Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2023

In my view, this focus on the wrong skill set is the primary reason why over half of new businesses fail in the first five years, and only one out of a hundred startups get their requested funding from professional investors. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs.

Startup 154

Startup Sales Entrepreneur Customer 154

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

If you’re funding the same stuff as everybody else and if you started your activities when the clues were obvious you’re much less likely to drive enormous returns. When Fred Wilson funded Twitter I guarantee you it wasn’t obvious that it was a billion dollar idea. Venture Capital is a tricky industry.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2022

These are responding to the demands of this new world for collaboration, trust, and transparency. If you are at the funding stage, try the new crowd-funding platforms or micro-capital investments. Support and enable mutually beneficial activities inside and outside the organization. Marty Zwilling.

Organization 126

Organization Social Media Examples Customer 126

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2023

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding.

Product 112

Product Summary Activity Entrepreneur 112

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. First you need to assess the risks and value of investor funding and carrying debt.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2017

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.

Funding 57

Funding Startup Activity Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2016

In my view, this focus on the wrong skill set is the primary reason why over half of new businesses fail in the first five years, and only one out of a hundred startups get their requested funding from professional investors. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Sales Startup Customer 106

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. Over the past 4 years LA’s tech fundings have growing at a 30% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) which is > 4 times the US average VC CAGR (7%). He built & IPOd Demand Media. for $565 million to Excite.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2019

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.

Activity 100

Activity Customer Custom Resource 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2013

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Technical Review Equity 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 18, 2014

Most technical entrepreneurs I know demand the discipline of a product specification or plan, and then assume that their great product will drive a great business. Is it any wonder why so few entrepreneurs ever find the professional investors they seek? Executives, marketing & sales, financial projections, and funding.

Product 101

Product Entrepreneur Summary Activity 101

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

One of the big decisions every aspiring entrepreneur has to make is when to quit your current job to devote yourself fulltime to your new startup. Here are some of the key ones I would suggest to every aspiring entrepreneur who doesn’t have a rich uncle, or isn’t sitting on a large nest egg: Make sure this new lifestyle is really for you.

Startup 153

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Statistics 153

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 30, 2015

Serious entrepreneurs know that, but too many “wannabes” still fall for that elusive get-rich-quick scheme with no risk. As an active Angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. First you need to assess the risks and value of investor funding and carrying debt.

Entrepreneur 103

Entrepreneur Startup Marketing Customer 103

socalTECH

JANUARY 31, 2013

Although maybe not all of the startups at the event might go on to get funding, an entire group of potential startup founders in the audience realize that they, too, have a shot at starting something and getting a chance to take it to the next level. It's unclear.

Startup 256

Startup Commerce Santa Monica Mentor 256

Berkonomics

MAY 15, 2014

After being an active angel investor for about fifteen years, I realized that many of the discussions I was involved in were virtually identical to ones I’d had many times before. During those times, VCs had lots of conferences where thought leaders gathered to discuss term sheets, deal structures and fund strategies.

Venture Capital 228

Venture Capital Examples Invest Conference 228

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

He or she wants to know how long the money you will raise will last and whether this is long enough to warrant taking a risk on funding you. VCs tend not to want to fund founders who raise too much money in a given round also because they know that sometimes having too many resources will lead to founders burning through cash too quickly.

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? In addition, Entrepreneur Magazine recently included UCSB in its Top 50 Schools For VC Backed Entrepreneurs at number 37. A decent showing, but well below a number of larger schools, as the ranking is based on the number of graduates who secured VC funding. Don''t go to Wharton or Harvard.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 29, 2013

Entrepreneurs often get the advice from their lawyers and friends to always get a Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA or CDA) signed before disclosing anything about their new venture. You won’t last long as an entrepreneur in this category, since a startup is all about taking risks. non-disclosure entrepreneur investor CDA business'

Ideas 92

Ideas Demand Patents Entrepreneur 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

There is so much written these days about how to attract investors that most entrepreneurs “assume” they need funding, and don’t even consider a plan for “bootstrapping,” or self-financing their startup. In fact, most of the rich entrepreneurs you know actively turned away early equity proposals. Need to spread the risk.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup Equity 102

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

All schmoozing and networking aside, what are investors, entrepreneurs, and others in the industry thinking about? More than one attendee expressed worries about seed level startups having issues getting more funding; seeing too many "me-too" startups; and the importance of proving out viable business models. READ MORE>>.

