Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2021

If you are one of the many professionals still trapped between jobs by circumstances outside your control, or are about to dump the loser job you have now, you should be actively defining and starting your own business, in parallel with looking for that ideal job. Use social networking and blogging to get your message out.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2014

I actually really enjoyed many of the points Muhammad made about marketing in general and I found myself nodding through the entirety of the article except for it’s core premise. I believe growth hacking is about all of this. I’d like to make the case that the article is wrong. I’d strongly encourage you to read it.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series called “ Start-up Lessons.&#. I was reading Chris Dixon’s blog tonight. I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. So back to MBAs.

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SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 17, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Saturday, February 17, 2007 About this Blog Ive been thinking about doing a blog with my thoughts on technology and whats happening in the Los Angeles area technology scene for a while, but it was Ben Kuos recent start of a blog that inspired me to actually go ahead and do it.

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TechCrunch LA

MARCH 26, 2020

500 Startups is scrapping its cohort model for accelerating companies and moving to a rolling admissions process, the accelerator said during its latest demo day. One of the progenitors of the accelerator model in the US along with Techstars and Y Combinator , 500 has been a cornerstone of the early-stage company building platform.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2014

Everybody has a blog these days and there is much advice to be had. Many startups now go through accelerators and have mentors passing through each day with advice – usually it’s conflicting. There are bootcamps, startup classes, video interviews – the sources are now endless. Improving startup productivity ?

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Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 8, 2013

I met fellow hustler Brian Curliss about 2 years ago at a Startup Weekend event that I was covering. It came as no surprise whatsoever when I found out that his new company MailLift was called up to the big leagues to join the 500 Startups accelerator. So what is so special about 500 Startups you ask?

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2014

.” I have been weighing in slowly on the topic over the past few weeks on Twitter but have avoided writing a blog post about it until now. The most relevant segment is where we talked about his passion for pseudonymity – the notes of which are linked there. Contrast that with HackerNews. Cars are dehumanizing.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. But succinctly this press places a marker in the ground for your company. I will add to this as I write more in the coming weeks on the topic.

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Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Everyone knows that startups are risky, but they also expect that the job will be exciting and potentially very lucrative (think early employees at Facebook and Google). Yet we have all heard stories about the high turnover, unstructured work environment, lower base pay, and unpredictable expectations from the top. Think big picture.

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Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

In my youth I read a Jack London tale about a scruffy teen who hung around the wharf in Oakland. The teen, we will call him Billy for this blog, often raided the oyster beds South of Oakland. Or maybe Billy’s story is the same story as so many start-ups. Lessons Learned: Start-ups are not for wimps.

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Tech Coast Venture Network

AUGUST 11, 2015

In my youth I read a Jack London tale about a scruffy teen who hung around the wharf in Oakland. The teen, we will call him Billy for this blog, often raided the oyster beds South of Oakland. Or maybe Billy’s story is the same story as so many start-ups. Lessons Learned: Start-ups are not for wimps.

Startup 100

Startup Blogging Activity Entrepreneur 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. I’m not saying that lawyers were my screening process – simply that they knew about deals early on and they had voted with their time and pocketbooks so I knew I had a degree of filtering. start-ups are overvalued.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy DiNunzio isn’t your typical Silicon Valley startup founder. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity. Just not the kind you would initially read about on TechCrunch.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. So can you successfully build a YouTube network? ” YouTube takes 45%.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

And what’s up with this crazy new blog design? Our event this year will feature many portfolio companies and also emerging LA tech companies such as Tinder & Whisper. Our event this year will feature many portfolio companies and also emerging LA tech companies such as Tinder & Whisper.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 20, 2015

We love capital efficiency until we love land grabs until we abhor over funding until we get huge payouts and ring the bell for more funding until we attract every non-VC on the planet to invest in startups until it crashes and we start the cycle all over again none the wiser. blog here ). I know we spoke about it this week.

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Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2010

I’ve been using Chartbeat for over a month now to track performance of my blog and I find myself looking at Google Analytics much less these days. Chartbeat is a relatively young company and product. I’m only writing about the product because I’m passionate about it. Basically, it rocks!

