Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 30, 2023

Your time is precious, so don’t waste a minute of it on useless activities or dreaming. In my own experience with technical startup founders, I still find it hard to name one who was also good, or even interested in financials or business operations. Then pursue the people and education you need to build a winning business.

Technical Review 149

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Software Review 149

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

In your opinion, are your angels more or less active this year? The venture capitalists we look at to fund our deals are certainly tightening down, there's no question about that. What is not happening, is those marginal deals that would have gotten funded a number of years ago, when things were better, are not making it.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

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?

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2010

Anyone looking for signs that the economy is turning around, might want to look at what appears to be happening in Southern California's technology jobs market. Tags: angeles employment jobs technology california southern. We're getting more aggressive in recruitment," explains says Kirsten Mangers , CEO of Irvine-based Webvisible.

Southern California 246

Southern California Technical Review Playa Del Rey Technology 246

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

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. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 103

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review ! This writeup from industry analyst Karl Guttag showcases how Magic Leap has turned away from several of the key technologies it raised billions of dollars to develop with its latest hardware which he nevertheless believes will “blow away” the HoloLens 2 in image quality.

Marketing 246

Marketing Newsletter Technical Review News 246

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

If you’ve read any of my ongoing series on fund raising from venture capitalist (episode 1?— ?controlling Which partners are active and which are less active? Building models to evaluate the deal and/or reviewing customer files, company financials, business plans, etc. What do you want to know?

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

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”). Here again, the entrepreneur will be the one hurt most, by having fewer funding sources to access.

Funding 144

Funding Startup .Net Invest 144

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

Of course, the response depends upon lots of variables, including whether the company is in a fund-raising mode (in which case the CEO may be spending up to 80% of their time on this alone). How much time do you devote to each type of activity?

Class 194

Class Organization Technical Review Activity 194

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. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Tech.Co

JULY 13, 2023

Initially pinned as a generative AI startup for Twitter when it first hit the headlines back in April, the xAI website seems to suggest that the new startup will remain separate from the social media platform, as well as Musk's collection of other technology companies.

Artificial Inteligence 117

Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT Generative AI Technical Review 117

socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2020

We caught up with Krisztina, who has been active in Southern California's startup community for a number of years, to learn more about the firm and its investment style. What kinds of areas does the fund make investments in? It looks like there's some link to MIT with the fund? We do pre-Seed to Series A deals.

Southern California 124

Southern California Capital Technical Review Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

Even if your business is purely local, growth must always be a priority, and you need to utilize all these digital channels available to you today, as well as traditional media channels and industry forums: Maintain an active current presence on the Internet. Acknowledge every customer feedback and review.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

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. We also had our first exit for Moonshots Capital Fund 1 --Threatcare. What are you most looking forward to in the technology/startup world in 2020?

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). Nearly 50% say they will increase their activity levels in 2010 (hallelujah!)

Venture Capital 241

Venture Capital Technical Review Southern California Company 241

socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2012

in funding in Q3, up in terms of dollars from Q3 of last year, when $670.9M invested in that sector; Industrial/Energy firms, which includes a significant number of clean technology companies, had a total of $137.4M Finally, the third biggest area for funding was Retailing/Distribution, which had a total of $105.7M was raised.

Southern California 210

Southern California GRP Partners Funding Orange County 210

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. Lisha Bell, Deal Flow Lead for Pipeline Angels.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

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. I think that's a good sign for startups.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2007

My role is to work as part of the team to (1) understand related technologies and technical opportunities, (2) understand and help drive alignment around a vision of where the business should go, and (3) mesh those together to help make disciplined, proactive technical decisions. Then, we come to an agreement on terms.

Startup 231

Startup CTO Hire Technical Advisors Technical Review 231

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. Fables of the reconstruction.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2012

in funding in Q3, up in terms of dollars from Q3 of last year, when $670.9M invested in that sector; Industrial/Energy firms, which includes a significant number of clean technology companies, had a total of $137.4M Finally, the third biggest area for funding was Retailing/Distribution, which had a total of $105.7M was raised.

