Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. Join a startup incubator. It always reduces risk to plan your business first.

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socalTECH

JUNE 22, 2021

Los Angeles-based VideoAmp, which provides video measurement software for the advertising industry, said today that it has named Cameron Meierhoefer as Chief Product Officer. Meierhoefer was previously CEO of SignalFrame, and also had been COO of Comscore, where he spent more than 17 years.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

I’ve heard a lot of people question whether there is too much money in venture capital chasing too few great deals. Others believe that new business models are emerging that could replace venture capital all together. If you want the whole deck you can find it on SlideShare but I’ve written up a short summary with commentary below.

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socalTECH

JUNE 8, 2017

Los Angeles-based StartEngine , the equity crowdfunding service run by serial entrepeneur Howard Marks, has chalked up 25 companies raising money on its platform since the start of 2017, according to the company.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2023

Every startup founder rightfully starts out as the single leader of the startup, but as the business grows, many entrepreneurs struggle with relinquishing any control, or fail to recognize and allow other leaders to emerge. Few things make a difference in a startup like hidden leaders who are focused on results.

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socalTECH

MARCH 14, 2019

West Hollywood-based Backstage Capital , a venture capital investor which focuses on minorities--including women, People of Color, and LGBT founders, said recently that it has launched the Backstage Accelerator , a three month, startup accelerator which will provide in-person resources and support to its portfolio of companies.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2023

In my experience, the Silicon Valley startup model, focused on disrupting established industries, has treated the USA well and created some great global businesses. It has played almost no role in the emergence of current non-US bred startups, including Alibaba in China, Waze from Israel, Paytm in India, and many more.

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socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

Raising capital for a female-led startup can be very diffiult--which is what Justine Lassoff and Melinda Moore found out when they started their own company, LovingEco, in Los Angeles. We actually started the organization in 2013. Melinda Moore: One of the things required to create, build, and scale a company is capital.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series called “ Start-up Lessons.&#. I came across this blog post about getting a computer science degree as the best degree for getting into venture capital or working at a VC-backed start up. I paid up for the diploma but can’t say that I saw better results.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2023

Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. There is real value in doing the key things yourself, before your startup is even started: Demonstrate thought leadership before selling a product. Follow up personally on every new connection.

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L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 23, 2021

is lining up capital to start production on a second electric vehicle in late 2023 after unveiling a debt offering of $625 million. Manhattan Beach-based Fisker Inc.

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Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

Many first-time entrepreneurs find themselves unable to bootstrap their startups, and also unable to find early funding at the venture capital level or even with angel investors. These are the only people likely to believe in newbies, with only minimal product evidence or business experience.

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socalTECH

APRIL 23, 2019

Los Angeles-based March Capital is the lead investor in an artificial intelligence startup, which is aiming at improving employee service, as it further continues its theme of investing in big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning startups in the enterprise. READ MORE>>.

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TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

America’s favorite reality star is leveling up her repertoire and levering up businesses. A longtime friend of the Kardashians, Sammons apparently approached Kardashian and her mom-ager, Kris Jenner, with the idea to start the business. Serena Williams’ next act in venture capital is essential in this moment.

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socalTECH

JULY 16, 2014

For the last few years, startup accelerator MuckerLab has been helping very early stage companies define and grow their businesses, using the accelerator model and small investments to get companies to the next stage. Talk about the shift from MuckerLab to Mucker Capital? I hadn''t worked or lived in LA, in the ecosystem.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 7, 2022

A common pain of startups after an exhilarating first surge of early adopters is a long and frustrating plateau of slow growth, where it seems like nothing you do will get your business to profitability. This starts with multiple messages from the top that growth is now the highest job priority, and key to survival. Marty Zwilling.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2023

A common question I get is “How do I get a bank loan to fund my startup?” The default answer is that it probably won’t happen, because most banks just don’t make bank loans to startups. The failure rate is just too high, and startups typically don’t have the assets or revenue stream to back up the loan.

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TechCrunch LA

MAY 31, 2022

Bonfire Ventures , a Los Angeles venture capital firm, invests in seed-stage business-to-business software companies and aims to change the odds so that more than the average 33% of companies in this sector make it to Series A. TechCrunch: How did you and Mark Mullen start working together? Andelman : The L.A.

