Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2012

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

Berkonomics

JUNE 26, 2014

Angel investors, particularly those in organized angel groups, are typically former entrepreneurs who have had successful liquidity events in their pasts, or executives of companies who’ve retired with the funds from their stock options. So how an angel responds to your pitch depends upon his or her background.

Angel 191

Angel Technical Review Coach Entrepreneur 191

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

Earlier this week, the Tech Coast Angels , the largest and most active organized angel group in Southern California, announced a new effort to create an angel group network, which will share and syndicate deals between groups--current the TCA, Golden Seeds, and Band of Angels.

Technical Review 145

Technical Review Networking Angel Tech Coast Angels 145

socalTECH

JULY 21, 2010

Watson , a member of the San Diego Tech Coast Angels , who was found dead in June. According to authorities, Kent Thomas Keigwin , age 59, has been charged by the San Diego County District Attorney's Office with the murder of Watson, who had been found by fellow angel investors when he failed to show for a meeting.

Tech Coast Angels 145

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel San Diego 145

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

In most cases, these applicants for equity funding must be rooted in technology to apply to this limited discussion. We’ve worried together about the moral obligation implicit in taking such investments from people so close, even with their promise never to expect a return. We’ll call these “inside angels.”

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 7, 2019

Thursday, June 13, 2019 -- Orange County FundingPost VC and Angel Investor PitchFest + Pitch Workshop. Due to the overwhelming demand to pitch at our last event in Orange County, we're throwing an exclusive PitchFest speed dating event where you will be pitching to over 20 investors one-on-one! We're doing it again!

Orange County 100

Orange County Venture Capital Angel Tech Coast Angels 100

InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

In order to extract value beyond your Angel investors' cash, you must first assess three important parameters: (i) the relative strength of their personal brand, (ii) their ability to add operational value, and (iii) the amount of care and feeding they will demand from you. Four Common Angel Archetypes.

Angel 217

Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

billion in investments, according to the Q3 analysis of venture capital deals by socalTECH.com. According to an analysis of socalTECH's proprietary database of venture capital deals, venture investors invested slightly more than the $966M in Q3 of 2009, but less than the $1.6 billion invested in Q2.

Southern California 196

Southern California Invest Westlake Village SoCal 196

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

Acknowledge every customer feedback and review. For those of you who are fearful of a spurious negative review, I recommend that you proactively ask every customer for a positive review, such that any negatives will be lost in a sea of positives. Don’t let that one negative stand out as the only review submitted.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

socalTECH

JULY 6, 2010

An analysis of Q2's venture capital deals and investment activity in Southern California find that venture capitalists invested around $1.6 billion invested in Q1, and up from $1.0 in investment), Energy ($190.2M in investments) and Medical Deviecs ($128.1M in investments in Q2). billion in Q2 of last year.

Southern California 195

Southern California Westlake Village Invest Tech Coast Angels 195

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 5, 2019

Tuesday, June 11, 2019 -- San Diego FundingPost VC and Angel Investor PitchFest + Pitch Workshop. Due to the overwhelming demand to pitch at our last event in San Diego, we're throwing an exclusive PitchFest speed dating event where you will be pitching to over 20 investors one-on-one! We're doing it again! See [link] (more)

San Diego 100

San Diego Venture Capital Angel Summary 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What new technology area, startup, service, or app did you find most interesting or useful this year, and why? Since 2010, $6.3B

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 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.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

Josh Kaplan and Dee Murthy, both founder and co-CEO of the Los Angeles–based company, started Ghost in 2021 after previously working together at Four Five Group, a men’s apparel business. They’ve created a marketplace, similar to eBay, where suppliers list their products with SKU information, availability, volume and descriptions.

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 19, 2020

A new initiative from a Los Angeles investor is taking stock of venture firms and their ability to commit capital in an effort to match firms that are still open for business and cutting checks to startups that are fundraising in the age of COVID-19. PLEASE RT to spread the word. — Laurent Grill (@laurentgrill) March 18, 2020.

Venture Capital 135

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Los Angeles 135

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

Although the major crowd funding sites today, including Kickstarter and Indiegogo , don’t technically require a business plan, they do demand essentially the same information in a project format. Major platforms are available online to find Angel groups or VCs, including Gust and AngelList.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 126

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

My favorite new VC blogger, Hunter Walk, weighed in with some thoughtful comments about how Syndicates might actually pit, “ angel vs. angel.” AngelList 101 : As you know, AngelList is a platform where angels can invest in semi-screened tech deals. Less investments, more active.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Strategic planning is a required ongoing investment. Even the best college degree is not a substitute. Survival requires regular updates.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Startup Statistics Social Media 109

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. The challenge is to find the right angel for your, and for your situation. Angel investors are people too. Or does it? Keiretsu Forum.

