TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Grocery delivery startup Good Eggs is announcing that it has raised $100 million in new funding, and that it’s planning to launch in Southern California in either the summer or fall of this year. In addition to the funding, Good Eggs is also announcing that it has hired Vineet Mehra as its chief growth and customer experience officer.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2016

In business, this means an entrepreneur who never says no to any customer is doomed to a hard life and some expensive mistakes. Many people will argue that total customer satisfaction is paramount, but I’m a pragmatist who believes that treating everyone the same really means treating all of them poorly.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

As a startup advisor, when I suggest cooperating with competitors, most entrepreneurs initially think I'm crazy or suggesting something illegal. And growth is the lifeblood of every startup. And growth is the lifeblood of every startup. There's an opportunity for follow-on sales to existing customers.

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TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

LA saw its first big enterprise exit in recent memory with the recent acquisition of Signal Sciences for $775 million, and less than a month later a hometown startup, Britive has raised $5.4 Instead of granting permanent access to, there re policy-based pre authorizations that a company can set up defined for specific tasks and roles.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 24, 2015

As the number of sites on the Internet floats around one billion, the challenge with every new startup is to be found and stand out. In this age of relationships, you, the entrepreneur, are a very important element of your new brand, and it’s never too early to start marketing the value of your expertise, insights and ideas.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. Most of these are non-profits, set up by a university to commercialize new technologies, or a municipality to foster business development for the local economy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. Due diligence always involves on-site visits, informal discussions with any or all members of the team, vendors, and good customers as well as bad.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2015

In reality, a simple Excel spreadsheet model customized around your assumptions can save you hours and avoid a wasted expense in validating alternative vendor and marketing decisions. The way to start is with a sample financial model, freely available from many sources on the Internet, such as this one from Entrepreneur.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

So mostly we just had to listen to customer feedback from founders, VCs and LPs. Kara said “no” because she wanted to start her own company, which she did and I backed. In any job you either find leadership opportunities for your best people BEFORE they ask or other people start asking them to become leaders somewhere else.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2015

When starting a new business, an entrepreneur has to take a “hands-on” role. Thus I don’t see many startups run in absentia or by big company executives. Startup founders need to see, touch and feel all the key elements of a new business as it evolves, much like an artist renders a new painting or sculpture.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2015

By definition, every startup is predictably unpredictable, since new solutions have no proven track record, startups are usually building a new market, and the world around them is changing faster than ever. The market changes faster than your startup. The money runs out before revenues start.

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socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2016

The company said that it already has seen more than 50,000 customers clicking in through those links in the last few weeks, resulting in 21,000 orders for its restaurant customers. ChowNow is led by Christopher Webb.

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TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 16, 2019

When Arianna Huffington stepped down from her role at the Huffington Post to start Thrive Global, she said the goal of her new business was to help a generation “avoid the burnout that all too often comes with success today.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2015

Most importantly, it’s more about being a proactive leader who connects to customers and the team deeply, rather than a bright light that struggles to be seen amidst the glare of a million other bright lights. I’ve seen this all too often in my own work with startups. Marty Zwilling Published on IvyExec.com on 11/05/2015.

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socalTECH

JANUARY 20, 2016

Santa Monica-based TaskUs , the outsourcing firm founded by Jaspar Weir and Bryce Maddock, said today that it has just passed up 5,000 employees. The company--which had just over 1,000 employees in 2014, and started with a mere 5 employees in 2011--says it now has five outsourcing centers in the Philippines.

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Tech.Co

APRIL 24, 2018

But if you’re a startup founder, you too have the chance to find your own moment in the spotlight. Over the past decade, startups that have been part of the Startup of the Year programs have made new partnerships, grown into household names, and collectively raised billions of dollars in funding. Startup of the Year!

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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. As You Start to Mature. In the Early Days. Mentorship.

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InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California. Techpreneurs. Share and Enjoy.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2015

I may be old fashioned, but the term consultant still conjures up an image of a self-proclaimed expert who can make great presentations, generate recommendations and leave you to do the hard work of implementation. Startups need outside experts who can do the work, as well as provide training on what needs to be done.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2016

Entrepreneurs and startups are big believers in innovation, but sometimes they forget that innovation must be continual to assure long-term success, rather than the one big-bang idea that initiated their journey. Recognize that customers care about the whole experience. Today they demand it or walk to competitors, who are not far away.

