Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 31, 2017

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 54

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 54

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2013

I “second the message” that chaos never subsides, from a couple of successful entrepreneurs, Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, in their book “ Conquer the Chaos.” Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. Do you have what it takes to achieve the real entrepreneur lifestyle?

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Slides IP Technology 105

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. Something like, &# I was thinking about jumping into the demo first before discussing the market.

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Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

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

AUGUST 12, 2010

We led off with a discussion about Slide being acquired by Google, which was breaking news in the time slot where we filmed this episode. Specifically we talked about Slide having gotten a $550 million valuation before being sold to Google for $182 million. Not as many entrepreneurs are aspiring to do it any more. o ShopKick.

Venture Capital 232

Venture Capital Slides Seed Funding Google 232

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 20, 2019

Most entrepreneurs believe they are “different,” but they can’t quite understand how. The classic book, “ Hunting in a Farmer's World: Celebrating the Mind of an Entrepreneur ,” by serial entrepreneur and business coach John F. Dini makes the case that entrepreneurs are hunters, while the rest of us (large majority) are farmers.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur News Slides Startup 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2011

I second the message that chaos never subsides, from a couple of successful entrepreneurs, Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, in their book “ Conquer the Chaos.” Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. Do you have what it takes to achieve the real entrepreneur lifestyle?

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Slides IP Technology 95

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. Of course sentiment can swing wildly with new information but I set out to take the pulse of the market as we enter 2016. State of the Market.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Course Marketing 150

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

One, is an upright, traditional looking microscopes, where you look at glass slides. Eugene Cho: I saw this market opportunity when I realized that the larger microscope companies, like Nikon, Olympus, and so on were really only focusing their efforts on high end systems, which cost $200,000 plus. How did you start the company?

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Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

I also recently wrote a post about a company that came in for a presentation and never even got the slides out or presented a demo. If you’re not “feeling it&# then you need to get to the slides or demo quickly as a means of trying to engage. I need something structured like slides or a demo to orient me.

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

The Quigley Report

MARCH 4, 2008

Early stage VCs typically say that the ebbs and flows of the stock market don't effect the valuations they pay in start up financings. So to some extent, entrepreneurs and VCs can comfortably ignore the chaos of currency fluctuations, interest rate changes and other macro finanicial shifts. That may be true. And guess what?

Startup 40

Startup Slides Marketing Clearstone 40

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2017

One, is an upright, traditional looking microscopes, where you look at glass slides. Eugene Cho: I saw this market opportunity when I realized that the larger microscope companies, like Nikon, Olympus, and so on were really only focusing their efforts on high end systems, which cost $200,000 plus. How did you start the company?

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Startup Sales Slides 100

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. The Original Post (after the jump): Venture Capital, By Mark Suster (December 2nd, 2006). I don’t plan to write the authoritative venture capital blog, just some anecdotes. Thus is venture capital.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

socalTECH

OCTOBER 11, 2016

We take a really friendly, Shark Tank approach that promotes young entrepreneurs, and lets them pitch to a group of seasoned investors and venture capitalists on a panel, and where they not only get an actual investment, but also go through a retail challenge, to get consumer feedback. You want to make sure to capitalize on that.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Invest Competition 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

I “second the message” that chaos never subsides, from a couple of successful entrepreneurs, Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, in their book “ Conquer the Chaos.” Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. Do you have what it takes to achieve the real entrepreneur lifestyle?

Startup 100

Startup Slides Entrepreneur IP 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 10, 2011

A perfect round number is ten slides, with the right content, that can be covered in ten minutes. Here are the ten slides you need: Problem and market need. Make sure to communicate the relevance of your product / services to market needs. Investors like $1B markets with double-digit growth rates. Executive team.

Slides 93

Slides Competition Sample Sales 93

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 19, 2011

CapLinked , the online platform for private investment funded by members of the “ PayPal Mafia “—announced that it is launching a worldwide pitch competition for entrepreneurs to present their business ideas to a panel of all-star judges from Idealab, Rincon, Rapidfire, and Actarus. says CapLinked CEO Eric M.

Competition 70

Competition Idealab Slides Startup 70

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 1, 2010

Many firms do it in a way that can be more detrimental to entrepreneurs. VentureHacks laid out the debate in a truly awesome interview & PowerPoint slides if you really want an in-depth understanding of the issue. I’ve done 4 seed investments in the past year and they are 100% referenceable. This is the nature of compromise.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

What I love about my job is getting to see teams of super-early-stage companies develop ideas that while raw have potential to make an impact on the market. It freed up Ophir to grow out our sales organization, to work more closely with agencies, to innovate on product and to raise capital. Another thing entrepreneurs f**k up?

