socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Earlier this week, Good Growth Capital (www.goodgrowthvc.com) announced it has started looking at investments in Southern California, adding Krisztina Holly as West Coast Venture Partner for the firm. We have a soft spot for investors and entrepreneurs, who might be super-smart, but are not necessarily as experienced.

Southern California 124

Southern California Capital Technical Review Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2021

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. To be an effective negotiator, I agree that you first need to quickly identify and adapt to your opponents negotiating style.

Funding 131

Funding Startup Entrepreneur Customer 131

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

Recently I wrote a post arguing to make the definition of a Startup more inclusive than that to which Silicon Valley, fueled by Venture Capital return profiles, would sometimes like to attach to the word. Most of what I think about startup communities came from mentorship by Brad Feld through hours of private discussion and debate.

Startup 378

Startup Venture Capital Press San Diego 378

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2012

Brad Feld visited Los Angeles this past week. I always enjoy spending time with Brad as the antidote to the eco chamber. That seems very Brad to me. Brad was our guest of honor. But I think Brad actually has a point. Think about venture capital. ” That always stuck with me.

Startup 304

Startup Venture Capital Los Angeles Woodland Hills 304

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 7, 2013

The good news for entrepreneurs is that there have never been more office space options for early stage companies. I explored this issue in a recent conversation with fellow WSJ Accelerator, Brad Feld. If you want to hear more of Brad''s thoughts regarding Accelerators, you can watch our entire conversation HERE.

Incubator 238

Incubator Startup News Entrepreneur 238

InfoChachkie

JUNE 30, 2014

Entrepreneur and noted investor Brad Feld unwittingly echoed Franks approach to marketing when, during a discussion with me , he declared, " …companies should… focus on building amazing products. In such cases, entrepreneurs risk confusing marketing traction with product traction. Hurry Up And Stop Marketing.

Marketing 193

Marketing Software Review Product Social Media 193

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

entrepreneur Wil Schroter (I am an angel investor in Affordit). Investors: Foundation Capital (lead), with existing investors: Morgenthaler Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Canaan Partners. Xobni’s main competitor that I know about is Gist, funded by Brad Feld at Foundry Group. Online peer-to-peer lending.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

I know Brad Feld wrote a similar post. Brad is the ultimate giver. One of the most common questions I hear from first-time entrepreneurs is, “How do I meet angels?” Early in his days when he was raising capital for DocStoc he came to see me a lot. It’s not only more effective but more rewarding.

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

InfoChachkie

MAY 22, 2012

The same should be true of an entrepreneur who is attempting to secure money from sophisticated investors. The steps outlined below represent an ideal approach to raising capital from sophisticated investors. VCs collude all the time, it is only fair that entrepreneurs compare notes every now and again as well.”. Prep Steps.

Venture Capital 236

Venture Capital Capital Research Customer 236

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2012

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. To be an effective negotiator, you first need to quickly identify and adapt to your opponents negotiating style.

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Customer Custom Funding 99

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 19, 2017

One of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs make when they start a company and raise outside capital is figuring out what an acceptable “burn rate” is. How Much Capital You Have Raised / Your Runway In general I recommend that in early-stage startups you try to raise at least 15-18 months of runway.

Startup 212

Startup Venture Capital .Net Capital 212

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 25, 2015

This is why I loved Brad Feld’s recent post about the “ illusion of product / market fit.” ” This, too, is a must read for any entrepreneur. I have many investments with early traction and I the entrepreneurs I work with must tire of my constantly saying, “Are we really making a difference?

Product 150

Product Startup Metrics Technical Review 150

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2013

And I am often approached by entrepreneurs in cities which don’t have a vibrant VC community. Just ask the people of Portland, Seattle, Boulder, Iowa, Princeton, Dallas or countless other cities that don’t have enough venture capital. For starters I’d try to raise my initial capital locally. Ask SuperCell.

Venture Capital 365

Venture Capital Marketing Santa Barbara Startup 365

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

One the most frequent questions asked of me by entrepreneurs is, "How can I become a Venture Capitalist?" The inquiry is common because being a VC is (to an entrepreneur, at least) a sexy job. In contrast, an Angel Investor is someone who invests their own capital.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

Despite the increase in startup activity in Southern California, local venture capital funds are still few and far between, and a large chunk of the funding here is still from Sand Hill Road. I think that''s what enables Fred Wilson, and Brad Feld, and myself to raise above the noise, really. READ MORE>>.

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2010

In my bones I’m convinced that entrepreneurs are more nature than nurture although I know both are involved. I have recently written extensively on what I believe the 12 characteristics of an entrepreneur are. Entrepreneurs aren’t born, they’re made.&# The data in this article is at best, a stretch. from a young age.

Startup 289

Startup Statistics Entrepreneur Study 289

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

I am reminded of this problem every time my firm does a financing where a note went before us but more specifically I was reminded by this great post by Brad Feld to talk about the pre-money vs. post-money conversion issue. But as Brad discussed – what happens to the prior convertible note in this new world? No problem.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

I should note that my friend Brad Feld has written a new book on the subject that I would recommend if you want the bible on the topic. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

One of the questions we discussed is, “How much capital should a startup raise?” ” Fred & I are both in agreement that there is a tension between capital constraints and creativity. Perhaps that’s rational capitalism at its extreme. But it’s not who I am. Blogging is like Venus Fly Paper.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

He left out capital sources, but it's still a pretty succinct list of the types of people / communication you should be having early stage. I also will point out that in the The 15 Mistakes of First Time Entrepreneurs : 9. You really should go read Brad Feld's Implied Suspicion Versus Implied Trust. What is Stealth?

