Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Angel investors and venture capitalists are looking for startups with real products and a proven business model, ready to scale. If you need funding for these early stage activities, I have some suggestions on better strategies to follow. Thus the best entrepreneur strategy for funding is to build solutions, not technology.

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Resource Ideas Funding Research 102

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. The canvas is a visual chart with elements describing your value proposition, structure, finances, and customers, to help companies identify and align business activities. Key resources.

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Funding Activity Custom Customer 133

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OCTOBER 7, 2020

Los Angeles- and New York-based Greycroft Ventures , which has invested in such local companies as Scopely, Thrive Market, and Maker Studios, has raised two new venture capital funds, for a total of $678M total. The company is both active in the Los Angeles area, as well as nationally. READ MORE>>.

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Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Activity 113

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JUNE 19, 2014

A new, $200M growth fund from Greycroft Partners may be a boon to the Los Angeles market--the source of a big chunk of the investment company''s venture capital investments. Greycroft Partners said today that it has closed on a $200M, first growth fund, to specifically invest in later stage investments in portfolio companies.

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Los Angeles Angel Funding Venture Capital 147

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FEBRUARY 28, 2013

The Tech Coast Angels , Southern California's most active , organized angel investment group, has a goal: cut down the time it takes to fund a startup presenting to the organization.

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Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Funding 168

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MAY 16, 2013

Santa Barbara-based Active Life Scientific , a developer of life sciences research and diagnostics tools, said this morning that it has raised $500K in a Series A follow on investment. The funding came from members of the Tech Coast Angels. The Tech Coast Angel''s Central Coast Network, led by Mike Panesis, led the deal.

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SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

Acrew Capital, the venture capital fund which recently added local Los Angeles investor Richard Wolpert as a Venture Partner, said this week that it has launched two new funds.

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Capital Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over twice as many companies, according to a classic Crunchbase article. Super angels are individuals or small teams using their own money. Super angels sometimes drive up valuations.

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Guide Venture Capital Funding Class 136

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Most of the venture capital firms covered in TechCrunch and other tech publications compete for a spot on the cap table of the hottest Bay Area, New York or Los Angeles companies of the moment. Lots of firms are now talking about this pretty actively.”. Today, Washington, DC-based Revolution is announcing its latest fund.

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Venture Capital Funding Seed Funding Activity 211

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in nonprofit good causes. Yet as an active angel investor, I still get this question on a regular basis, so I’ll try to outline the considerations in common-sense terms. For a nonprofit, bootstrapping is self-funding from donations and fund-raising.

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Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

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DECEMBER 18, 2020

A new, Los Angeles startup, Whatnot , which operates a online live stream shopping service and marketplace for collectors, said late Thursday that it had raised $4M in a seed funding round. The funding came from Scribble Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Operator Partners, Y Combinator, Liquid 2 Ventures, Twenty Two Ventures, and others.

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NOVEMBER 19, 2020

Los Angeles-based Sound Ventures , the venture capital fund run by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary, is looking to raise a third fund, worth $150M, according to a regulatory filing by the company. Sound Ventures had filed paperwork for a $150M second fund back in 2018.

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Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Activity 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2021

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Rose, according to his classic book, “ Angel Investing.” Neither does David S.

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Funding Startup .Net Invest 144

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APRIL 25, 2013

Los Angeles seems to be cementing itself in as the capital of celebrity and e-commerce, with the latest deal being Moonfrye , a new, "celebrity mom" startup featuring Soleil Moon Frye, best known to the rest of us as Punky Brewster. The new startup revealed today that it has raised $2.5M The company has yet to launch its first products.

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Activity GRP Partners CitySearch Commerce 178

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AUGUST 27, 2021

Silicon Valley Bank and nonprofit the National Equity Fund said this week that SVB will commit $110M for affordable housing in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area, to go towards creating affordable housing in high rent California districts. Photo: National Equity Fund's Boyle Hotel Apartments in Los Angeles)

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Equity Funding Invest Los Angeles 100

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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>>.

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Los Angeles Angel Software Engineering Activity 100

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JULY 30, 2014

Brock Pierce , the Southern California angel investor who is one of the most active proponents and investors in Bitcoin and its startups, has made another investment in the space, leading an AngelList syndicate funding of ZipZap. in the funding, bringing its total funding to $2.7M. ZipZap said it raised $1.1M

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Southern California Invest SoCal Angel 259

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APRIL 11, 2018

Seed stage investments in Los Angeles area startups was up, year-to-year, according to the Q1 2018 LA Seed Deal Report from investor Amplify LA. in seed funding in Q1, which was up 2.5 According to the report from Amplify, 23 LA startups raised a total of $52.9M percent from Q1 of 2017. READ MORE>>.

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Seed Funding Funding Entertainment Report 147

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 14, 2019

Tuesday, August 20, 2019 -- Los Angeles VC Panel and LAVA Annual Membership Meeting. Come meet three of the most active Venture Capital funds in Los Angeles. Panel includes: Evan Richter, Smash Ventures; Adam Corey, Global Village; Chris Wadden , Pasadena Angels. Find out what they are looking to invest in.