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Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 150

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. In that context, I offer you my latest collection of popular investor-to-entrepreneur terms and concepts. Frothy is good for entrepreneurs. Seed-round investment.

Startup 57

Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

Jason Nazar

JUNE 1, 2016

These are the pitch techniques the best entrepreneurs employ to raise billions in capital. Forget Your Slides. Have your slides there, reference the key points as needed, but keep the focus on each other — not a slideshow. Investors will probe to see how well you understand your market and business.

Slides 49

Slides Startup Entrepreneur Metrics 49

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 21, 2010

As startup entrepreneurs we all want to work with them because having their name as reference clients makes it so much easier for marketing, PR, selling to other customers, fund raising and even recruiting. Have minimums but a sliding scale. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice.

Startup 298

Startup Sales Slides Metrics 298

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

Brian Coryat, Founder and CEO of Local Market Launch and former Founder and CEO of ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) recently winged his talk at UC Santa Barbara''s Distinguished Lecture Series. I mean, that''s what entrepreneurs do every day. But that''s what entrepreneurs do everyday. I''m not hiding behind any slides.

Startup 223

Startup Yahoo Santa Barbara Slides 223

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 like how Mark Suster handles the question in 10 Marketing Lessons for Early-Stage Tech Startups. I also will point out that in the The 15 Mistakes of First Time Entrepreneurs : 9.

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 like how Mark Suster handles the question in 10 Marketing Lessons for Early-Stage Tech Startups. I also will point out that in the The 15 Mistakes of First Time Entrepreneurs : 9.

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

Any SoCal entrepreneur raising early-stage money should put Rincon on their short list. No cookies for guessing which reason they use to market to us. Rincon is part of the new breed of Seed Stage VCs and with the leadership of Jim Andelman has charted out the most authentic early-stage investment strategy in Southern California.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

Not just because meeting Clayton was influential in shaping my thinking about markets but also because Derek Andersen (who founded Startup Grind) is such an awesome host and runs a very informative events. My mom was an entrepreneur – she was kind of my inspiration for entrepreneurship. Last month they turned the tables on me.

Startup 337

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Venture Capital 337

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 16, 2015

The bottom line is that you should raise to accelerate growth and in order to optimize market timing. There’s plenty of capital out there, but there’s also a lot of competition for startup funding. His best advice: take capital where you can get it. These are usually the first sources entrepreneurs tap. Vendor funding.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Equity Funding 40

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 9, 2014

One would imagine with so much influence and potential capital flying in the packed room, the atmosphere must have felt thicker than a frenzied shark tank. After the event, we caught up, Parker Thompson , Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) charged with leading Batch 8. Honestly though, it was anything but.

Startup 111

Startup Mobile Commerce Education 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2010

I second the message from a couple of successful entrepreneurs, Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, in their book “ Conquer the Chaos ” that chaos never subsides. Even great entrepreneurs are amazed at how fast this can lead to a non-recoverable situation. That’s what it takes to achieve the real entrepreneur lifestyle!

Startup 57

Startup Slides Entrepreneur IP 57

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

The funding environment for tech startups is an ever shifting ground as we go through predictable shifts that go hand-in-hand with the slowing of the overall market. There was an explosion in number of startups both because it was cheap and there was tons of available capital. The market eventually slowed down. VC Infighting.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Funding Seed Funding 150

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 17, 2020

Each has a process in place to accept applications or recommendations for investment into new companies, and to review these and make decisions based upon their exploration, previous experience in the field, knowledge of the company or industry, or about individual entrepreneurs. Then there is venture capital.

Equity 156

Equity Technical Review Class Organization 156

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2009

This involves a person who leads a PowerPoint presentation in which the presenter feels more comfortable racing through pre-practiced slides and rattling off charts & bullet points than having a discussion. The VC might have tried a few times to prompt a discussion and you didn’t take the queue but in stead reverted back to slides.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Sales Slides Startup 275

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

10 Ways To Be Your Own Boss - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , June 18, 2010 The folks at Behance and Cool Hunting asked me to talk at their 99% Conference a couple months ago. Just because a product has a patent, deep complexity and an obvious competitive advantage does not mean that it can fly by itself into the market.

Startup 175

Startup Venture Capital Slides Blogging 175

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 6, 2010

But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & Internet investments come down to just four key factors. And they’re easy to remember because they all begin with an M: management, market, money and above all else momentum.

Startup 360

Startup Venture Capital Invest Slides 360

Berkonomics

APRIL 3, 2014

Each has a process in place to accept applications or recommendations for investment into new companies, and to review these and make decisions based upon their exploration, previous experience in the field, knowledge of the company or industry, or about individual entrepreneurs.

Equity 232

Equity Startup Organization Invest 232

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.

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