Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

With the enormous changes to our economies and financial markets?—?how how on Earth could the venture capital market stand still? One of the most common questions I’m asked by people intrigued by but also scared by venture capital and technology markets is some variant of, “Aren’t technology markets way overvalued?

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 14, 2014

This raises a big red flag with potential investors, who conclude that no competitors means no market, or you haven’t looked, and the new startup is likely not investable. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury.

Competition 93

Competition Startup Patents Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

This raises a big red flag with potential investors, who conclude that no competitors means no market, or you haven’t looked, and the new startup is likely not investable. First to market, for example, is not normally a sustainable advantage for startups. All of these are competitors in terms of speed, price, or luxury.

Competition 166

Competition Funding Startup Patents 166

SoCal CTO

MAY 19, 2010

I’m planning on going to a Tech Coast Angels mixer tomorrow and the topic for me is whether there is angel funding out there for startups that don’t meet classic VC models. By way of background for the question, there’s a great post by Bob Aholt, a Pasadena Angel: An Angel Investor’s Thoughts on Valuation. So get real.

Invest 205

Invest Angel Tech Coast Angels Pasadena Angels 205

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2023

Projecting financials is a natural extension of the homework every entrepreneur needs to do on customer opportunity size, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value. Project based on your market size how many widgets you will sell in every channel. This allows a quick analysis of price change and revenue impacts.

Startup 116

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 116

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

Before the health crisis shutdown most of Italy, Energica had already seen larger demand for its high-performance e-motos, with a price range of $17,000 to $23,000. The venture is also one of the few e-motorcycle companies drawing engineering tips from competition. Track competition is a secondary arena for Energica.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 10, 2021

Overall, Klarna is live in 20 markets, has more than 90 million global active users and more than 2 million transactions a day conducted on its platform. Klarna has entered six new markets this year alone, including France and New Zealand, where it just launched this week. in markets such as New York and Los Angeles.

Los Angeles 266

Los Angeles Funding CIO Marketing 266

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

Most of the venture capital firms covered in TechCrunch and other tech publications compete for a spot on the cap table of the hottest Bay Area, New York or Los Angeles companies of the moment. Since Revolution launched in 2005, venture capital activity in underrepresented markets has grown significantly.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Funding Seed Funding Activity 211

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2 preamble issues having read the comments on TC today: 1: I know that the prices of startup companies is much great in Silicon Valley than in smaller towns / less tech focused areas in the US and the US prices higher than many foreign markets. You can be pissed off, but I don’t set prices. That’s stupid.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

He did note that in the four markets where the company has gone live since launching its business in January 2019 — San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire , and Sacramento — has yielded an annualized revenue run rate of over $400 million in gross merchandise value (the total value of home sales transacted on its platform).

Sales 282

Sales Demand San Diego Funding 282

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Size of the market. One of the criteria for a good investment is a large and fast growing “potential market.” Sales and marketing strategy.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

If you don’t have a destination, don’t waste your money trying to get there, and don’t expect anyone to support you along the way Projecting financials is a natural extension of the homework every entrepreneur needs to do on customer opportunity size, product costs, pricing, competition and customer value. Quantify overhead costs.

Startup 147

Startup Pricing Sales Statistics 147

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

I have to say that I didn’t take the question to mean that convertible debt had won for the entire market, but either way it’s clear that convertible debt has become an increasing trend. a priced/valued preferred stock financing)? Why many early-stage investors DO price rounds (e.g.

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

Startup 124

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 124

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 26, 2010

Competition. So if you’re raising money – from angels or VCs – you’re going to have to address the question of whom you’re competing against. And the reality is that if you have no competition it will likely be perceived as a negative, not positive. Harvey Balls.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Slides Competition Education 313

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

What sized team can I afford in order to sell, market & provide service to these customers? In the case of MakeSpace we had huge initial successes in New York City as Rahul led the scaling of our drivers, our trucks and our warehouses and we figured out the right price points to beat the local competition.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Custom Customer 286

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

The best are ones quickest and most willing to do the realignment on a continuous basis these days, as the market changes, customer interests change, and you learn from experience. Make sure the inspiration that launched your vision isn’t lost in the course of a pivot or market change. Revisit your startup vision and values.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 17, 2020

These things outside your control do happen, but based on my years of experience as a startup advisor and angel investor, I still see too many strategies leading to failure that are inside the entrepreneur decision realm. Viral marketing costs real money, and your support staff and hosting systems cost even more.

Startup 174

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Ideas 174

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. They are also seeking to find out how you handle one of the many tough questions that a new founder will get in today’s market.

