Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Let’s set up a framework. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

The sweeping infrastructure package put forward today by President Joe Biden comes with a price tag of roughly $2 trillion (and hefty tax hikes) but gives startups and the broader tech industry about $1 trillion worth of reasons to support it. The vast majority of those are nowhere up to modern codes.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

socalTECH

JUNE 4, 2014

However, Egg Baby--the title from newly funded Nix Hydra (www.nixhydra.com)--seems to have cracked the code for how to get new, young, female consumers to become game players. How did the company start? Most of the reviews rant about how cute the game is, so they probably like that too. Plus, we love this demographic!

Software Review 113

Software Review Startup Mobile HTML 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

As I’ve written about recently, at Upfront Ventures we started talking a couple of years ago about wanting to fund stuff with more meaning. I seldom hire patent attorneys during due diligence but this was too important. We hired IP specialists to review prior art. We hired OSHA regulatory lawyers. It was impressive.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

In December 2007, I described how I commonly take on an Acting CTO Role in a Start-up. However, I’ve now begun questioning how and what an early-stage / startup CTO should be. What worries me a bit is how often I read that startups should hire a developer / hands-on lead developer. Gap closed, right? Probably not.

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. What makes up revenue?

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. Some argue to simply eliminate software patents, while others put their hopes in U.S. Even if you start with the U.S.

Patents 53

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Of course, there are always exceptions, but how much added risk do you need for your startup? Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 25, 2016

Many startup businesses – tech or otherwise – fail. Trying outrageous new things or even trying mundane things but in new ways but with extreme quality & innovation is what fuels the tech startup industry. But today I want to give you advice on how to decrease your odds of failure in a startup.

Startup 150

Startup Marketing Study SEO 150

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Of course, there are always exceptions, but how much added risk do you need for your startup? Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

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

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 29, 2020

Kleiner Perkins , one of the most storied franchises in venture capital, has already invested much of the $600 million it raised last year and is now going back out to the market to raise its 19th fund, according to multiple sources. A spokesperson for KPCB declined to comment on the firm’s fundraising plans citing SEC regulations.

IBM 164

IBM IBM Venture Capital Invest 164

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Article first published as Why Selling To The Government Can Downgrade Your Startup on Technorati. Now, more than ever, government agencies in the US and abroad are lousy startup customers. Some startups opt to partner with larger companies which have pre-established relationships with government customers.

Startup 207

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Sales 207

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Getting face time with VCs or people of influence is an ongoing challenge for startup founders, and it may take layers of introductions to get to the right person. She launched the iTech program within NASA to reach out to startups with innovative technology that have an Earth and space travel application.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

One is the “denominator problem&# which says that if an LP invests X% (the denominator) into “alternative investments&# such as venture capital and if their total amount available to invest (the numerator) goes down by 30% then the amount they allocate to VC will by definition need to go down by 30% to stay the same percentage.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 20, 2016

There is a common belief in the angel and venture capital community that you put your money on the best team, rather than the best idea. Building a startup business is not the same as corporate executive experience, so prior titles in a big business may actually be seen as a negative. Solo entrepreneurs rarely find an investor.

Startup 60

Startup Entrepreneur Software Review Technical Review 60

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2013

We caught up with CEO Simon Anderson to learn more about the big debt funding round and how it came about, the complexities of providing founder liquidity in a bootstrapped company--and how the company is looking to use those funds to take the company to the next level. The company- now has around $50M in recurring annual revenues.

Software Review 238

Software Review Cloud Computing Technical Review Platform 238

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Of course, there are always exceptions, but how much added risk do you need for your startup? Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

I’m a very big proponent of the “lean startup movement&# as espoused by Steve Blank & Eric Ries. Nobody really knows whether or not the idea is yet going to be big, so I believe in not over capitalizing too early. I believe that over capitalizing companies too early often favors the VC. You have a hunch.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. My blog was wiped out. And covered we did. Tempus Fugit.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

socalTECH

MARCH 20, 2015

Los Angeles-based ClickTripz (www.clicktripz.com), is a startup developing ad solutions for travel publishers, and thought we''d learn more, so we spoke with Ross Weber , co-founder and CEO of ClickTripz, to hear more about the company. How did you guys start the company? What''s the story behind the company? Ross Weber: In the U.S.,

Advertising 100

Advertising Startup Software Review Platform 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Whether you are talking to peers, competitors or investors, you as an active entrepreneur will be judged on your familiarity with today’s startup and funding jargon. This term is currently applied to recent startups who profess a current valuation which exceeds $1 billion. Could your startup be the next one? Sweat equity.

