Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 23, 2013

There should be some sort of guarantee about the accuracy of their valuation and its ability to withstand scrutiny. If the valuation firm made certain assumptions or didn’t address certain things in certain ways, this could slow down the acquisition and/or have a negative economic result. AICPA-compliant valuation reports.

Company 102

Company Companies Startup Acquisition 102

socalTECH

APRIL 30, 2018

We're a big data company, where we look at all the information available worldwide, including documents, job postings, and anything you can publicly get your hands on, and from that, we distill the technology stack of a company. That took quite a bit of investment in organic growth and acquisitions. How'd you end up at HG Data?

Santa Barbara 113

Santa Barbara High Tech Outsource Development Startup 113

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

and the subsequent acquisition sprees of companies like Google, Yahoo!, It has also brought about my favorite new term – Ramen Profitable. So, definition: when I talk about a business plan I’m not talking about a 40-page Word document outlining your market approach. portfolios. Here’s why.

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

It has even gone so far that we now have evocative headlines in the tech press such as “ Buy or Die ,” which is what got me thinking about this post. But the press (and I suspect many of the senior execs of these companies) don’t really explore the corrosive downside of these acquisition. So I thought I would.

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 8, 2010

I was on This Week in Venture Capital today with Jason Calacanis talking about the big VC deals at the moment and talking about the VC industry. It’s about a 30 minute video (or about as long as it normally takes to read my rambling posts! I was asked if I would pay $80 million. Crazy valuation. and much more.

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital Capital SEO Yahoo 232

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

A frequent concern I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs is “I have invented a great product, but I have no idea where to start in setting up a company, to avoid all the tax and legal problems I hear about on the news.” Proper documentation will minimize later legal claims and issues. Worried you won’t choose the right business structure?

Startup 84

Startup Outsource Development Entrepreneur News 84

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 19, 2019

Popular messaging app Kik is, indeed, “here to stay” following an acquisition by the Los Angeles-based multimedia holding company, MediaLab. The flagship Whisper app let people post short bits of anonymous text and images that other folks could like or comment about. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Social Network 153

Social Network Los Angeles Social Media Blogging 153

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

While it was a good year for our merger and acquisition practice in the SaaS and fintech space, our most exciting news is in our merchant banking sector where we invest in and advise growth companies often for several years. First, business is ultimately about peoplethe strengths and flaws of being human.

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 8, 2009

In many cases, I can break it down into: Customer Acquisition Cost – how will you reach prospects, how will you convert them and how much will it cost to convert them Customer Lifetime Value – how much will you make off of each converted customer This very simple model works for a surprising number of business models.

Metrics 225

Metrics Startup Web 2.0 Slides 225

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Glendale-based LegalZoom , the online legal documents site which was co-founded by Brian Lee and lawyer Robert Shapiro, is reportedly about to file for its IPO, according to a report today. Reuters, citing sources close to the firm, said the filing is expected in coming weeks.

Legalzoom 154

Legalzoom Report Glendale Southern California 154

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yesterday, I was talking to a startup founder about their MVP and they said something that finally got me to write this post: "I have a few investors interested but they want to see a product." If you do build the MVP and show it to them, they will ask you about your metrics. They really want metrics, not a product.

Metrics 264

Metrics Venture Capital News Product 264

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

Unit costs are important, but don’t forget about the cash flow hit, extra storage costs, and the probability of obsolete inventory due to necessary updates or pivots. Daily updates from the top and documented processes are critical. Buy too much inventory too soon to get unit costs down. Use multiple small orders at first.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

Xconomy

JUNE 28, 2016

Whatever you call it, this document of about five pages is a summary of the terms of a deal the parties hope to close down the line. KEY COMPONENTS: What appears to be a simple, straightforward document has the potential to scuttle a deal, so it’s vital to understand the MO of an MOU. That’s a major concession for any startup.

Startup 57

Startup Pricing Sales Summary 57

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017

To protect against this, there must be some document in place from the beginning that clearly states the expectation of each founder as to contribution of time and resources to the enterprise. An option plan should carve out an addition of about 15% of the “fully diluted” shares. How about the price per share?

Equity 256

Equity Class Pricing Sales 256

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2015

We caught up with Miles, to learn more about his new startup, Silversheet (www.silversheet.com), and the big opportunity to streamline paperwork in the medical field for doctors seeking credentialing at hospitals. Talk about the funding? Honestly, I think about 80 percent of what we did at EQAL is relevant to Silversheet.

Startup 100

Startup Content Technical Review Product 100

socalTECH

MARCH 15, 2012

Last week, Santa Monica-based Docstoc (www.docstoc.com), the online business documents site headed by Jason Nazar, launched a new website, called License123 (www.license123.com). Can you tell us about the new site, and how Docstoc is doing? How did you go about getting all that information together?

Southern California 229

Southern California Startup Content Sites 229

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

We spent the first 45 minutes or so talking about industry trends (in this order): The history and background of True Ventures, one of my favorite early-stage VC’s (and the one with whom Om is a venture partner). Paul talked about Neuhaus Partners, a 65 million Euro fund with the remit to invest in German-speaking countries.

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Google Web Sites 225

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2019

With the real data from that surge, you need to take a hard look at business model realities, cost of customer acquisition, inventory costs, and other key metrics. Document processes and metrics for economies of scale. Other customers routinely pay late, or only after they receive one or more prompts from you.

