InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

One the most frequent questions asked of me by entrepreneurs is, "How can I become a Venture Capitalist?" The inquiry is common because being a VC is (to an entrepreneur, at least) a sexy job. I define a "VC" as, "a professional investor who deploys third-party funds into relatively early-stage companies."

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 19, 2020

While there have been a number of statements on Twitter from various investors about how they’re doing deals and open for business, Grill is making sure the community can be coordinated so companies no where to turn and investors can find businesses to back in an age of Zoom diligence. PLEASE RT to spread the word.

Venture Capital 135

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Los Angeles 135

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). I'm a bit of an anti-VC, as you know. I love entrepreneurs. What's the theme of your investments?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Mark Suster of GRP Partners has ranked number two on a list of "Most Respected Venture Capitalists". The rankings came out Thursday from Seeking Omega, which said it used technology from Lithium, review of entrepreneurs on TheFunded, and individual surveys to rank the VCs. READ MORE>>.

Venture Capital 145

Venture Capital GRP Partners Southern California Technical Review 145

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. If you want to understand how the VC industry is changing there is a great primer in the link.

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Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Patents Ideas Sample 101

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. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 103

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. It in not uncommon to see a VC talk about “total assets under management&# as in “We have $1.5

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Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

She worked for 5 years as a VC at Battery Ventures and co-headed M&A at IAC working with Barry Diller. Venture capital is about backing the leaders of tomorrow who imagine the world as it should be and aren’t constrained by what it is today. I promise you, he really said this out loud.) And all the platform stuff.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

And there’s none that makes me happier than to announce that Jordan Hudson has been promoted to a Principal at Upfront Ventures. What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures? ” Associates have different functions at different VCs. Industry reviews. VC firm admin.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

InfoChachkie

MAY 6, 2013

Jim Andelman, my Partner at Rincon Venture Partners , aptly describes the genesis of the Series A crunch, stating that: "Over the next 12-to-18 months, a lot of good companies that have been Seed financed are going to have a tough time raising a Series . There is a similar Darwinian aspect to venture capital investing.

Entrepreneur 246

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Capital 246

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2021

Most entrepreneurs I meet are reluctant to disclose anything about their idea to investors before getting a signed confidential disclosure agreement (CDA). Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away.

Ideas 159

Ideas Tips Technical Review Patents 159

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

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. Today, we share the thoughts of Kelly Perdew , the founder and Managing Director of Moonshots Capital (www.moonshotscapital.com).

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

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. Reverse due diligence on the investor is a comparable process whereby the entrepreneur seeks to validate the track record, operating style, and motivation of every potential partner.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

VC's love to talk about their successes. Yet most VC's bury their failures under six feet of denial. In the startup world, the former happens when a VC makes a bad investment, and the latter occurs when they miss a great opportunity. Tech Diligence - Consider The Source. What’s The Worst Mistake?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

Want to be an entrepreneur? According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 3, 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 -- Shaking the MoneyTree 2009 Q4 Review. Please join LAVA, PricewaterhouseCoopers and a distinguished panel of industry experts and local VCs for their insights on the results of the Q4 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Report based on data from Thomson Reuters.

LAVA 100

LAVA Study Venture Capital Press 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

I thought I’d try to look at it from a different lens, that of the entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you should assume that. But the majority of VCs & Angels all speak. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. At what valuation?

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Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Fortunately, for those headed to SXSW, Startup Night SXSW 2018 , presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo, will be filled with investors from a multitude of industries who are looking to discover and fund startups building the latest solutions and tech innovations. Blackwell, iTech Program Executive & OCT Innovation Liaison, NASA.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2017

Next week is the Montgomery Summit (www.montgomerysummit.com), one of the longest running technology conferences held in Los Angeles. The conference is run by Jamie Montgomery , one of the local industry's pioneers in venture capital and investment. What most excites you about the technology industry here today?

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Conference Silver Lake Cornerstone OnDemand 100

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. raise money now to weather any storms).

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

(In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Entrepreneurs make fast decisions and move forward knowing that at best 70% of their decisions are going to be right. This paralyzes most people.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” My favorite new VC blogger, Hunter Walk, weighed in with some thoughtful comments about how Syndicates might actually pit, “ angel vs. angel.” Bowery Capital).

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. It was actually a really good year last year.

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Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Earlier this week, the Tech Coast Angels , the largest and most active organized angel group in Southern California, announced a new effort to create an angel group network, which will share and syndicate deals between groups--current the TCA, Golden Seeds, and Band of Angels. Why band together for an angel network?

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Networking Angel Tech Coast Angels 145

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 15, 2009

This is a story of one of the risks of venture capital. But some companies have entrepreneurs that seem talented on paper, are in a space that seems interesting to investors and are able to raise venture capital early in the company’s existence. 2 weeks later and we may never have raised any more VC.

Startup 299

Startup Venture Capital Technical Review Training 299

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry. I would argue that the shut-down of September 2009 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. Short answer – yes.

Venture Capital 263

Venture Capital Startup Invest Funding 263

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 18, 2010

Applications are due April 6th, 2010, the form is on the website and the Twitter address is @launchpadlad. When I kicked off Launchpad LA a year ago I had a few objectives: Create an ecosystem where all Southern California VC’s had the chance to work together more actively outside of the boards on which we mutually sit.

Technical Review 259

Technical Review Venture Capital Southern California Tech Coast Angels 259

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

This sometimes frustrates entrepreneurs who just want to “get back to running the business.&# But if you understand it you’ll see that it is perfectly rational and it should also influence how you form relationships with investors. For this reason I tell entrepreneurs the following: Meet your potential investors early.

Invest 411

Invest Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 411

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

As I thought about the characteristics that comprise a great program, I identified five criteria that a prospective entrepreneurial student can use to evaluate the efficacy of a collegiate entrepreneur curriculum. Ask: What percentage of the startup-oriented classes are taught by accomplished entrepreneurs?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Class Patents 100

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. Examples include charitable organizations, trade unions, and public arts organizations.

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Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

I spent my days meeting companies, figuring out what areas of the market interested me and trying to get a sense for how VCs thought about fair valuations. I thought about things I never had to as an entrepreneur: check size, ownership percentage, deal stage, portfolio construction and risk. VCs were very active in this period.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. He and I once took different sides of an debate about whether “VC signaling&# in early-stage deals is a serious problem or not.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. ” Climate resiliency . Fables of the reconstruction.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 13, 2013

Once you have a VC on the hook, you’ll want to negotiate the best deal in terms of valuation and deal terms (for more details about negotiating the best terms, check out my previous post: 9 Ways to Negotiate Your Best VC Terms ). Make clear what milestones you are shooting for with this funding round and get VC buy-in.

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Venture Capital Funding Invest Capital 84