Startup 57

Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 2, 2017

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Of course, there are always exceptions, but how much added risk do you need for your startup? Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world.

Sites 59

Sites Startup Technical Review Oracle 59

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2013

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. Of course, there are always exceptions, but how much added risk do you need for your startup? Today, Silicon Valley is the consumer and enterprise software capital of the world.

Startup 102

Startup Technical Review Oracle Entrepreneur 102

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

For starters Uber itself has had to lay off 27% of its workforce due to the pandemic and has been severely impacted financially from the crisis with no immediate respite in sight. they just put up with the food delivery company fees. You lose the ability to up-sell and cross-sell products.

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2010

The company provides SAT, ACT, and other similar test preparation courses and related software. How did Revolution Prep start? We started in 2000. I had worked as a tutor for Princeton Review, and Jake for Kaplan. We started that in 2002, and it's actually our eight year anniversary, on the 20th of September.

Software Review 178

Software Review Technical Review Education Startup 178

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

of all statistics are made up. Here’s how I learned my lesson: I started my life as a consultant. Fortunately I was mostly a technology consultant, which meant that I coded computers, designed databases and planned system integration projects. People throw them around at cocktail parties. I say it deadpanned.

Statistics 415

Statistics Startup Report Research 415

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

Intellectual Property (IP) is an ugly thing at a startup. However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. How can IP be worthless to a startup yet very worthwhile to a BDC? Patents held by startups generally have a limited ability to reduce competition. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series of posts and I need to file this one under both Raising Venture Capital and Startup Advice. Many of these businesses were what First Round Capital called FNACs (features, not companies – this acronym has always stuck with me). That died with waterfall software development.

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

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. And even this can’t stop their employees from fleeing after two years of vesting to move on to the next hot startup. Easier said than done.

Software Review 150

Software Review Startup Venture Capital Invest 150

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

In the startup world, the former happens when a VC makes a bad investment, and the latter occurs when they miss a great opportunity. Thus, while we maintain a healthy degree of optimism, we begin each funding discussion knowing that most nascent startups are not worthy of an investment, until we prove them otherwise. Unicornless.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2016

140,000 new startup companies are reportedly launched every day. But new startup communities who benefit from governmental subsidies and an ecosystem that promotes growth and sharing, are now viable alternatives. I spoke to startup founders from new emerging locations across the globe. Our key markets are the U.S.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Startup Incubator Media 40

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2018

Most of you new venture founders I meet as an angel investor seem convinced that starting the business is the hardest part. I’m sure you can all think of several examples of businesses that popped up quickly, with great business models, but then faded just as quickly. Find ways to work with your competition.

Examples 67

Examples Customer Custom Software Review 67

socalTECH

JULY 31, 2013

In the world of mobile app and Internet startups, it''s not that often that you see companies who touch the hardware side of the world get funding nowadays. The firm recently raised a $15M series C funding, and we caught up with Kevin to learn more about why its customers, and investors, are interested in its technology.

Technical Review 213

Technical Review Software Review Networking Technology 213

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

People get too worked up over the word. It’s like people arguing that there’s a beautiful beach house in 2006 that represents great long-term value due to scarcity of similar property. I guess that makes USV, Spark Capital, Foundry Group, Accel, Benchmark, Revolution (along with several others) pretty happy right now.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Unfortunately, investors and surfers can be lemmings, which results in good breaks getting over surfed and market sectors attracting too much capital. However, at the time I reviewed the deals, the opportunities did not appear to be credible, let alone lucrative. Follow John’s startup-oriented Twitter feed here: @johngreathouse.

Invest 100

Invest Software Review Journal Competition 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 5, 2012

As an example, a few years ago I worked for small software company selling an expensive enterprise workflow product. We finally decided set up a strategic partnership with a joint product to capture this elusive segment of the market. Up-sell related products after the initial sale.

Company 96

Company Companies Startup Examples 96