Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? They were a way to gather cheap capital.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

At our mid-year offsite our partnership at Upfront Ventures was discussing what the future of venture capital and the startup ecosystem looked like. Probably not and 10x (May 2022) seems more in line with the historical trend (actually 10x is still high). In 2009 we could take a long time to review a deal. By 2021 we had to write a $3.5m

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

They helped create over 5 million new businesses in 2022, a forty percent increase over the previous year. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. Angel groups, accelerators, and incubators are pervasive.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

Even with advantages that independent startups can never hope to match, including brand recognition, customers, financial capital, and distribution, I don’t often see the entrepreneurial passion for innovation, agility, and team perseverance exhibited by new startups. Commit a source of internal or external seed funding.

Incubator 143

Incubator Seed Funding Metrics Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2022

I expect that should seem intuitive to all entrepreneurs, but every investor I know has many stories about startup funding requests with major business model elements missing. Competition. Investors look for a sustainable competitive advantage, like a patent. Marty Zwilling First published on Gust on 11/8/2022.

Sales 102

Sales Customer Custom Outsource 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. Secure outside expansion funding through investors. You need to evaluate the tradeoffs of getting investment capital from angel investors and crowdsourcing. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 6/28/2022.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2022

Idea people often don’t get funded as entrepreneurs, because a new business is all about results, not just ideas. In my experience, competition is the biggest challenge here. Enablement: provide support and human capital. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 10/17/2022.

Activity 108

Activity Satisfaction Metrics Startup 108