Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards.

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Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

For today's interview, we spoke to Dave Eastman, the Director of the Viterbi Startup Garage, a startup incubator that is run by the University of Southern California, out of its location in Marina Del Rey. What is Viterbi Startup Garage? The Startup Garage is located physically in Marina Del Rey, in the twin tower on Admiralty.

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Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. The average amount per startup has been $23,000, usually in the form of a convertible loan, rather than an equity investment.

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Startup Funding Equity Invest 109

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2020

Some entrepreneurs start polling venture capitalists for that multi-million dollar investment before they even have a business plan. It’s helpful to think of startups as proceeding through several stages, which I have defined a long time ago from a funding perspective. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

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Resource Startup Organization Incubator 171

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

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Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2015

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”). Rose, according to his recent book, “ Angel Investing.” Neither does David S.

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Startup Angel Entrepreneur .Net 106

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

In the comments section a clever question popped up about whether I would have invested in myself before I became an investor. My first response mentally was, “Of course!” In fact, my salary never caught up with my pre startup salary across 2 companies and 8 years. I had invested in myself for years.

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2023

But the most important ones for any size business, including start-ups, is: Do you believe it should be the quality of your management team, or the plan you execute so brilliantly toward your success? Here’s a test: Several weeks ago, we published statistics of start-up and company failures.

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Statistics Startup Ideas Entrepreneur 156

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 16, 2017

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”). Rose, according to his latest book, “ Angel Investing.” Neither does David S.

Startup 76

Startup Angel Funding .Net 76

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2015

Lee Schneider is the author of a new book, Chronicle of a Startup Town: Los Angeles , which delves into the people and reasons on why Los Angeles has become one of the epicenters of the startup and technology industry. We caught up with Lee to hear more about the book and what he learned.

Los Angeles 100

Los Angeles Startup Angel Writing 100

Tech Coast Venture Network

APRIL 22, 2010

Virgina Lorimor There are several options for financing a start-up business that tend to follow a natural course in a business’ development: Personal Investment. This is where all entrepreneurs have to start. Angel Investors & Venture Capital. Tags: Funding General financing funding startup.

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Startup Tech Coast Angels TCVN Incubator 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2022

Yet as I mentor entrepreneurs around the country, crowdfunding still seems to be one of the least understood approaches to startup funding, with more myths than accredited angels and professional venture capital investors combined. With this model, a startup pre-sells their product early, at a cheaper price, in exchange for a pledge.

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Funding Startup Outsource Development Satisfaction 141

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

As a mentor to entrepreneurs, I tend to see many of the same obstacles appearing in every new startup, and since I don’t want to appear to be a downer , I’m not sure how to properly warn people ahead of time to be on the alert for these challenges. Even the strongest relationships are often tested and broken by the stresses of a new startup.

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Startup Entrepreneur Examples Customer 131

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2019

Actually, according to Paul Graham of Y-Combinator fame, “Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup. More startups may fail for that reason, but a close second is the difficulty of raising money. By definition, an angel investor is not an “institutional investor.” So how do you find those good angels?

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Angel Startup Invest .Net 99

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!”

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

socalTECH

JULY 17, 2019

Thinkful , a New York company, says it has started accepting applications from people in Los Angeles for its "living stipend" program, which pays students $1500 a month to pay for things like rent, gas, and food while they take the company's technology training--in exchange for a portion of their salaries when they graduate.

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Technology Course Startup Training 183

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

Of course not. You took the risk to start your company. ” Your peer group is envious of your finally doing what they’ve always wanted to do but found it too hard to give up the golden paycheck and predictable future. You scraped together enough for an angel round but not enough to pay yourself a real salary.

Startup 417

Startup Course Venture Capital Writing 417

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 14, 2016

“This FREE course introduces the fundamentals of technology entrepreneurship, pioneered in Silicon Valley and now a large and growing part of the Los Angeles economy. You will learn the process technology entrepreneurs use to start companies.

