Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 21, 2023

Commonly, I find that business owners and entrepreneurs look first at solutions which solve painful problems, or have high profit margins, regardless of their own commitment to a higher purpose, such as saving the environment or helping the underserved. Test specifics and potential on friends, advisors, and potential customers.

Satisfaction 114

Satisfaction Customer Custom Social Media 114

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

In a bid to change that, there are a few groups working on helping women entrepreneurs, investors, and others, including the Pipeline Fellowship (www.pipelinefellowship.com), which recently launched itself into the Los Angeles market. What''s Beyond Capital, and how did you connect with the Pipeline Fellowship?

Angel 276

Angel Invest Mentor Technical Review 276

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 9, 2012

The median VC exit price for deals is $70 million (FLAG Capital via Bryce.VC). There is a mythology amongst some LPs (funds that invest in VCs) and some VCs that “entry price doesn’t matter – only investing in the absolute best entrepreneurs.” Being a radar screen of a buyer helps. So, too, does PR.

Startup 323

Startup Technology Venture Capital Santa Barbara 323

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. Andrew & Petri posited that a modern media company would build lovable characters that span video games, online digital media, lovable plush physical toys and then ultimately find its way to the big screen.

Funding 373

Funding Technical Review Startup Screening 373

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. What stage?

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

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.” Bowery Capital). AngelList 101 : As you know, AngelList is a platform where angels can invest in semi-screened tech deals. Is AngelList Syndicates really such a big deal? Both are right.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 8, 2018

If you’re an entrepreneur who would like to see this clause in more startups please ask your VC to include it in future term sheets and link to it from their home page. “We Many of us had experiences of asking entrepreneurs, “Why are none of our candidates women?” Ours is: upfront.com/inclusion. Well, did you ask them to???”

Venture Capital 284

Venture Capital Coach Ideas Startup 284

socalTECH

JULY 14, 2009

Contrary to the common belief that Southern California "should be an easy place to raise money" with all of its' entertainment and real estate wealth, it is a very difficult place to raise Venture Capital for technology start-ups. So how does an entrepreneur based in SoCal get the attention of VC funds today?

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Venture Capital Southern California Invest Tech Coast Angels 100

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2014

Terry Kay: We have always been about helping the entrepreneurs succeed, first, and then, we figure out how we get our fair share from that success. The premise was, let''s help companies succeed, and cut ourselves a fair deal, and treat entrepreneurs in a decent way. What does that mean to entrepreneurs? It''s more than money.

Pasadena Angels 162

Pasadena Angels Pasadena Angel Startup 162

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Yeah, that was when I changed for me…” “…there was so much positive feedback on demystifying this one element of venture capital. Either it’s a bunch of pictures or screen shots or it’s a bunch of words. I owe ya’ a 20 minute call (or in person next time I’m in San Diego). This time frame – 2005/2006 – web 2.0

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Bain Capital Ventures' Jamison Hill. We are in phase three of the influencer economy,” Bain Capital Ventures senior principal Jamison Hill, who led the firm’s investment in the influencer shoutout marketplace Cameo , tells TechCrunch. We are in phase three of the influencer economy. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage). Rethinking value.

Platform 170

Platform Marketing Tool Venture Capital 170

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

The idea is simple enough: several female VC partners at top funds will hold 1-hour meetings with 40 promising female entrepreneurs looking to get advice on their business and pitch in a friendly, non-judgmental, safe environment. The importance of screening this film is to raise the awareness of bias within men!” You don’t get it.

Venture Capital 256

Venture Capital Examples Screening Help 256

SoCal Delicious

MAY 6, 2012

where entrepreneurs share their stories. 63 Los Angeles Entrepreneurs To Be Proud Of By mario on May 2, 2012 in Features , grid. Free Corporations For First-Time Entrepreneurs. Right now they’re setting up 500 free corporations for first time entrepreneurs. Here are 62 63 Los Angeles entrepreneurs we can be proud of.

