Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2023

If you need funding for these early stage activities, I have some suggestions on better strategies to follow. If this is your first foray into the entrepreneurial arena, with no track record in business or technology, your best and perhaps only supporters will be that class of investors known in the trade as friends, family and fools (FFF).

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Resource Ideas Funding Research 102

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

A continuing question I hear from young entrepreneurs is whether a university degree is important to startup success, or just a distraction in achieving their purpose in the world. Most colleges have now added classes in entrepreneurship to include the necessary business focus to technical majors that usually drive innovative ideas.

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Entrepreneur Mentor Class Resource 157

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 18, 2019

With an inaugural investment into the Los Angeles-based entertainment startup Culture Genesis , Clifford Harris Jr., ”, has launched a new syndicated investment vehicle called Tech Cypha. And that’s by coming together to pool our resources so we can invest more.” who’s better known as “T.I.”,

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Invest Los Angeles Resource Venture Capital 187

Berkonomics

APRIL 12, 2018

Small companies most often scrape by with borrowed or invested funds, doing everything possible to grow and prosper with limited resources. To most entrepreneurs, this often leads to an event whose resolution by a governmental agency or even a court seems unfair and illogical.

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Entrepreneur Class Resource Email 226

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over twice as many companies, according the Crunchbase. Individual angel investors and crowdfunding have been adding to the momentum, some say exceeding VCs in total amount invested.

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Funding Venture Capital Startup Class 125

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

Yet as we enter February 2017 the VC funding markets are booming, Snap, Inc has filed for its IPO, AppDynamics was just purchased for $3.7 But the reality is that “global warming” massively blunted the effects of winter and my prognosis for VC fundings of entrepreneurs in 2017–2018 is now very sunny indeed.

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Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 150

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

[Email readers, continue here…] Bootstrapping: This term describes your ability to start a business with little investment and grow it using internally-generated funds. And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

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Venture Capital Class Invest Equity 266

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 23, 2012

Wednesday, August 29, 2012 -- Crowd Funding Tips and Tricks. This class is for any entrepreneur, or future entrepreneur, who is interested in using crowdfunding as a real alternative for early stage funding. In this class you?ll Coloft Academy. Instructor: Chance Barnett. See [link] (more)

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Tips Funding Class Entrepreneur 113

Berkonomics

JANUARY 7, 2021

Think of startups and early stage businesses whose entrepreneurs you know. We should think of the creation and growth of a high valued company as the sum of three parts, with three distinct classes of participants helping to make real value out of a raw start-up. One: The entrepreneur. Two: Co-management. Reward for early risk.

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Startup Equity Statistics Entrepreneur 240

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. But Tracy did what entrepreneurs do. Sam is the managing director of Launchpad LA and we were about to pick our 2012 class of entrepreneurs. In the first 5 minutes you’ll realize that she’s a classic entrepreneur. More on that later. That may soon change.

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Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2016

Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) has just announced a brand new, $240M venture investment fund, led by longtime venture investing veterans Jim Armstrong, Sumant Mandal, Gregory Milken and Jamie Montgomery. What is the investment focus for this fund?

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Southern California Capital Funding Invest 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 23, 2012

One of the biggest complaints that local entrepreneurs have with Los Angeles has been a dearth of local sources of venture capital. However, the recent surge in startup activity has attracted a lot more capital into the area, including a significant amount of capital from LA's latest fund: Karlin Ventures (www.karlinvc.com).

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Funding Startup Invest Commerce 253

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 25, 2021

The partners at MaC Venture Capital , the Los Angeles-based investment firm that has just closed on $103 million for its inaugural fund, have spent the bulk of their careers breaking barriers. “Our LPs invested in us… for lots of different reasons but at the top of the list was that we are a diverse team in so many ways.

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Venture Capital Capital Los Angeles Invest 225

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 16, 2020

UNest , a Los Angeles provider of financial planning and savings tools for parents including college savings plans and other beneficial investment vehicles for various life events, has raised $9 million in a new round of funding, the company said. . “To me the investment in UNest is a great opportunity to help my community.

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Services Capital Draper Education 235

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 30, 2020

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Online or evening entrepreneurship classes for anyone. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources.

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Class Startup Resource Mentor 124

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2013

Despite a growing technology industry here in Southern California, local investors and entrepreneurs tell us there''s still a shortage of local, venture capital. In particular, funding for companies developing deep technology--software and cloud, as opposed to content and media--seems to be lacking. How did the new fund come about?

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Invest Technology Startup Venture Capital 159

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Launchpad LA today announces it will accept applications for its third class of Los Angeles-based tech startups. We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. Report Card.

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Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

socalTECH

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Los Angeles-based Start Engine , the business accelerator being spearheaded by Activision co-founder Howard Marks, said today that it has created a new, $15M investment fund for its portfolio of startups, and added former Governor Gray Davis as an advisor. READ MORE>>.

