Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 23, 2013

There are a lot of valuation companies out there, so I know many entrepreneurs are tempted to just shop around until they find the lowest price, but this is a mistake. 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.

Company 102

Company Companies Startup Acquisition 102

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

As an entrepreneur, you always need to be on the lookout for ways to expand your current business, and always on the lookout for your next big thing. They know you and your brand, so this should minimize your customer acquisition cost for the new product. Tags: entrepreneur startup new opportunities business. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Customer Custom .Net 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

ViSalus , the nutritional supplements firm headed by former Los Angeles technology entrepreneur Ryan Blair, has withdrawn its IPO, according to a filing with the SEC. The firm did not say why it is withdrawing its IPO, only saying that it has decided not to proceed with the initial public offering of its securities at this time.

Los Angeles 150

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Technology Angel 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

In the old days, every entrepreneur planned on taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are now starting to look at this option again, as well as the challenges of running a public company. Public companies of any size must comply immediately with the full reporting requirements of the SEC.

Startup 98

Startup Report IBM IBM 98

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 29, 2010

Entrepreneurs should maintain a like level of enthusiasm when operating their adVentures. Not surprisingly, entrepreneurs tend to be more optimistic than the general populace. However, as described in Are You An Entrepreneur? Strategic planning at a startup is guided by entrepreneurs’ innate optimistic pessimism.

Entrepreneur 193

Entrepreneur Course Startup Ideas 193

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 28, 2017

This shortcut to avoid hard discussions and signed documents leads to more dysfunctional businesses and broken relationships than you could imagine. Early partners often drop out due to differences, but they don’t forget your original promises when you go public or hit it big. Never taking the time to enlist and learn from advisors.

Entrepreneur 72

Entrepreneur Competition Customer Custom 72

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 29, 2010

Entrepreneurs should maintain a like level of enthusiasm when operating their adVentures. Not surprisingly, entrepreneurs tend to be more optimistic than the general populace. However, as described in Are You An Entrepreneur? Strategic planning at a startup is guided by entrepreneurs’ innate optimistic pessimism.

Entrepreneur 185

Entrepreneur Course Startup Ideas 185

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.

Startup 84

Startup Outsource Development Entrepreneur News 84

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

And a few teams of super talented, educated and bright entrepreneurs make a few mill. But the press (and I suspect many of the senior execs of these companies) don’t really explore the corrosive downside of these acquisition. If I don’t commit to millions of dollars of acquisitions I will … die?

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2020

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. With customer acquisition costs (CAC) rising significantly across most products, one company experimented with a few low-cost initiatives.

Capital 100

Capital SoCal Southern California SaaS 100

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Their primary intended reader is a “first-time entrepreneur”, but clearly other stakeholders within the startup universe can also benefit from the book’s hands-on advice. They are both former entrepreneurs and current Partners at Foundry Group , a highly successful, early stage venture firm. The Magicians Tells Their Secrets.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 13, 2019

In the interests of helping you work smarter and last longer, I would like to offer my top ten list of key resource drains to avoid in early businesses and startups, based on my years of advising entrepreneurs and my own business experience: Expanding your product line too quickly for scaling. People with the wrong tools or no training.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Metrics Technical Review 122

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. That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone.

Technical Review 108

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 108

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

There were tons of young entrepreneurs showing their latest Web 2.0 and the subsequent acquisition sprees of companies like Google, Yahoo! So, definition: when I talk about a business plan I’m not talking about a 40-page Word document outlining your market approach. Do so at your peril. This stuff is ‘zero gravity.’

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Unless you are a serial entrepreneur with a string of successes behind you, you need a business plan to convince investors that you can build a business out of the dream that has been driving your passion to change the world. An entrepreneur who can’t manage a plan, probably won’t be able to manage the new business.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Rather than obsessing about an indirect gauge of customer satisfaction, entrepreneurs should focus on improving their Net Profit Score. A quick “No” is far more valuable to a busy entrepreneur than a nebulous NPS response of “five.”. As noted in Personal Pitch , entrepreneurs must make it easy for others to help them succeed.

.Net 182

.Net Satisfaction Entrepreneur Customer 182

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

This acquisition resolved the surgical robotic IP landscape and allowed Intuitive to dominate the market. There is a common misconception that an idea can be protected by documenting it, placing it in an envelope and then mailing it to yourself. This was the case when Intuitive Surgical purchased Computer Motion.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2016

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined.

Search Engine Optimization 55

Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Entrepreneur Social Media 55

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

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Rather than obsessing about an indirect gauge of customer satisfaction, entrepreneurs should focus on improving their Net Profit Score. A quick “No” is far more valuable to a busy entrepreneur than a nebulous NPS response of “five.”. As noted in Personal Pitch , entrepreneurs must make it easy for others to help them succeed.