Southern California 180

Southern California GRP Partners Funding Orange County 180

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 12, 2013

It’s called the KOR Nava, actually it’s pretty cool – they funded their project with a Kickstarter campaign, and they use an activated carbon filter made from coconuts instead of coal; they’re claiming to change the way we drink water with a filter subscription program.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Design Product Patents 92

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

I’ve become fond of saying “if I had a dollar for every person who told me just how much they loooooved Kara Nortman, I’d have a 10x fund.” Our industry needs more female leaders and they shouldn’t have to all quit their respective firms and raise their own funds to get a shot at running things. Does This Mean You’re Retiring?

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

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. Richard Sudek: It could happen a number of different ways.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Networking Angel Tech Coast Angels 145

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 18, 2022

Elder told TechCrunch that the company raised $7 million in a seed round, touting it as “one of the highest seed-stage valuations in its category” — he declined to divulge the number — to give the company nearly $10 million in total funding to date. This includes a $2 million pre-seed round from 2021.

Software Review 187

Software Review Metrics Startup Technical Review 187

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Many of the entrepreneurs I advise or invest with spend considerable time on the Internet, keeping up with technology, customers, and competitors, but very few feel the need for an early personal presence. Consistently review and respond to relevant online feedback. A positive personal brand will give your product instant credibility.

Product 127

Product Entrepreneur Technical Advisors Technical Review 127

socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2013

in a new funding, part of an ongoing $30M funding for the company, according to a regulatory filing by the firm. The funding--which included at least two prior investors, including Oak Investment Partners--is still in progress. Idealab-based solar energy startup eSolar has just raised $12.8M

Burbank 178

Burbank Idealab Technical Review Competition 178

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

Every tech or major news journal in the country is preparing to write their Snap, Inc (creators of Snapchat, Spectacles, etc) stories and many of them seem to want a “How does it feel to have missed this investment story.” Another firm funded them. Of course that was a wrong narrative for both companies.

Snapchat 214

Snapchat Invest Technical Review Dollar Shave Club 214

socalTECH

AUGUST 23, 2017

LA's technology startup industry has saw a surge in new companies and efforts from its serial entrepreneurs in the last few months. Serial Entrepreneur: Jon Kraft, co-founder of Pandora (Interim CEO), Jean-Marc Touch, co-founder Funding status: Angel backed, raising funding via crowdsourcing site StartEngine. AppOnboard.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Company Companies Technical Review 113

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

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. Want to be an entrepreneur? Techpreneurs.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Berkonomics

JUNE 26, 2014

Angel investors, particularly those in organized angel groups, are typically former entrepreneurs who have had successful liquidity events in their pasts, or executives of companies who’ve retired with the funds from their stock options. The result of these surveys over time is universally the same. a 33% discount. www.berkus.com.

Angel 191

Angel Technical Review Coach Entrepreneur 191

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

As a potential investor, I always think of the high rate of failure of disruptive technologies, due to the longer learning curve of customers, infrastructure change consistently required, and higher marketing costs. Technology is great, but high-tech major-step-forward solutions are not the answer to all our change challenges.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Metrics Resource Software Review 101

socalTECH

DECEMBER 22, 2020

Every year, we feature the year end reflections of founders, CEOs, investors, and others in Southern California's high tech community. This year ushered in the successful launch our second fund at Moonshots Capital, further validating our thesis that investing in extraordinary leadership produces exceptional companies.

Capital 124

Capital Technical Review Truecar Southern California 124

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

Q3 has traditionally been a slower, venture funding quarter in Southern California, due to summer vacations and a slower work schedule for both high tech companies and venture firms during the summer months. The largest deal in the quarter was for Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.

Southern California 196

Southern California Invest Westlake Village SoCal 196

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2012

For the last week of the year, we're featuring the thoughts and reflections of some of the movers and shakers of Southern California's high tech community. We asked the same four questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next week.

Southern California 215

Southern California Technical Review High Tech Venice 215