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 17, 2012

That they’re not afraid to stick their noses up to the establishment. ” I like people to have a healthy bit of motivation derived from wanting to stick their middle finger up at somebody who once dissed them or held them back. ” I’ve written about similar topics: 1. That they have something to prove.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2021

Socially distant hiking in Sedona (we drove there) I recently wrote about my weight-loss journey over the past 18 months where I lost 65 pounds without a fad diet and returned to my college weight. If you want to get in better shape and haven’t read that you might start there. I separately wrote about some food plans I use.

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Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2023

It’s still popular these days for startup founders to operate in stealth mode, meaning no details about the idea or progress are shared with anyone until the big reveal and rollout. Pivots and corrections are inevitable for startups in this age of rapid change, and the earlier you make them, the quicker you get to success.

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Marketing Startup Search Engine Optimization Ideas 105

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Every so often I find myself caught up in a really hectic 3-4 week schedule where it seems like I float endlessly betweens meetings. I get sucked up in “Do” mode. Startups Are for Doers. Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. Board Meetings. Conferences.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

But for some strange reason they make you file your progress on fund raising, which is the widely picked up by the press. I plan to write about it early next year when we’re all through. And why I woke up at 4.50am. As I’ve written about before, You’d Have to be a Big Baby to Complain about Being a VC.

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TechCrunch LA

JUNE 10, 2020

Team up with Black firms already doing the work. HBCUvc, which we first wrote about in 2017, currently holds a number of programs to help Black and Hispanic students enter the world of tech, from fellowships to micro-grants. The program is expanding to Chicago in 2021, the blog post notes. Among the strategies?

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Equity Technical Review Venture Capital Blogging 220

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 21, 2013

million new pages added to the Internet every day, the biggest challenge for every entrepreneur is to get found, and get some credibility for a new startup. I can attest from experience that publishing a regular blog to properly showcase your offering, even before you have it, is a most cost effective approach in time and money.

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Blogging Product Startup Writing 104

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. Of course that website isn’t completely up to date but it’s a great resource for seeing the overall picture. But let me start with some data. Much more data in the full post.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

One of the most frequent questions entrepreneurs ask about when they raise a little bit of money or are getting close to launching their first product is whether they should hire a PR firm. I wrote about how to build relationships with journalists in this post. In a startup this is a mistake. There is one carve out.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

I made every textbook mistake at my first startup, which is why I believe I was much more effective at my second one. The following are some lessons I learned about early-stage startup marketing. The truth is – there isn’t a “right&# answer so for your company. Be careful about this advice.

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Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Xconomy

MARCH 29, 2019

What does it take for a tech startup to be considered “cool?” It’s through that lens that the nonprofit organization, whose mission is to connect local startups with venture capitalists who are looking to invest, annually vets tech companies that apply for its “Cool Companies” program.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

And every great company is raising at north of a billion dollars now so I need to in order to compete.” ” I can’t make this s**t up. In November of 2013 Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures coined the term “ Unicorn Club ” as it relates to billion-dollar startup companies. ” “Ok.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

We did know about Snapchat as early as anybody. My colleague at the time James Bailey was bugging me to take a meeting when it was an unknown company because he had younger family members and friends obsessed with Snapchat who were in university at the time. Of course that was a wrong narrative for both companies.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

I am fond of quoting that about 70% of my investment decision of an early-stage company is the team. Final startup grind from msuster. How you build out your team in the first few years can have a huge impact on the trajectory of your company. PMs are a vital part of a tech startup. figure out roles. identify gaps.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. What I enjoyed was that Derek did his homework on me and allowed me to talk about a lot of personal topics, which I rarely have the chance to do. I grew up in Northern California.

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Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2016

I talk about failure a lot because I think it can be tremendously instructive and I think that success without failure often masks underlying lessons. I even prefer to fund entrepreneurs who have experience some level of set-backs in their careers or startups because I think it brings a humility to decision-making that I find healthy.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2013

TechCrunch interviewed me and asked me to talk about failure. So I spoke for 12 minutes about my own failures. As I’ve said before, all startups need to realize that every other company still has to see itself naked in the mirror in the morning. We all know that people who truly are crushing it rarely talk about it.

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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. Upon graduation from Wharton, John and Kyle launched a startup based upon a simple, pedestrian product: a computer mouse shaped like the head of a golf driver.

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