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. Their only recourse is that first tier of investors, fondly called Friends, Family and Fools. Offer a formal agreement as well as a handshake.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 21, 2015

Even if you ignore all the hype around crowdfunding, there can be no doubt that it is a real alternative for entrepreneurs to achieve visibility and funding today. This model facilitates donations to charities and creative projects, and has been around for a long time via sites such as Rockethub. Donation good-cause model. In the U.S.,

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APRIL 4, 2019

Los Angeles-based eTailPet , a new startup which helps pet store owners create online e-commerce sites, has received a round of seed funding, the company said this week. Size of the funding was not announced. The funding was led by Moonshots Capital.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

I just cover the companies that were funded that week. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. entrepreneur Wil Schroter (I am an angel investor in Affordit). Xobni’s main competitor that I know about is Gist, funded by Brad Feld at Foundry Group.

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SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

Los Angeles-based peer-to-peer commercial real estate investment site AssetAvenue said Friday that it has raised $3M in a seed funding round. The company said the funding will go towards accelerating strategic partnerships with lenders, and to grow its base of investors, in addition to its platform. READ MORE>>.

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SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Glendora-based eGood , a startup developing a social giving platform, said today that it has raised $3M in a seed funding round. The funding came from Wolfgang Buehler, and angel investor. According to eGood, it is using the funding to develop its mobile and in-store check-in platform. The startup is led by Zack Swire.

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APRIL 4, 2012

Los Angeles-based Ranker , the online rankings website where consumers can rank anything they like, has scored a new round of funding, in an inside round. The funding came from Siemer Venture Capital, Rincon Venture Partners, Draper Associates, the Tech Coast Angels, and the Pasadena Angels, according to CEO Clark Benson.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

They don’t realize that according to statistics from Startup.co , almost 60 percent are funded with personal savings and credit, and another 25 percent get their money from friends and family. That leaves only about fifteen percent that actually get their funding from investors, through crowdfunding, banks, angels, and venture capitalists.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). per year.

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JUNE 27, 2013

Despite the increase in startup activity in Southern California, local venture capital funds are still few and far between, and a large chunk of the funding here is still from Sand Hill Road. The firm just announced that new fund, and a new name, Upfront Ventures (www.upfront.com).

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DECEMBER 4, 2020

Los Angeles-based The Skills , a startup which operates an online education site where professional sports players teach different skills, said on Friday that it has raised $5M in a seed funding round. The funding was led by Will Ventures, and also included Global Founders Capital, 8VC, Maveron, Hack VC, and Correlation VC.

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FEBRUARY 12, 2014

The company said the new funding includes $1.25M in new capital, plus a $1M convertible note from last year. Tapiture said the new funds will go towards growth, towards international expansion, and to help build merchant partnerships. tapiture venture capital angel investment social sharing photos products style' READ MORE>>.

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JANUARY 28, 2013

ChaCha , which operates an online, human-powered questions and answer site, said today that it is planning a new office in Los Angeles, after scoring $14.0M in a funding round. ChaCha's new funding round comes from VantagePoint Capital Partners, Rho Ventures and Qualcomm. READ MORE>>.

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NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Los Angeles-based Enjoius , an online party planning website, has raised $1.4M in a seed funding round. Enjoius offers up an online site where users can browse photos and party plans, get expert advice, shop for party supplies, and connect with event professionals. The startup is led by CEO and founder Christopher Cunningham.

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JULY 19, 2012

Los Angeles investor Baroda Ventures , the venture capital arm of David Bohnett, has re-upped on online fashion and e-commerce site Fab.com , in a big, $105M third round of funding for that site. Baroda has been an investor in Fab since its seed funding back in June of 2010. READ MORE>>.

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TechCrunch LA

MARCH 29, 2021

million from investors Trucks VC, Kapor Capital, JFF, Energy Impact Partners and The Fund. The funds will be used to build out its platform, hire beyond its 27-person workforce and expand its service area. Terry often took matters in her own hands if issues arose with stations located in Los Angeles, where she is based.

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APRIL 21, 2015

Los Angeles-based venture investor Upfront Ventures has lead another round in San Francisco-based online appointment booking site MyTime , as parto f a $9.25M Series B. Upfront Ventures led an earlier round for MyTime, which had originally only offered its service in Los Angeles. READ MORE>>.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 29, 2020

For example, professional investors put great priority on your previous experience in building a business, and they expect to own a portion of the business equity and control for the funds they do provide. Most provide free resources to startups, including office facilities and consulting, but many provide seed funding as well.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “what’s it like being a VC?&# I’ve been a VC for nearly 3 years now. I always start my answer to this question with, “you’d have to be a pretty big baby to complain about being a VC.&# And the VC job has plenty of admin and minutiae.

