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. Individual angel investors and crowdfunding have been adding to the momentum, some say exceeding VCs in total amount invested.

Guide 136

Guide Venture Capital Funding Class 136

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.

Funding 130

Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t make equity investments in non-profits. 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.

Startup 100

Startup Angel Equity Technical Review 100

Tech.Co

JULY 18, 2016

It’s no secret that Los Angeles is home to a bevy of celebrities. startups wanting to get recognized, Tech.Co’s Startup Showcase in Los Angeles on July 26th is the perfect opportunity. startups wanting to get recognized, Tech.Co’s Startup Showcase in Los Angeles on July 26th is the perfect opportunity.

Los Angeles 70

Los Angeles Angel Startup Newsletter 70

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

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 60 times as many companies, according the Center for Venture Research. Individual angel investors have been filling the gap, and now match VCs in total amount invested.

Angel 104

Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

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

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. Those are fundamentals that don't change.

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Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

Angel investors are still the lifeblood of early-stage startups, despite the surge of activity in crowdfunding and an increasing early interest from venture capitalists. According to the Angel Capital Association , at least 300,000 people have made angel investments in the last two years, totaling $24 billion in the U.S.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

These often lead to angel investors and venture capital investments later, or connections to local company venture funds for selected focus and technology areas. These also get used for guest lectures in business classes, judges for business plan competition, and introductions to accredited investors.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2020

As an angel investor, I see plenty of startups focusing on building an innovative product, but I’m looking for the few who are also leading with an exponential growth strategy, to put them in the category of the next Amazon or Google. Sponsor some friendly competitive events with prizes.

Marketing 170

Marketing Startup Examples Customer 170

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

. “If big companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon are prevented from acquiring startups, that actually reduces competition,” Sirinivasan writes. If big companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are prevented from acquiring startups, that actually reduces competition. — Balaji S.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

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.

Funding 125

Funding Venture Capital Startup Class 125

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2018

As a startup advisor and angel investor, I tend to focus on the much longer list of ways your startup can fail, based on my own experience and inside knowledge from peers who you will never see highlighted on the Internet. If there is no competition, there is likely not a market.

Startup 99

Startup Competition Examples Ideas 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 6, 2010

Angel investors and venture capitalists don’t invest in non-profits. Examples include charitable organizations, trade unions, and public arts organizations. An example would be getting free office space by agreeing to be the property manager for the owner. Tags: entrepreneur startup angel investors business.

Angel 57

Angel Technical Review Startup Organization 57

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 2, 2015

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2021

Based on my own years of experience in startups and big business, and more recently as an angel investor, I often cringe when I see one of you entrepreneurs missing a cue that I have seen work for many before you. For example, if you have ever watched the Shark Tank show on TV, they always ask about the cost of customer acquisition.

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Entrepreneur Social Media Examples Metrics 162

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2022

Current examples include Conscious Capitalism® , popularized by John Mackey, The B Team , founded by Sir Richard Branson, the 1% for the Planet organization, and the Benefit Corporation (B Corp) now available in 35 States. Conscious Capitalism companies, for example, historically have outperformed the S&P 500 index by a factor of ten.

Startup 110

Startup Entrepreneur Capital Examples 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2022

The result is that ideas are no longer in short supply, and no longer a differentiator in competition. Elon Musk, for example, likely receives thousands of ideas from friends, but he has been able to focus a few of these into initiatives that demonstrate real innovation. Visionary execution, on the other hand, is not so common.

Ideas 149

Ideas Startup Entrepreneur Resource 149

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2022

Can be a competitive advantage. Competition over salary, promotions, and position. This can cause feelings of unfairness, and initiate emotionally competitive efforts. As an example, I find that most Angel investors still decline to fund startup founders that are romantically involved, citing the high risk of breakup.

Startup 119

Startup Course Competition Social Media 119

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

For the average angel or VC investor, who has heard about hundreds of disruptive technologies, many new ways to reduce costs and improve usability, the impact of your personal realization will stand out, and might even have an equal impact on them. Marty Zwilling First published on Inc.com on 08/20/2020.

Startup 145

Startup Competition Customer Custom 145

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 9, 2019

With the advent and popularity of crowdfunding platforms, including Kickstarter and IndieGoGo , as a winning alternative for funding your new venture, I find that many aspiring entrepreneurs are confused about the need to ever seek a professional angel investor. In the real world, most angels are regular business people like you and me.

