TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 7, 2014

I spend a lot of time with startups and thus hear many companies talk about their approach to sales and their interactions with customers. Given customers & sales are the lifeblood of any organization you’d imagine everybody would respect their customers. Contrast that with a VC conversation I had.

Customer 341

Customer Custom Venture Capital Software Review 341

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

As a business advisor, I have to recommend even to established companies that they review and revamp their competitive strategy now, even if it appears to be working today. These have the vision and the resources to fund long-term digital success. The real challenge is to win massive consumer preference repeatedly.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows.

Startup 136

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 136

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 17, 2018

You get to have interesting conversations with founders and review business plans and then see how these businesses evolve over the years. Getting through hard times requires investors willing to spend time, to spend internal political capital & to be willing to go to bat for you in tough times.

Software Review 242

Software Review Technical Review Pricing Metrics 242

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 12, 2018

Now following a $62 million round of funding led by Battery Ventures last month, the company is worth roughly $800 million, according to people with knowledge of the investment, and is on its way to becoming Los Angeles’ next billion-dollar business. These kinds of technologies, unlike AI, don’t automate away workers.

Glendale 271

Glendale Los Angeles Startup Technical Review 271

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

Jackson added, “FinTech has traditionally lagged behind the innovation that’s happening in other areas of enterprise software. million, brings the company’s aggregate amount of capital raised to $2.5 25 Years of Writing Code. 25 Years of Writing Code. Yesterdays’ equity round of $1.6 and Schlumberger.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or angel investors in Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Raising capital isn’t the be-all and end-all of startup success.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

This is part of my series on Understanding Venture Capital. VC’s often talk about this term as in the total amount of funds EVER raised by that VC. Example: if a VC is on their fourth $200 million fund that they just raised in 2009 then you might hear them talk about $800 million under management. What is a VC fund?

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

Sometime around 2003/04 my technology team turned me on to “Spolsky on Software&# a periodic newsletter served up blog style from Joel Spolsky of FogCreek Software, a maker of bug-tracking software. Blogs weren’t popularized yet so it was an oddity for me to read the founder of a software company spewing out advice.

Software Review 285

Software Review Software Blogging Startup 285

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Reviewing financial & operational performance. Planning and dealing with extra-ordinary events: M&A, fund raising, crises. how much energy to put into channel partners vs. direct sales.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2012

Southern California's technology community--despite all of the recent excitement around Silicon Beach--continues to be underserved in terms of capital, with a lack of venture capital funds (with money), and other private technology investors. The second reason is that we are a hybrid fund with a unique strategy.

Acquisition 168

Acquisition Software Review Technical Review Equity 168

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 14, 2014

The problem is that professional investors (Angels and Venture Capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow.

Entrepreneur 113

Entrepreneur Funding Startup Technical Review 113

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

Very few people fund individuals. I’m a software guy so I’m sure there are cases where building isn’t feasible. Professional angels / former entrepreneurs / seed funds – In Silicon Valley there are people like Ron Conway, Jeff Clavier, Mike Maples and many more. Team: You need a team.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 6, 2019

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than early projections and product development. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows.

Startup 128

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 128

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

It’s what signals to existing investors how quickly their teams need to be fund raising and the level of risk the company is facing and also it signals to potentially new investors both how quickly you need to raise (ie you have less leverage if you’re in a rush) as well as how much cash you’ll need if they fund you.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Our interview today is with Andrew Schydlowsky , the CEO and founder of Santa Barbara-based TrackStreet (www.trackstreet.com), a startup which is backed by Okapi Capital, The Cove Fund, Early Light Ventures, SaaS Venture Capital, and Stage Venture Partners. We provide analytics on the velocity of sales across their channels.

Artificial Inteligence 140

Artificial Inteligence Startup Commerce Sales 140

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2023

The military has long recognized that machine guns are force multipliers for rifles, but businesses have been slow to capitalize on this concept. Soliciting user-generated online feedback and reviews. Crowdsourcing for funding and ideas. Flash mob activities created for immediate impact.

Social Media 106

Social Media Software Review Course Networking 106

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 4, 2022

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. Solicit funds from friends and family. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. Use crowd funding.

