Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2014

Of course these are great places to network with other investors, meet great entrepreneurs and keep your connections strong with senior execs at larger companies like Yahoo!, I know I can’t be in every deal and I know that the easy part of being a VC is writing the first check in a deal. And there’s conferences. Web Summit.

Venture Capital 374

Venture Capital Invest Press Startup 374

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 30, 2019

What every entrepreneur needs more than anything else, after they have built an innovative new product or service, is visibility, credibility, and trust by customers, potential employees, and future business partners. Yet, most good business people I know agree, but don’t know where to start.

Writing 19

Writing Technical Review Entrepreneur Advertising 19

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

Some people even believe that entrepreneurs must be born with the right genes, and no element of education is relevant. In my view, the most effective entrepreneurs are those with a background of an array of real-life experiences, both positive and negative, as well as good academic and coaching activities.

Writing 111

Writing Coach Incubator Entrepreneur 111

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

So I thought I’d write about out with what I would look for in a VC knowing what I know now and why. VCs should be more of a coach than proscriptively telling you what to do. I think of VCs as coaches. Most entrepreneurs I encounter seem to make their decisions more on perceived brand, past successes and ability to intro.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Great Startup Ideas Come From Everywhere. "At "At Microsoft there are lots of brilliant ideas but the image is that they all come from the top – I'm afraid that's not quite right." This frugality was evidenced by the fact that everyone at Microsoft, even Gates, flew coach until well into the late 1990s.

Tips 275

Tips Startup IP Santa Barbara 275

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

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. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. I spent time on college campuses.

Venture Capital 347

Venture Capital Startup Pricing Invest 347

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

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. I asked for intro’s from entrepreneur friends. I spent time on college campuses.

Startup 361

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review 361

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 9, 2012

Everyone recognizes a great entrepreneur when they work with one, but most entrepreneurs don’t know what to look for in themselves that will drive that perception by others. The points are great, but can be made even simpler and more actionable by adapting then to the world of the entrepreneur: Demonstrate character.

Startup 104

Startup Examples Entrepreneur Ideas 104

socalTECH

JUNE 13, 2011

Where did the idea come from? Jonathan Lehmann: I was awarded the Larry Wolfen Entrepreneurial Spirit Award at UCLA, after getting amazing coaching from Matt Ridenour in our business plan development class. That allowed me to take a summer to develop the new idea, and transform it into a business. It has been really amazing.

UCLA 256

UCLA Startup Ideas Help 256

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 23, 2015

So part of playing an effective coach is helping the team to see the answer for themselves. My initial blogging inspiration was actually Brad Feld because as an entrepreneur I always wanted to work with Brad after reading his advice on term sheets and the like. I remember writing about online video nearly 5 years ago.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Startup Writing Blogging 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2016

The points are great, but can be made even simpler and more actionable by adapting then to the world of the entrepreneur: Demonstrate character. For leaders, this is often evident in the willingness to be coached, by outside experts or by your own team. Good ideas can come from anyone at any time. Promote resilience.

Examples 76

Examples Startup Coach Patents 76

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

Do you have any advice for emerging entrepreneurs regarding how they can be frugal without compromising their company’s value prop? Bootstrapping requires that the entrepreneur go out and talk to their users or clients. Write it down…. We subscribe to the same philosophy.”. You don’t need much… But what you do need is sales.

Startup 233

Startup Design Mobile Social Network 233

SoCal CTO

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

It was a great conversation and I thought it would be a good idea to do some visible networking with Aaron to get to know him better. I feel too many people are discouraging, and as a result, too many entrepreneurs are discouraged and give up. You are writing about the essentials of business. That's great.

Startup 150

Startup SEO Pepperdine Blogging 150

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 28, 2012

From LA Demo Day to Silicon Beach Fest to Crowdstart LA to hackathons to Startup Weekends, companies and entrepreneurs alike have joined forces to feed the startup ecosystem. I pitched an idea that was voted in the top 12 but couldn’t form a complete team. Luckily, I joined another team that eventually won 1 st Place.

Startup 100

Startup Ideas San Diego Mentor 100

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 16, 2010

The idea is that in a meeting you need to quickly suss out what type of individual you are presenting to. For extroverted people I recommend that entrepreneurs have an “executive summary&# slide up front that cuts to the chase. Most entrepreneurs are. I think the author was Peter Urs but I’m not 100% sure.

Slides 358

Slides Venture Capital Startup Summary 358

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

We also want to create more capital for women entrepreneurs to increase the chances of being funded and connected to a bigger network. Entrepreneurs are everywhere and capital isn’t. What has been exciting is the ripple effect of putting 10 angels-in-training and 10 women social entrepreneurs together in the same room.

Mentor 84

Mentor Invest Entrepreneur Startup 84

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Jon Sperry – a highly respected dialect coach who has worked with Harvey Keitel, Sofia Vergara, and Russell Crowe – taught a Stage 32 class that was attended by members from over 40 different countries. But most do it because they want to give back. There’s a community feel even to our education. Classes with a wide geographic appeal.

Education 80

Education Entertainment Class Manhattan Beach 80

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

The challenge is when and how to make the switch to the entrepreneur lifestyle. As a mentor to young aspiring entrepreneurs , I often get asked for tips on a strategy to get started. Check out local sources for coaching and assistance. Remember that investors tend to fund entrepreneurs, not ideas.

Startup 114

Startup Tips Coach Satisfaction 114

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2022

After many extended coaching sessions with entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’ve found myself wondering if my value-add was anything more than you could get by self-coaching. It helps to partner with and coach others. Celebrate your wins, keep a flexible mindset, and raise your own bar often.

Coach 105

Coach Help Satisfaction Metrics 105

socalTECH

JULY 29, 2009

What is the idea behind Knowledge Genie? Instead of writing a book, we wanted to develop a platform to bring our methods to life, and scale our knowledge. One of our hopes, aside from creating a way to package knowledge, is to essentially allow entrepreneurs to create their own publishing company. But, it didn't seem scalable.

Geni 100

Geni Web Guide Platform 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2011

.&# Surprisinly, this strategy works well with many entrepreneurs. It’s as though we forgot the management mantra of the 90′s about “core competencies&# or the most common VC advice to entrepreneurs: Focus. I doubt this will end well for those VCs or for the entrepreneurs they backed. Funny, that.

Venture Capital 296

Venture Capital Capital Software Startup 296

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

If you have or are thinking about a business in the video space you’ll enjoy hearing from Gregg but even more broadly this is a great conversation for entrepreneurs, investors or industry analysts. Any takers in a trade for helping do some write-ups against whatever you want? Advice, coaching, intros?

Startup 303

Startup Venture Capital Pricing Writing 303

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 2, 2011

Thiel and friends will also agree to mentor these young entrepreneurs. So is this a good idea? In Poly Sci I learned critical thinking and writing. If I’m counseling young people I often coach them to consider getting degrees that will be practical for becoming more employable when they graduate. My 2 cents: 1.

Education 322

Education Startup Incubator Class 322

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 1, 2010

And let’s be honest, other than money and coaching most VC’s add little value to your company strategy. I also think it’s a good idea to have a competitor matrix that shows your key competitors and how you feel you stack against them +/-. Make sure when you write it you assume this. Be prudent.

Startup 301

Startup Venture Capital Software Review Email 301

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 2, 2010

It’s the story of persistence in entrepreneurs. As a VC I’m acutely that a “yes&# decision to support an entrepreneur can do just that, yet I only write 2-4 of them per year and maybe another 3-4 as an angel. Being helpful doesn’t mean telling every person their ideas are great.

Startup 352

Startup Help Blogging Entrepreneur 352