Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

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. Bad board members can make business very unpleasant.

Startup 236

Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2018

Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Funding 94

Funding Startup Organization Incubator 94

Berkonomics

JUNE 11, 2015

Our guest insight this week is from Frank Peters, well-known in the angel and in the bicycle worlds for his podcasts and passion. You just had to be lucky, write reasonably good code and land in an industry with some legs, and of course, treat the customer well. I was a beneficiary of this development. By Frank Peters.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Writing Southern California 120

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

I had an enjoyable conversation this morning with a young team straight out of college this morning and they were calling to ask advice on how to approach fund raising (angels vs. VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. Connections?

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Organization 93

Organization Startup Incubator Ideas 93

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

You also ran the risk that if you hired employees quickly and then demand wasn’t as strong as expected it was incredibility hard to fire people. People of Korean descent in Los Angeles are amongst the most entrepreneurial people I know — in technology but also in garments, fashion, food and so forth.

Startup 261

Startup Press Blogging .Net 261

socalTECH

OCTOBER 30, 2014

Michael Womack: My partner and I used to work together, working for a luxury vacation rental company in Los Angeles. We were sick and tired of writing up fake descriptions of places to make them sound like they were luxury, when they were not necessarily luxury. How did you start the company? READ MORE>>.

Sites 213

Sites Startup Customer Custom 213

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

It’s true the some VCs have started writing so many checks that they resemble stock pickers but the majority of us still have less than 10 board seats at any time and tend to go pretty deep so the result is that we care deeply about where we commit our time. Was there consumer demand? No brainer. Upfront Ventures'

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2014

In the Los Angeles startup world, there are lots of high profile, buzzy companies which have lots of attention and funding--but which haven''t earned a dime of revenue. We started looking at the landscape, and as I was getting my MBA at the time, ended up writing the business plan for ConsumerTrack.

Startup 239

Startup El Segundo Marketing Media 239

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2013

Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Entrepreneur 102

Entrepreneur Funding Incubator Startup 102

socalTECH

OCTOBER 30, 2008

We're always interested in how technology is influencing the business of Hollywood, and recently ran across Los Angeles-based Scripped. to the business of script writing, and is looking to combine a free online tool for writing scripts with matching those scripts with content producers. Sunil Rajaraman: That's a good question.

Content 138

Content Writing Software Review Hollywood 138

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2010

You bump into the person you’ve always wanted to chat with or your perfect business development partner who can “make” you. My partner was in product management at Demand Media. So my list for you is: Develop your 60-second pitch. Most are squandered. It starts in a crowded room at a conference or networking event.

Startup 315

Startup Content Conference Media 315

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. Many people don’t realize that the majority of the monetization of the Internet originated in Los Angeles but was perfected in Silicon Valley. LA By The Numbers.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2012

Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Resource 94

Resource Startup Organization Incubator 94

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

In writing anything positive about any of the companies I’m not suggesting that it means that I prefer them to any of their competitors. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. So there is likely robust demand from borrowers. Enter P2P lending.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 5, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write this post since September of last year when Brad Feld first wrote about the The Founders Visa Movement. I commented briefly on his blog and made a mental note to write a blog post. At the time he granted me permission to write about his story. He stated: “China is also courting trouble.

Technical Review 282

Technical Review Startup High Tech Software Review 282

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2011

Every entrepreneur needs help and support along the way, from developing the initial idea, to selling off the successful business (exit strategy). The first step toward a business with any idea is to write it down, and build a business plan around it. Don’t waste your resources on the wrong ones.

Startup 92

Startup Organization Incubator Ideas 92

Jason Nazar

MARCH 22, 2011

I asked the panelists ( David Travers , Brian Norgard , Fouad ElNaggar , & Demian Sellfors ) about the specific challenges that we face down here in Los Angeles as opposed to Silicon Valley. That’s typically not the case in Los Angeles. Challenge #3 – There Needs to Be More Institutional Capital in Los Angeles.

Company 111

Company Companies Startup Twiistup 111

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2010

Last night I co-hosted a dinner at Soho House in Los Angeles with some of the most senior people in the media industry with executives from Disney, Fox, Warner, media agencies and many promising tech & media startup CEO’s. He created demand. There are many analogies here for software development.

Entrepreneur 356

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup Email 356

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2013

Aspiring creators learn by connecting with top web filmmakers and YouTubers on a topics specific to the web: developing a web series, producing web series, writing for genres like comedy & sci-fi, directing, editing, camera, Kickstarter funding, show hosting, distribution, and marketing. When was it launched and where?

Web 93

Web USC Course Guide 93

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” They both raised angel / seed money of $1.5 If there was strong market demand for their product then this investment might pay off handsomely.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

I finally got around to writing it having read Fred Wilson’s post about what a CEO does. I had developers who thought that the chief architect was a bottleneck – having to be involved in every decision. Our most talented developer wanted to move to the US for personal reasons. We faced it when we were small.

