Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. But many have no insight or connections to the ethereal angel investment community, which In the U.S. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas.

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Venture Capital Angel Seed Funding Invest 106

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 19, 2018

million in seed funding to begin building a manufacturing facility and expand its presence in Los Angeles as the city continues to grow as a hub for robotics and automation. . “Los Angeles is a great place for this, because we have a close relationship with Caltech and JPL,” according to Gross.

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Los Angeles Angel Artificial Inteligence CalTech 207

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

If you follow the Twittersphere you may have noticed several people weighing in on this recent piece by Mike Isaac of the NY Times, asking “ How Many Angels is Too Many? ” I found myself nodding through all of it with quotes like, “Seed investing is the status symbol of Silicon Valley,” said Sam Altman. Morrill said.

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Angel Startup Seed Funding Invest 150

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2020

Los Angeles-based Harbor , a startup that is gamifying disaster preparedness through an app, has raised $5M in a seed funding round, the company disclosed on Thursday. The funding came from 25madison. Harbor is led by CEO Dan Kessler, who previously served at LA's Headspace.

Seed Funding 113

Seed Funding Los Angeles Entrepreneur Funding 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Santa Monica-based GoCoin --one of the first BitCoin startups to emerge out of the Silicon Beach technology ecosystem--said today that it has raised $550,000 in a seed funding round, to develop a platform to enable the purchasing of good and services around the world with Bitcoin. angel seed purchase capital venture bitcoin gocoin'

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Beachbody Seed Funding Santa Monica Platform 211

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

I thought I’d try to look at it from a different lens, that of the entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you should assume that. But the majority of VCs & Angels all speak. So what is an entrepreneur to do? My advice: Do not mention the other VC firms, angels, seed funds, etc. kind of way.

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Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Many entrepreneurs struggle with their setbacks.

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Entrepreneur Startup Slides Seed Funding 288

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 17, 2014

Boston-based WiGo (Who Is going Out), a developer of mobile apps to help college students coordinate their social lives, has scored seed funding from Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, the two local entrepreneurs behind hit app Tinder. According to reports, the two were among a number of angels in a $700,000 seed funding for WiGo.

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Seed Funding Venture Capital Mobile Report 138

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Leonardo DiCaprio is making a significant commitment to the Los Angeles-based investment firm, Struck Capital , as part of the actor’s commitment to building LA into a tech development powerhouse. DiCaprio is also investor in the Los Angeles-based ethically and sustainably focused financial services firm, Aspiration.

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Capital Funding Los Angeles Invest 188

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

Most entrepreneurs have found by now one or more of the many popular crowdfunding sites , and have the name and contact information for at least one of the big venture capital firms. Here are eight key insights that will help you find a productive match: Angels want equity ownership, not causes. Angels prefer strong teams to big ideas.

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Angel Startup Venture Capital Seed Funding 106

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Los Angeles- and Austin-based Moonshots Capital , the venture capital fund led by serial entrepreneur Kelly Perdew, is ramping its investment pace, with the first two formal investments out of its new fund. seed funding in that firm. Moonshots led the $1.4M presidential elections in 2016. READ MORE>>.

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Invest Capital Seed Funding Social Network 150

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Los Angeles-based Brainbase , a new startup building an online marketplace for intellectual property licensing, has raised $1 in a seed funding round, the company announced Tuesday afternoon. The company said that brands like Shell, Kelloggs, Technicolor, J.D.

Seed Funding 113

Seed Funding Platform Los Angeles Tool 113

socalTECH

MAY 3, 2018

in a seed funding, to help it to "greatly expand" its operation sin Los Angeles, as well as expand into other new markets. The Boca Raton, Florida-based startup said the lead investor in the round was Ron Zuckerman, a technology entrepreneur and investor. READ MORE>>.

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Demand Southern California Seed Funding Startup 100

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. At an angel round you can get away with no market validation.

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Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

socalTECH

AUGUST 27, 2018

Los Angeles-based Totally Bored , a new startup developing trivia apps for millennials, said last week that it has raised $250,000 in a seed funding round. The funding came from internet entrepreneur Oded 'O.D.' Totally Bored is led by co-founder and CEO Gal Michaeli, a 19-year-old.

Seed Funding 100

Seed Funding Los Angeles Funding Entrepreneur 100

TechCrunch LA

MAY 23, 2019

The Los Angeles ecosystem is $76 million stronger today as Fika Ventures , a seed-stage venture capital firm, announces its sophomore investment fund. The timing is ripe for a fund like ours to capitalize on the opportunity.” “ I’ve watched the ecosystem grow over the last two decades.”

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Funding Startup Seed Funding Los Angeles 218

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2021

A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. Fundraising is indeed brutally tough at all stages, and seed funding is the hardest to find.

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Software Review Seed Funding Funding Startup 123

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

in seed funding for its service, from such angels as Aaron Batalion (LivingSocial), Ben Huh (The Cheezburger Network), Naval Ravikant (AngelList), Paige Craig, Jillian Manus, Mike Walsh, and Structure Capital, along with Double M Capital, Venture51, Expansion, and Karlin Ventures. Honk also revealed that it has raised $1.8M

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Help Services Demand Santa Monica 190

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Los Angeles-based Enjoius , an online party planning website, has raised $1.4M in a seed funding round.