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Tech.Co

JANUARY 3, 2022

Well, another year has come and gone, and while we're yet to leave the pandemic behind, it has led to a record number of small businesses starting up. By allowing people to use their own unused capital as loans for the less fortunate, SoLo acts as an intermediary between those who need the money, and those who are willing to lend it.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

I have never been more optimistic about the impact that the tech startup community is having on cities in America or about the role that cities outside of San Francisco / Silicon Valley can play in our future. Not all of these products & companies came from Silicon Valley but the overwhelming majority did.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2023

Many passionate entrepreneurs fight to add more features into their new products and services, assuming that more function will make the solution more appealing to more customers. In reality, more features will more likely make the product confusing and less usable to all. Broad product offerings require too much infrastructure.

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socalTECH

MAY 30, 2019

Los Angeles-based venture investor Moonshots Capital is the lead investor in a new startup, Backtracks , a developer of podcast analytics software. in a seed funding round, which was led by Moonshots Capital, and also included Capital Factory, Sputnik ATX, Next Coast Ventures, Bull Creek Capital, and BNSG Capital.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 22, 2020

Luckily, not all investors are looking for the same thing, so it pays to know what type of investors are most interested in what your startup brings to the table. The key is understanding how potential investors see you, and especially how they view the maturity stage of your startup. Congratulations!

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Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

There is no longer a guarantee that VCs and later stage investors will be waiting at the run-out point of the angel money to pick up and grow the company. Business plans that I see often show three to five years of projections, demonstrating profitability at the end of so many months of operation.

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socalTECH

AUGUST 25, 2020

Los Angeles-based Wrapbook , a startup developing payroll, compliance, and insurance software for the entertainment industry, said it has raised $3.6M The funding came from Equal Ventures, Uncork Capital, Steve Sarowitz (founder of Paylocity), and 4S Bay Partners. in a seed funding round.

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Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 12, 2023

Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2016

After a decade on the job I’ve started to speak more openly when newer industry colleagues now ask me what I’ve learned. We then help surround founders with other talent who want to join important causes but don’t have the startup idea themselves. Fundamentally venture capital is about human capital.

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socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

A new program, run by the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, is looking to connect startups with Series A funding, according to the group. According to the two, the program recruits and selects top SoCal-based startups that have demonstrated clear market traction and provides introductions to leading venture funds.

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Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 19, 2015

As an angel investor, I get requests almost every day to review a new product or website, and provide feedback on its potential success. Yet I can’t remember the last time any entrepreneur asked me to assess personal potential, despite the fact that most investors will admit they invest in the person more than the product.

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Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2020

As a mentor to startups, I see more startups that are really an individual professional, marketing themselves as a consultant or freelancer in this new gig economy. This world changes rapidly, and needs a professional with experience in digital and conventional media to keep up. Here are some examples: Marketing Professional.

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

Irvine-based Digital Map Products , which provides map-based, real estate applications, said this week that it has named a new member to its board of directors. According to Digital Map Products, it has appointed Dave Cozzens to its board, to help guide the company around strategic growth and positioning. READ MORE>>.

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Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 18, 2014

Almost every startup company starts off “scrappy” and there’s a well established culture in the tech startup scene to embrace the “be cheap at all costs” mentality. I have seen this problem up close so many times. But at want point do you need to flip from scrappy to “scale-y”?

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Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

The subject of raising money is critical to many businesses and a passing option to others, depending upon the capital efficiency of the enterprise. Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally generated funds.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

In this three-part series I will explore the ways that the Venture Capital industry has changed over the past 5 years that I would argue are a direct result of changes in the software industry, not the other way around. When I built my first company starting in 1999 it cost $2.5 These are very different.

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TechCrunch LA

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Cybersecurity insurance startup At-Bay has raised $34 million in its Series C round, the company announced Tuesday. The round was led by Qumra Capital, a new investor. At-Bay was founded in 2016 by Rotem Iram and Roman Itskovich, and is headquartered in Mountain View. Cyber insurance is changing the way we look at risk.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Here, we have Greg Martin, Founder and Managing Partner of Archer Venture Capital (www.archervc.com). Zoom has been a Godsend, and frankly has made our productivity better than it was when we were in the office. 2020 was a crash course in leadership and we saw many great entrepreneurs step up and rise to the challenge.

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