Venture Capital 319

Venture Capital Startup Sales Customer 319

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

In many ways the fact that it has become so cheap to start a company and relatively cheap to raise angel/seed money that we as an industry have gotten lazy on basic planning. The questions that a VC mulls before writing a check are precisely the questions you should be asking yourself. Market Size. Incumbent Strengths & Weaknesses.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

InfoChachkie

JULY 14, 2011

9) In Getting The Band Back Together , I write about the power of serial Founding teams. We were the first to develop solution purpose-built for this industry and with a lot of hard work and a lot of feedback, we’ve gotten things mostly right. Performance marketing also demands accountability.

Marketing 209

Marketing Advertising Paid Search Startup 209

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

For simplicity I’ll assume you’ve raised some money from angels or seed investors and you’re either raising an A round or a B round of venture capital. People who believe the former believe that you should see the market demand before too many people know you’re “in market.” How Many Investors Should You Speak With?

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

socalTECH

JULY 20, 2011

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based HitFix (www.hitfix.com) an online news site focused on entertainment, announced it had raised $2M in a funding round. We thought it was a real opportunity to bring in some taste-maker editors, who could write specifically for that audience, and break news. How did you decide to launch HitFix?

News 173

News Entertainment Startup Bertelsmann 173

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 17, 2012

At 25 years old, Richard saw an opening in the marketplace for a Canadian version of Bankrate (although, she would describe the development different at the time, but bankrate.com is the most comparable company) and went full throttle into building Ratehub.ca. She has not looked back. We don’t have that here.

Startup 56

Startup Incubator Seed Funding Platform 56

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Shell’s plan to roll out 500,000 electric charging station in just four years is the latest sign of an EV charging infrastructure boom that has prompted investors to pour cash into the industry and inspired a few companies to become public companies in search of the capital needed to meet demand.

Company 363

Company Companies Acquisition Equity 363

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2019

Skyler Lucci is co-founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based HeyTutor (www.heytutor.com), a startup which has created an online platform which connects and matches students with in-person tutors. If you look at the other players, I believe, on-demand tutors will never exist. What is HeyTutor? Here's the reason why.

Startup 113

Startup Venture Capital Beverly Hills Acquisition 113

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Some thoughts on raising angel money. In fact, most early investor work hard to help their startups get to the next level so it makes no sense for the angel investor and founders to be at odds. So if I write you a $500,000 check into a convertible note with a $4.5 At a minimum every angel investor should ask for this.

Startup 354

Startup Pricing Equity Venture Capital 354

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 17, 2019

This week we’ll focus on the city of Austin, gain insight into Uber’s spending habits, do a little scooter number crunching, the Tesla Model Y, and the so-called “race” — an overused and inaccurate term — to develop autonomous vehicles. ONM … There are OEMs in the automotive world. Cymbal clash!)

San Fernando 217

San Fernando Los Angeles Commerce News 217

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 28, 2013

At KnowledgeBase, he worked with EdgeCast co-founders James, Phil and Lior, and as CEO was involved in all aspects of the company and responsible for its development. Additionally, he has extensive application development, web hosting, and data center build-out and management experience. He lives in Los Angeles.

SaaS 92

SaaS Cloud Computing CIO Web 92

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2010

We both felt that the critical reasoning skills and writing skills were critical to our career development. Launched in 2007 in Los Angeles by Adam Bernhard and Konstantin Glasmacher. Social network app developer and ad network. Online DSP (demand-side platform) and ad exchange for display advertisers.

Venture Capital 217

Venture Capital Capital Metrics Competition 217

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

► February (1) Building and Developing an A++ Team ► 2008 (14) ► December (1) Develop a Culture Roadmap ► November (2) Green Week - Save the Environment and Your Cash Creating a Culture of Innovation: Cultural Values. Under Process, Over Deliver So, you need to develop a product? Build a SWAT team 3.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 17, 2020

Imagine Impact , the entertainment accelerator launched by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard to try and bring Silicon Valley-style mentorship and project development techniques to Hollywood, has inked a development deal with Netflix and is looking for submissions.

Netflix 137

Netflix Entertainment Hollywood Writing 137

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2011

Today I’m announcing that GRP Partners is doubling down on the Twitter ecosystem by investing in DataSift , a company who provides a real-time data platform and tools to third-party developers and corporations. I believe this makes Twitter the perfect ecosystem for development. Real time + location equals marketing opportunity.

Platform 307

Platform News Startup Invest 307

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. Crowdfunding to gauge demand is not recommended, since failed campaigns don’t usually recover later.

Startup 100

Startup Equity Entrepreneur Demand 100