Tips 104

Tips Startup Technical Review Equity 104

socalTECH

JULY 31, 2013

In the world of mobile app and Internet startups, it''s not that often that you see companies who touch the hardware side of the world get funding nowadays. The firm recently raised a $15M series C funding, and we caught up with Kevin to learn more about why its customers, and investors, are interested in its technology.

Technical Review 213

Technical Review Software Review Networking Technology 213

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

To grow faster businesses need resources in today’s financial period to fund growth that may not come for 6 months to a year. The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. You may have leverage when you DO need to fund raise. “COGS” represents the amount that each sale costs you. .

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Ryan Blair: The theme around the fund is pretty simple. I had a sales force when I was at SkyPipeline, selling telecom, networking, and broadband wireless products. It was really the same business, but with less capital. My CIO had been ex-CIO at Herbalife, and was an EVP of Software for Disney. So where is the fund now?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 26, 2016

= profitable and companies like Amazon who chose to focus on growth > profitability were not losing money on each book sale (ie they were gross margin positive). It’s funny how scarcity of capital can focus one’s mind. The reason one would accept losses is when they are investments in fueling faster growth. End of story.

Metrics 150

Metrics Startup SaaS Course 150

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2019

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or Angel investors in Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Raising capital isn’t the be-all and end-all of startup success.

Startup 97

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 97

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 1, 2020

The military has long recognized that machine guns are force multipliers for rifles, but businesses have been slow to capitalize on this concept. Soliciting user-generated online feedback and reviews. Crowdsourcing for funding and ideas. Flash mob activities created for immediate impact.

Tips 124

Tips Social Media Software Review Course 124

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

The part of the movement that resonates the most with me (in my words) is that entrepreneurs should keep their capital expenditures really low while they’re experimenting with their product and determining whether there is a large market for what they do. I believe that over capitalizing companies too early often favors the VC.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

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

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 30, 2019

Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow. Solicit funds from friends and family. After bootstrapping, friends and family are the most common funding sources for early-stage startups. Use crowd funding.

Startup 87

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 87

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. On December 3rd Brad Feld wrote a one paragraph blog post titled “ Raising Venture Capital &# in which he linked to my blog. Thus is venture capital. My blog was wiped out.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The problem is that professional investors (Angels and Venture Capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until revenue starts to flow.

Startup 123

Startup Technical Review Equity Incubator 123

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

Your friends and advisers tell you that this means you need revenue because in this economy VC’s will only fund businesses with revenue. It is code word for “I’m not ready to invest for whatever reason … I need more proof.&#. Fund raising is an ongoing process and not an event on a workplan.

Venture Capital 309

Venture Capital Guide Startup Technical Review 309

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or Angel investors in Phoenix, Arizona, where I live. billion dollar sale to Oracle from Bozeman, Montana. Raising capital isn’t the be all and end all of startup success.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2015

The problem is that professional investors (angels and venture capital) want a proven business model before they invest, ready to scale, rather than the more risky research and development efforts. Self-funding or bootstrapping is still the most common and safest approach for startups Keep your day job until real revenue flows.

Entrepreneur 105

Entrepreneur Startup Technical Review Equity 105

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series of posts and I need to file this one under both Raising Venture Capital and Startup Advice. Many of these businesses were what First Round Capital called FNACs (features, not companies – this acronym has always stuck with me). That died with waterfall software development. portfolios.

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

Xconomy

JULY 26, 2016

With a cloud lingering over the peer-to-peer lending industry, privately held National Funding is disclosing new details today about its operations, in a bid to step into the light and differentiate itself as a fintech company and alternative lender. Alternative lending encompasses a broad range of loan options outside traditional bank loans.

San Diego 40

San Diego Help Software Review Funding 40

Xconomy

JULY 26, 2016

With a cloud lingering over the peer-to-peer lending industry, privately held National Funding is disclosing new details today about its operations, in a bid to step into the light and differentiate itself as a fintech company and alternative lender. Alternative lending encompasses a broad range of loan options outside traditional bank loans.

Software Review 40

Software Review San Diego Funding Customer 40