Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

I spent my first year developing proprietary deal flow and learning the business and then the Sept 2008 / Lehman Bros collapse / financial meltdown happened. As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I have done 6 VC investments – all within the past 20 months.

Venture Capital 387

Venture Capital Downey Writing Press 387

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

.” Here’s what I mean … Let’s start with what it takes for a journalist to want to write a story. Do I have an “angle” from which to write the story (first company to do X, company does biggest X, consumer behavior is doing X)? I am a VC. I hand out money. How differentiated is that?

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

SoCal CTO

MARCH 22, 2007

skip to main | skip to sidebar SoCal CTO Thursday, March 22, 2007 Discussion Creation Among Bloggers - LinkedIn, Blogging and Discussion Groups Ive been participating in a Yahoo Group that are users of LinkedIn and who are Bloggers: [link] Its an interesting group of folks from diverse backgrounds. See Five Things Meme as an example.

Blogging 150

Blogging CTO Coach CTO Hire Southern California 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 26, 2022

Most business advisors I know will say that writing a business plan is the first step to starting your own business, but I believe that a better first step is to do a self-analysis of your real drivers, strengths, and assumptions before committing to this lifestyle. You can’t really succeed in life if you are not happy.

Social Media 105

Social Media Writing Ideas Resource 105

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

My goal in the interview overall was to capture more of the personal side of Fred since so much of his investment thesis and portfolio work already comes out in his blog. We talk a lot about his schooling, his early jobs as a developer and then as a VC and we talk about his decision to spend winters in Los Angeles.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

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. If I check Twitter it’s usually because I’m waiting for a meeting to start and I never write posts during the day. By having 5 or 6 blog posts with different points of view they could draw more inferences.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

I know it may feel this way since I’m writing this tongue in cheek. By the way, I don’t spell check my blog posts either. It was a sufficient barrier and we developed social graces. The person writing things he or she is doing me a favor. Are you interested in looking at this investment where I’m on the board?”

Email 250

Email Writing Conference Mobile 250

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Consistent with the statistics cited in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs , the large majority of John and Kyle''s classmates accepted positions at investment banks and consulting firms upon graduation. blogging, in a sense. If we had a blogging platform then, we would have been blogging. an email) to about 35 people.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Xconomy

MAY 31, 2016

Microsoft plans to invest more in early stage startup companies through a new corporate venture fund, headed by former Qualcomm executives. And at the other end is where you’ll typically see our larger investments and acquisitions,” Kashyap writes. That forms one end of the company’s spectrum of startup activities.

Funding 62

Funding Artificial Inteligence Cloud Computing Writing 62

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

By definition, you read blogs. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I only say that because after years as a VC I can always tell when my peer group invested in something because “it seemed like it would make money” versus when they invested out of passion. His blog is even called SaaStr (a bit too close to Suster if you ask me ;-)). Does she live your journey?

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 4, 2021

Campaign setup and ad copy writing. There are many additional variables that the inexperienced marketer may not even think to consider: competition and positioning strategies, budgeting, match types, search and content syndication, and ad copy testing, as well developing the best ad wording and layouts.

PPC 154

PPC SEO Paid Search Search Engine Optimization 154

InfoChachkie

JULY 23, 2012

Rejecting the paint-by-numbers approach to corporate communications deployed by most marketing executives, Brad has embraced unconventional guerilla marketing tactics to help establish his venture capital firm, Foundry Group, as a thought leader in early-stage tech investing. companies should… focus on building amazing products.

Marketing 233

Marketing Blogging Startup Venture Capital 233

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2016

I’ve been online for nearly 30 years (yes, there was CompuServe and Prodigy before the www), blogging for 10 and using social media tools since the earliest days. As somebody who invested his time heavily in writing and wanting to share his thoughts through a blog I learned that I had to Tweet a post 3 times to get it read: 5am, 8am and 10pm.

Social Media 240

Social Media Snapchat Media Blogging 240

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

I invest heavily in relationships with journalists both because I like them and respect their profession and I know that there is a benefit to me in the long run if I’m not transactional in my relationships. And you need somebody who is committed to keeping up your presence in blogs, social media and other online forums.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

You’re writing a freaking blog post! I had a pre breakfast with a CEO of a company in which I invested talking about his next fund raising round. Separately, in the morning I called a seed-stage investor in NY and talked to him about investing in one of my companies. Plus, he’s a loyal reader of this blog.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

Consistent with the statistics cited in Why Entrepreneurs Hate (Most) MBAs , the large majority of John and Kyle''s classmates accepted positions at investment banks and consulting firms upon graduation. blogging, in a sense. If we had a blogging platform then, we would have been blogging. an email) to about 35 people.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

First it was street-style photography, then came the launch of her popular fashion blog WeWoreWhat. We are in phase three of the influencer economy,” Bain Capital Ventures senior principal Jamison Hill, who led the firm’s investment in the influencer shoutout marketplace Cameo , tells TechCrunch.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

In writing anything positive about any of the companies I’m not suggesting that it means that I prefer them to any of their competitors. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. Finally, a lot of people asking me about typos on my blog. Others I have not.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start. Let me give you an example.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 28, 2012

” Part of the beauty of blogging that in two sittings Fred was able to influence what was built over the next 12 months. I’ve wanted to write a blog post called “Mobile Second” for a long time to make this point more forcefully. Try writing long reviews of a restaurant. Fred’s post was right.

