Berkonomics

AUGUST 17, 2023

Preparing for the game… If you have been following our recent insights, you’ll be up to speed knowing that professional investors negotiate tough terms, from provisions of control over asset acquisition, eventual sale of the company, future investments, forced co-sale when others attempt to sell their shares and more.

Invest

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2021

If you want to get in better shape and haven’t read that you might start there. I started advice with the premise that no amount of exercise or food eating plan would help with long-term fitness or weight goals unless you first had a mental plan and a set of measurements to track your progress. I want to share with you how I did this.

Coach

TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 4, 2018

Freeletics , headquartered in Munich, Germany, is today announcing its first round of private capital after bootstrapping since 2013. As you might expect from the name, Freeletics operates its mobile fitness coaching app on a freemium model, with tiered pricing beginning at $11.99 for one month or $74.99 for a year-long membership.

Coach

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 10, 2013

I made many classic first-time mistakes which serves both as my warning signal of which teams to avoid funding (if I perceive they will make critical mistakes often led by hubris) and also as my source for coaching others. Startups are filled with enormously talented people – often product people & engineers.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2011

If you read this blog often you'll know that I'm a huge fan of First Round Capital. One example is that they introduced a program where their founders can pool together shares from their company and exchange them for a small portfolio of other First Round Capital companies. I'm a huge fan of this innovation. and Half.com. and Half.com.

Capital

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2014

In a VC business when you raise additional capital you need to “level up” and act the round you are. I’d say 20% of startups I see level-up early after their A round. These are important leveling-up activities but the CEO is often still up at 10pm f **g around with QuickBooks entries.

Startup

socalTECH

APRIL 4, 2013

That''s what Los Angeles-based FieldLevel (www.fieldlevel.com) has been working on, making it easier for coaches to network and exchange information on athletes. Brenton Sullivan: What we are is a private social network and platform for coaches to connect with each other, to exchange information on athletes. What is that process?

Coach

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Launchpad LA today announces it will accept applications for its third class of Los Angeles-based tech startups. But the most important metric has been the deep and lasting relationships that have been built with startups and also between senior executives. There are at least 6 incubators now being set up in LA.

Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Let me start with the news that I’m excited to share with you. Startup CEO experience (Founded P.S. XO along with my good friend Soleil Moon Frye. As I like to say (and as Kara humbly hates when I do so in front of others) … she has a much better resume to a venture capital partner than I do. billion).

Venture Capital

socalTECH

JANUARY 13, 2022

Los Angeles-based Masters, a startup that lets users get coaching and training from famous athletes, has raised $2.7M in a seed funding round.

Coach

socalTECH

OCTOBER 12, 2021

Los Angeles-based Day-J, a new startup offering up health and wellness coaching from experts, said this morning that it has raised a pre-seed round of funding worth $2.1M. The funding came from Raine Ventures, Fuel Capital, and Watertower Ventures. Day-J is led by co-founder and CEO Joe Perez.

Coach

TechCrunch LA

MAY 29, 2019

Los Angeles-based PlayVS (pronounced “play versus”) wants to become the dominant platform for amateur esports, starting at the high school level. I grew up on the west side of Detroit and started working at the cell phone store of a family friend when I was 13. Delane P. : And then two additional franchises.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. As You Start to Mature. In the Early Days.

Startup

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 29, 2021

million from investors Trucks VC, Kapor Capital, JFF, Energy Impact Partners and The Fund. This round values the startup, which was founded in January 2020, at $11 million post-money. Powering up. Can solid state batteries power up for the next generation of EVs? The company said it has raised $2.75

Incubator

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. Before I tell you the reasons I’m concerned about investment banking intros, I should start by saying I think bankers are enormously helpful for entrepreneurs in raising money. start-ups are overvalued. What kind of deals should I be doing?

Venture Capital

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Los Angeles-based The Skills , a new startup offering up subscription-based "life lessons" from celebrity athletes, launched today, saying that it is backed by Maveron, Global Founders Capital, and 8VC.

Coach

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 24, 2014

As a result I didn’t write my first venture capital check until March 2009 – exactly 5 years ago. I divided success into the phases of venture capital and 18 months into writing my first check here was my view (details on each in the link above). Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. How is my scorecard looking?

Venture Capital

socalTECH

JULY 22, 2020

Santa Monica-based Mobalytics , a startup developing tools that help videogame players improve their hardcore gaming on such titles as League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, and Legends of Runeterra, has raised $11.25M in a funding round, the company said on Wednesday. The leads in the round were Almaz and Cabra. READ MORE>>.

