Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011

Yesterday I saw a Tweet from Chris Sacca fly by that prompted me to want to write a blog post helping entrepreneurs understand why they should push back against VCs asking for “super pro-rata” rights. They might own 8% of your company after the first funding but demand up to 33-50% of your next round of financing.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you. Financial model.

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Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 23, 2020

There’s also a relatively modest request (of only $4 billion) for funding devoted to pilot projects, startup companies, and public clean technology investment initiatives (like LACI). The funding would include $20 billion for utility upgrades. There’s $25 billion in money set aside for public transit and $12.5

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Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2023

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Capture your “secret sauce.”

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

On a regular basis, I am approached by entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. You need funding, and plan to get it from friends and family.

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Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Inc. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! I said, ''Hey, listen were going to start writing this newsletter and it''s going to highlight our trials and tribulations, our failures and our successes. From 35 To 500 Readers.

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Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 3, 2020

If your forte is a service, like consulting or web site design, it’s harder to find guidance on what will get you funded, and how you can scale your business. Even artisan-based services, like graphic design and writing good ad copy, have innovative processes and principles. Capture your “secret sauce.”

Startup 174

Startup Training Services Writing 174

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. Prorata investments rights given investors the right to invest in your future fund-raising rounds and maintain their ownership % in your company as your company grows and raises more capital.

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Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

There has been much discussion about VCs doing seed funding in the past year. I’ve written about it myself (Is VC Seed Funding Dead?) and (Is There Really a Signaling Problem with VC Seed Funding?). Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs. Short summary of my posts: 1.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I actually like finding entrepreneurs who are more circumspect, less braggadocios and generally more planned about their actions. Where Stealth is Bad – I do meet entrepreneurs who clearly fall on the other side of spectrum and are totally closed. That’s fine if entrepreneurs are your target market. They come and go.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2010

Bockerstette, Main Street Venture Fund Angel investing in most parts of the country remains a relatively informal and unstructured process. If the investor stresses over the investment, the interests of the investor and entrepreneur can easily grow at odds with one another. I’ll be outlining these in a follow-on article.

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InfoChachkie

JANUARY 16, 2018

A version of this article previously appeared Forbes. Greathouse: Your collective experiences have clearly made bootstrapping a viable option for you, more so than might be the case for a typical, younger entrepreneur who needs more direction, doesn’t have cash discipline, etc. Jim Semick (left) with his Co-Founder, Greg Goodman.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Santa Barbara SaaS 115

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2016

I LOVE writing. But writing takes more time and some days I don’t have that. Now here is the important thing for you to understand — many of my target customers — entrepreneurs between ages 21–35 — are on Snapchat! And I fund non-Snapchat users or people over 40 — I promise! — I’m Snapchat is faster and easier.

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Snapchat Blogging Venture Capital Writing 200

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

” And even the venerable Fred Wilson weighed in with how people “ leading vs. following ” in funding rounds play different roles and have different skills. It should help some entrepreneurs to better access early-stage capital and should allow some angel investors better access to deal flow. So there you have it.

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Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

InfoChachkie

MARCH 4, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Inc. Entrepreneurs can learn a great deal from the manner in which Pink Floyd created DSOTM. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly Infochachkie articles! Entrepreneurs should always err on the side of long-term gain. Pay To Play.

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InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Their primary intended reader is a “first-time entrepreneur”, but clearly other stakeholders within the startup universe can also benefit from the book’s hands-on advice. free weekly Infochachkie articles! They are both former entrepreneurs and current Partners at Foundry Group , a highly successful, early stage venture firm.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

As a startup mentor and investor, I am approached regularly by aspiring entrepreneurs who assert that business plans are a waste of time. They cite sources like the BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this Forbes article. You need funding, and plan to get it from friends and family.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Writing Entrepreneur Slides 109

InfoChachkie

JUNE 27, 2011

I recently answered the question “ What are good ways to raise your children to be entrepreneurs? ” My response was brief and straightforward, which is common of popular Quora answers (as discussed in How To Write An Effective Quora Answer ). Every entrepreneur is faced with making something out of nothing. No Paychecks.

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Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Resource 270

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

Bockerstette, Main Street Venture Fund As I outlined last week, trophy angel investors are always looking for trophy entrepreneurs. In many areas, not enough entrepreneurs meet the criteria, so it’s still a buyer’s market. It consists of eight major criteria, which we call the “Eight P’s for Successful Funding”.