Funding 119

Funding Startup Platform Examples 119

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2018

Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) recently announced the California Climate Cup ([link] a new startup competition tied into the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco in September. How did the competition come about? Bird is just one recent example.

Competition 100

Competition Incubator Startup Ideas 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

These often lead to angel investors and venture capital investments later, or connections to local company venture funds for selected focus and technology areas. These also get used for guest lectures in business classes, judges for business plan competition, and introductions to accredited investors.

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Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 2, 2022

As an active angel investor, I still hear entrepreneurs asserting large opportunities with minimal risk and no competition. Examples are the risks from employees’ unauthorized, illegal, unethical, or inappropriate actions and the risks from breakdowns in routine processes. Operational.

Entrepreneur 153

Entrepreneur Marketing Customer Custom 153

Berkonomics

APRIL 4, 2019

When a company accepts an investment from professional or organized investment groups – such as angel groups, venture capitalists or corporations, there is usually a document signed entitled “investors rights agreement” that calls for additional financial and narrative reporting requirements due to that class of shareholder.

Class 120

Class Course Report Competition 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

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.

Equity 94

Equity Startup Technical Review Organization 94

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

High-profile entrepreneurs and investors, Peter Thiel, for example , have left. Of Benchmark’s 10 most recent investments, for example, eight were based in SF, according to Crunchbase. It may be because of heightened competition abroad. .’ The author outlined reasons why the Valley has “peaked.”

Venture Capital 279

Venture Capital Startup Capital Entrepreneur 279

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

Don’t bash the competition. Every investor knows how vulnerable a new startup is to competitors, so investors always ask about your sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace. That says you are competitive today, have a real barrier to entry, and the potential to remain ahead of the competition for a long time.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

Unfortunately, in my experience as an angel investor, about ninety percent of new business efforts fall short , leading me to believe that many of you may be better off staying where you are. Also, initiating a startup is quite different from taking over a thriving business, where the focus is on repeatable processes and quarterly profits.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

billion company in the brutally competitive beauty industry, especially one with such broad appeal. Green has spent her career bankrolling the companies that define what’s cool, including Glossier, Outdoor Voices and Away, whose founders are often cited as the archetypal examples of “girlbosses.”. “I

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

But there are notable examples of for-profit incubators that are thriving, including YCombinator , led by Paul Graham in Silicon Valley, and TechStars , led by David Cohen and located in several key cities around the country, that have an excellent reputation and track record. That’s about the same ratio that angel investors claim.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

socalTECH

JUNE 2, 2014

Last month, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti created a new program, aimed at growing, assisting and sustaining entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. Krisztina "Z" Holly: The reason I picked that, is because there is a huge opportunity here in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is poised to play a huge role in that area. Also, the U.S.

Los Angeles 216

Los Angeles Startup USC Angel 216

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2022

As a long-time business advisor and angel investor, I’m a believer that “two heads are better than one” in building a new business. A good overall example is the synergy between Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, as well as long-time Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. Feels a real passion and love for their role.

Software Review 154

Software Review CTO Hire Outsource Development Startup 154

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Competitive (Athlete: skier & rowed at Princeton, hates losing at everything she does). She has been in operations in Seattle and Los Angeles. But Kara is the perfect example of somebody who built the skills early, hopped out to get operating experience for years before returning back to the Dark Side.

Venture Capital 408

Venture Capital Startup Outsource Development CitySearch 408

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

For example, is the person who starts a new trend likely to be the one who controls it through the growth phase? You don’t want to take money from friends and family, but it’s too early for angel investors and VCs. Bootstrap if you can, otherwise climb the pyramid of family, friends, angels, and VCs. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 130

Startup USC Entrepreneur Statistics 130

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

See the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos for an example of product snags leading to a disaster. The solution here is to never stop the fundraising cycle, moving quickly from friends and family, to angels, to venture capitalists. Your customers and competition make unexpected moves. The world today never stands still.

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Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2015

An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft. Some people feel that organic growth is “better” because it requires real innovation and sustained effort to create long-term competitive advantage through differentiation and efficiency. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came quickly.

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Organization Startup Competition IBM 100