Coach

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%). Don’t even get me started on Demo Days.

Venture Capital

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

I realized a while back that creating a new company for the first time is a lot like whipping up a great dinner entrée for the first time – you need a recipe, even though it may look simple. Yet you may not be so sure where to start, and how to put it all together. Emeril Lagasse is always ready to “kick it up a notch!”

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2015

Everybody who signs up knows the trade they’re making and frankly if they don’t enjoy it there are hundreds of other places they would work that don’t have this lifestyle choice. And it consulting & banking you rise up to be relationship managers but in law you still need to be the s**t hottest at your legal practice.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 27, 2013

I’ve started a recent series on PR at startups since I get asked for advice on this topic so often. The start of this series was, Should Your Startup Announce Funding ? After that a meme developed amongst many startups (and the advisors that coached them) that, “TechCrunch didn’t matter.

Blogging

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about “ the politics of startups ” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology. A co-founder who started by working hard but gets sucked into the tech party circuit and has more interest in socialize than building cool s**t.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

This is part of my Startup Advice series. I had a picture in the office of my first company with the logo above and the capital letters JFDI. (In So I was surprised at the sheer volumes of decisions that had to be made when I became a startup CEO. He was stuck on capital raising. I think this paralyzes many people.

Entrepreneur

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. I think my mentality to banker pitches was best summed up in this article about Y Combinator in which Paul Graham apparently made the following quotes. start-ups are overvalued. We are judging how well you are coached on stage. What stage?

Startup

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

The summit is now associated with March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com). What's your role at March Capital? Meredith Finn: I joined March Capital at the beginning of the year. I did a lot of M&A deals in those spaces, and had some earlier, startup stage experience. How did you end up joining March Capital?

Capital

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

My biggest takeaway this year was truly understanding the strength and cohesion of the Los Angeles startup community. There was no monetary reward for those who participated (and Startup Boost does not take fees or equity from the companies that we help). What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?

Technical Review

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

We’ve hung out periodically over the past few years and I have enjoyed debating many startup topics. They switched to a flat rate model and sharing went up immediately. to $12 conversion went up! Sign me up.&# Awesome. All viral adoption starts with one thing – great content. Gregg says at $9.99

Startup

socalTECH

JULY 24, 2020

Hollywood-based Casa Verde Capital , the venture capital firm run by Snoop Dogg, has led a $9.5M investment in Proper a New York startup which says it is developing "evidence-backed" supplements and personalized coaching to help people sleep. per bottle or via subscription, which it claims help people sleep better.

Invest

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

When the Los Angeles-based startup Maslo launched its first product in early 2018 , the company was focused on a direct-to-consumer tool designed to encourage mindfulness and self-awareness through a machine learning enabled avatar that would respond to individual’s inputs.

Coach

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 12, 2012

During the fall of 2011, Steve wrote a controversial post entitled, Why VCs Should Be Startup CEOs. Board skills (Startup coaching, mentoring, strategy, operational/growth). But none of them are substitutes for having started and run a company. If you haven't already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. CEO Or Nothing?

Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 2, 2010

But I strive to impact the lives of many more through hours of coaching entrepreneurs, challenging people to be better, making human connections for people or providing timely advice. I’m not a saint who wakes up every day trying to make the lives of other people better. I started blogging because Brad Feld blogged.

Startup

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

One of the attributes identified by all of the venture capitalists questioned was, “Frugal use of capital.” If there happens to be a gas station along the way where you can fill up for a reasonable price, great. Capital efficient, web-based businesses should have a credible plan to self-sustainability.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

Having time to think about “leadership” at most startups feels like a luxury. The reality of most startups is about survival. If people don’t know the mission there is no way to achieve the objective and you end up with a team pulling in 100 different directions – even if only by small amounts.

Startup

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. In the end it will be up to you to figure out what to do. Nothing blows up great opportunities faster than founders who are constantly fighting. Politics are a part of human nature and thus a part of all startups. I think of VCs as coaches.

Venture Capital

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

billion two years ago and is expected to double by 2027, attracting startups, like alternative meat food tech company AKUA , that aim to solidify a prominent place in the up-and-coming industry. The total funds include backing from a Republic campaign, pre-seed investors and capital from the co-founders.

Startup

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2010

The group--which was started by Richard Koffler and John Morris , two well known investors in Los Angeles--has been trying to help connect CEOs with interesting university and other technology projects. A lot of the time, all the startup and inventor can get their head around is the technology, much less trying to deal with business issues.

Networking