Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

A major chunk of this activity is provided by the newer class of “super angels,” who often look more like micro-VCs, except that they are investing their own money. Mobile and web software apps may cost even less. The cost of entry for tech startups continues to go down. Some VC firms are bogged down by their own weight.

Funding 125

Funding Venture Capital Startup Class 125

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2010

We asked the same five questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next two weeks. 1) Mobile web. Mobile app downloads went from 300mm in 2009 to 5 billion in 2010, Android ad impressions up over 2,000% as two examples.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Southern California Cloud Computing Venture Capital 160

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

It is here where innovators, artists, entrepreneurs and more have moved from all around the world to join it's welcoming startup community. On a macro level, one of my main responsibilities is elevating the idea of being an entrepreneur and the importance of entrepreneurs to our economy. For example, Myriad Mobile raised $1.5

Screening 70

Screening Mobile Entrepreneur Startup 70

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 11, 2012

One of the worst things for an entrepreneur to have happen to them is to lose communication due to battery life. Stereo Bluetooth Class 2, Version 4.0 Messaging/Web/Apps. MotoCast™, Google Mobile Services, Google Talk™. hours talk time and up to 15.8 days standby time. Bands/Modes. CDMA800,CDMA1900,LTE B13 700.

Entrepreneur 64

Entrepreneur Google Software Review Yahoo 64

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2010

It was a great chance for the class to interact with the community in LA. Lee Essner is formerly a senior exec from WeddingChannel and has much experience in running a successful web property. I first met him there and knew he was a talented entrepreneur that I wanted to work with some day. And of course we had, TheMan.

Company 276

Company Companies Startup Southern California 276

socalTECH

OCTOBER 31, 2012

We have refind our thesis around why mobile is so special, and how it ties into location, and have spent two years working on precise, location targeted ads in the industry. What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs, and which you learned from the whole experience? Precision targeting was very attractive to them.

Startup 225

Startup Acquisition Doc Ideas 225

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2016

At Idealab, we saw many shots on goal with companies who were consumer focused, and we have found the quality of entrepreneurs going to consumer Internet companies has changed dramatically, which represents a real opportunity. It's all about the entrepreneur. That's when you start meddling in the company.

Southern California 113

Southern California Capital Funding Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

A major chunk of this activity is provided by the new class of Super Angels, who may look more like micro-VCs, except that they are investing their own money. Mobile and web software apps may cost even less. Yet, in my view, every early-stage entrepreneur should be exploring this new funding alternative before approaching VCs.

Angel 104

Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 12, 2013

Greg was the first person to share with me the insights of mobile conversion and why with a simpler product selection and conversion funnel they would get higher conversion on mobile than on the web. On each subsequent meeting I’d learn a little bit more. So we talked about his joining. I made some reference calls.

Venture Capital 360

Venture Capital GRP Partners Startup Invest 360

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

He didn’t tell it in the video but, ever the entrepreneur, Scott started a business to take couples up on a “mile high club&# flight on airplanes as a way of getting all of his miles logged to get his next class of airplane license that required a certain number of hours logged. Includes content mobile guides, ie.

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

But I’ll judge the angel class of 2009/2010 on a 7-10 year time horizon. Yet nearly any entrepreneur who has an idea that other people aren’t doing will tell you that it’s hard to get investors excited. It was an investment management class. We’ll re-compare notes then. This requires novel thinking.

Invest 299

Invest Angel Technical Review Venture Capital 299

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2011

Those programs--epitomized by YCombinator in the Bay Area, and TechStars in Boulder, Colorado--attract newly minted entrepreneurs with a mixture of cash and mentoring, and a program which rapidly takes ideas and turns them into viable, executing businesses. Typically, venture backed companies, always entrepreneur led.

Startup 221

Startup Mentor Southern California Incubator 221

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

We're focusing on what we believe is a collision course between the desires of the mobile workforce--people like you and me who use their iPad, Android, or iPhone to get to our data and stuff and share it with other people--and the desires of business to make sure they can securely provide that information to both employees and people outside.