Dollar Shave Club 113

Dollar Shave Club Sites Seed Funding Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 15, 2014

The Disney Accelerator said that Smart Toy was acquired by Los Angeles-based children''s product firm Cartwheel Kids, and that SnowShoe raised $2.2M in its seed funding round. Disney offered up up to $120K in investment capital, access to entrepreneurs and executives at Disney, and other resources to its startups.

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Class Startup Seed Funding Entertainment 185

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 7, 2016

Los Angeles-based Armorway , which develops data analytics software which uses artificial intelligence (AI) for cybersecurity response, has raised $2.5M in a seed funding round.

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Artificial Inteligence Platform Southern California Seed Funding 100

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.

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Entrepreneur Startup Equity Funding 96

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 16, 2012

If you are new to the entrepreneurial world of startups, you are likely confused by the terminology of seed-stage, lean startups, micro-VCs, and Super Angels. He is going gangbusters, and is now targeting a $50M second round of funding. The hard part for entrepreneurs is figuring out what it takes to play. Super Angels.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Startup Seed Funding Incubator 101

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

Pasadena-based 17hats , a developer of business automation software, has raised $1.25M in a seed funding round, according to the company. The funding was led by Wavemaker Partners, along with un-named strategic investors and angels. Eric Manlunas of Wavemaker Partners joins 17hats'' board as part of the funding.

Software 100

Software Outsource Development Seed Funding Pasadena 100

socalTECH

JUNE 18, 2013

The app--which is free--is the brainchild of David Rabie and Joe Sarafian, two Santa Monica entrepreneurs who were born and raised in Los Angeles. The startup is now in the midst of seed funding efforts, after seeing uptake and large numbers of downloads of the app.

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Santa Monica Santa Barbara Statistics Seed Funding 227

socalTECH

OCTOBER 18, 2011

Irvine-based K5Launch , a new venture accelerator started by angel investors Amir Banafatemi, Ray Chan, David Cheng, and Kai Tao, is looking to spawn the growth of startups in Southern California, saying today that it has launched its efforts in the area.

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Orange County Southern California Seed Funding Mentor 208

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

No, Jason Calacanis , the Santa Monica angel investor, and CEO and founder of Mahalo , isn''t bootstrapping a new company and reverting to the hungry''s entrepreneur diet.

Mahalo 140

Mahalo Sites Santa Monica Conference 140

socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2016

San Diego-based GoShare , the developer of an on-demand, moving and delivery app, has raised $1M in a seed funding round, the company said on Friday. The company said it will use the funding to improve its product and expand into new cities. The startup is led by Shaun Savage. READ MORE>>.

Demand 100

Demand San Diego Seed Funding Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2011

Los Angeles-based bLife , the stealth-mode, wellness-related startup headed by Hamet Watt, has raised $1.25M in a seed funding round, according to a regulatory filing by the firm this week. According to the filing, the funding--which actually had its first funding in January--is part of an ongoing $1.5M

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Seed Funding Los Angeles Funding Entrepreneur 133

socalTECH

AUGUST 14, 2014

Vadio , the developer of a platform which helps match music videos and ads with streaming music , said Thursday that it has raised $2M in a seed funding round, which included Mucker Capital, Amplify.LA, as well as other LA investors. READ MORE>>.

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Capital Funding Seed Funding Incubator 138

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

Make sure everyone comes with an entrepreneur mindset for real innovation. In my experience, team members with an entrepreneur mindset are rare in mature companies, due to a growing focus on low risk fixed processes, narrow job roles with specialized expertise, and long-term tenure. Entrepreneurs crave more ownership.

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Incubator Seed Funding Metrics Customer 143

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

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. Why prorata rights are becoming a bigger deal to angels.

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Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

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

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

We all know that funding markets have changed for startups. The trends are well understood: more angels, more seed funds, more crowdsourcing and so forth. Does he blog about venture capital and try to advise entrepreneurs? What is less understood are the consequences of these changes. There is a reason for this.

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Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

socalTECH

JANUARY 27, 2010

The Tech Coast Angels is stressing its mixer program, seed investment efforts, and a new website, as it kicks off a 2010 program, according to the angel investing group. The group also said it is focusing on its SeedTrack program, which is specifically focused on seed stage funding and extensive mentoring.

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Tech Coast Angels Orange County Seed Funding Santa Barbara 157

Xconomy

MAY 24, 2017

million in seed funding to spin out its consulting business, and focus instead on providing its core Web content management technology as a subscription-based software-as-a-service. All three are San Diego angel investors, and together provided most of the seed financing round, Apuzzo said.

Web 71

Web San Diego Seed Funding Web Development 71

Steve Reich

AUGUST 15, 2015

How many Angels do you want in your cap table? Mark Suster wrote a great piece in July giving his answer: “If all else fails, angel-load away! If you can’t raise from a few strong angels, from seed funds or from a VC then raising from a ton (let’s say 20+) angels is a perfectly acceptable strategy.

Angel 40

Angel News Pasadena Angels Seed Funding 40