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Funding Southern California Activision Class 214

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

“Hi [entrepreneur], I hope all is well. I’m an investor at [Big Name, Large Fund VC] and recently came across [Your Company]. It's big, well known & we've invested in all of these really cool companies]. I know the firm well and I know the entrepreneur & his business well. What fits your schedule?

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Venture Capital Entrepreneur Email Equity 294

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

I believe the rise in angel investing is here to stay and the professionalization of this class (aka “super angels&# or “micro VC&# ) is a good thing for the VC industry and for entrepreneurs. But I fear that for most angel investors who invest over the long haul angel investing will not be a profitable endeavor.

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Invest Angel Venture Capital Slides 306

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over 60 times as many companies, according the Center for Venture Research. Individual angel investors have been filling the gap, and now match VCs in total amount invested.

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Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 18, 2018

For investors, a subsequent down round at a lower valuation than the last, or an exit opportunity at a loss are all opportunities for the affected stakeholder to show a side that can sometimes shock an entrepreneur or CEO. The chasm between management and employees.

Layoffs 240

Layoffs Class News Email 240

TechCrunch LA

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

The latest company to raise funding from a clutch of investors is BuildOps , which raised $5.8 Software for the service industry is nothing new for Los Angeles entrepreneurs. Liquid 2 Ventures has an investment thesis in supporting America’s working class and I just love the idea of making their lives far easier and better.

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Los Angeles Software Angel Outsource Development 129

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. Leading with this answer will likely terminate any further investment opportunity with this investor. Highlight your world-class team as the secret sauce.

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Competition Patents Resource Invest 133

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

They have marked-up paper gains propped up by an over excited venture capital market that has validated their investments. Logic tells me the following: It is hard to make money angel investing. Too many angel deals just means more to watch and invest in for the ones that do succeed (if the VCs can get in at reasonable prices).

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Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 18, 2013

A traffic jam of expensive cars lined up to pull into the packed parking lot of MuckerLab for its second graduating class demo day. Tech Coast Angel investor Dale Okuno came out because he believes that MuckerLab attracts better talent because they keep their class size small and focused. Or maybe a goldmine.

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Class Startup Tech Coast Angels CTO Coach 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2013

Throughout a career lifetime, just think of the return on that investment. This will pay big dividends in getting your favorite project funded, or justifying your own salary, or negotiating a bonus. Most classes in college focus on a narrow area of interest, which just teach students to focus on problems through one lens.

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Class Course Writing Slides 93

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2021

If you need funding for these early stage activities, I have some suggestions on better strategies to follow. If this is your first foray into the entrepreneurial arena, with no track record in business or technology, your best and perhaps only supporters will be that class of investors known in the trade as friends, family and fools (FFF).

Help 165

Help Research Startup Funding 165

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 1, 2016

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Online or evening entrepreneurship classes for anyone. Get help with grant funding and incubator resources.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Capital Class Startup 55

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2015

If you need funding for these early stage activities, I have some suggestions on better strategies to follow. If this is your first foray into the entrepreneurial arena, with no track record in business or technology, your best and perhaps only supporters will be that class of investors known in the trade as friends, family and fools (FFF).

Develop 102

Develop Development Product Funding 102

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2020

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more. Budget time and dollars for each.

Product 169

Product Summary Startup Examples 169

TechCrunch LA

JULY 7, 2020

A comfortably middle class background, a supportive family and ready access to care were all available, but still the therapy didn’t take. From a social [return on investment] perspective it seems insane to me that we don’t invest more in the early wellbeing of children,” said Dipayana. “My brother hated it.

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Los Angeles Invest Class Angel 166

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

Our interview this morning with an entrepreneur is with Anthony Citrano , the founder of Los Angeles-based Acquicent (www.acquicent.com), a startup which wants to make it as easy for you to invest in museum-grade collectibles such as classic cars and art, without having to invest millions of dollars in those assets.

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Startup Invest Class Marketing 189

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 12, 2014

They often create the biggest tensions between investors who are investing at different stages in the business. These tensions seep out in some angels or seed funds publicly or semi-privately deriding later-stage VCs for their “bad” behavior. would you want to give up the right to invest in subsequent rounds?

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Guide Venture Capital Startup Writing 336

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

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. Any SoCal entrepreneur raising early-stage money should put Rincon on their short list. Nowhere is social proof more prevalent than in angel investing.

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Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

socalTECH

DECEMBER 31, 2018

Editor's note: As we head into the new year, we've been featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Raising money as a first-time VC fund is hard.In You'll be able to browse all of those contributions here.

Capital 113

Capital Venture Capital News Patents 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 25, 2014

How an entrepreneur answers this question speaks volumes about their knowledge of business realities, customers, confidence, and their ability to handle investor funding. Leading with this answer will likely terminate any further investment opportunity with this investor. Highlight your world-class team as the secret sauce.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Competition Patents Resource 110