Los Angeles 78

Los Angeles Entrepreneur Angel Fractional CTO 78

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

When I was new at Venture Capital I was trying to figure out the business. Because entrepreneurs often went to lawyers at their earliest stages to get their company registration done. Entrepreneurial lawyers like Don Lee , Dave Young or Ted Wang are good at sussing out which entrepreneurs are high potential. What stage?

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking that funding is something you do in “funding season,&# some mythical 2-month period when you’re ready with a great Powerpoint deck and you hit up all of the VC’s at the same time so that you can quickly raise money and get back to the job of building a business.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

I always tell founders … “An investors job is to deploy capital and make a return. For simplicity I’ll assume you’ve raised some money from angels or seed investors and you’re either raising an A round or a B round of venture capital. Remember, I was an entrepreneur for 10 years before a VC). these are simply guidelines.

Venture Capital 332

Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

The idea was to feature early stage companies in the region that have not attracted much attention or raised a substantial amount of startup capital. I started with a list of companies already screened by the San Diego Venture Group’s annual venture summit, and consulted with investors and startup mentors to refine the list.

San Diego 40

San Diego Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup 40

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

We're providing a very unique benefit, which is an entrepreneur-friendly incubator. We've had tremendous success so far, with six graduations, with $55 million in early stage capital raised by those companies coming through the incubator after only two years of operations. So, that't the foundation. We help on that end as well.

Incubator 212

Incubator San Diego Technical Review Development Team Review 212

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 12, 2013

One of the most common questions I hear from first-time entrepreneurs is, “How do I meet angels?” It’s why long before you ever want press coverage you need to spend time actually helping journalists, respecting their profession, taking their calls (not having your PR department screen them) and knowing what interests them.

Venture Capital 407

Venture Capital Press GRP Partners Blogging 407

Berkonomics

JUNE 11, 2015

It’s good advice; the theory being that entrepreneurs can discover the flaws in their business models sooner, make course corrections and move in a more favorable direction. In my case as a young software entrepreneur, I had a different approach: Fail Locally, one customer at a time. I became an entrepreneur by default.

Customer 120

Customer Custom Writing Southern California 120

Tech.Co

JULY 25, 2017

That all changed with social media , and now everyone is glued to their phone’s screen. This slower approach makes it harder to scale, which in itself is not a virtue, but is considered by venture capital firms. Entrepreneurs in this industry need to ask what else their service is offering.”. startups.

Demand 73

Demand Startup Social Media Training 73

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

I recently sat down with Troy Carter to talk about what he does and why he believes it is applicable to venture capital. He talks about the fact that as an entrepreneur himself attracts other entrepreneurs to want to work with him. So this essence is what I believe has allowed Troy to cross over so successfully.

Mentor 150

Mentor Venture Capital Marketing Product 150

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. He started targeting the ad by location and interest, and the number of potential people he was reaching began decreasing on screen (Facebook tells you dynamically).

Startup 248

Startup Venture Capital Conference Social Media 248

Tech.Co

JULY 12, 2017

“The Disney Accelerator has provided The Walt Disney Company incredible opportunities to connect with and be inspired by many talented entrepreneurs from all over the world,” said Michael Abrams, Senior Vice President, Innovation, The Walt Disney Company.

Artificial Inteligence 108

Artificial Inteligence Startup Entertainment Press 108

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

He grew up in Connecticut attended Yale undergrad and worked for IBM after graduation doing M&A, strategy and venture capital. He knew he was an entrepreneur because he couldn’t stop thinking about ideas. You are also less likely to be an entrepreneur when your personal obligations, like family and mortgage pile up.