EC2 150

EC2 Los Angeles Web Anthem 150

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2013

This is class four for Launchpad LA. Atlas Powered has raised $700k from Tech Coast Angels, Maverick Angels, Pasadena Angels, Angel Capital Entrepreneur Fund, LaunchpadLA, and Clark Landry. We’ve been blown away by the performance of the eight companies in this class. YieldMetrics has already raised $1.7

GRP Partners 96

GRP Partners Startup Tech Coast Angels Bertelsmann 96

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

This post highlights some of the reasons why the market is moving again and what entrepreneurs should do about this. And Ron Conway has proclaimed that he wants to do up to 40-50 rapid-fire deals in the next 18 months in what is becoming known as the “real time web” (e.g. We’re only in the second inning on mobile.

Venture Capital 255

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Social Network 255

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

Value Prop Twitter Style : SocialStay is: "An easy to set up & manage mobile platform designed for the hospitality industry. Month by month, the hospitality business is sorting out how mobile plays a role in increasing revenue and driving loyalty. Social is not a hype movement; it is part of the web’s DNA.

Startup 233

Startup Design Mobile Social Network 233

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 30, 2012

Mobile Web America, Inc. has created a simple to use, online application for your business to create a mobile site and secure its mobile presence. We utilize the content of your existing website and create a mobile version on-the-fly. CitySourced is a real time mobile civic engagement platform.

CalTech 91

CalTech Company Companies Idealab 91

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

“The one-day event will bring together leading executives, entrepreneurs and professionals to celebrate this diverse L.A. Full disclosure, I helped her launch her web series, but would mention her anyway because this is definitely a timely topic and shows there is an interest in adult female content which you can view here.

Hollywood 100

Hollywood Screening Ideas Entertainment 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

Think of web vs. mobile. I’ve sat on ad tech boards with board members who clearly knew little about impressions, fill rates, CTRs, RTB, eCPMs or the difficulties & opportunities of embedded mobile SDKs vs. HTML5. Neither class of people should give up easily. Traditional software vs. SaaS. Commitment.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 28, 2011

In addition to the 330+ students, entrepreneurs and investors in attendance, the event also achieved over 45,000 views on the TechZulu live stream. GumGum was founded in 2007 when a team of seasoned Internet entrepreneurs realized web site publishers were missing out on valuable revenue by not monetizing their image-based content.

Idealab 77

Idealab Tech Coast Angels Startup Platform 77

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Leveraging mobile application and online platform. GumGum was founded in 2007 when a team of seasoned Internet entrepreneurs realized web site publishers were missing out on valuable revenue by not monetizing their image-based content. is a web hosting and virtualization service provider headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

UCLA 102

UCLA Company Companies Idealab 102

SoCal Delicious

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Program head Robert Jadon describes Startup UCLA as more of a pre-accelerator than anything, meaning the the ideas are typically earlier stage and the entrepreneurs less experienced. Being in its inaugural class, Startup UCLA is still sorting through its own identity and business model issues. Share on Twitter. Share on Google+.

UCLA 47

UCLA Invest Startup Class 47

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010

We will be bringing you some of the hottest startups around to give you a quick rundown about their companies and get to know the entrepreneur behind those companies. This Panel is filled with investing super stars who will be going over must have content for all the startups and entrepreneurs out there. Adrenaline Fueled Angel.

Social Media 71

Social Media Technical Review Mixergy Tech Coast Angels 71

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

A serial Internet entrepreneur, Mike has founded and sold numerous businesses, including agency PBJ Digital, application platform Userplane, which he led from startup to its acquisition by AOL, Tsavo Media and Myspace. Sangster is a serial entrepreneur and M&A executive with experience both founding and acquiring businesses.

Tech Coast Angels 96

Tech Coast Angels Idealab Angel Startup 96

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 26, 2016

adult now spends a reported 5 hours and 38 minutes on the web – advances have been made in the way individuals and small businesses operate in the digital world, which will grow even more this year. In 2016, the price of mobile data will remain relatively stable. Mobile Growth Will Continue To Shape Our Lives.

