Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2009

I recently got a phone call from an entrepreneur whom I respect and who runs a company that I hope will do great things one day. He had pitched me in the past and I told him that for a variety of reasons his company was too early stage for me but that I would happily keep track of their progress.

Venture Capital 291

Venture Capital Press News Startup 291

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

I see it on email even more. Brunson’s short and to-the-point blog post, “ It’s Called Networking, Not Using.” ” In it he talked about how he gets daily emails asking for intros to Oprah (he does a lot of work with her) and his advice. It’s why I wrote the blog post on 50 Coffee Meetings.

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2014

I have blogged about some of the downside consequences of the changes and the private information I have says the consequences are much worse than is reported in the press since few people publicly talk about. We led an investment round in a company a while ago in which we wrote a seven-figure check and have taken a board seat.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

It’s apropos because there is so much noise these days with email, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, web shows, etc. I was thinking back to a few previous “insider baseball&# blog debates that raged for several weeks: AngelGate (aka Bin38 secret cabal), convertible debt vs. equity, bubble vs. not, and now the AngelList discussion.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Growth like this, this early in a company’s lifecycle rarely happens. So what are Rob’s secret hacks that he didn’t spill in his blog post? . Email updates frequently. Key point – if your emails are as long as my blog posts you’re forked. Make your emails actionable.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 27, 2013

Last year I wrote a blog post on entrepreneurs with a chip on their shoulders. My friend Seth Levine covered this well in his blog post on “ Handling Rejection ” which you should also read. But even if a VC is nasty a rant email back isn’t the right way to channel your frustration. And it’s everywhere.

Startup 371

Startup Press Blogging Entrepreneur 371

Berkonomics

MAY 23, 2019

If you are the largest company in your niche, you might want to define yourself by relative size, which connotes success and staying power. If you are the quirkiest of suppliers in your niche, you could create a campaign around your company’s counterculture. Use a word picture or mantra to make it memorable.

Mentor 120

Mentor Statistics Press Blogging 120

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 22, 2014

As somebody who has to rub shoulders with big tech companies often I can tell you that there is much blood spilled in the competitive trenches of Apple, Twitter, Facebook, Google and so on. Powerful countries & companies act powerful because they can. But let’s put this into perspective. Changes to algorithms.

Press 418

Press Journal Startup Competition 418

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2022

Not so long ago, training to meet the press and television reporters was a realm reserved for top business executives only. People judge you and your company in the first few seconds. These days the media formats range from email, phone, radio, television, to social media. Handling different media formats.

Media 118

Media Tips Social Media Startup 118

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

It got me thinking, which for me is always the sign of a good blog post. When you are selected you share the stage with 49 other companies (in the case of TechCrunch50. Most people pay attention to the first 5 companies. By company 22 it’s hard to remember what any of them did. I think Robert’s right. .

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

John Lusk, along with his Co-Author Kyle Harrison, leveraged their humble company''s newsletter into The MouseDriver Chronicles , a New York Times bestselling book. The company''s newsletter was initially created to share their entrepreneurial journey with their family and friends. an email) to about 35 people.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

Yes, I want to scream at the media who gave Trump so much free press and created false equivalencies between his misdeed and misstatements and Clintons. And I want to blame Clinton for using that damn email server but of course I know if it weren’t that it would just have been something else. This is MY blog.

Blogging 267

Blogging Course Venture Capital Media 267

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. On August 23rd, 2013 I had an email intro from my good friend and trusted source Jeff Berman who only sends me stuff when it is somebody he respects (ie a strong filter vs. those who send casual intros).

Funding 373

Funding Technical Review Startup Screening 373

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 25, 2011

A year ago I invested, along with Dana Settle at Greycroft Partners , in a startup company called Maker Studios. And anybody who follows this blog knows that I believe television disruption has already begun and it is more likely to resemble Internet content than streaming long-form content to our living rooms. Sound familiar?

Carson 291

Carson Content Press Los Angeles 291

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

According to the brand-ranking database Engagement DB, companies embracing social media grew revenues by 18 percent in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, all of us get more news and information than ever, sliced, diced, pushed or aggregated by Web sites, email alerts, blogs, Facebook, Tweets and the socalTECH newsletter youre reading now.

Social Media 133

Social Media Media Newsletter Press 133

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 1, 2009

The world has changed much since I started my first company in 1999. Tim encouraged us to set up a blog and start talking openly about what we were doing as a company and inviting comments. This was 2006 and we were now working on our second company. My second company, Koral, was designed to be as simple as possible.

Organization 280

Organization Customer Custom Tips 280

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

companies should… focus on building amazing products. I recently spoke with Brad about his approach to guerilla marketing and how he instills eclectic marketing tactics in Foundry Group’s portfolio companies. Chris is the CEO of Gnip , a Foundry Group portfolio company. If you have $hitty products, the marketing is impossible.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2009

I wanted to also post the series here to have it as a resource on my blog for future entrepreneurs who stop by. I’ve watched people who went to the top schools, got the best grades and worked for all the right companies flame out. If you fold at the first un-returned email what hope to you have as an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneur 338

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Google 338

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

John Lusk, along with his Co-Author Kyle Harrison, leveraged their humble company''s newsletter into The MouseDriver Chronicles , a New York Times bestselling book. The company''s newsletter was initially created to share their entrepreneurial journey with their family and friends. an email) to about 35 people.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

If you truly believe that you, your company and your products are exceptional and your company will be valuable then you’re actually doing them a FAVOR by helping them invest in your startup. an investment in your company. No VC spends more time evaluating your company unless they know that they at least have some interest.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

InfoChachkie

JULY 18, 2012

However, Eric recently posted the following insights on his blog. Make It Work was an amazing company. With over 38,000 cult-like testimonials, one cannot dispute the company delivered a valuable service in a way like no other company has come close. The company achieved many milestones along the way. I was wrong.