Metrics 86

Metrics Startup Training Customer 86

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

It's been awhile since we last caught up with Los Angeles-based Language Weaver (www.languageweaver.com), a venture-backed firm which develops language translation software, so we sat down the other day with Mark Tapling , the President and CEO of the firm, to hear more about where the company is nowadays--plus its strategy for growth and an exit.

Software Review 145

Software Review USC Content Tech Coast Angels 145

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

Before jumping into the post I wanted to point out one thing about doing TWiVC and posting my notes here on BSOTT. In writing anything positive about any of the companies I’m not suggesting that it means that I prefer them to any of their competitors. Finally, a lot of people asking me about typos on my blog.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

In the VC insider baseball world a discussion has gone on about “VC platforms” over the past 5 or so years. Nearly every startup I have spoken to over the years – including some where I’m a co-investor – talks positively about the support they’ve gotten from A16Z.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

Berkonomics

SEPTEMBER 6, 2010

They write into their investment documents that they will occupy a seat on the board for as long as they are invested in the company, thinking of this as a protection for their investment and tool for them to influence growth. All other board functions are secondary. Shareholders such as the investors are granted few rights by law.

Class 179

Class Coach Invest Sales 179

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. So why would I have talked so much about the deck in my post? I funded them 8 weeks later.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 29, 2010

A friend once told me about a soccer game in which the opposing team deployed a frustratingly effective strategy. Optimistic About Tomorrow, Pessimistic About Today. Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to be optimistic about their long-term success while simultaneously apprehensive about their near-term failure.

Entrepreneur 193

Entrepreneur Course Startup Ideas 193

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 24, 2017

In this #StartupsEverywhere , series, we talked with Aaron Slodov, Jennifer Stapleton, and Steve McHale, leaders in the Cleveland startup ecosystem about why there's more of a draw to downtown. Complion , a regulatory and document management platform for clinical research sites. What’s your role in your ecosystem?

Startup 70

Startup Platform CIO Entrepreneur 70

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 29, 2010

A friend once told me about a soccer game in which the opposing team deployed a frustratingly effective strategy. Optimistic About Tomorrow, Pessimistic About Today. Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to be optimistic about their long-term success while simultaneously apprehensive about their near-term failure.

Entrepreneur 185

Entrepreneur Course Startup Ideas 185

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 1, 2011

Union Square venture capitalist Fred Wilson received a whopping $17,000 bill for what he called a “standard set of legal documents&# for one of the startups his company was funding. Users can also read profiles and detailed information about the attorneys that appear in their search results.

Sites 63

Sites Google Startup Services 63

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Now let’s talk about the bases that need to be covered. Since this document is outward facing, it is important to keep the terminology and tone consistent with that of your customer set, investors, and business partners. The details can be added later. Skip the acronyms and jargon.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2016

Good entrepreneurs are all about managing change, but too many forget that they have to change themselves as their dream evolves from a startup to a scalable business. When the business starts to scale, you need documented processes and people with the right skills and training who can do the right work without you.

Social Network 59

Social Network Startup Demand Entrepreneur 59

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

Messenger : Rob Duva , Co-Founder, COO RingRevenue, prior Director of Customer Acquisition, CallWave. At RingRevenue we’ve created a call performance marketing platform that at its core is all about getting more high-value calls to advertisers who want them. Is there a downside to Accountability?

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 24, 2014

The short answer is that plans are living documents and should be constantly evolving. When projections about the size of your market or pricing strategy are off, you need to start working on a major redirection. How will you know when to revise your business plan? How do you distinguish between the two? 1) Your market has changed.

Startup 98

Startup Competition Examples Customer 98

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Rather than obsessing about an indirect gauge of customer satisfaction, entrepreneurs should focus on improving their Net Profit Score. Reciprocity is another well-documented persuasion technique. Rather than obsessing about an indirect gauge of customer satisfaction, entrepreneurs should focus on improving their Net Profit Score.

.Net 168

.Net Satisfaction Customer Custom 168

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Rather than obsessing about an indirect gauge of customer satisfaction, entrepreneurs should focus on improving their Net Profit Score. Reciprocity is another well-documented persuasion technique. The score is calculated by asking customers, "How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?"

.Net 182

.Net Satisfaction Entrepreneur Customer 182

socalTECH

JULY 23, 2012

The company has been among the most talked-about potential IPOs in the local market for years. LegalZoom has applied to list as LGZ on the New York Stock Exchange. LegalZoom is venture backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Polaris Ventures, and others. READ MORE>>.

Legalzoom 124

Legalzoom Pricing Glendale Marketing 124

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 8, 2014

Chance was recently featured on Fox News for comments on Facebook’s high profile acquisition of wearable VR company, Oculus, for an impressive $2B – and what that meant for early adopters who initially helped the company get off the ground by funding through Kickstarter. Laundry list of all necessary documentation.

Invest 83

Invest Platform Entrepreneur Paramount 83

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. Fallacy: Third-party, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) representatives succeed once the sales process is defined, proven and documented.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

With the first test looming, the entrepreneurial student borrowed notes from three rather scholarly students, consolidated them into a single document and sold copies to other students for $5 each. You can learn more about his experiences at johngreathouse.com _. — John is a CPA and holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School.

Ideas 153

Ideas Startup Pricing Entrepreneur 153