Startup 118

Startup Competition Patents Resource 118

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 12, 2018

But why did Ring succeed when the entire market kept saying that Nest was going to be the winner? Why did Ring become an enormous success when it produced a hardware product and the market keeps saying, “hardware is too difficult to scale?” We had this discussion many times and with Jamie it wasn’t a marketing slogan?—?it

Startup 247

Startup Pricing Product Marketing 247

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

There is much discussion online and also in small, private groups, about why the price of technology companies – public and private – are falling. Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Prorata rights are one of the most important rights of a private market technology investors and yet are seldom fully understood. These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. Why prorata rights used to be less of a big deal to angels.

Guide 336

Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

A smart investor will take an independent final reading in the market on barriers to entry, active competition, demographics, and price sensitivity. During that period, it is very difficult for either party to get out of the deal, since there is no public market for the stock, and business divorces normally mean bankruptcy.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2011

Los Angeles-based SaveFans (www.savefans.com) recently raised some funding for its take on secondary ticketing, so we thought we'd speak with founder Wes Brodsky about the company and where it's going. We are an offer-based platform that allows users to negotiate the price they buy and sell tickets for, on the secondary market.

Ticketmaster 253

Ticketmaster Pricing Sales Activity 253

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. They are also seeking to find out how you handle one of the many tough questions that a new founder will get in today’s market.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

The reasons are a lot more complex than the meltdown of key investment banks in the US a few years ago, so don’t expect any real change in the numbers soon, especially with recent stock market downturns. Violent market swings usually hit public companies first. The M&A alternative looks simple by comparison.

Startup 98

Startup Report IBM IBM 98

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

The startup is backed by the Tech Coast Angels and Dolby Ventures. We've created an alternative, a hybrid microscope for the price of one. I saw the market opportunity, and after being in the industry for fourteen years, thought: what can we do next? How did you start the company? Talk about how the company is backed?

Tech Coast Angels 124

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 124

socalTECH

AUGUST 7, 2014

Some recent jobs: VP of Business Development, RampRate - Los Angeles. THIS ROLE REQUIRES DEEP EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND RELATIONSHIPS IN THE IT SERVICES, TELECOM, CLOUD AND HOSTING MARKET. Business Development Director, Colony Logic - Los Angeles. Check out our online Job Board for something new and exciting!

SoCalTech 124

SoCalTech SaaS Los Angeles Platform 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product. Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology."

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

When they look at buying your company they often think in terms of “how long will it take until I earn back the profits to pay for my acquisition price?” As I like to say, “If you’re really on to an enormous idea then other people in the market are going to spot that and want to compete with you.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

But VC is an “illiquid asset&# so funds didn’t disappear quickly - In 2000/01 the stock market quickly adjusted punishing investors in the NASDAQ and in individual public technology stocks. What accelerated this was the collapse of the public stock markets. That’s OK. This smells like classic froth to me.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Lately I’ve been having to say things I thought I’d never have to remind people, like, “getting to positive gross margin in several territories is a very low bar to claim success” or “profitable excluding marketing costs” is not actually a real thing. Market Size. MakeSpace provides physical storage.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2011

The result was a massive increase in startups & a whole group of new funding sources: both angels & “micro VCs&#. With more competition in early-stage many VCs are investing smaller amounts at earlier stages. Brick wall = lost money for early-stage capital primarily concentrated on angels. The Coming Brick Wall.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Capital Cloud Computing Marketing 289

Berkonomics

MARCH 25, 2012

There are many ways to project the value of a company for purposes of pricing an investment, but all rely upon the revenue and profit projections of the entrepreneur as a starting point. Strategic relationships (reducing market risk and competitive risk) $1/2 million. Email readers, continue here.]

Invest 321

Invest Startup Email Competition 321

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

We talked with Noah about how the company grew out of a business plan competition at the University of Southern California, his recent funding from the Maverick Angels, as well as how the firm hopes to stand out among a crowded list of comparison shopping sites. Noah, thanks for the interview. Noah, thanks for the interview.

USC 207

USC CPC Sites Startup 207

socalTECH

JANUARY 2, 2014

To shortcut what has been an antiquated way of connecting consumers with attorneys, Los Angeles startup LawKick (www.lawkick.com) has created an online, easy way to match up clients with lawyers, through a set of simple questions and answers about different kinds of legal problems. That happens in just a five minute process.

Help 240

Help Startup CTO Hire Pricing 240

socalTECH

MAY 8, 2015

In a world awash with on-demand startups, Los Angeles-based Serviz (www.serviz.com) stands out--not because of the market segment it is tackling, but because it was founded by two, very experienced serial entrepreneurs-- Zorik Gordon and Michael Kline. A little less than a year ago, we relaunched it live in Los Angeles as Serviz.

Services 100

Services ReachLocal Demand Startup 100