.Net 168

.Net Satisfaction Customer Custom 168

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 2, 2012

As entrepreneurs, you always need to be on the lookout for ways to expand your current business, and always on the lookout for your next big thing. They know you and your brand, so this should minimize your customer acquisition cost for the new product. New products or services to existing customers. Offer your business as a franchise.

Startup 98

Startup Customer Custom Entrepreneur 98

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

And if there is a term for that which helps entrepreneurs stay focused on these good and true objectives then I’m all for it. It’s why some companies are testing whether building applications on KIK might lead to better customers acquisition.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review SEM SEO Marketing 384

SoCal CTO

MARCH 11, 2013

Yet most of the newly minted entrepreneurs I've met think their job is nearly done when they've found MVP - they think they can go build a pitch off their early MVP and raise money! No, you won't know if you will really get a check - most investors are hard to actually get a check from - but you will have a pretty good indication.

Metrics 264

Metrics Venture Capital News Product 264

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Jennifer: I am a corporate attorney who has spent that past 13 years working with entrepreneurs, venture firms, private equity firms, and high-growth, privately held companies to make acquisitions, grow their businesses and complete successful exits. I am also an experienced entrepreneur who has founded two other companies.

Startup 70

Startup Platform CIO Entrepreneur 70

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 3, 2016

The new war for platforms has mostly been waged by Andreessen Horowitz who have raised astounding amounts of capital and therefore had the fees to put into providing more services for entrepreneurs. From an entrepreneur’s perspective we’re asked to assist in a lot of situations. Partner Leverage.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Platform Startup Resource 150

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2015

Nothing, except Miles Beckett , a serial entrepreneur who is best known for creating lonelygirl15 and online content provider EQAL. MCNs are just the first wave of big acquisitions, I see lots of innovation there over the next five to 10 years, which is really cool. You also have to keep that all up todate on an going basis.

Startup 100

Startup Content Technical Review Product 100

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. Entrepreneurs who are confident yet humble, are rare and thus especially charming. Entrepreneurship is best learned experientially.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

Messenger : Rob Duva , Co-Founder, COO RingRevenue, prior Director of Customer Acquisition, CallWave. Do you have any words of caution or advice for entrepreneurs who attempt to “Get Their Band Back Together”? “In At CallWave, Colin was CTO, Jason was CFO and I was in charge of product marketing and customer acquisition.

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

industry investors rather than VCs) a good idea for entrepreneurs. His view: sometimes entrepreneurs expect too much value from the partner. Structured data asset creation works in on demand in real-time across multiple data sets Including web, e-mail, internal databases, documents, and media.

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Google Web Sites 225

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. Crowdfunder Was Created With Entrepreneurs In Mind.

Invest 83

Invest Platform Entrepreneur Paramount 83

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

Entrepreneurs create opportunities by creating ripples, and mini-ventures are great ripple creators. 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. From Small to Tall.

Ideas 153

Ideas Startup Pricing Entrepreneur 153

Frank Addante

MAY 20, 2007

Internet Advertising ASP) Exit: $112M IPO and acquisition Lesson: Think big. 6 startups = 1 IPO, 2 acquisitions, 1 failure, millions in venture capital $, hundreds of employees in cities worldwide and the building of my latest venture, the Rubicon Project - one of the fastest growing advertising companies in history. Zondigo, Inc.

Entrepreneur 40

Entrepreneur Blogging Startup Venture Capital 40

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

In reading the comments on Bijan’s blog and having discussed this so many times, I know some entrepreneurs only want to talk with VCs that think that Powerpoint causes leprosy. And when you finish the demo you can bring in the other important components such as competition, team, customer acquisition strategy, etc. Mobile app?

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

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). Not to tip your hand on acquisitions, but what kind of companies are you looking to buy? Jason Nazar: I'm fine with that, actually.

Southern California 229

Southern California Startup Content Sites 229

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

It is surprising how often entrepreneurs forget this simple fact. Such a lawyer will not go out of their way to screw you, but when crafting the investor documents and in future investor-related issues, your lawyer’s allegiance must be to your company. In Search of an Oxymoron – The Ideal Lawyer.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

entrepreneur Wil Schroter (I am an angel investor in Affordit). And of course the big question is whether Salesforce.com can out innovate these startups (especially after their acquisition of InStranet ). Expect great things from Assistly. One interesting point about Wonga that I didn’t cover in the show. 2.2mm in Series A.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

Investing in entrepreneurs and startups is a fun but different world from investing in conventional stocks, bonds, and commodities. Fund an entrepreneur you know and trust. Most entrepreneurs start asking for money from this tier, when they have very little more than an idea. Successful startups are all about the execution.

Invest 89

Invest Entrepreneur Startup Equity 89