Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 22, 2010

This is the dreaded “due diligence” process. In my view, understanding due diligence can only improve information flow, and leads to a better long-term partnership with your investor. Technical due diligence typically starts with a full one or two day review with the engineering and product marketing staff.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review Writing Competition Tips 90

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2012

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 28, 2010

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 91

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing. Mike Napoli: We've revised the way we review companies at the prescreening stage. How are you handling all those applications nowadays?

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2018

You company is the product and you’re selling an equity ownership in your company but much more broadly you’re selling trust & confidence that you’re going to build something enormously valuable and that you’re going to be enjoyable to work hand-in-hand with over the coming decade of each other’s lives.

Venture Capital 314

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest Slides 314

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

From apps to hardware, to KickStarter successes and international startups, we’re inching closer to finding out who will take home the title of Startup of the Year competition at our annual Celebrate Conference in October. Among the dozens of participants that applied for the online competitions, only a few progressed into the semifinals.

Competition 122

Competition Mobile Startup Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. Acknowledge every customer feedback and review. Don’t let that one negative stand out as the only review submitted. These also will keep you better informed on new technologies, trends, and likely competitors.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2023

This is counter to the traditional business premise of “control,” so many companies are still pushing back. Charlene Li, in her classic book “ Open Leadership ,” shows leaders how to tap into the power of the social technology revolution and use social media to be “open” while still maintaining control. Centralized. Democratic.

Social Media 112

Social Media Media Software Review Social Network 112

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2022

With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. Today’s customers are much more proactive in going online for the latest information, rather than simply reacting to the “push” messages that businesses traditionally use to drive commerce. The real problem is inflexible people.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Organization Social Media Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for every startup to assess the metrics, technology, and platforms they’re using to manage the business. Sales data needs to be correlated to advertising campaigns, price changes, seasonal forces, competitive actions, and other costs of sales. Operating productivity.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Customer 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 23, 2019

Every year, at the end of the year, we share some reflections on the past year from our readers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, sponsors, and others in the local technology community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? The biggest lesson learned this year has been how hot the LA tech ecosystem has become.

Capital 100

Capital Technical Review Truecar Venture Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2020

This is counter to the traditional business premise of “control,” so many companies are still pushing back. Charlene Li, in her classic book “ Open Leadership ,” shows leaders how to tap into the power of the social technology revolution and use social media to be “open” while still maintaining control. Centralized. Democratic.

Framework 159

Framework Social Media Software Review Social Network 159

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 4, 2023

The world of marketing is changing faster than technology these days. The broad-brush push-marketing is no longer competitive. With informality, these must be win-win relationships. Understand the power of online reviews to your advantage. Stop fearing bad reviews, and see any review as an opportunity and an asset.

Marketing 107

Marketing Technical Review Startup Innocal 107

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2020

The world of marketing is changing faster than technology these days. The broad-brush push-marketing is no longer competitive. With informality, these must be win-win relationships. Understand the power of online reviews to your advantage. Stop fearing bad reviews, and see any review as an opportunity and an asset.

Mobile 173

Mobile Marketing Technical Review Startup 173

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Intellectual property is required for a competitive edge. Even the best college degree is not a substitute.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

For starters Uber itself has had to lay off 27% of its workforce due to the pandemic and has been severely impacted financially from the crisis with no immediate respite in sight. Even more likely is eventual technology disruption where drones deliver foods and make it hard for existing car delivery services to compete.

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. But issues do arise as your company grows. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact).

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

Portfolio company support & analysis. Industry reviews. Associates often shadow partners at board meetings so that they can help follow up with the company on important initiatives between board meetings. Have really strong analytic skills to put large amounts of information into context. VC firm admin. And so forth.

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

With social media and smart phone apps, real product information spreads at astounding speeds. Today’s customers are much more proactive in going online for the latest information, rather than simply reacting to the “push” messages that businesses traditionally use to drive commerce. The real problem is inflexible people.

Tips 126

Tips Technical Review Organization Social Media 126

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Companies all around the world use Trello to help manage projects and coordinate team tasks and responsibilities. You can also use Table to provide the big bosses with an overview of progress towards company goals as you can easily collate lots of initiatives in one go. Here's everything you need to know about the new-look Trello.