RSS 170

RSS Technical Review Capital Email 170

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2011

I was an angel investor in his company, made a bunch of calls on his behalf and then I personally sent it out on AngelList. Because my wife is a superstar she published them all on a blog here along with much other wonderful type-A mom advice. But before I sent it I had made 10 private phone calls, sent emails & built support.

Startup 292

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Summary 292

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Plus, he told us a little bit about how he's helping to build a mini cluster of technology companies in the Silverlake area. It's like WordPress, but instead of blogging, it provides an online community, which is self-hosted. However Gmail is only private email conversations. Alex Benzer: I'm actually building two startups.

Startup 242

Startup CTO Coach Blogging Social Media 242

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

But trust me when I say that my observations across many startups (and other companies, frankly) is that not enough time goes into thinking. If you’re not taking this zone-out down time I’ll bet you’re not having enough strategic reflection on your job, your company, your strategy. How can I play to my strengths?

Venture Capital 400

Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

Jason Nazar

AUGUST 15, 2013

Referring Traffic / Press. The Viral Loop / User Email. Referring Traffic / Press. The type of sites that might link into you are blogs, traditional press online, forums or bulleting boards, or content rich sites that are focused on a similar topic.To Search Engines. Social Media. Refreshing Content.

Web 61

Web Social Media Content Sites 61

socalTECH

MAY 24, 2011

I had requests from friends to put them on an email, or give them a calendar reminder when a band was playing, and one thing led to another, and I started the site. We have done lots of social media campaigns, and we have really collected with the music ecosystem, such as labels, bands, venues, press, management, and street teams.

Social Media 241

Social Media Startup Sites Advertising 241

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

A typical day starts with email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yammer checks/updates. Sometimes I make a blog entry. Some days I respond to questions asked by folks like yourself, the press, or an entity doing a case study, i.e. Citrix, RIM, USC. My company and I are a perfect case study for the Tech Council affiliation.

Acquisition 170

Acquisition Customer Custom Ideas 170

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2016

But if more of us in the tech sector speak up and in unison and constantly for the next 50 days it can change minds, encourage others and hopefully get amplified by the press to reach others. Use your blogs, use social media, use the TV media. Yes, I know Democrats are frustrated by Hillary’s email fiasco and rightly so.

Summary 150

Summary Media Technical Review Startup 150

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

However, the greater degree you can sequentially follow these steps and maintain your discussions with each venture capitalist (VC) at relatively the same stage, the sooner you can spend less time in the company of investors and get back to running your business. Subscribe to their blog. Prep Steps. The keyword here is authentic.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Customer 236

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’ve always been a big believer that just a couple of key individuals make all of the difference in a company’s success. Your highest priority right now is hiring the 1 or 2 people that are going to join your company and make a difference. Patron Companies. The ingredients are all here.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2015

We recently released the video sharing app Ferris and announced that Upfront Ventures led the funding in the company in our seed round of $2 million and I personally joined the board. I was simply blown away by their long-term vision for building a video company that stood out both technically and from a product vision.

Invest 150

Invest Tool Product Startup 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 20, 2017

Not so long ago, training to meet the press and television reporters was a realm reserved for top business executives only. People judge you and your company in the first few seconds. These days the media formats range from email, phone, radio, television, to social media. Handling different media formats.

Media 55

Media Social Media Startup Training 55

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

This shows itself when people try to do an elevator pitch, send concise, actionable emails or have a quick phone call with you to ask for help. Brad Feld told me that TechStars makes each company practice the 1 or 2-minute pitch the first week of the program. Now go pick up the phone and stop hiding behind emails.

Startup 315

Startup Help Class Sales 315

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 1, 2012

The following guest post is from Courtney Englert, Customer Success Intern at The Resumator , a SaaS applicant tracking system and hiring platform trusted by many of the fastest-growing companies in the world, including: Pinterest, Tumblr, Hootsuite, Klout, Posterous, Bitly, Atari and Mashable. Follow Courtney on Twitter at [link].

Startup 184

Startup RSS SaaS Press 184

Jason Nazar

JANUARY 14, 2009

“If You Build It…They Will Come” may work for historical baseball ghosts, but it’s not a strategy you can rely on when starting an internet company. Referring Traffic / Press. The Viral Loop / User Email. Referring Traffic / Press - The web is interconnected, and traffic flows among sites that interlink.

Web 62

Web Social Media Content Sites 62

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

It’s why I always work hard to find images for my blog posts & why all of my keynote presentations are visual rather than bullet points with words. This applies equally to VCs, startups & big company executives. When I write a blog post I often see the words before I write them. These are all creative processes.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Not so long ago, training to meet the press and television reporters was a realm reserved for top business executives only. People judge you and your company in the first few seconds. These days the media formats range from email, phone, radio, television, to social media. Handling different media formats.

Training 93

Training Media Entrepreneur Social Media 93