socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. Today, we share the thoughts of Kelly Perdew , the founder and Managing Director of Moonshots Capital (www.moonshotscapital.com). Since 2010, $6.3B

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing. Mike Napoli: We've revised the way we review companies at the prescreening stage. The ideas and people seeking money are out there in quantity.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Small Business Grants to Apply For Today If your business doesn't have enough capital to take on future debts or has a unique specialism or back story that could catch the eye of grantors, it might be a good idea to apply for a grant. It's competitive though – last year 18,000 applicants competed for only 12 slots.

Technical Review 194

Technical Review Software Review Startup Competition 194

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

controlling your psychology ) you no doubt have heard me say that raising capital is a sales & marketing process. Building models to evaluate the deal and/or reviewing customer files, company financials, business plans, etc. This is critical to build a cohesive venture capital firm. Remember, it’s not easy for anybody.

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. In this case the barrier would be reduced access to capital.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 23, 2012

Many observers of the venture capital industry have questioned whether its best days are behind it. I have been close to the tech & startup sectors for more than 20 years and I can’t think of a period in which I felt more optimistic about the innovation and value creation I see in front of us. This article originally ran on PEHub.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Capital Technical Review Startup 347

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2022

I’ve learned over the years that you need to start with specific goals, a focused strategy , and a motivated and prepared team in order to penetrate competitive defenses. They assume their innovation will overwhelm any competition, anywhere. Capitalize on territory the competition has not penetrated.

Marketing 125

Marketing Technical Review Startup Resource 125

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. Acknowledge every customer feedback and review. Don’t let that one negative stand out as the only review submitted. These also will keep you better informed on new technologies, trends, and likely competitors.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

Tech.Co

MARCH 8, 2018

Fortunately, for those headed to SXSW, Startup Night SXSW 2018 , presented by the Kauffman Foundation and TechCo, will be filled with investors from a multitude of industries who are looking to discover and fund startups building the latest solutions and tech innovations. Joanne Chen, Partner at Foundation Capital.

Technical Review 70

Technical Review Startup Software Review Entrepreneur 70

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 30, 2014

The practical uses for uBeam technology is limitless. Did anybody hold patents that would prevent us from using this technology? I seldom hire patent attorneys during due diligence but this was too important. We hired IP specialists to review prior art. Did the physics actually work? Was it safe? It was impressive.

Technical Review 418

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire IP 418

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Investor due diligence on a startup is not a mysterious black art, but is nothing more than a final integrity check on all aspects of your business model, team, product, customers, and plan.

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Innocal Offshore Entrepreneur 63

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets? They were a way to gather cheap capital.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

There has been much discussion in the past few years of the changing structure of the venture capital industry. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). 15 years ago we were at the peak of Internet hype with the launch of many over-capitalized businesses with a market size & opportunity was limited.

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2014

” Bill Gross, who is one of the Godfathers of the Internet, once told me, “ If you don’t design a product that is 10x better than the competition then you’ll never build anything truly big or amazing.” After 9 months it was time to raise seed capital and go test drive our new software and processes.

Technical Review 380

Technical Review Software Review CTO Hire Startup 380

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

Tech.Co

MAY 25, 2018

If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital. In 2006, a passion to help startups grew into Tech Cocktail , a company whose mission was to showcased burgeoning companies in bars around the country.

Startup 141

Startup Technical Review Competition Software Review 141

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. ” Climate resiliency . Fables of the reconstruction.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2019

How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Technology Startup Social Media 87

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. Scott Sangster: I would ask what a normal year is.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2019

Oxnard-based SimpliPhi Power , a startup developing energy storage technology, announced on Wednesday that it has added a new board member. Lovins is an author and promoter of sustainable development, and President of a non-profit, Natural Capitalism Solutions, and also is a professor of sustainable business management at Bard College.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Competition Capital Develop 113

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and Venture capital is about backing the leaders of tomorrow who imagine the world as it should be and aren’t constrained by what it is today. She had all of the skills and traits we sought?—?leadership, And all the platform stuff.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

On the other hand, if you are into solar technologies, there is probably an advantage to being in Arizona or a similar location. Maxwell Wessel, in a classic article in the Harvard Business Review on this subject, points out the exception successes of Zappos in Las Vegas, Sendgrid’s massive growth in Colorado, and RightNow’s $1.5

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Venture Capital is a tricky industry. Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. Far from it. Lots of it. It was an early and smart bet.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 11, 2022

In the US, a nonprofit is technically any company who qualifies as tax exempt through IRS Section 501(c). The grant source often gets overlooked, but it should be a major focus these days when relevant due to the Obama administration initiatives on alternative energy and healthcare. Government grants.