Web 334

Web Mobile Startup Software Review 334

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2017

Recently the firms two founding partners (and also Managing Partners) —  Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham  — decided to transition management of the firm to Andy Weissman (who joined in 2012) and Albert Wenger (joined in 2008 and writes one of the most thoughtful blogs in our industry ). Lindel Eakman led the discussion with Fred and Andy.

Venture Capital 161

Venture Capital Funding Capital Startup 161

InfoChachkie

JUNE 9, 2014

If he had spent any time reading my blog, he would have learned that I am not a fan of consultants, especially at startups. It is acceptable to politely ask for something when you are networking. – I do not expect everyone I speak with to be a fan of my humble blog. It turned out that he was seeking consulting projects at startups.

Networking 232

Networking Santa Barbara Research Blogging 232

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 9, 2012

I told him only 2 weeks ago when we were in London together that I wanted to write a blog post that has been in my head for 2 years. The Dave I know is very insightful about marketing, channel management and building developer ecosystems. Hell, I can barely manage 10 investments – how could anybody do 500? And I do, too.

Startup 309

Startup Venture Capital Email Writing 309

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 15, 2010

If you enjoy this blog I think you’ll enjoy watching the first 14 minutes of this video (just click on the image of me below). I give a sneak peek at a blog post I’m writing on the topic next week. . - No problem to have some developers in remote locations. Google’s investment in Zynga.

Venture Capital 210

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Southern California 210

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2010

Due to the risk involved with investing in a startup, if you are requesting investment from friends and family, be sure to consider these five steps before you begin the capital raising process: Prepare a pitch. Angel investors and venture capitalists want to know how you intend to grow their investment. Have a game plan.

Funding 90

Funding Startup Blogging Invest 90

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

We led a $4 million investment along with Thrive Capital, GLG and Sound Ventures. The news blogs will cover the what, how and how much but I want to focus on the “why” and try to be instructive of what I think makes for a great A-round startup. was sufficient for the jobs that existed in the industrial economy.

Design 150

Design Ideas Startup Writing 150

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2010

The chosen candidate will probably have worked for a very reputable firm that is either in technology, consulting, investment banking, media or a startup. Plus, show my you can write! I’m already 2 weeks late in writing this blog post as my partners keep reminding me. What is the timeframe? Yesterday.

Venture Capital 290

Venture Capital Technical Review GRP Partners Email 290

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

There is a structural reason that VCs are investing at early stages, 2. Many (Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, True Ventures, GRP Partners, Mike Hirshland at Polaris Ventures) do it the right way – we treat it as a normal investment and we don’t have a “options&# strategy with our investment.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

If you’re a developer you ought to be asking yourself the question. 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. Would it be okay to publish which companies I’m reading about for homework on an investment?

Blogging 328

Blogging Content Press Startup 328

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

Understanding where your VC partner sits in their respective fund and where their fund is in the cycle of its investment lifecycle will help you understand your VCs behavior. So what are Rob’s secret hacks that he didn’t spill in his blog post? . Each of your angels or seed investors may have 20-30 investments.

Tips 365

Tips Email Venture Capital CTO Coach 365

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2014

Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, lawyers, venture capitalists, or Angels. The menu should include a link to your blog, separately set up on Blogger, Wordpress, or TypePad – all free. Now the real work begins – promotion, marketing, blogging, and all types of search engine marketing.

Startup 100

Startup Commerce Sites Blogging 100

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I suggest you use social media, blogging, crowdfunding, or documented research to quantify a real demand from people who can afford it, and don’t have a better alternative already out there. Writing down key parameters will force you solidify the specifics, and mentally commit to them. Make the product or service come alive.

Ideas 94

Ideas Slides Technical Review Patents 94

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. If you don’t believe in your bones that you’re amazing then it’s no wonder you don’t want to sell them on making the investment.”

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Here are some key strategies that I recommend to every worker today: Develop and highlight your competitive differentiation. Pick your niche, and continually invest in improving your expertise and keeping up with trends. Develop the courage to move on. Write down some target objectives and milestones.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Competition Social Media 98

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 11, 2011

5) Rincon Venture Partners recently invested in The Resumator , which we identified via AngelList. Long-term, we may start investing in some of these companies as they go through. 3) If you were writing your book Pitching Hacks today, how would your advice differ ? We are productizing the raising of capital for startups. ”.

Startup 273

Startup Software Review Summary Technical Review 273

Tech.Co

JULY 25, 2017

But apart from building traffic, what I find most challenging is incorporating a lead capture strategy that will actually generate some blog subscribers. Luckily, there’s an abundance of lead generation tools that busy professionals can use to start building a subscriber base without investing too much time.

Tool 39

Tool Customer Custom Sites 39