Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months. How to get your Series A mojo back The rest of the outline I’ll write as a series to come back to this blog if you want to read more. … So you might hear 9–10 “no’s” in the early stretches of your fund raising process.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

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

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

We caught up with Mark Suster , one of Upfront''s General Partners and a well known blogger and technology personality, the new fund, and how his blogging is now driving the firm''s investment activity. As you probably know, two thirds of our investments go into Los Angeles. Those are all categories we know well.

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

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

MARCH 6, 2015

*. If you are a 20-something tech entrepreneur you could be forgiven for thinking that seed-stage investors, Angellist Syndicates and widely available angel money always existed. Jeff and his peer group have done an excellent job at creating a new category of seed-stage VC. It is, of course, a very recent phenomenon.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Invest Cloud Computing 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2012

Investors tell me that they invest in people, more than the idea. Dominate the category (even if you have to create a new one). Being a brand entrepreneur, both for you personally as well as your business, requires learning, and is an ever-changing art without easy formulas. Craft a simple message to make that your identity.

Entrepreneur 98

Entrepreneur Startup Customer Custom 98

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 23, 2019

However, the adjective “electric” was eventually dropped when all the devices in a product category utilized the technology. You’re not a SaaS entrepreneur, you’re a software entrepreneur. Rather, the software companies I’ve invested in, such as JazzHR , TaxJar and SimpleLegal , compete with Web 1.0

SaaS 113

SaaS Software Artificial Inteligence ASP 113

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 attended events. I did speaking gigs.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2011

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly require an investment – in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time. Pick the right platform for your business.

Social Media 93

Social Media Media Entrepreneur Platform 93

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 13, 2011

Brad on blogging. How did you start blogging? “My My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

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. Not to mention USV’s investments in MongoDB (10Gen), Lending Club and a host of others. You need to invest in good markets and bad.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

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 attended events. I did speaking gigs.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Tech.Co

OCTOBER 28, 2020

The new team-up has a lot of moving parts: Shopify even termed it a “first-of-its-kind” partnership in its announcement blog post. Merchants can target campaigns by gender, age, user behavior, and video category, with their total cost varying based on merchants' needs and budget. How the Partnership Works.

Help 149

Help Platform Startup Social Media 149

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2015

I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. Have a shorter to-do list with more things that are in the “done” category.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

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. Only naive people believe that but for inexperienced entrepreneurs you can be fooled into the narrative by the press who sometimes write stories without the actual data. PHONE CALLS.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price. This is wrong.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 13, 2015

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should select only social media for marketing, or stick with digital media, or just count on traditional media. According to a recent article in Entrepreneur , 94% of small and medium businesses (SMBs) now use social media as a marketing tool, and 81% use it to drive growth.

Social Media 108

Social Media Media Marketing Resource 108

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

You’re writing a freaking blog post! I do what I wish all entrepreneurs would do. I try to bucket my tasks into major categories and spend some time doing each of them. I had a pre breakfast with a CEO of a company in which I invested talking about his next fund raising round. “But WAIT !!! Operations.

Email 314

Email Product Startup Writing 314

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 9, 2017

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly always require an investment, sometimes large, in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time. Marty Zwilling.

Social Media 66

Social Media Media Tips Platform 66

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2017

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly require an investment to be hard hitting – in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time.

Social Media 58

Social Media Media Platform Tool 58

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2013

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should use social media for marketing, digital media, or traditional media. Every business should look at its cost of customer acquisition (COCA) and return on investment (ROI) twice a year and after each campaign. Don’t try to tackle all 20 major categories of digital social media at once.