Commerce 40

Commerce Mobile Technical Review Google 40

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 28, 2011

In addition to the 330+ students, entrepreneurs and investors in attendance, the event also achieved over 45,000 views on the TechZulu live stream. GumGum was founded in 2007 when a team of seasoned Internet entrepreneurs realized web site publishers were missing out on valuable revenue by not monetizing their image-based content.

Idealab 49

Idealab Tech Coast Angels Startup Platform 49

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

We want to provide our audience with not only amazing presenting startups/newly released products (submissions still open Apply Here ) but also outstanding people that can help you grow as an entrepreneur and lead a successful business. That’s why we are extremely excited to announce Mike Jones as our SuperDemo!

Tsavo 76

Tsavo Idealab Tech Coast Angels Userplane 76

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 16, 2012

CallFire simplifies telephony, making sophisticated, expensive carrier-class telecom capabilities available through an easy-to-use GUI and API platform, which the company pioneered in 2007. Using CallFire, anyone with a cell phone and a laptop can become a virtual call center. I look forward to contributing to that achievement.”.

Venture Capital 89

Venture Capital Cloud Computing Class Education 89

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

CapLinked lets entrepreneurs focus on what they do best, while making sure their investors always stay in the loop. Novimap is an online and mobile mapping platform. enables developers to sell cross-platform web-apps that optimize to your mobile device. How startup can leverage social media to get investors attention.

Social Media 60

Social Media Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Venture Capital 60

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 17, 2011

Sangster is a serial entrepreneur and M&A executive with experience both founding and acquiring businesses. He sits on several boards and is involved in the virtual worlds, gaming, mobile, media, and healthcare markets. is a web hosting and virtualization service provider headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Idealab Angel Design 100

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 8, 2011

IPPLEX researches and develops pioneering cross-platform applications and services focused on interactive communication – between people and the information, contacts and places they need to access through their mobile phone, PC, and other devices. is a web hosting and virtualization service provider headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

CalTech 100

CalTech Technical Review Company Companies 100

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

As in, not one company (even the largest, Any.do ) holds over 1% market share in the mobile to do list space. “ I was taking a class at Michigan about lean startups; it was a great environment that I treated like an idea marketplace. Most of them were in classes together, but not a single one of them has a college degree.

Product 99

Product Ideas Email Organization 99

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 20, 2012

Always looking to provide the very best for our community so that you may learn and grow as a startup or entrepreneur, Bill Gross is one of the best experts we could provide. A lifelong entrepreneur, Bill started several companies prior to Idealab. SuperDemo: Bill Gross. which made a natural language product for Lotus 1-2-3 called HAL.

Idealab 84

Idealab Tech Coast Angels CalTech Startup 84

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

We were talking about a company, Factual (disclosure my firm is an investor), which was founded by one of LA’s most talented Internet entrepreneurs, Gil Elbaz , who as co-founder of Applied Semantics (purchased by pre-IPO Google for $102 million and now Google AdSense) is responsible for a large portion of the Internet’s monetization.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

How-to learn about angel/vc term sheets - Gabriel Weinberg , June 28, 2010 I think every startup entrepreneur (and angel investor) should have a good understanding of financing term sheets. You’re Not a Real Entrepreneur - Steve Blank , June 10, 2010 Who is an entrepreneur really? Most entrepreneurs are natural-born builders.

Startup 175

Startup Venture Capital Slides Blogging 175

SoCal Delicious

OCTOBER 8, 2012

Tech entrepreneurs and executives from Silicon Valley are moving south and buying up luxury homes in the Los Angeles area. Andrew Frame, a 30-something entrepreneur who founded Internet-telephone company Ooma, bought a contemporary four bedroom in Bel Air for $5.5 WSJs Lauren Schuker Blum shows us around. More Mansion Videos.

Los Angeles 44

Los Angeles Software Review Technical Review Journal 44