Software Review 149

Software Review Guide Technical Review Class 149

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 1, 2016

140,000 new startup companies are reportedly launched every day. While the epicenter of tech innovation is undeniably Silicon Valley, a tide of new hubs emerging across the globe are gaining recognition. If law enforcement officials require it, they would be forced to share this information. Our key markets are the U.S.

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Startup Incubator Media 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

They might not actively “collude&# and say “let’s collectively keep the price down&# but in the resulting discussion pricing information will flow – whether intentional or not. To be crystal clear – I think AngelList is awesome and I have NEVER heard Nivi or Naval ever reveal or discuss pricing information.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Tech.Co

AUGUST 22, 2017

Adams developed Levium following his experiences founding several tech companies. How have your experiences with anxiety affected your career in tech? During my time as a tech founder I experienced this profoundly at a personal level and also saw it far too frequently in others whose lives were essentially taken over by anxiety.

Technical Review 50

Technical Review Competition Startup Design 50

StartUp Beat

JULY 26, 2017

Broadband access in the US has come under both scrutiny and criticism recently with a lack of competition being blamed for sub-par services. As competition increases, consumers need to be aware of their options, which is why BroadbandNow has set up their comprehensive database of US broadband providers.

Software Review 40

Software Review Technical Review Competition Statistics 40

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you. West Coast”).

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

An Insider’s Perspective “Bird Zero” that are custom designed by the company There is a story arc of the electric scooter market that took the world by storm in 2018, was second-guessed late in the year and has quietly re-emerged as a powerful force of growth where few really appreciate the speed and scale of what has happened.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Venice Competition Software Review 250

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

Burstly, a Santa Monica based company, provides an open and free ad management platform that helps mobile application developers better monetize their inventory. As I naturally get asked all the time why we invested in Company A or Company B, I thought I’d just put forth my thesis in writing. What does it do?

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2018

This is counter to the traditional business premise of “control,” so many companies are still pushing back. Charlene Li, in her classic book “ Open Leadership ,” shows leaders how to tap into the power of the social technology revolution and use social media to be “open” while still maintaining control. Centralized. Democratic.

Software Review 92

Software Review Social Media Social Network Technical Review 92

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2021

The biggest challenge for every entrepreneur and every startup today is to get noticed and remembered in today’s information overload. I say that because I’ve heard too many abstract pitches about the next paradigm-shifting technology, which I can’t relate to, and only a couple with stories that really grabbed me. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 125

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2023

I see this happening in smaller ways often, where there is minimal focus on competition. Here are some key initiatives that I recommend to every business owner and leader to stave off new competitors before they seriously impact or cause a competitive crisis in your business: Continually compare yourself to known competitors.

Metrics 71

Metrics Training Netflix Resource 71

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2016

It is a hugely compelling show because Zakaria covers world issues that will affect all of us in ways that are accessible and with frameworks for processing disparate information. But they also take on issues in science, technology and management. I have a board meeting coming up this week and I just reviewed the agenda.

Coach 150

Coach Technical Review Framework Google 150

Xconomy

OCTOBER 10, 2016

By popular acclaim, San Diego-based Echo Laboratories founder Eugene Cho claimed top honors, and a $15,000 check, for his two-minute presentation last week in the 10th annual “Quick Pitch” competition, hosted by San Diego’s Tech Coast Angels. Crowd Gathers for San Diego Tech Coast Angels “Quick Pitch” Competition.

Tech Coast Angels 40

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review San Diego Software Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Most board meetings are administrative updates that accomplish very little other than inform board members about the performance of the company since the last board meeting. How Most Board Meeting Prep Works I’ve been sitting on tech boards for two decades so I have some experience with what goes wrong. The meeting starts.

Startup 226

Startup Slides Metrics News 226

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. It’s worth a quick read. My argument is pretty simple. Look at Viddy & SocialCast.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

socalTECH

DECEMBER 12, 2013

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based web hosting and cloud computing provider DreamHost (www.dreamhost.com) raised a big, $30M funding round for the company--the first in the company''s long history. The company- now has around $50M in recurring annual revenues. Our target market is entrepreneurs, creatives, and developers.

Software Review 238

Software Review Cloud Computing Technical Review Platform 238

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256