SoCal CTO

JANUARY 5, 2011

My 1,000th Post on This Blog - Tim Berry's Blog - Planning Startups Stories , July 21, 2010 HTML5 video markup, compatibility and playback - Niall Kennedy's Weblog , February 8, 2010 Your Product Needs a Soul - ArcticStartup , February 12, 2010 Product Friday: Monetizing Content is a Product Problem - This is going to be BIG.

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Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Coach 378

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

As part of UC Santa Barbara’s Distinguished Lecture Series, Jason Nazar, Co-Founder and CEO of Docstoc , recently shared ten lessons that emerging entrepreneurs can learn from superheroes. Jason’s inspiration for this 6 ½ minute talk was a blog entry he wrote in 2008, which went viral within the startup community.

Entrepreneur 279

Entrepreneur Startup eBook Course 279

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2011

tl;dr version: If you’re an entrepreneur or VC or will be working in this industry - buy this. – entrepreneurs never seem to focus on anything other than ownership percentage. This series inspired me to start my blog as a VC. This article originally ran on TechCrunch. Drag along rights? There was no guide.

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Guide Blogging 304

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2010

On why you should be an entrepreneur, “A lot of people do what they have to do. He said that he noticed a lot of tech entrepreneurs don’t speak into the mic, don’t project their voices with confidence and aren’t necessarily paying attention to the mood or energy of the audience.

Entrepreneur 356

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Startup Email 356

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 5, 2014

For me, after nearly a decade in the trenches of being an entrepreneur I felt I was un-brainwashed from trying to pretend I had all the answers. The more self-assured the VC is and the more impressionable the entrepreneur is the worse the outcome. ” I’ve already blogged about how I work through this process: I triangulate.

Entrepreneur 337

Entrepreneur Technical Advisors Startup Venture Capital 337

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

.&# It was my investment philosophy that observing teams’ performance over time was far more insightful than reacting to how good of a product demo they do, how good they present Powerpoint slides or how great tech blogs say they are. I felt the exact same way when I was an entrepreneur. Lines vs. Dots is all about people.

Entrepreneur 330

Entrepreneur Marketing Venture Capital Hulu 330

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 18, 2012

As part of UC Santa Barbara’s Distinguished Lecture Series, serial entrepreneur and noted venture capitalist Mark Suster recently shared his advice with a large crowd of emerging entrepreneurs. Mark is a Partner at GRP Partners and authors one of the most widely read startup blogs, BothSidesOfTheTable. The youngest was 15.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Startup Conference Santa Barbara 272

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. in September of 1999.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2010

TechCrunch ran my article yesterday as a guest post but I wanted to have a copy here for anybody who missed it and for future readers of this blog. Having been through this all before myself I would like to tell a cautionary tale that can happen to the best of us: The Yo-Yo life of the tech entrepreneur. We were based in London.

Entrepreneur 308

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Conference 308

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 14, 2015

How do you have time for all your entrepreneurs? I don’t know Ezra yet but since he’s taking the time to blog (which I hugesly respect) and share thoughts I thought I’d take him up on his challenge and also spill the beans on my secrets. On blogging I blog because I love it. My other secret on blogging?

Blogging 150

Blogging Writing Startup Email 150

InfoChachkie

JULY 16, 2012

While no one will ever break out in applause when they encounter an online ad, it is reassuring to know that these innovative entrepreneurs are striving to make our collective online experiences a bit less painful. You can also check out my blog for emerging entrepreneurs HERE. Share and Enjoy.

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Customer Custom Entrepreneur Advertising 226

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. Read: it’s an option for that investor and a super expensive one to you, the entrepreneur. Why should you care?

Entrepreneur 310

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Writing Invest 310

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

” We explained what we felt the core values of a firm of the future needed to uphold: Provide real operational insights to entrepreneurs (the days of being “money men” are gone). Be open & transparent (mimicking the greater social order changes that have come with blogs & social media). But I miss blogging.

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Venture Capital Startup Blogging Platform 324

InfoChachkie

APRIL 25, 2011

Although many are entertaining, most fail to provide entrepreneurs with a sufficient return on their time investment. Unfortunately, most business books do not offer entrepreneurs an adequate payoff. It has also influenced my thoughts, as evidenced by the six infoChachkie blog entries which reference Art. I was not disapointed.

Technical Review 279

Technical Review Blogging Class Entrepreneur 279

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

I was an entrepreneur for years. As I talked about on many occasions when I was an entrepreneur – and blogged publicly about - I learned a lot about my business and myself in these meetings. I must have pitched 40-50 VCs over the years. Possibly more. It was largely a positive experience. Make sure to watch the video ].

Venture Capital 292

Venture Capital Blogging Conference Google 292

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 1, 2011

I was thinking about all of this as I looked at the logs from my WordPress blog this evening. I started blogging 2 years ago. I hope to offer experiences from being an entrepreneur and being a VC.&#. Building a blog & name recognition is only one small, small part of my job. I did that? Back to zero. Here we go.

Startup 391

Startup Blogging Venture Capital Writing 391

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

The major battle for press is a battle for “mindshare” and it’s exactly the reason I blog. Consider this blog post titled, “ Christmas 2012 Shatters More Smart Device and App Download Records.” And I’m sure it’s not lost on you that my tips and my blogging are, in fact, POV marketing.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

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.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2021

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.