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

He left out capital sources, but it's still a pretty succinct list of the types of people / communication you should be having early stage. I also will point out that in the The 15 Mistakes of First Time Entrepreneurs : 9. You really should go read Brad Feld's Implied Suspicion Versus Implied Trust. What is Stealth?

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

Xconomy

OCTOBER 29, 2018

In September, Backstage Capital , a venture investment firm seeding early-stage startups led by women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community, launched a $36 million fund to help support black women founders. Detroit is “a rising standout for entrepreneurs in the Midwest,” the firm said in a.

Los Angeles 107

Los Angeles Invest Capital Entrepreneur 107

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

This is part of my ongoing series on Understanding Venture Capital. I recently wrote a blog post on understanding how the size and age of a venture capital fund might affect you when you’re raising money. In a world of The Funded, VentureHacks and entrepreneur blogs this kind of informations spreads like wildfire.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Invest 265

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

First, I’d like to quote (paraphrase) Brad Feld speaking at Twiistup in LA in 2009, “I keep hearing people in LA talking with a chip on their shoulders about building a tech business here relative to Silicon Valley. Funding is different – In Silicon Valley you have mega venture capital funds and many of them.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Back in 1999 when I first raised venture capital I had zero knowledge of what a fair term sheet looked like or how to value my company. Brad Feld hadn’t written his seminal “ term sheet series &# and The Funded hadn’t yet been created. But this example above is all entrepreneur math, not the VC’s.

Venture Capital 405

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Funding 405

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

My blog linked to Brad Feld’s blog because I was so grateful for his series on term sheets and he was one of the biggest reasons that as a VC I felt compelled to blog. On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

SoCal CTO

JUNE 9, 2010

Draw Your Ideas - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , May 16, 2010 I saw Jack Dorsey give this talk at The 99% Conference last month. Why Entrepreneurs Hate Lawyers. My Obsession With The Product - Feld Thoughts , May 3, 2010 For some reason I’ve been doing a lot of interviews lately. Tesla is not. It's a great talk.

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

InfoChachkie

MARCH 10, 2014

Never let the odds keep you from pursuing what you know in your heart you were meant to do - entrepreneurs never calculate probabilities, even if the chances are one in a million, "one" is all you need to win. It''s your most valuable asset - honesty is a serial entrepreneurs most potent weapon. Go venture. Watch for big problems.

Competition 274

Competition Mentor Entrepreneur Startup 274

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2011

Every entrepreneur seeking funding loves the challenge of getting customers and investors excited, but dreads the thought of negotiating the terms of a deal with potential investors. To be an effective negotiator, you first need to quickly identify and adapt to your opponents negotiating style.

Startup 93

Startup Entrepreneur Customer Custom 93

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs. It’s just that he’s a “super seed&# investor in a firm, Founder Collective , that I really respect (and with whom I’ve done two deals and hope to do a third) and I’m a partner in a venture capital firm, GRP Partners.

Seed Funding 298

Seed Funding Funding Venture Capital GRP Partners 298

socalTECH

JULY 16, 2013

We want to create businesses and engage with entrepreneurs. We''re going to do more calls for programming, provide seed capital, and provide the back office for those events. If you''re familiar with Brad Feld''s book, Startup Community, entrepreneurial efforts need to be run by the technology entrepreneurs and CEOs.

Pasadena 242

Pasadena Santa Monica CalTech Technical Review 242

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. I wrote the summary notes in this blog post. That notes only told part of the story.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

I then got my MBA at University of Chicago so I secretly pull for local entrepreneurs as long as they don’t make me visit in the Winter any more. They started their company in LA but a couple of years after raising capital from Khosla Ventures in the Bay Area they ended up relocating there. Local capital matters.

Company 369

Company Companies Startup Snapchat 369

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

Last to weigh in was Brad Feld whose blog post argues that the only 2 terms that should be negotiated are amount raised & valuation. 2006 was the last time I went out to raise venture capital. 2006 was the last time I went out to raise venture capital. I totally agree but want to cover a different issue.

Funding 252

Funding Venture Capital Startup Blogging 252

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

Cincinnati, like many startup communities in the US over the past 5 years, has revitalized important regions in its urban core, created accelerators, built co-working facilities, pooled together angel capital, attracted VCs, involved educational institutions and solicited the help of important corporations in a more cohesive ecosystem.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Capital Funding 390

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. We’re staring to get the hang of how to divide the show up into talking about deals but also talking about issues for entrepreneurs during funding.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Startup Advertising Redpoint 285

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 5, 2011

I’m an entrepreneur at heart so I’m always inspired when I hear stories about innovation. It’s why my investment philosophy is called, “ the entrepreneur thesis.&#. Look at what Brad Feld has done for Boulder. Passionate Entrepreneurs & Ambassadors. I’m in Seattle this week.

Venture Capital 317

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Press 317