socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

In your opinion, are your angels more or less active this year? Mike Napoli: Actually, we are seeing entrepreneurs. It used to be there was a geographical composition to our prescreening panel--for example, if an LA company, regardless of what they did, applied for funding, the LA network of the TCA would process them.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2023

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. Searching LinkedIn, for example, is a must for contemporary entrepreneurs. But don’t wait for them to contact you.

Statistics 98

Statistics Entrepreneur Funding Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2022

Aspiring entrepreneurs who struggle in a corporate environment often can’t wait to start their own company, only to find that relationships are even more critical and volatile there. The message here is not to use the public personas of leaders and entrepreneurs as the model for building and maintaining your business relationships.

Oracle 113

Oracle Entrepreneur Outsource Development Mentor 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 10, 2018

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Entrepreneur 96

Entrepreneur Startup Equity Funding 96

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2022

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Customer Custom Entrepreneur 143

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Class 124

Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 21, 2023

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 106

Startup Capital Equity Funding 106

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. Searching LinkedIn, for example, is a must for contemporary entrepreneurs. But don’t wait for them to contact you.

Funding 173

Funding Tips Startup Statistics 173

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Funding 174

Funding Startup Equity Examples 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2014

One of the most frequent questions I get as a mentor to entrepreneurs is “How do I find the money to start my business?” If you have the urge to be an entrepreneur, I encourage you to think seriously about each of these, before you zero-in on one or two, and get totally discouraged if those don’t work for you.

Startup 113

Startup Entrepreneur Funding Equity 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2014

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. I found their five phases of the process to be compelling, based on my own years of experience mentoring startups: Nail the pain. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Customer 113

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 17, 2023

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Funding 125

Funding Startup Ideas Equity 125

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Are you an entrepreneur hoping to startup a company in the Los Angeles area? Southern California apparently has no shortage of investors, entrepreneurs, and others eager to help budding entrepreneurs. Howard Marks: We're a startup accelerator, which will help entrepreneurs become successful in 90 days.

CTO Coach 194

CTO Coach Startup Mentor Activision 194

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.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. As a mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, here are my best recommendations for keeping the burn rate low, planning ahead and maintaining credibility with investors: Manage cashflow personally every day. burn rate business cashflow entrepreneur investor startup'

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media 105

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2012

These resources are definitely not limited to students, since every university seeks out and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already are active in the real world marketplace. Connections to a mentor. For example, I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area, home of Arizona State University.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Incubator Mentor Research 92

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

As a business advisor, I meet many business professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs who are anxious to be their own boss , or have an innovative idea to start or acquire a new business. Assess who you can get for value and mentoring. He also still gets excited to donate one percent of sales to environmental groups around the world.

Startup 94

Startup Ideas Metrics Entrepreneur 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors. Access to intellectual property and current research.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Capital Class Startup 55

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

I find that the most successful entrepreneurs have mastered the art and skill of building and managing relationships. For example, we all know people who really believe that everyone in the world is their supporter, when in fact many are actively working against them.

Tips 95

Tips Mentor Coach Activity 95

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2011

Although Los Angeles has become a hub for the high tech startup world, Surprisingly, one of the things which hasn't happened in the Los Angeles area is any huge, successful venture acceleration programs. Our mentors as we've built up this effort in LA are TechStars, Tech Wildcatters in Dallas, and Accelerator Labs in Chicago.

Startup 221

Startup Mentor Southern California Incubator 221

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 14, 2023

Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young. As a mentor to many entrepreneurs and startups, here are my best recommendations for keeping the burn rate low, planning ahead and maintaining credibility with investors: Manage cash flow personally every day. Buffer your projected resource requirements.

Search Engine Optimization 103

Search Engine Optimization Outsource Development Social Media Equity 103

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

The Founder Institute (www.founderinstitute.com), an entrepreneurial training program that originally launched by Adeo Ressi in Silicon Valley, recently announced that it is setting up shop in Southern California, with branches both in San Diego and Los Angeles. What role do the mentors play? The mentors at the L.A.