Startup 286

Startup Venture Capital Web Ideas 286

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Then there is the EIR (entrepreneur in residence) who is usually at a VC for a temporary period of time and other individuals such as venture partners or operating partners. While this post is written about raising venture capital (which I always remind entrepreneurs IS a sales process) the lessons can be applied to any sale or biz dev deal.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Sales Entrepreneur Startup 308

Tech.Co

JANUARY 19, 2016

The round is led by Subtraction Capital, and includes investments from PayPal co­founder Peter Thiel , Indicator Ventures, and venture debt lender Western Technology Investment (WTI). Investing in Caplinked was an easy decision for us,” explained Subtraction Capital General Partner Jason Portnoy. They are great filing cabinets.

Doc 120

Doc Invest Screening Capital 120

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

The Tech Coast Angels announced this morning that it has had a first close on its Angel Capital Entrepreneurial (ACE) Fund 1, the firm's new early-stage investment fund. The TCA has gotten some complaints in the past from entrepreneurs for the difficulty of managing multiple angel investors for investment rounds.

Tech Coast Angels 165

Tech Coast Angels Angel Funding Technical Review 165

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

As an entrepreneur, simply enter your location online, and it will list the angel and VC organizations near you. You can then begin your application to one or more of these organizations right on the same screen. Angel Capital Association (ACA). New England Investment Network.

Angel 102

Angel Keiretsu Organization Template 102

socalTECH

MARCH 4, 2010

Do you screen all of the documents on the marketplace, or how does that work? Jason Nazar: We screen the profiles, but we don't screen the content. We want to make sure the marketplace is for professional content, so we screen to make sure the seller is a professional or small business owner, or a startup or entrepreneur.

Technical Review 171

Technical Review Rustic Canyon Screening Startup 171

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 7, 2014

On the bottom right hand corner of the screen, an ominous button reads ADD MORE STRESS? . For top tier programs, there is a compelling combination of promise and mystique that creates a unique drive for entrepreneurs, who once accepted, become ready to put life circumstances on hold during program durations to grow their startups.

Startup 74

Startup Case Study Study Screening 74

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2012

The idea was pioneered by renowned and award winning high impact serial entrepreneurs, Robert Sussman and Lance Fanaroff. ABSA Jewish Entrepreneur of the Year – WINNER (This award was actually presented by Gill Marcus) – (Annex.13). Ernst & Young – World Entrepreneur Awards – FINALIST (Annex 13).

Software Review 92

Software Review Social Network Platform Technical Review 92

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

Any SoCal entrepreneur raising early-stage money should put Rincon on their short list. He covers this is the first 15 minutes or so of the video and he’s awesome to listen to (more than 25,000 people have listend to this video so far – mostly entrepreneurs ;-)). Tags: Raising Venture Capital Startup Advice.

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

So we loaded up on flat screen TVs, multiple generations of iPods and trips to Hawaii. It’s my job to invest wisely in entrepreneurs who are capital efficient, who innovate in ways that pay off economically in good markets or bad and who plan for worst-case scenarios. We spent our future since the equity was artificial.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Startup Funding Technical Review 269

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

I like to tell entrepreneurs to treat it like a sales campaign. I am really surprised how many entrepreneurs pitch me and then I never hear from them again. ENTREPRENEUR NEXT STEPS. Stay on the radar – You need to find a very polite way to persistently be on the top of the radar screen of your VC.

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Startup Email News 277

Steve Reich

AUGUST 9, 2012

With the VC ranks shrinking, founders need to tap every source of capital out there. The entrepreneurs in startups are trained to go fast and run lean. We know we’re short of capital, particularly in LA. It’s not getting easier to find capital, particularly for A rounds. The conflict is built in.

Angel 49

Angel Pasadena Angels Venture Capital Pasadena 49

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 20, 2011

For those who still might be wondering what Spotlight: LA Tech is all about, It’s a screening room for new technology homegrown in our region. InVenture is next stage microfinance – focusing on providing expansion capital. It’s a gallery of great entrepreneurship. It’s a toast to those who build and innovate. Community Sponsors.

UCLA 102

UCLA Company Companies Idealab 102