Entrepreneur 156

Entrepreneur Tips Funding Startup 156

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Now, I’m pretty on the record that being an entrepreneur is about being great at The Do. The number of times I’ve had people come to me and say they want to blog more. I have written about the need for entrepreneurs to take inventory in themselves before deciding whom to hire as the rest of the team.

Venture Capital 400

Venture Capital Conference Ideas Entrepreneur 400

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2010

Chris Dixon wrote a blog post last week titled, “ Techies and Normals &# in which he defined “Techies&# as people who are not just “early adopters&# but also have more of a geeky, technical, product bent. Anyway, Chris’s blog got me thinking about Techies and Normals. He is both.

Product 348

Product Startup Design Blogging 348

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

Here’s how I learned: When I first started blogging 18 months ago or so I started asking people the best way to get distribution. I had a few friends help with the initial distribution and explained how to do that in this post on how to blog effectively. I didn’t want to obsess with it (I have a day job!)

News 284

News Blogging Search Engine Optimization SEO 284

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

He’s back in the game as an entrepreneur and this time he wants to take on Facebook. We had a long chat about “pseudonymity” – so much so that I came home that night and wrote this blog post. He won the battle (the lawsuit) but lost the war (went bankrupt, with pending litigation he couldn’t get funded.

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Veoh Netflix Social Network Blogging 269

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 6, 2020

One of the simplest questions I get from aspiring entrepreneurs, and ironically one of the hardest, is “How do I start?” They just aren’t prepared for the life they want, and are really asking me how to learn to be an entrepreneur. Help entrepreneurs with constant learning. Learning doesn’t have to be all work.

Entrepreneur 137

Entrepreneur Tips Startup Education 137

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. This is true on all of the major tech blogs. So your goal should be a steady stream of news across many different news outlets and your own blog.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

Since I answer this all the time anyway I thought it might make an interesting blog post. I get paid (well) for interesting people to come in and tell me how they want to change the world – Being an entrepreneur is like having blinders on. At least for the best entrepreneurs. That’s true. Here’s why: 1.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

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. And you need somebody who is committed to keeping up your presence in blogs, social media and other online forums. I find this so inauthentic.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 18, 2014

In my Twitter bio is says that I’m “ looking to invest in passionate entrepreneurs ,” which almost sounds like I was just looking for a cliché soundbite to describe myself. Passion is also the featured heavily in nearly every presentation I give to entrepreneurs or on college campuses or in talks with MBA students.

Startup 419

Startup Entrepreneur Design Funding 419

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2013

It’s only 12 minutes long and if you’re a first-time entrepreneur (or second time, frankly) I encourage you to watch it if for nothing else than to get a sense that your struggles are universal. This naive optimism is why I believe younger entrepreneurs are more likely to produce insanely big outcomes. There is less ego.

Startup 412

Startup Press Course Entrepreneur 412

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. Does he blog about venture capital and try to advise entrepreneurs? Is this investor on AngelList? You betcha.

Venture Capital 352

Venture Capital Seed Funding Email Blogging 352

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 6, 2010

If you’re an entrepreneur (or just interested in the topic or love watching a bit of controversy) I highly recommend checking out the The “sliced up&# version, which here (if you click on the video image embedded above it will show the whole video).

Startup 312

Startup Class Blogging Entrepreneur 312

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2020

Although most people believe that being a successful entrepreneur is all about having the right idea, I’m convinced from my years of experience as a startup advisor and investor that’s it’s more about you as a person. The best entrepreneurs are not just dreamers of the next big thing – they have to be great facilitators and problem solvers.

Entrepreneur 129

Entrepreneur Examples Blogging Customer 129

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2021

You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. I hope all this seems obvious to you, but I still get a good number of notes from “entrepreneurs” who have been busy inventing things all their life, but can’t find a partner to start their first business, and others trying to find an executive, an investor, or a lawyer.

Entrepreneur 140

Entrepreneur Startup Social Network Mentor 140

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

Wouldn’t we be a bit hypocritical if we talked with entrepreneurs about innovation and change but we weren’t willing to take it on ourselves? Why should investors know all the tricks of the trade while first-time entrepreneurs operated at a disadvantage? What’s up with that? That seems pretty superficial!”.

Funding 343

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Startup 343

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2015

I’m so tired of seeing young entrepreneurs get screwed by their angel investors on convertible notes and I know I can’t convince you not to do it so I’d like to offer one simple bit of advice to help you avoid getting screwed (at least on one part of your note). If you do I will amend this blog post.

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur Pricing Venture Capital Angel 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2011

In case you missed all the kerfuffle this weekend, I posted this blog post originally on TechCrunch. This is a blog post I really didn’t want to write. Still, as I’ve written in the past, what I love about blogging is the ability to have a public debate where we can all learn. The post is balanced and worth reading.

Venture Capital 267

Venture Capital Writing Blogging Startup 267

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

I often talk about what I’m looking for when I meet with an entrepreneur. Above all else I’m looking for a genuine passion for what the entrepreneur is doing. You can sense when it is a “mission” for this entrepreneur to succeed and she will continue the journey even if success isn’t easy or immediate.

Venture Capital 373

Venture Capital Startup Course Entrepreneur 373