Social Media 103

Social Media Media Marketing Startup 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2014

Investors tell me that they invest in people more than the idea. Dominate the category (even if you have to create a new one). Being a brand entrepreneur, both for you personally as well as your business, requires learning, and is an ever-changing art without easy formulas. brand business entrepreneur personality startup'

Startup 98

Startup Tips Customer Custom 98

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Kathy Sierra at Business of Software 2009 - Business of Software Blog , May 4, 2010 "In the old days, getting customers was easy. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. In many of them I get asked similar questions, including the inevitable “what makes a great entrepreneur?” You could just outspend. You Can’t Sign This Deal.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 18, 2013

Investors tell me that they invest in people, more than the idea. Dominate the category (even if you have to create a new one). Being a brand entrepreneur, both for you personally as well as your business, requires learning, and is an ever-changing art without easy formulas. Craft a simple message to make that your identity.

Startup 109

Startup Customer Custom Ideas 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 22, 2012

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly require an investment – in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time. Pick the right platform for your business.

Social Media 95

Social Media Media Startup Platform 95

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2017

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should select only social media for marketing, or stick with digital media, or just count on traditional media. Every business should look at its cost of customer acquisition (COCA) and return on investment (ROI) twice a year and after each campaign. Focus first on the social media trinity.

Media 59

Media Marketing Social Media Resource 59

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2016

As an entrepreneur looking for professional investors, one of the quickest ways to lose credibility and get rejected is to start with a ridiculously high pre-money valuation. I see it happen often in my angel investment group, and you can see it happen almost every week on the Shark Tank TV show.

Startup 71

Startup Patents Invest Blogging 71

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

category E visa for investors as a prime example of the recent troubles. or purely invest in established U.S. nationals, making it difficult for investing founders to reach requirements, as well an application checklist with no set amount. Attracting business investment. Take the U.S.

Technical Review 77

Technical Review Startup Offshore Entrepreneur 77

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2012

Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should use social media for marketing, digital media, or traditional media. Every business should look at its cost of customer acquisition (COCA) and return on investment (ROI) twice a year and after each campaign. Don’t try to tackle all 20 major categories of digital social media at once.

Media 92

Media Social Media Marketing Resource 92

Xconomy

OCTOBER 25, 2016

According to the National Venture Capital Association and PitchBook , this past quarter $15 billion was invested in 1,810 deals , which compares unfavorably to both the prior quarter ($22.1 billion, 2,559 deals), signaling perhaps a period of digestion given how much had been invested during the 2014-2015 window.

Venture Capital 40

Venture Capital Capital Activity Invest 40

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 18, 2011

I enjoyed it there, but they eliminated the apparel category so I decided to worked for a family owned apparel company. Kyle: How did you get started in the entrepreneur world? Kyle: What’s been the most after sought category of items? Andrea: I would think you would want to invest in a leader who really understands the market.

Startup 99

Startup Social Media Media Sites 99

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I wrote the summary notes in this blog post. I would mostly lump me in that category. And did I really just try to drop an SAT word into my blog post? The quote from Bryce is: “When an entrepreneur steps to the whiteboard the energy in the room totally changes. That notes only told part of the story.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

I recently read a post over on VentureHacks titled, “ Top Ten Reasons Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers &# written by Scott Walker (who blogs on legal issues for entrepreneurs ). When we invest they are often the company counsel so we see them at board meetings. Much of this is unfounded – some is not.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

socalTECH

APRIL 14, 2010

Those are our three biggest categories as far as sponsorship and readership. Brands are definitely investing it in the women and mom's space. We don't think of ourselves as mommy bloggers, Gloss is not a blog but really an online magazine and community. We're also investing a lot in video. READ MORE>>.

Networking 230

Networking Social Media Startup Search Engine Optimization 230

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

I recently read a blog post by Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures about why entrepreneurs should care about from whom their VC funds raise their capital. There are a lot of things I think entrepreneurs should care about when raising from a VC: How big or small their fund is? I could go on for a long time.

Entrepreneur 150

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Invest Funding 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2010

Pretty much anything that goes into a business plan falls into one of these four categories: Opportunity : Every successful business exploits an opportunity. A lot of first-time entrepreneurs think that a brilliant solution is the most important ingredient in building a successful business, but it's only one of many important elements.

Startup 91

Startup Oracle Entrepreneur Ideas 91