Angel 102

Angel Keiretsu Organization Template 102

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

As a business consultant and angel investor, I often ask for your own assessment of marketing ROI , or customer acquisition cost (CAC). Are you making the proper investment, and is it paying off? I paraphrase here the key challenges he identifies, adding my own insights: Marketing ROI requires cross-enterprise information.

Customer 100

Customer Custom Acquisition Technical Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2009

The information--gleaned from funding announcements, regulatory filings, and other sources--are not far off from socalTECH's totals from last quarter, which totaled up around $932M in investment activity. San Diego led investment activity in Q3, with a large number of the biggest VC deals all located in the area.

Southern California 140

Southern California Venture Capital Northridge Tech Coast Angels 140

socalTECH

APRIL 5, 2010

The information--gleaned from funding announcements, regulatory filings, and other sources--are also up significantly from Q1 of last year, when only $729.89M was invested in the region. The growing clean technology sector also helped numbers, with $74.0M in deals tracked by our database.

Southern California 160

Southern California Santa Barbara Anthem Redpoint 160

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

By 2008 I had gotten more serious about championing companies through our investment process. And just when I thought I had the deal that was worthy of bringing to investment committee the world changed. Let’s review all of our existing investments. Eventually you have to invest. It was September 2008.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

socalTECH

APRIL 13, 2021

The primary tenant in one of those buildings is the Information Sciences Institute, which is part of the Viterbi School of Engineering, and we have some of their space. Dave Eastman: There's a lot of interaction between the I-Corp innovation node in Los Angeles and the Startup Garage. It's the older 11 to12 story, 1960's building.

Marina Del Rey 150

Marina Del Rey Startup USC Incubator 150

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

Climbing the ranks for our Los Angeles, CA region, Mobile Therapy was one of two semifinal winners. If they come out on top, Mobile Therapy can expect prizes and support from Tech Wildcatters, 500Startups, Consumer Electronics Association, Crowdfunder, Techstars, American Airlines, and more!

Competition 122

Competition Mobile Startup Technical Review 122

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 8, 2011

For those who still might be wondering what Spotlight: LA Tech is all about, It’s a screening room for new technology homegrown in our region. It’s a gathering of friends and tech enthusiasts of all stripes. This Spotlight takes place Thursday, July 14, at The California Institute of Technology (CalTech).

CalTech 100

CalTech Technical Review Company Companies 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2020

If you are not in that rare category of known and proven entrepreneurs, you should avoid the following list of my top ten turnoffs that I have personally experienced as an angel investor. Too much detail at first contact is just as much of a turnoff as no information. I don’t have a business plan, but the technology is disruptive.”

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Statistics Startup Social Media 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Having re-read it, I believe his real premise instead is, “Fixed-size, multi-investor angel rounds are such a bad idea for startups that one wonders why things were ever done that way.&#. Most investors wait to see who else is investing. &# Social Proof&# weighs heavily on investors in making their decisions. rings true to me.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2010

Clearly, 2009 was not a good year, from the perspective of the technology innovation ecosystem. That was primarily driven by the economy; when the economy is down, investments are down, and it is increasingly difficult to d a startup. For OCTANe to be successful, we want to see our technology ecosystem grow.

OCTANE 174

OCTANE Orange County Technical Review Southern California 174

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2015

Most Angel groups and VCs advertise the startups they have recently funded, with pointers to startup websites, sometimes including open positions. Typically you can browse them by region or technology to find founders. Every geographic area has entrepreneur networking activities, such as startup weekends and tech meetups.

Sample 101

Sample Entrepreneur Technical Review Startup 101

socalTECH

JULY 9, 2009

A recent analysis by socalTECH, of our detailed tracking of venture capital investment activity in Southern California, finds that there was around $932M in funding raised in the area in Q2, a rise from roughly $700M in Q1. PwC/NVCA officialy reported $950M invested in Q2 of 2008.

Southern California 100

Southern California Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

But in Los Angeles, Santa Monica is akin to SoMa in San Francisco, Cambridge in the Boston area or Flatiron / Union Square in NYC. We think transparency and easy access to information benefit our entire ecosystem. Some of our most successful deals have been in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Baltimore and London.

Funding 343

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Startup 343

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

Not an investment philosophy “ I understand the sentiment of this post and it’s how I view AngelList (like email), but I feel like it loses a nuance about AngelList. What he (along with Naval) started with AngelList is also a very important transformation to the communications between first-time entrepreneurs & angels.

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2014

Most Angel groups and VCs advertise the startups they have recently funded, with pointers to startup websites, sometimes including open positions. Typically you can browse them by region or technology to find founders. Every geographic area has entrepreneur networking activities, like startup weekends and tech meetups.

Startup 100

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Conference 100