Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2016

At the Upfront Summit in early February, we had a chance to have many off-the-record conversations with Limited Partners (LPs) who fund Venture Capital (VC) funds about their views of the market. In fact, if you add the capital flows of the past ten years, there have been just shy of $50 billion in net cash outlays.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Marketing Seed Funding 150

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

Of course you could start your own company. As I talked about in “ Is it Time to Learn or Time to Earn ” – overwhelmingly the best economics go to those that start successful companies. Of course I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t start a company. For many people that’s the right answer.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

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. I explain in the video what happened in my first company (e.g. A: It’s not best.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Capital Startup Pricing 282

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. When the early teams: angels, lowercase capital & first round capital funded Uber they had no idea it would be one of the most revolutionary ideas of our time. Periodically we do portfolio reviews to evaluate whether we have enough diversified risk across the fund. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. I think you’ll really enjoy this video , but as always I have summary notes for those with less time. West Coast”).

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. This overview (executive summary) needs to include: Product and Business What is the product? What are related products/companies?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. This overview (executive summary) needs to include: Product and Business What is the product? What are related products/companies?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 5, 2019

Due to the overwhelming demand to pitch at our last event in San Diego, we're throwing an exclusive PitchFest speed dating event where you will be pitching to over 20 investors one-on-one! As an additional benefit, entrepreneur 1/4 page summaries will be given to the investor speakers and attendees. We're doing it again!

San Diego 100

San Diego Venture Capital Angel Summary 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 28, 2018

There are many things a VC is looking for in reviewing your business plan but beyond things the like the quality of revenue, margins, OPEX and CAPEX there’s a really simple rule I call, “Cash In, Cash Out, Milestones Achieved.” Let me check my plan.” Yes, I see plans this pedestrian.

Venture Capital 247

Venture Capital Capital Funding Demand 247

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Or, as always, summary notes available below. 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. Brad on blogging.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 11, 2011

Investor in Twitter, Foursquare, DISQUS, and (by Naval’s own admission) “a lot of other companies you have never heard of”. I recommend you first review Dharmesh’s article and then listen to Naval’s thoughts. I recommend you first review Dharmesh’s article and then listen to Naval’s thoughts. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

Startup 273

Startup Software Review Summary Technical Review 273

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. If you raise millions of dollars from professional investors it is no longer “your” company but a shared company that you control. Reviewing financial & operational performance.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2008

In what looks to be a challenging funding climate for entrepreneurs, we thought it would be interesting to talk to one fund which is still making investments--Saban Ventures (www.saban.com)--a new, digital media focused venture capital fund located in Los Angeles. For those not familiar with Saban Capital, tell us about the fund?

Capital 100

Capital Southern California Media Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. Understanding how your company will change as you move through these phases is critical if you hope to scale to a large business one day.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

You have to understand whether they’re likely to yield revenue growth in the near term OR whether you have access to cheap enough capital to fund your losses until your investments pay off. Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. Internet scale.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

I understand this instinct for more capital and I have two very different personal experiences: In my first company we raised an A-round of $16.5 million and in my second company we raised only $500,000 by choice. Every time you ask for money you’re faced with the possible of feeling literally and figuratively like a failure.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2016

According to the Angel Capital Association , at least 300,000 people have made angel investments in the last two years, totaling $24 billion in the U.S. A business needs technical, marketing, financial and many other skills. Prepare an executive summary and investor presentation.

Angel 65

Angel Startup Technical Review Social Media 65

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2010

Greycroft is Alan’s venture capital firm that recently raised its second fund ($130 million) with offices in both New York and LA. We’re here for Greycroft’s CEO Summit – a gathering of the CEO’s of their portfolio companies with guest speakers covering topics including how to build your team, PR, customer development, etc.

Startup 279

Startup Venture Capital Tips Custom Development 279

socalTECH

JUNE 21, 2013

Instead of equity, the company is aimed at profiting profitable small businesses with business debt funding from investors, to help those businesses grow and get to the next level. Ethan Senturia: Dealstruck is trying to solve the problem of successful, growing, mid-sized companies. What is Dealstruck?

Startup 247

Startup Software Review Entrepreneur Equity 247

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2015

Every investor in your startup, even friends and family, normally expects a share of your company (equity), which means your return for all your effort goes down quickly. After months of preparation, you should expect another six to nine months for reviews and funding cycles. Technology is not enough. In the U.S.

Pricing 100

Pricing Equity Technical Review Research 100

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 8, 2018

Steven Johnson, author of How We Got To Now , analyzes technological breakthroughs, looking for patterns that allow entrepreneurs to identify “How We’ll Get To Tomorrow.” We all have hunches, but if we do not diligently document them, we risk losing them. This is a lead up into an executive summary. Chaos By Design .

Ideas 69

Ideas Startup Technical Review Santa Barbara 69

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I know you’re not a tech guy and haven’t done anything other than an HTML course you once took, but if you’re inspirational and a leader you’ll find somebody to moonlight for free to get your prototype built. Great companies are built by having great products. That’s OK. of people aren’t.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

A look around technology industry, perhaps the heart of the global revolution, shows a happily working international community all pushing for the common goal of innovation. Even investors and experienced founders are caught in the same net as recently educated graduates looking to build companies. Take the U.S. and Mark Warner (D-Va.)

Technical Review 77

Technical Review Startup Offshore Entrepreneur 77

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2008

In what looks to be a challenging funding climate for entrepreneurs, we thought it would be interesting to talk to one fund which is still making investments--Saban Ventures (www.saban.com)--a new, digital media focused venture capital fund located in Los Angeles. We also see teams out of companies like Qualcomm and Broadcom.

Southern California 100

Southern California Media Venture Capital Invest 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 17, 2011

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This is a long post, so I put an executive summary here if you want to get the point without reading all the detail. If you plan to read the post you can skip the summary if you want. This applies equally to VCs, startups & big company executives. Just 12 bullet points & you’re done.

Writing 356

Writing Startup Ideas Summary 356

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

There is all sorts of advice on the Internet about how to raise capital. I’ve raised money as a “hot company” and I’ve raised capital when no one would return my phone calls. I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

When you are selected you share the stage with 49 other companies (in the case of TechCrunch50. Most people pay attention to the first 5 companies. By company 22 it’s hard to remember what any of them did. Many other great companies are not. - It’s no wonder many companies don’t get good coverage.

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 24, 2017

What neither group seems to fully comprehend is that retail needs to fundamentally change to succeed, far beyond the addition of an online component, to meet the experience expectations of today’s generation, an oversupplied global marketplace, and technology for instant pricing and distribution.

Customer 52

Customer Custom Technical Review Summary 52

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 9, 2011

So the industry formed around a day of the week when all partners could avoid having company board meetings or traveling. Valuations were enormous relative to progress in companies. Companies with less than $2 million in revenue were asking for $50-60 million valuations and getting them. tl;dr summary. tl;dr summary.

Marketing 305

Marketing Venture Capital Funding Technical Review 305

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 22, 2011

But one theme in pervasive in all my thinking about investing in Internet-based companies: Deflationary economics. If you’re a startup and you haven’t read my summary of Clay Christensen’s seminal work please do. The new entrant keeps margins low but suddenly has a lot of profits due to large volumes of business.

Startup 386

Startup Pricing Marketing Product 386

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2016

It’s a term most of you know as being somebody who is backward or uninterested in learning new technology. You can imagine that if you had spent a lifetime gaining a vocational skill and being a member of a protected industry guild that you wouldn’t be happy with technological change. Actually, the Luddites were worse than this.

Education 150

Education Resource Class Course 150