Mentor 185

Mentor Class Entertainment Technical Review 185

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2020

Aspiring entrepreneurs who struggle in a corporate environment often can’t wait to start their own company, only to find that relationships are even more critical and volatile there. The message here is not to use the public personas of leaders and entrepreneurs as the model for building and maintaining your business relationships.

Oracle 124

Oracle Entrepreneur Outsource Development Mentor 124

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. Business-to-business products need professional investors.

Funding 119

Funding Startup Platform Examples 119

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2020

In fact, I see more and more evidence that new entrepreneurs are coming from the older age groups (age 45-64), and success rates move up with age. We summarize the advantages of older entrepreneurs along the following lines: Think life-changing, not lifestyle entrepreneurship. Find and see the opportunities hidden in plain sight.

Startup 129

Startup Entrepreneur Coach Mentor 129

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 3, 2023

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. Mentoring and technical assistance from volunteer or paid experts. That’s about the same ratio that angel investors claim.

Organization 92

Organization Incubator Startup Resource 92

socalTECH

JUNE 20, 2012

There is a large menu of startup accelerators in the Los Angeles, but one of more established efforts in the area is LaunchpadLA ([link] The effort actually started as an informal mentoring program, but has grown and expanded to follow the accelerator model. Then, it turned out, all of those companies did really well.

Class 261

Class Mentor Startup Santa Monica 261

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 27, 2020

For some reason, too many aspiring entrepreneurs I know seem to focus on “actions” rather than “results.” These are not the entrepreneurs that I want to support, since I’m well aware that running a startup is far more complex, albeit more satisfying, than most conventional roles in established enterprises.

Product 123

Product Startup Tips Entrepreneur 123

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Launchpad LA today announces it will accept applications for its third class of Los Angeles-based tech startups. We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. For the past 2.5

Venture Capital 287

Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2022

In my role as a mentor to entrepreneurs and an angel investor, I find that too many are stuck in this myth that a good pitch, and good marketing content, should consist of more product features, and more hype on customer benefits. Emulate them rather than envy them.

Startup 117

Startup Social Media Guide Content 117

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

My biggest takeaway this year was truly understanding the strength and cohesion of the Los Angeles startup community. We continue to have a steady stream of industry and thought leaders raising their hands to be mentors for our upcoming cohorts. What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Startup Coach 157

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2011

One of the biggest complaints you hear from both entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles, is the lack of a credible, visible startup accelerator in the Los Angeles area. We caught up with Erik to hear more about MuckerLab, and its efforts to grow the Los Angeles technology ecosystem. Erik, thanks for the time.

Technical Advisors 176

Technical Advisors Startup Southern California Los Angeles 176

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. Mentoring and technical assistance from volunteer or paid experts. That’s about the same ratio that angel investors claim.

Resource 159

Resource Startup Incubator Seed Funding 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 31, 2023

Based on my own career as a business owner and angel investor, in this age of change, I still see key successes and growth from the same team member work qualities. For example, it has long been widely accepted that one of the primary causes for entrepreneur failure in new startups is that many give up too soon.

Startup 121

Startup Satisfaction Technical Review Ideas 121

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

For example, if you have a proven product, real revenue, a big potential market, and are ready to scale up the business, every investor will be interested. On the other hand, if you are a new entrepreneur, still in the idea stage, professional investors will only tell you to come back later when you have traction (customers and revenue).

Startup 148

Startup Ideas Equity Invest 148

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. On the one hand, an entrepreneur should not be overly paranoid and should know the ropes that VCs and other professional investors generally will not sign NDAs to see the concept or a prototype--and even if they did, it would not provide much protection.

Product 150

Product Entrepreneur Social Media Google 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 15, 2019

Steve Blank via Flickr by jdlasica I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. At the same time, more entrepreneurs are jumping into the fray, and less money is available from investors.

Startup 98

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 98