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Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Startup 70

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2020

I always tell entrepreneurs that two heads are better than one, so the first task in many startups is finding a co-founder or two. The default answer, to keep peace in the family, is to split everything equally, but that’s a terrible answer, since now no one is in control, and startups need a clear leader. Now comes the reality check.

Startup 174

Startup Equity Patents CTO Hire 174

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”). Rose, according to his classic book, “ Angel Investing.” Neither does David S.

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Funding Startup .Net Invest 144

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

One of the myths I often hear as an advisor to many entrepreneurs is that their lifestyle would somehow be better if they could more easily find other people’s money to build their startup. Usually it pays to move a startup slower rather than risk relationships. Many times friends and family have been broken by failed investments.

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Funding Startup Satisfaction Venture Capital 107

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 15, 2021

Papaya is a Los Angeles-based startup with a mission to do just that. The company’s mobile application lets users take a photo of any bill and then its artificial intelligence-powered “bill-understanding technology” makes sure it gets paid (after a user has provided payment details, of course). In this respect, the U.S.

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Mobile Artificial Inteligence Startup Los Angeles 208

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2020

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. Valuations here are always low, and funding generally depends on friends and family, or a few forward-thinking angels.

Marketing 174

Marketing Startup Artificial Inteligence Technical Review 174

SoCal Tech Calendar

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Thursday, December 6, 2012 -- Tech Cocktail's Los Angeles Startup Showcase + Sessions. Hey Los Angeles, the Mixer parade is coming your way! We'll be kicking off the event with inspiring Sessions talks followed by the traditional demo style Startup Showcase; served over cocktails, of course. See [link] (more)

Los Angeles 100

Los Angeles Angel Startup Course 100

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

Los Angeles-based Just says it uses telematics “to reward safe drivers and reduce insurer bias” by looking at factors such as how, when and where customers drive, rather than factors such as ZIP code or marital status as most traditional insurers do. Of course, Just is not the first company to offer personalized auto insurance.

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Startup Customer Custom Los Angeles 203

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I recently wrote a post on angel financing covering the topic of convertible notes but I realized I was thinking about the issue more from investor perspective and a very narrow topic of how to price the round. This post is for those who want to raise angel money. And a great product starts with the founder. That’s OK.

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Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

If you’re an early investor like I am that often means writing the first $2-3 million check into a business that previously had either survived on fumes or on a $500,000 angel round. In a VC business when you raise additional capital you need to “level up” and act the round you are. Act your stage. But at what cost?

Startup 381

Startup Resource Venture Capital Activity 381

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. In stead of doing my typical big long post with 10 PR tips (like I did there), I’m going to break them up into individual (I hope more digestible) chunks.

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Startup Funding News Press 355

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

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

In my view, starting a new business has never been easier, and according to reports from the Kauffman Foundation , the numbers are here to show it. Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

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.

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Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Startup 99

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 99

socalTECH

MARCH 5, 2019

For today's Insights and Opinions Section , Rob Freelen, Los Angeles Marketing Manager for Silicon Valley Bank, talks about the startup outlook for 2019. Market swings, geopolitical tensions and shifting trends always have the potential to throw us off course. Read What's Ahead for SoCal Startups? READ MORE>>.

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SoCal Southern California Dollar Shave Club Startup 113

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2021

Shots on Goal Being great as a startup technology investor of course requires a lot of things to come together: You need to have strong insights into where technology markets are heading and where value in the future will be created and sustained You need be perfect with your market timing. On Funding?—?Shots

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Funding Startup Writing Invest 294

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

One of the biggest myths I have found in the entrepreneur community is that every startup needs one or more outside investors for credibility and success, and perhaps is even entitled to at least one. Draw up a list of the best prospects, and put together your best story for follow-up. But don’t wait for them to contact you.

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Funding Tips Startup Statistics 173

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. Several startups have been selected to demo their products for other founders and entrepreneurs. And for those L.A.

Los Angeles 70

Los Angeles Angel Startup Newsletter 70

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2014

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”). Thus investing in startups should always be approached as a low odds game.

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Invest Angel Funding Startup 111