Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 15, 2022

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 111

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2016

Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) has just announced a brand new, $240M venture investment fund, led by longtime venture investing veterans Jim Armstrong, Sumant Mandal, Gregory Milken and Jamie Montgomery. It's all about the entrepreneur. Big ideas rule the day. The second, is don't back yourself.

Southern California 113

Southern California Capital Funding Invest 113

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. So, it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2014

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that Venture Capital and Angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Angel Social Media Patents 107

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 13, 2020

As a startup mentor, I’m always amazed that some entrepreneurs seem to be an immediate hit with investors, while others struggle to get any attention at all. Finally I realized that venture capital and angel investors are actually humans, despite some views to the contrary. Exudes integrity, humility, and stability.

Entrepreneur 126

Entrepreneur Social Media Patents Mentor 126

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2020

As an advisor to many entrepreneurs, I still hear frequently the irrational exuberance that crowdfunding is the quick alternative for startups that are passed over by overly demanding angels or venture capital investors. Thus crowdfunding is clearly not the panacea for funding and success that many entrepreneurs envision.

Startup 151

Startup Equity Funding Demand 151

socalTECH

JUNE 21, 2019

What's the hardest part of being a startup entrepreneur? Why did you decide to move to venture capital? We write checks from $500K to a million dollars, and we like to fund engineers turned entrepreneurs. We aren't just technology, exclusively, but we're definitely on that side of it. Tell us a bit about yourself?

Southern California 133

Southern California Startup Layoffs Venture Capital 133

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

One of the least understood parts of the venture capital industry and venture capital firms is how investment decisions actually get made. I want to fail because I backed an extraordinary entrepreneur with a super-ambitious project and we were just wrong about market timing, customer adoption, competition, regulation or similar.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2023

That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Here are some tips and rules of thumb to improve your odds and help you understand when a bank loan or line of credit is possible, and how to get it: Write a good business plan first. In fact, customer orders are great collateral. Marty Zwilling<

Startup 117

Startup Equity Sites Funding 117

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

My advice to entrepreneurs was and is “ when the hors d’oeuvres tray is being passed take two ” (e.g. So I agreed to offer my current thinking on the economy and what it portends for the VC industry & fund raising for entrepreneurs. raise money now to weather any storms). VCs get paid to “put money to work.&#.

Entrepreneur 298

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Technical Review Startup 298

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

Just as I was getting the swing of things the world shifted beneath my feet and the stock market went into a free fall and venture capital all but shut down for nearly a year. We not only have our Series A funds that can write $500k?—?$15 almost be definition you should be scratching your head. Over the past 2.5

Venture Capital 223

Venture Capital IP Startup Google 223

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2018

It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising. 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. … Fund raising.

Funding 236

Funding Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 236

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

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2018

With the low cost of e-commence entry, and powerful Internet technologies, they require minimal capital to start, perhaps as little as $500. Dal LaMagna, in his humorous classic “ Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right ,” leads with the foundational principle of micro-businesses, which is to start small.

Writing 97

Writing .Net Commerce Entrepreneur 97

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2013

That’s why Angel investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Here are some tips and rules of thumb to improve your odds and help you understand when a bank loan or line of credit is possible, and how to get it: Write a good business plan first. entrepreneur startup investor funding bank loan business' Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Sites 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

That’s why angel and equity investors are so sought after by entrepreneurs. Here are some tips and rules of thumb to improve your odds and help you understand when a bank loan or line of credit is possible, and how to get it: Write a good business plan first. In fact, customer orders are great collateral. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 172

Startup Equity Sites Tips 172

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

As the authors make clear in the book’s preface, their goal is to create a “definitive guide to venture capital deals” and “demystify the venture capital financing process.” Brad and Jason have been exposing venture capitalists’ secrets since 2005, when they began writing a blog series on Term Sheets at AskTheVC.

Venture Capital 205

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Writing Guide 205

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2011

Every entrepreneur is flooded with information from all directions, but despite their best efforts to absorb it, they likely miss the information really needed to start a business. and books for entrepreneurs like “Think and Grow Rich.” These are both experienced entrepreneurs and angel investors. Lessons Learned , by Eric Ries.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Technical Review Blogging Java 92

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

If you track the venture capital industry it would be hard to miss the conversation going on this week over AngelList “Syndicates.” But Jason is one of the smartest thinkers in our industry so while style points in his eye-poking post might be low, he’s definitely scratching at something important. Bowery Capital).

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 27, 2011

By definition, you read blogs. But should you actually write one if you’re a startup, an industry figure (lawyer, banker) or VC? This is a post to help you figure out why you should write and what you should talk about. Or “I’m a new entrepreneur, why would I offer advice on how to run a startup?&#.

