socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

In your opinion, are your angels more or less active this year? And, the equity markets are certainly a more challenging environment. Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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.

Angel 52

Angel Funding Equity Technical Review 52

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 7, 2017

One great source for coaches is among fellow members of a CEO roundtable organization, Young Presidents Organization or similar association where you are comfortable with the coach candidate and know something about his or her style. Another is through industry associations or civic groups such as Rotary or Lions Club.

Coach 243

Coach Organization Resource IBM 243

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 13, 2013

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. A non-profit organization is generally defined as an organization that does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals. There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment.

Equity 83

Equity Technical Review Organization Startup 83

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Every startup needs to start their funding search looking for grants, with no equity dilution, as well as contests and foundations. These often lead to angel investors and venture capital investments later, or connections to local company venture funds for selected focus and technology areas.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

How our VC Firms Like Ours Organizing to Meet the Challenges? At Upfront we have always done 40% of our investing in Greater Los Angeles and it’s precisely for this reason. If we wanted to we could have sold > 2x the fund easily in the secondary markets with significant upside remaining. That never would have happened 10 years ago.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. You don’t want to take money from friends and family, but it’s too early for angel investors and VCs. The right investors and right time dilemma.

Startup 130

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors. That’s about the same ratio that angel investors claim.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. A non-profit organization is generally defined as an organization that does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals. There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment.

Angel 57

Angel Technical Review Startup Organization 57

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2015

Image via Pixabay.com Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came quickly. Fresh customer base.

Organization 100

Organization Startup Competition IBM 100

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Whether the partner is a supplier looking to gain a lock on your business as it grows or a customer looking to create a competitive barrier through use of your product, such an investment typically carries fewer restrictions than from a professional investor and less oversight. Professional angels: This is the arena where I work and play.

Venture Capital 266

Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 29, 2020

organized by the Los Angeles-based venture firm Upfront Ventures as a showcase for technology and investment talent in Southern California, venture investor Josh Kopelman spoke to the heightened pace of dealmaking at his own firm. . Companies are raising some angel money or Y Combinator money.”

IBM 164

IBM IBM Venture Capital Invest 164

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Every startup needs to start their funding search looking for grants, with no equity dilution, as well as contests and foundations. These often lead to angel investors and venture capital investments later, or connections to local company venture funds for selected focus and technology areas.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

That might start with the CEO giving the investor pitch to the whole organization, and distributing the current business plan document to everyone. A smart investor will take an independent final reading in the market on barriers to entry, active competition, demographics, and price sensitivity. Traction in the marketplace.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2012

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft.

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Organization Startup Competition 99

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft.

Startup 93

Startup Organization Competition IBM 93

Tech.Co

JULY 19, 2017

Independent media network WelkerMedia is launching the world’s first no-equity and not-for-profit acceleration program with a focus on digital activism, social impact and creative projects. arm is based out of Los Angeles, they also have locations in Hong Kong and Moscow, Russia. How It Works. While WelkerMedia’s U.S.

Mentor 71

Mentor Media Activity Competition 71

Berkonomics

JULY 3, 2010

One great source for coaches is among fellow members of a CEO roundtable organization, Young Presidents Organization or similar association where you are comfortable with the coach candidate and know something about his or her style. Another is through industry associations or civic groups such as Rotary or Lions Club.

Coach 179

Coach Organization Resource Equity 179

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2011

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. A non-profit organization is generally defined as an organization that does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals. There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment.

Funding 95

Funding Technical Review Organization Equity 95

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. A non-profit organization is generally defined as an organization that does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals. There is no discussion of equity, or return on investment.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Organization Equity Startup 87

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2019

Ian Chen: In my previous life, I was working in private equity in LA. We did another round with angels and early customers of Discotech. We started to get a little bit of traction, but we weren't getting the organic, hockey stick growth we needed to grow the business. How are you funded? So, we had to pivot a little bit.

Startup 113

Startup Equity Customer Custom 113

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. You don’t want to take money from friends and family, but it’s too early for angel investors and VCs. The right investors and right time dilemma.

Startup 97

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 97

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2010

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft.

Acquisition 85

Acquisition Startup Organization Competition 85

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors. That’s about the same ratio that angel investors claim.

Incubator 87

Incubator Startup Resource Seed Funding 87

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

My favorite new VC blogger, Hunter Walk, weighed in with some thoughtful comments about how Syndicates might actually pit, “ angel vs. angel.” AngelList 101 : As you know, AngelList is a platform where angels can invest in semi-screened tech deals. In virtually every deal I do I leave space for angels.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based web hosting and cloud computing provider DreamHost (www.dreamhost.com) raised a big, $30M funding round for the company--the first in the company''s long history. Every single person in the company has equity, and a lot of them see it as their long term retirement or long term financial security.

Software Review 238

Software Review Cloud Computing Technical Review Platform 238

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2014

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions.

Equity 99

Equity Venture Capital Invest Pricing 99

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2016

One of the reasons that now is the time to be an entrepreneur is the explosion of startup assistance organizations, usually called incubators or accelerators. I believe their competitive advantage is their top on-site leadership, exclusivity, and connections to investors. That’s about the same ratio that Angel investors claim.

Incubator 106

Incubator Startup Help Resource 106

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Capitalism is fundamentally about timing, since market competition is about finding opportunities before others. The whole point of delegating investment decisions to a GP is to empower them to organize their firm to win deals and get stuff done. When should you start a company? What company should you start? When should a VC invest?

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 28, 2013

Projecting the financials should be the last step of your business plan preparation, since it assumes you already know the opportunity size, customer buying habits, pricing, costs, and competition. Here are some basic “rules of thumb” that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions.

Startup 97

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Venture Capital 97

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. You don’t want to take money from friends and family, but it’s too early for Angel investors and VCs. The right investors and right time dilemma.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Statistics Equity Satisfaction 107

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

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. Of course you need to discount any investor competitive positioning, but local investment group leaders will quickly tell you the strengths and terms of active investors in your area.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Every startup needs to start their funding search looking for grants, with no equity dilution, as well as contests and foundations. These often lead to angel investors and venture capital investments later, or connections to local company venture funds for selected focus and technology areas.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Capital Class Startup 55

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. You don’t want to take money from friends and family, but it’s too early for angel investors and VCs. The right investors and right time dilemma.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur USC Statistics Equity 57

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

You have very little money, and you don’t want to give away your equity. Giving equity is realistic, but base it on contribution and role, with vesting after time and milestones. You don’t want to take money from friends and family, but it’s too early for Angel investors and VCs. The right investors and right time dilemma.

Startup 98

Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Equity 98

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

He has grown our US operations from 1 employee (him) to a global organization of 75 employees that will finish the year with 8-digit revenues (90+% recurring) and more than 350% year-over-year growth. In addition to helping manage the board Chris also helps represent the interests of the angel investors / common stock holders.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2010

Whether the partner is a supplier looking to gain a lock on your business as it grows or a customer looking to create a competitive barrier through use of your product, such an investment typically carries fewer restrictions than from a professional investor and less oversight.

Venture Capital 174

Venture Capital Invest Class Entrepreneur 174