Ventura 182

Ventura Santa Monica Idealab High Tech 182

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. A sample of three views is adequate.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2016

Almost every entrepreneur looking for outside investors has heard the annoying rejection, “You are just too early – come back when you have more traction.” If it’s so important to investors, perhaps you should be using traction to measure your own progress, independent of a need for additional funding.

Metrics 57

Metrics Funding Startup Customer 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2021

I continue to see stories of really young entrepreneurs, like this article , profiling 25 kids that made a million dollars before graduating from high school. There are already some good books out there for youth entrepreneurs, such as the classic one from my friends Adam and Matthew Toren, Kidpreneurs: Young Entrepreneurs with Big Ideas.

Help 74

Help Startup Education Entrepreneur 74

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2013

Seed viral activity. People are more demanding and have more choices than ever before. Some startups not only ignore this and don’t budget for it, but they actually plan on the free viral marketing to generate enough revenue from click-through advertising to fund operations and future growth. That’s a double death wish.

Marketing 99

Marketing Entrepreneur Startup SEM 99

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2012

An obvious reason is limited funds, but a more important reason is the need to know and intimately understand what is really going on in the business and the market. A diligent entrepreneur should certainly work the important details for his or her startup, especially when it comes to assessing any negative fluctuations in the business.

Entrepreneur 94

Entrepreneur Startup Template Mentor 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. A sample of three views is adequate.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

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 stockholders are more easily swayed by emotion and the activities of the crowd, than real market conditions.

Startup 98

Startup Report IBM IBM 98

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2018

In my view, this focus on the wrong skill set is the primary reason why over half of new businesses fail in the first five years, and only one out of a hundred startups get their requested funding from professional investors. His focus is on sales, but I see the same skills needed for entrepreneurs.

Startup 98

Startup Sales Entrepreneur Customer 98

socalTECH

MARCH 4, 2021

How did you go from running a venture fund to starting Miso? Buck Jordan: The story is, I was at the tail end of my last fund, Canyon Creek Capital, and I wanted to try something different. So, with the last funds out of my fund, I started Miso Robotics. The demand is there. What is Miso Robotics?

Startup 113

Startup Venture Capital Capital Customer 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2019

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

Startup 84

Startup Technical Review Report IBM 84

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 20, 2019

These are responding to the demands of this new world for collaboration, trust, and transparency. If you are at the funding stage, try the new crowd-funding platforms or micro-capital investments. Support and enable mutually beneficial activities inside and outside the organization. Marty Zwilling.

Organization 52

Organization Social Media Examples Customer 52

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

Some entrepreneurs can’t decide if they want to be a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) or a C-corporation, or they don’t have the money, so they put off doing anything until the first venture capital round, or until the first lawsuit occurs. Double-check both the money you need before funding, and the size of investor funding requests.

Entrepreneur 109

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Help 109

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2015

These are responding to the demands of this new world for collaboration, trust, and transparency. If you are at the funding stage, try the new crowd-funding platforms or micro-capital investments. Support and enable mutually beneficial activities inside and outside the organization. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 99

Startup Organization Social Media Customer 99

socalTECH

APRIL 12, 2011

Derek Norton is head of Los Angeles-based Watertower Group (www.watertowergroup.com), a firm which helps companies raise funding, one of the rare companies which has a track record and good reputation helping companies with fundraising, and also runs its own investment fund. That's something many entrepreneurs don't know.

Riot Games 199

Riot Games Technology Los Angeles Entrepreneur 199

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2014

These are responding to the demands of this new world for collaboration, trust, and transparency. If you are at the funding stage, try the new crowd-funding platforms or micro-capital investments. Support and enable mutually beneficial activities inside and outside the organization. change entrepreneur startup'

Organization 93

Organization Social Media Customer Custom 93

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

It would be interesting to hear about where your interests are nowdays, there was a rumor Redpoint had backed off activity here lately. We've been quite active, and have had a bunch of acquisitions lately -- including Internet Brands and MySpace -- a total of over 2 billion in acquisition in Southern California.

Redpoint 154

Redpoint Southern California Cornerstone OnDemand Invest 154

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

In the old days, every entrepreneur dreamed of easily taking their startup public, and making it big. Smart entrepreneurs are just now starting to look at this option again, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. Startup founders don’t fit in a public company.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Report Entrepreneur 87