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Funding Startup Entrepreneur Activity 106

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. Here I make the case that entrepreneurs must stay focused on the prize, not the doubters. Entrepreneurs. ” **. It can be one of the strongest motivators.

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2015

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you, and demonstrating your readiness.

Startup 104

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Slides 104

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. I spent time on college campuses.

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Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2010

By Adam Hoeksema According to a report distributed by the Angel Capital Education Foundation , total startup funding from venture capital funds, state funds, and angel investors totals approximately $20.8 Tags: entrepreneur startup friends and family funding business. billion annually. Have an exit strategy.

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Funding Startup Blogging Invest 90

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. One the most frequent questions asked of me by entrepreneurs is, "How can I become a Venture Capitalist?" The inquiry is common because being a VC is (to an entrepreneur, at least) a sexy job. According to the NVCA, only 45 first-time funds were launched in 2011.

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Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

InfoChachkie

JUNE 11, 2012

According to a January 2012 Forbes article, nearly 16% of the 400 most affluent Americans do not have a college degree. For many entrepreneurs, college has little appeal. Academia’s arbitrary, bureaucratic structure, combined with its predominant focus on theoretical issues, causes many entrepreneurs to depart college early.

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Tips Startup Education Entrepreneur 279

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

I read this story on Ivan Kirigin’s blog that shows that Quora was posting which articles you’re reading to other people without your consent. I even had some reservations about writing this blog post this because I have no desire to p**s off other investors or great entrepreneurs. Of course not. Even if harmless.

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Blogging Content Press Startup 328

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2013

” In the article I discussed the downside of raising capital at a too high of a price and referred people to a previous article I had written encouraging founders to raise “ At the Top end of Normal ” as opposed to stratospheric prices. If we count seed funds and large angels maybe that number goes up by 2x?

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Pricing Seed Funding Invest Venture Capital 302

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

It’s what life was like as an entrepreneur. According to the SEC we’re not allowed to market the fact that we’re fund raising, so I won’t. But for some strange reason they make you file your progress on fund raising, which is the widely picked up by the press. I didn’t sleep much back then.

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Blogging Press Entrepreneur Venture Capital 420

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most sophisticated investors ignore them, focusing their attention on an entrepreneur's pitch and presentation materials, financial forecast and executive summary. As noted in Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Pitch Their Ideas To Venture Capitalists , most sophisticated investors place their bets on people rather than opportunities. Financials.

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Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 7, 2015

One of my favorite entrepreneur-Twitterer weighed in, “You want to keep tapping into their collective intelligence so you keep saying ‘Thank you for the feedback’ and they keep sending it,” Ms. I save room in literally every deal to invite angels (or seed funds) to co-invest with me. Morrill said. All of my partners at Upfront do.

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Angel Startup Seed Funding Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

One of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs make when they start a company and raise outside capital is figuring out what an acceptable “burn rate” is. That is, how much should your company be willing to lose in cash every month as you make investments in staff and equipment that funds technology, sales, marketing and management.

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Startup Venture Capital .Net Capital 212

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 25, 2016

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. If such write-downs only impacted the faux unicorns and their avaricious investors, there would be little need for alarm. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! Find A Partner Not A Banker.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Invest Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. I spent time on college campuses.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

InfoChachkie

APRIL 16, 2012

Article first published as Steve Blank Discusses Origin And Future Of Lean Startup Movement on Technorati. Steve is also a Stanford Professor and noted marketing entrepreneur. free weekly Infochachkie articles! Large companies write business plans, why of course, that’s the organizing document for a startup.

Startup 229

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InfoChachkie

MARCH 18, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Angel investors are often the sole source of funding for startups at the critical pre-launch stage. Angel investors are often the sole source of funding for startups at the critical pre-launch stage. Four Common Angel Archetypes.

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Angel Technical Review RSS Entrepreneur 217

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

Skip the acronyms, write at an eighth-grade level, and talk in terms of “benefits” rather than “features.” Business model, executive team, marketing & sales, financials, and funding. See my previous article “ Investors Expect Ten Essentials in a Business Plan ” for details on requirements here.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. I acknowledged this in the article. 2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. I said both in the article but felt compelled to provide a statement up front for the skimmers. That’s stupid.

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Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336