Funding 130

Funding Equity Technical Review Organization 130

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 26, 2010

I’ve been having discussions with several people recently about the role of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) in very early stage companies. How do we need to structure the systems to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition? What are the biggest areas of technical risk? What technology research is required?

Fractional CTO 225

Fractional CTO CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach 225

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Capitalism is fundamentally about timing, since market competition is about finding opportunities before others. Between TechCrunch today and my former roles in venture capital, I’ve had the opportunity to practice timing a lot. It’s the only way forward in capitalism, and it’s worth every investment you can make.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2014

We’ve been dying to tell you all for a while that we had raised a new venture capital fund and of course given SEC filing requirements the story was somewhat already scooped by the always-in-the-know Dan Primack a few weeks ago. Will our strategy change now that we have 40% more capital? . Why do they invest in venture capital?

Venture Capital 396

Venture Capital Funding Technical Review Startup 396

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. Speaking onstage at the Upfront Summit, an event at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

IBM 164

IBM IBM Venture Capital Invest 164

socalTECH

MAY 26, 2009

Last week's angel investment report by the Angel Capital Association reported that investments by angel investors dropped nine percent in 2008, with a hefty percentage of angel investors--40 percent--expecting this year will be a down year. Tags: angel investment capital venture. What isn't appealing to angel investors right now?

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Invest Tech Coast Angels Westlake Village 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2017

How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” What entrepreneurs forget or don’t realize is that most customers are wary of all technology, educating the market on new technology is expensive, takes a long time, and people buy problem solutions rather than technology.

Technical Review 60

Technical Review Technology Startup Social Media 60

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

But if you level up , raise capital and grow customers, revenue and staff – life changes. The “span of control” for a growing tech startup is probably 6-9 people. You help them prioritize their objectives and review the results. Extremely talented people are ultra competitive. You set direction.

Entrepreneur 385

Entrepreneur CTO Hire Startup Sales 385

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

During my time in Silicon Valley, I was struck by the fact that most successful entrepreneurs seemed to personally know and regularly hear from all the “movers and shakers” who had the investment capital and leadership they needed. Relationships are key to finding opportunities, building trust, and continuous learning.

Startup 113

Startup Customer Custom Technical Review 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 12, 2022

Internal corporate processes thwart innovation due to inherent inefficiencies of scale, high overhead, and the risk of impact on the corporate bottom line. Existing technologies have been “commoditized” globally. Competitive advantages are rapidly vaporizing on these. New emerging manufacturing technologies (e.g.,

Startup 126

Startup Artificial Inteligence Entrepreneur Offshore 126

socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2013

Burbank-based eSolar is developing utility-scale, solar thermal power technology used for generating power on a large scale. Solar power--once the darling of the clean technology industry--has seen an intense shakeout due to extremely low cost competition from Chinese manufacturers. READ MORE>>.

Burbank 178

Burbank Idealab Technical Review Competition 178

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2022

You may think that passion and hard work are all you need, but I believe we all have unique strengths , and you need to recognize yours, and capitalize on them above all else, in order to get the advantage you need to win in business. Book smarts represent your current depth of understanding of technology and business concepts.

Help 130

Help Mentor Paramount Technical Review 130

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2016

While the epicenter of tech innovation is undeniably Silicon Valley, a tide of new hubs emerging across the globe are gaining recognition. We are very close to the University of Waterloo, and many talented undergraduates have taken internships and permanent positions with tech startups like HiMama. PanTrek connects U.S.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Startup Incubator Media 40