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JUNE 21, 2013

Ayannah , a provider of mobile payment and commerce services for unbanked consumers in emerging markets, has raised new funding, the company said Friday. headquarters in Laguna Hills, said the funding came from Siemer Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, as well as angels from the US, Russia, and the Philippines.

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MARCH 31, 2015

Los Angeles-based online, real estate crowdfunding site Asset Avenue has upped its funding to $4.0M, according to a recent regulatory filing by the firm. Details on the latest funding--which appears to be a convertible note funding--have not yet been announced. Asset Avenue is led by David Manshoory READ MORE>>.

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MAY 24, 2012

Los Angeles-based Crowdfunder , an online crowd funding site headed by Chance Barnett, has raised $400,000 in seed funding, according to reports today. According to TechCrunch, the firm is currently limiting users to accredited investors, until the JOBS act takes place. READ MORE>>.

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APRIL 30, 2014

Social networking site MovieLaLa --which focuses on upcoming movies--said Tuesday that it has raised an angel investment from Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff. The startup''s angels include a number of folks from the Silicon Beach content world, including Allen DeBevoise, Jim Moloshok, and others. READ MORE>>.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of things I’ve loved the most about doing now 11 weeks of This Week in VC is a chance to have an hour-long recorded conversation with investors. And in my interviews with many VCs I feel that people can watch these and get to know the VC’s as human beings a bit better. So how did Mike get into VC?

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SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Rustic Canyon is the lead investor in a round of funding from a social shopping site out of Y Combinator. The round came from new investor Rustic Canyon Partners, and also included prior investors Blumberg Capital and Redpoint Ventures. in a Series A round.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2021

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. Their only recourse is that first tier of investors, fondly called Friends, Family and Fools. Offer a formal agreement as well as a handshake.

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Funding Startup Equity Invest 138

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MAY 10, 2012

Moviepilot.com , which runs a movie recommendation and discovery website aimed at covering movies before their release, said today that it has raised $7M in a Series B funding, to expand the German firm into the U.S. As part of the funding, Moviepilot is setting up an office in Los Angeles, and has moved its CEO, Tobi Bauckhage, to LA.

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JUNE 15, 2015

Los Angeles-based Looklist , an online site which lets users browse curated fashion and hairstyle photos, disclosed today that it has raised $174,000 in a seed funding round. The funding came via AngelList, led by investor Foundry Group, via its FGAngel syndicate. READ MORE>>.

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DECEMBER 8, 2015

Los Angeles-based Hyperloop Technologies , one of the startups looking to bring Elon Musk's grand idea for high speed transportation to life, has inked a deal for a test site in North Las Vegas, as it looks to complete an $80M, Series B funding round.

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JANUARY 11, 2012

Los Angeles-based Payoff.com , the online personal finance site headed by Scott Saunders, has confirmed it has raised $2.0M in a venture round today, upping its total raised for the company to $5.8M. The funding came from Anthemis Group, Firstmark Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and others.

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AUGUST 29, 2019

Los Angeles-based venture investor March Capital Partners is the lead investor in a new, Series A $4M funding round for a new, video game developer called Knock Knock Games , according to the company on Thursday. The funding also included Raine Ventures, London Venture Partners, and Ludlow Ventures.

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NOVEMBER 12, 2009

San Diego-based Yidio , an online site for finding television shows and movies online, disclosed Thursday that it has raised around $500,000 in angel funding from angel investors, including Adam Warms. Tags: yidio television movie angel venture capital. Yidio was founded by Adam Eatros. READ MORE>>.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Greycroft is an early-stage VC. Their first fund was a $75 million fund raised in 2006 and they very recently announced a brand new $130 million fund.

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DECEMBER 13, 2010

Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Baroda Ventures , the venture capital arm of GeoCities founder David Bohnett, has re-upped in an investment round in New York-based Fabulis , a gay social networking site. The funding came along with the renaming of the site to Fab.com.

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MAY 22, 2012

Los Angeles-based Xfire is continuing its expansion into Southeast Asia with a new partnership, the firm said today, with Southeast Asian games publisher SEA Gaming. Xfire is in a major Asian push, bolstered by a recent funding round from Asian investor IDM Venture Capital. READ MORE>>.

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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.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

My primary role was “chief psychologist&# and as I’ve learned over the past few years the same has been true as a VC. Once you’ve been around for a few years, attracted some great people, landed real, paying customers and raised venture capital you’ve likely got a talented team around you.

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