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Venture Capital LAVA Los Angeles Angel 100

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JANUARY 5, 2012

The San Diego chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the largest angel investment group in Southern California, as well as the United States, said today that it has established a new, memorial fund, the John G. The fund has been started by a $1M gift from the family of John G.

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Tech Coast Angels San Diego Angel Funding 159

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SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Los Angeles-based LifeCrowd launched Wednesday, saying that it is looking to help users connect with others on fun activities led by experts. Looking for something fun to do around town? READ MORE>>.

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Activity Services Class Conference 145

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APRIL 10, 2014

BitAngels , the angel investment group which invests in BitCoin related startups, has launched a new, 10,000 BTC structured fund--approximately $4.1 million US dollars at press time--the first, dedicated fund for its BitCoin investments. READ MORE>>. bitangels investment terpin bitcoin venture capital'

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Invest Funding Press Venture Capital 244

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SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

A new mashup map of activity on crowdfunding site Kickstarter shows that Southern California is apparently one of the hotbeds of activity on the site. The map, created by ThingsWeStart , also helps users navigate the newest projects, those with the most funding, projects which have almost reached their goals, and more.

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Southern California Activity Sites Funding 182

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JULY 23, 2020

Los Angeles-based Arrive Outdoors , which operates an online rental service for outdoors gear such as tents, backpacks, stoves, skis, and more, has raised another $4.75M more in funding, the company said on Thursday. The seed funding came from Freestyle Capital. Arrive Outdoors is part of the Science Incy. startup studio.

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Funding Seed Funding Los Angeles Activity 100

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 16, 2020

Over their longtime personal and professional relationship, the two Los Angeles-based serial entrepreneurs have invested in each other’s companies and investment firms, but never worked together until now. With that in mind, the Watertower Ventures group, which launched in 2017 with a small, $5 million fund, is a return to those roots.

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Funding Southern California Los Angeles Invest 230

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JULY 23, 2012

There's been a surge in startup accelerator activity in Los Angeles in the last year, as interest in starting a company in the region has grown, and a wide range of experienced entrepreneurs and investors have pitched in to help companies get to the next level. Of that, $97.47 in companies associated with digital studio Science Inc.

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Los Angeles Angel Report Startup 234

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JULY 16, 2014

Fitwall said it has received a "sizeable round" of funding form Jeff Greenberg, who co-founded Skechers USA. Greenberg joins the company''s advisory board with the funding. Fitwall said the new funds will go to expand its footprint and also further development of its fitness offerings. Size of the investment was not announced.

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Funding Venture Capital Activity Invest 170

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JUNE 26, 2014

Newport Beach-based Fitwall , a fitness center operator which focuses on using technology like Bluetooth heart rate monitors and iPads to improve fitness, said this morning that it has raised additional funding for the company. The amount of funding was not announced. Silverstein joins the company''s board with the funding.

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Funding Activity Invest Capital 164

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AUGUST 13, 2014

Los Angeles-based venture capital investor TenOneTen Ventures , which is run by David Waxman and Gil Elbaz, is looking to raise a $25M fund, according to a regulatory filing from the company this week. tenoneten tenone venture capital ventures funding applied semantics factual google firefly burner vurb nearwoo' READ MORE>>.

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Funding Venture Capital Google Los Angeles 164

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. Wait, didn’t you just raise a fund? Was it hard to raise the fund?

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Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over twice as many companies, according the Crunchbase. Individual angel investors and crowdfunding have been adding to the momentum, some say exceeding VCs in total amount invested.

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Class 125

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). I just don’t see it happening any time soon. billion collected in 2012.

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Invest Angel Funding Startup 111

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 7, 2020

Real estate is a big business in the sprawling city of Los Angeles, and new technology tools to target the industry continue to attract investor attention. billion, active in the real estate industry in Los Angeles. million in financing to support the buildout of its services and sales teams to manage clients.

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Los Angeles Services Angel Marketing 168

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2017

Entrepreneurs who require funding for their startup have long counted on self-accredited high net worth individuals (“angels”) to fill their needs, after friends and family, and before they qualify for institutional investments (“VCs”). Rose, according to his latest book, “ Angel Investing.” Neither does David S.

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Startup Angel Funding .Net 76

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FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Greycroft Partners , one of the more active investors in Los Angeles technology startups, announced on Thursday that it has raised $250M in a new, growth equity fund. Greycroft has offices in both Los Angeles and New York. READ MORE>>.

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Funding Southern California Los Angeles Invest 124

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AUGUST 17, 2011

The Tech Coast Angels , Southern California's biggest and most active angel investing group, appears to be backing a developer of prescription drug validation systems, based in Lebanon, N.H. out of a $6M funding round, currently in progress. According to a regulatory filing from PharmaSecure , it has raised $2.5M

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Tech Coast Angels Funding Southern California Activity 214

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NOVEMBER 26, 2013

Los Angeles-based celebrity e-commerce startup Moonfrye , led by TV''s former Punky Brewster, Soleil Moon Frye, disclosed last night that it has raised $1.1M more in an extension of an earlier funding round. The funding came via AngelList. READ MORE>>.

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