Blogging 373

Blogging Startup Writing Venture Capital 373

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

With the low cost of e-commence entry, and powerful Internet technologies, they require minimal capital to start, perhaps as little as $500. Dal LaMagna, in his humorous classic “ Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right ,” leads with the foundational principle of micro-businesses, which is to start small.

Writing 96

Writing .Net Commerce Entrepreneur 96

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. Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, And there’s conferences.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

We led a $4 million investment along with Thrive Capital, GLG and Sound Ventures. I speak a lot on college campuses and entrepreneur events and amongst the most common things I’m asked to talk about are: What do VCs fund? I know that “mission driven” sounds nebulous or some convenient definition of anything we want to fund.

Design 150

Design Ideas Startup Writing 150

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

2: As expected at least one person accused me of writing this post because I want to see lower valuations. I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. Prices have definitely gone up in 2011 as depicted in the anecdotal chart below.

Startup 336

Startup Pricing Technical Review Marketing 336

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Nearly every entrepreneur has heard the refrain, "Get back to me when you have some traction,” while seeking funding. In some industries, lengthy pilot tests are required before an enterprise customer will sign a definitive purchase order. From an unsophisticated investor, this response might be a non-confrontational way of saying "No."

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital RSS Custom Customer 265

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 4, 2009

This hot list is based on various social signals of what people are writing about, reading, bookmarking, searching, etc. But, in running it now for the second half of January, the keyword that popped to the top was: Layoffs And this is definitely a sign of the times. You can go to the Hot List post to see what was hot then.

Layoffs 159

Layoffs Woodland Hills Southern California Orange County 159

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

This was an audience of mostly first-time entrepreneurs. It is great for entrepreneurs and great for VCs. I will write more about this in the next 2 weeks. So here is what I have been telling entrepreneurs privately for the past 6 months. source: Capital IQ. I spoke about a lot of things during the keynote.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2013

With the low cost of e-commence entry, and powerful Internet technologies, they require minimal capital to start, perhaps as little as $500. Dal LaMagna, in his humorous book “ Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right ,” leads with the foundational principle of micro-businesses, which is to start small.

Startup 98

Startup Writing .Net Commerce 98

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 31, 2021

Finally for startups there’s a $31 billion available for programs that give small businesses access to credit, venture capital, and R&D dollars. The sad fact is that water infrastructure in America has largely failed to keep up in large swaths of the country, necessitating this kind of massive capital infusion.

Startup 229

Startup Technical Review Invest Research 229

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Why Every Entrepreneur Should Write and 9 Tips To Get Started - OnStartups , September 27, 2010 "The best part of blogging is the people you will meet"- Hugh MacLeod repeating wisdom from Loic Lemeur to me at the Big Pink at 2 am in South Beach after the Future of Web Apps 2008. Why You Should Write. Kanye West.

Startup 191

Startup Product Technology Venture Capital 191

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

With the low cost of e-commence entry, and powerful Internet technologies, they require minimal capital to start, perhaps as little as $500. Dal LaMagna, in his humorous recent book “ Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right ,” leads with the foundational principle of micro-businesses, which is to start small.

Writing 99

Writing .Net Commerce Entrepreneur 99

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

Any SoCal entrepreneur raising early-stage money should put Rincon on their short list. I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while and was going to use AngelList by Nivi & Naval as the basis for my example and the perfect prompt came yesterday when I read Fred Wilson’s blog post on AngelList.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 21, 2010

With the low cost of e-commence entry, and powerful Internet technologies, they require minimal capital to start, perhaps as little as $500. Dal LaMagna, in his humorous new book “ Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right ,” leads with the foundational principle of microbusinesses, which is to start small.

Writing 103

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Commerce 103

From the Venture Trenches

APRIL 30, 2013

As a member of NextSpace I have witnessed Amplify in operation and it is a shop that definitely believes in good rewards stemming from hard work. The value that is being “added” is often at arms length or via a specialist who interacts with the entrepreneur. Setting up for Eric Garcetti.

Web Design 103

Web Design Social Media Seed Funding Design 103

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

I spoke a lot about the need for “personal branding” which I plan to write about soon. My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. And no one could see me as anything but a startup guy, so I started a second company and called myself a serial entrepreneur.

Startup 337

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Venture Capital 337

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 10, 2015

I write about sales often both because it’s the lifeblood of any organization and because in my experience it is the area in which more startups are least experienced or inclined. I also write and talk about it frequently because raising capital is a part of sales and this is important for entrepreneurs to understand.

Sales 150

Sales Startup Venture Capital Funding 150

socalTECH

APRIL 14, 2011

Howard Lindzon: In 2007, Fred Wilson had offered me some share in Twitter, when they were putting together their first round of venture capital investments. You'd have to come up with an idea, gather the truth, write it, produce it, shoot it, edit it, and when you had the product, you had to figure out how to distribute it.

Ideas 248

Ideas Web Startup Content 248