Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

There is a mythology amongst some LPs (funds that invest in VCs) and some VCs that “entry price doesn’t matter – only investing in the absolute best entrepreneurs.” Both can hurt you in an acquisition. And I’m certain that many of these deals are not great returns for people because too much money went in.

Startup 323

Startup Technology Venture Capital Santa Barbara 323

socalTECH

OCTOBER 17, 2016

(www.science-inc.com), the startup �studio� led by former MySpace CEO and technology veteran Mike Jones , just saw its third acquisition out of its portfolio this year�the acquisition of FameBit by Google/Youtube. What made these three companies successful acquisitions out of all your companies?

Dollar Shave Club 100

Dollar Shave Club Entrepreneur Startup Google 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2023

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Always start with a formal proposal, limited in scope to a specific common objective or technology, for a limited amount of time, bounded by a two-way non-disclosure statement. Let market response dictate a later split, merger, or acquisition.

Startup 105

Startup Outsource Competition Entrepreneur 105

socalTECH

MAY 9, 2019

StoryBots , the kids' mobile app and content developer created by long time Southern California entrepreneurs Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, has been acquired by Netflix , Netflix announced on Thursday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. READ MORE>>.

Netflix 133

Netflix Southern California Content Acquisition 133

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

In many instances, investors simply do not have the patience to wait for an entrepreneur to sufficiently clean up their deal once a significant issue is identified during the due diligence process. Savvy entrepreneurs resolve potentially problematic issues on their own terms, before they begin raising capital. Frictionless Fundraising.

Technical Review 264

Technical Review Entrepreneur IP RSS 264

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2015

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Metrics 101

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Southern California's technology community--despite all of the recent excitement around Silicon Beach--continues to be underserved in terms of capital, with a lack of venture capital funds (with money), and other private technology investors. Jeb Spencer: We consider ourselves a private equity firm.

Acquisition 168

Acquisition Software Review Technical Review Equity 168

SoCal CTO

MARCH 1, 2010

Startup Killer: the Cost of Customer Acquisition | For Entrepreneurs , February 2, 2010 Looks at the critical equation around customer acquisition cost vs. customer lifetime value similar to what I discussed in Startup Metrics but in more depth. Great stuff. This post looks at the implementation details of HTML 5 video.

Pricing 150

Pricing Acquisition Customer Custom 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” Nail the solution.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Neither breakthrough technology nor maximum features will assure that “if we build it, they will come.” Nail the solution.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Customer 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 22, 2018

Sherman Oaks-based Serviz , the on-demand home services company founded by serial entrepreneurs Zorik Gordon and Michael Kline, has been acquired by Porch , another online marketplace for home services. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Gordon and Kline previously founded ReachLocal. READ MORE>>.

Sherman Oaks 100

Sherman Oaks ReachLocal Demand Acquisition 100

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Once you prove that a substantial number of people are willing to pay more for your solution than it costs you to provide it, you can then consider licensing your underlying technology. “Learn from the mistakes of others.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 17, 2017

What they should be doing is hiring only “entrepreneurs,” meaning people who think and act as if this is their own business. This commitment to hire people who think like entrepreneurs, or instill an “owner’s mindset” in every employee, should be a high priority in every business. Employees will lose focus on their work.”

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Startup Training Sales 69

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2017

Being called a lifestyle entrepreneur should be a point of pride, not an insult. Of course, even lifestyle entrepreneurs want to be happy, and want their business to be “successful.” Of course, that doesn’t dilute the owner’s equity, but it may well limit you to organic growth, versus international rollouts and acquisition options.

Entrepreneur 69

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Course 69

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2012

ViSalus , a nutritional supplements maker co-founded by Los Angeles-based, technology entrepreneur Ryan Blair, has filed for an IPO, saying that it is looking to raise up to $175M in an IPO. Exchange and other details of the IPO have not yet been set for the company, whose corporate name is FVA Ventures. READ MORE>>.

Entrepreneur 164

Entrepreneur Social Network Los Angeles Sites 164

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

Mogul Millennial — this Dallas-based company is a digital media platform for black entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. Since launching the platform in 2018, startups from the Snap accelerator have gone on to acquisition (like Stop, Breathe, and Think, which was bought by Meredith Corp.) Hardworkers — a Cambridge, Mass.-based

Artificial Inteligence 331

Artificial Inteligence Social Network Los Angeles Snapchat 331

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2015

The visibility of Google, Facebook and a few others continues to propagate the myth that the ultimate objective of every entrepreneur should be to take their startups public via an initial public offering at the earliest opportunity. Even with private equity and private acquisition transactions, control stays internal to the principals.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Startup Report Statistics 98

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2023

As a startup advisor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply.

Coach 137

Coach Metrics Competition Ideas 137

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2018

As a startup investor in this age of the entrepreneur, I see many more startups, but innovation is still hard to find. An entrepreneur looking for a sure thing will never innovate. Innovative technologies have no value until they are turned into solutions to real customer problems. Followers and linear thinkers need not apply.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Coach Metrics Competition 64

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Over the last four years, I watched numerous entrepreneurs raise equity. What was the biggest news for your company in 2018?

