xconomy

DECEMBER 5, 2017

Author, investor, and AOL co-founder Steve Case today announced a new $150 million venture fund aimed at pumping investment capital into tech companies in so-called flyover states. Contributing to the fund is an impressive group of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country.

Seed Funding 45

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital Startup 45

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. It’s the first EIR that we’ve had in the years that I’ve been with the firm and I hope will be the start of our investment in this program.

Startup 372

Startup Course Ideas Invest 372

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2015

According to the latest Kaufman Startup Activity Index , entrepreneurs are making an unprecedented comeback in America, with data showing the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Thus a record number of entrepreneurs (and employees) are getting rich. Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups.

Startup 108

Startup Social Media Entrepreneur Satisfaction 108

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. From Finance to Crowd-Investing.

Invest 100

Invest Startup Technical Review Software Review 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2018

The funding was led by Breakaway Growth Fund, and also included Tiller Partners & Rainier Partners, plus Manta Ray Ventures, Runa Capital, Korea Investment Partners, Mirae Asset Management, MTGx, Troy Capital Partners, and 500 Startups. READ MORE>>.

Mobile 113

Mobile Los Angeles Tool Funding 113

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

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

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

in a funding led by Orange County's Okapi Venture Capitalis looking to help direct to consumer brands use better data to direct their marketing and other efforts. The company got acquired by FD in 2014, and over the next two or three years, a lot of people just left the business.

Startup 113

Startup Platform Commerce San Diego 113

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

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Lisha is a member of Pipeline Angels , a social impact angel investing group focused on women and non-binary femmes, and serves as the Deal Flow lead. The program has been so successful that the startups have leveraged $48M in private capital to further their development. Ashley Bowling, Founding Member of NextGen Venture Partners.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

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. Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

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.” billion collected in 2014.

Startup 106

Startup Angel .Net Entrepreneur 106

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Bain Capital Ventures' Jamison Hill. We are in phase three of the influencer economy,” Bain Capital Ventures senior principal Jamison Hill, who led the firm’s investment in the influencer shoutout marketplace Cameo , tells TechCrunch. We are in phase three of the influencer economy.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2014

On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue). Different types of investors tend to specialize in capitalizing on businesses at different stages. Don’t sign up for one, expecting the other.

Startup 93

Startup Funding Venture Capital Ideas 93

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 12, 2014

The Walt Disney Company & Techstars have officially announced the Disney Accelerator, a three-month mentorship and seed-stage investment program for 10 lucky companies. Applications are being accepted starting today, through April 16, 2014 for early-stage companies with innovative consumer media and entertainment product ideas.

Entertainment 102

Entertainment Santa Monica Ideas Mentor 102

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. “We’re venture capitalists.

Writing 171

Writing Los Angeles Equity Startup 171

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital. BlackTech Week was created in 2014, and in four short years, they’ve gained over 2700 participants, 150 speakers, and 3 pitch competitions.

Startup 141

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 141

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. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. There are just as many bad entrepreneurs who do bad things.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Station F is the brainchild of Xavier Neil, a tech billionaire and serial entrepreneur, who invested millions in acquiring and refitting the building. Amongst its tenants are over 10 VC funds who have taken desks on Campus: Accel, Index Ventures, Balderton, Daphni, Partech Ventures. Factory Berlin. Factory Lisbon.

Startup 70

Startup Google Venture Capital Outsource Development 70

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

This year’s TZ #startupforecast (Jan 28, 2014) was no exception. Speakers listed: Brock Pierce – Digital currency pioneer investing in Bitcoin, games, and online gambling businesses; Clearstone Global Gaming Fund. Peter Csathy – CEO Manatt Digital Media Ventures, accomplished media and digital media entrepreneur.

Startup 95

Startup Google Education Venture Capital 95

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 17, 2013

Silicon Valley’s big VC firm’s The Social+Capital Partnership, Andreessen Horowitz, Formation8, Ron Conway, and Anand Rajaraman have today launched Data Elite , to help tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges through data science. Venture lab & early stage fund for big data startups and scientists.

Netflix 82

Netflix Incubator Class Funding 82