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Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

Selz, run by a team of around 50 in Sydney, Australia, bills itself as a one-stop-shop for small businesses to start selling products and services online. Nothing is changing for our customers at this time, and we’ll be in touch with customers as and when we have further updates. Why Has Amazon Purchased Selz Now?

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Tech.Co

DECEMBER 4, 2020

Under Hsieh’s leadership, Zappos revolutionized the apparel industry, and e-commerce in general, by being one of the first to prioritize customer satisfaction and service. To build trust in e-commerce with the greater public, his company came up with innovative ideas and fostered new customer behaviors.

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TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

It’s a big number, and a big day, for the Los Angeles-based startup. Since it launched in 2015 it has expanded into adjacent categories and become one of the biggest retailers of the current e-commerce craze. billion thanks to $100 million in new financing.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2015

But for startups with limited resources and experience, I always recommend a soft launch or toe-in-the-water approach in a local market -- and scale up later. In fact, for startups, it usually makes sense to announce your solution on social media and blogs even before you have built the first one.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

To do it well requires a focus on several key activities and practices, including the following: Maintain a positive attitude, since startup problems are normal. If you feel angry or exhibit a negative attitude to the team about problems, you will jeopardize the potential success of your startup. Very few startup problems are unique.

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StartUp Beat

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Grigori Mikayelyan was a failed and an aspiring entrepreneur; furnished with a new idea – and determined to make a success of it – he became a Lyft driver to conduct customer research with his passengers. And saving up an investment fund, to boot. Mikayelyan spent $10 making a pitch book and ordered a few business cards.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2016

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kaufmann Foundation , the numbers are finally here to show it. The number of startups rose in 2015 for the first time in five years, with the largest year-over-year increase in two decades. Just make sure you can fill in all the details.

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socalTECH

APRIL 7, 2016

Los Angeles-based on-demand, full service self-storage startup Clutter has raised $20M in a Series B funding round, the company said this morning, in a round led by Sequoia Capital. Clutter, which was founded by Ari Mir and Brian Thomas, offers up storage of everything from single items to entire households. READ MORE>>.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2015

Customers and opportunities don’t wait. If your startup culture doesn’t include a sense of urgency, your probabilities of long-term success are miniscule. We all know the harried startup founder who is great at putting out fires. Try to squeeze it in before you get tied up handling the next crisis.

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Tech.Co

JULY 12, 2017

The BB-8 app-enabled Droid had such a global adoption among kids and adults that it was named the number one Star Wars toy of 2015. Other Disney startups such as Atom Ticket , a new movie ticketing app, partnered with the next Star Wars movie and will continue to work with Walt Disney Studios on major film releases. “And

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2015

Creating a successful startup is all about marketing these days, no matter how compelling your solution. Progress through these phases is unpredictable in time, often takes many years, and can only be measured by customer surveys and market penetration analyses. Many startup solutions flame out at this point.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2015

Too many entrepreneurs tackle starting a business as a random walk into a business minefield, and they count on their street smarts, thick skin and pure determination to get them to their destinations alive. One preparation example is the value of building a business plan before you start. Define success as it relates to this startup.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2015

Asking for early-stage money before you have customers and revenue will likely kill your credibility with real investors. Seed-stage, meanwhil e, is technically that critical period when you need funding to do solution- and business-model development, to prove that your new product or service works, before you try to sell it to customers.

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 10, 2017

accelerator--which only inspired him to keep working on making his startup a reality and go from just an idea, to a real company. The company, which started in 2014, now has over 40 employees. I'm a CPA, and I got my start in the audit practice of Ernst & Young, and was working for years on the audit side of the table.

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 20, 2015

Proof of any business model starts with a finished product or solution, sold to a new customer for full price, with high satisfaction for the value received. The conundrum is that once you have really proven the business model, you no longer need the investor money you asked for to start the business.

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socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 26, 2017

We caught up with Helen, the co-founder and COO of JOANY, to learn more about the company. Helen Lee: What JOANY does, is we help individuals and families sign up for the most optimal health insurance plan for them. How did you start the company? Helen Lee: Christina and I started the company back in 2014. What is JOANY?

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2015

As an advisor to startups, I often get asked what to look for in an ideal co-founder or business partner. Together they can attract investors, employees and even customers. Most startups need investors, vendors, distributors and industry support at different stages to achieve aggressive customer growth and penetration objectives.

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