Southern California 133

Southern California SoCal Culver City Venture Capital 133

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. On the top line, angel investors look to invest in entrepreneurs that have an almost unwavering passion and sense of urgency. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2020

Entrepreneurs seem to have blinders on when looking at competitors. Always start with a formal proposal, limited in scope to a specific common objective or technology, for a limited amount of time, bounded by a two-way non-disclosure statement. Let market response dictate a later split, merger, or acquisition.

Startup 126

Startup Outsource Competition Acquisition 126

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2014

This is a key moment where your customer acquisition costs go way down, and your profits go way up. As an entrepreneur and startup, you should love this environment and cater to it. Consumers are well aware of the latest technologies, and their expectations are usually ahead of even the most forward-thinking startups.

Customer 98

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Startup 98

socalTECH

JULY 30, 2018

Galvanize, which is based out of denver but has locations in Austin, Boulder, Denver, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle, said the acquisition and funding will add Los Angeles to its "innovation hubs" technology students, alumni, entrepreneurs, startups and established companies. READ MORE>>.

Los Angeles 100

Los Angeles Angel Software Engineering Activity 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

What they should be doing is hiring only “entrepreneurs,” meaning people who think and act as if this is their own business. This commitment to hire people who think like entrepreneurs, or instill an “owner’s mindset” in every employee, should be a high priority in every business. Employees will lose focus on their work.”

Entrepreneur 97

Entrepreneur Training Sales Technical Review 97

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 23, 2022

What they should be doing is hiring only “entrepreneurs,” meaning people who think and act as if this is their own business. This commitment to hire people who think like entrepreneurs, or instill an “owner’s mindset” in every employee, should be a high priority in every business. Employees will lose focus on their work.”

Startup 134

Startup Training Sales Entrepreneur 134

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Last year, we compiled our first list of the socalTECH 50 : our attempt to pick fifty people here in Southern California''s technology industry who represent some of the best of what the region has to offer, and which we though people ought to keep an eye on. award acquisition merger exit enterepeneur socaltech50' READ MORE>>.

SoCalTech 166

SoCalTech Acquisition Truecar Southern California 166

socalTECH

JANUARY 15, 2014

In another boost to the reputation of Los Angeles for financial technology startups, Common Assets LLC , a financial technology startup focused on investment platforms for individual investment in solar power technology, has been acquired by SolarCity. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Renewables Group. READ MORE>>.

Southern California 138

Southern California Los Angeles Acquisition Equity 138

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

This is the fifth company I've run as a CEO, and I've always thought that technology is about making complex problems simpler. We are heavily standardized on AWS, and are using a lot of AWS technology, including the database, Elastic Search. which is somewhat unusual for an entrepreneur. I have a STEM degree, a Ph.D.

Mentor 157

Mentor Southern California Startup Networking 157

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2017

Next week is the Montgomery Summit (www.montgomerysummit.com), one of the longest running technology conferences held in Los Angeles. It's now an internationally recognized showcase for technology here in Los Angeles, and we also get to showcase Southern California companies, as well. We've seen some notable successes.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Conference Silver Lake Cornerstone OnDemand 100

InfoChachkie

MAY 9, 2011

This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. Entrepreneurs should never agree to the following provisions when negotiating with a BDC, no matter how lucrative the potential relationship. Kiss of Death ConTraps. Issue Unmitigated Exclusivity.

Outsource Development 170

Outsource Development Entrepreneur Press Technical Review 170

socalTECH

MAY 23, 2016

The new company will be known as HelloTech, and continue to be led by Wolpert, who is a well known startup advisor and serial entrepreneur in Los Angeles. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Geekatoo was based in Mountain View, California, and had been founded by Kevin Davis and Christian Sheldon.

Los Angeles 124

Los Angeles Acquisition Startup Networking 124

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

A quarterly event series seeking to dive deep into what comes next in technology, and giving you the opportunity to experience it first hand with the gadgets on site. On October 24th tech enthusiast will come together to discuss the latest in Disruptive Technologies Impacting the Future of Gaming. Sponsored giveaways and contests.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Technology Activision Entertainment 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 11, 2022

New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. Entrepreneurs who can’t communicate specific activities are not ready for funding. No startup or entrepreneur is an island. Investors will demand clear channel definitions.

Funding 133

Funding Activity Customer Custom 133

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2020

In my experience working with entrepreneurs, once they feel they have a winning formula for their business, they are often hesitant to change or update it. By drawing on the current network of drivers and the app technology it already has in place, UberEATS could be a major competitor for food delivery services such as DoorDash.

Customer 143

Customer Custom Examples IBM 143

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 27, 2010

I’ve noticed that some entrepreneurs seem to have no trouble attracting investors, while others with a great business plan struggle with it. On the top line, angel investors look to invest in entrepreneurs that have an almost unwavering passion and sense of urgency. The technology or product may be at an embryonic stage.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Angel Technical Review Course 96

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123