Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2019

Measuring is all about return-on-investment (ROI). You can fail by not being there at all (see the United Breaks Guitars story ), or making a big mistake (see The Biggest Social-Media Fails of 2018 ). See some recent examples in the The 10 Best Social Media Campaigns of 2018. Pick the ones that fit your desired outcome.

Social Media 96

Social Media Media Marketing Metrics 96

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes. I see many companies that don’t make this transition well.

Startup 286

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 286

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 30, 2010

Every investment so far in this YC batch (and there have been a lot) has been done on a convertible note.&#. Convertible debt is an investment that “converts&# into equity in the future usually at a discount to your next funding round price and sometimes has a “cap&# (maximum price). “Convertible notes have won.

Equity 319

Equity Pricing Venture Capital Entrepreneur 319

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

This continues my series of posts: Top 30 Startup Posts for July 2010 Top 30 Startup Posts in June 2010 Top 29 Startup Posts May 2010 Startup CTO Top 30 Posts for April 16 Great Startup Posts from March Here they are: How to Minimize Politics in Your Company - Ben's Blog , August 24, 2010 “Who the f@#k you think you f$&kin’ with.

Startup 191

Startup Venture Capital Blogging CTO Hire 191

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 19, 2011

Don’t and you might make one catastrophic mistake that leaves you in the annals of Effed Companies. He is very hands-on and helpful – especially for any company looking into customer acquisition. Called Tim Spicer (c-companies partner) and he told him matt, they only want one thing, more warrant coverage!!!

Acquisition 304

Acquisition Startup Customer Custom 304

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

10 Ways To Be Your Own Boss - A VC : Venture Capital and Technology , June 18, 2010 The folks at Behance and Cool Hunting asked me to talk at their 99% Conference a couple months ago. People tend to overvalue past investments when making forward-looking investment decisions. Yes, even bootstrappers. liquidation preference.

Startup 175

Startup Venture Capital Slides Blogging 175

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

It’s insanely competitive to get into our industry so most have degrees from institutions like Stanford, Harvard, Wharton and University of Chicago (blatant plug ;-). I’ve seen too many companies go off track by a VC hell bent on the team pursuing the VCs strategy which at times is about chasing the next shiny object.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Smart entrepreneurs now avoid this option like the plague, due to its unpredictability and the challenges of running a public company. According to a recent Ernst & Young global report , 2014 was a strong year with IPOs actually outperforming other indices by 10 percent. Public companies are always at risk for takeovers.

Startup 98

Startup Technical Review Report Entrepreneur 98

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

That’s why it’s important to revisit your company’s mission from time-to-time. If you have a team of 10 people then by definition 90% of the time spent on activities is not put in by you and on a team of 100 it’s 99%. In fact, 90% of our investments are either Seed or A-round investments (10% are B-round).

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Equity-Only CTO and Equity-Only Developers - SoCal CTO , November 1, 2010 I had a recent email dialog with the founder of a company looking for a CTO for their startup. Who better to answer than the company's engineering lead. Five Reasons You Haven’t Launched - Software By Rob , November 10, 2010 Photo by stevendepolo.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Startup Product Technology 175

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2017

Measuring is all about return-on-investment (ROI). You can fail by not being there at all (see the United Breaks Guitars story ), or making a big mistake (see The 12 Worst Social-Media Fails of 2016 ). See some recent examples in the 10 top social media marketing success stories of recent times. Marty Zwilling.

Social Media 62

Social Media Media Metrics SEO 62

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. They’re competitive. 15 companies North of $1 billion exit.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is at an all-time low, and most entrepreneurs avoid this option like the plague, knowing the process is painful, and public company executives are seen as greedy sharks. Public companies of any size must comply immediately with the full reporting requirements of the SEC.

Startup 97

Startup Report Entrepreneur Statistics 97

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . I believe that it is part of the DNA of an entrepreneur – being so competitive that you’re practically sick when you lose. They’re competitive. 15 companies North of $1 billion exit.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

I also recently wrote a post about a company that came in for a presentation and never even got the slides out or presented a demo. I called the meeting a 10/10 because we had a great 90-minute discussion in which we had great rapport. I’d love to hear what kind of investments you’re interested in these days ?&#

Venture Capital 238

Venture Capital Slides Startup Sales 238

SoCal Delicious

JANUARY 9, 2014

Design as an afterthought Mistakenly, many early-stage startups often don’t see value in investing in design early on, believing it is a luxury which can be bolted on later like some kind of magic stardust. Get some customers and investment will come a lot easier. Here are two examples. Then find another, and another.

Startup 78

Startup Design Customer Custom 78

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

I told him--you are a top 10 guy worldwide, when it comes to understanding mobile applications, how to acquire them, how to improve monetization, and how to improve the user experience on those apps, and I thought our skill sets would be complementary. You're known as quite the angel investor here in companies (ie.

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

Bijan Sabet – investor & board member in some small companies you might have heard of like Twitter, Tumblr, Boxee & OMGPOP – took issue with the whole notion that you even need a Powerpoint deck anymore. First, if it’s an early stage company, I don’t need to see a powerpoint deck. I funded them 8 weeks later.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Slides Technical Advisors Startup 299

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 31, 2010

In each sales situation your goal as the leadership of the company is listening to feedback, calculating the customer ROI, testing what prices people are willing to pay, learning where budgets will come from, etc. I know all of this, like most everything I learned about startups, from making mistakes at my first company.

Sales 286

Sales Newsletter Technical Review Activity 286

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

When to get a lawyer - If you plan to be a venture or angel backed technology company (what I mostly write about) the best time to start meeting and getting to know lawyers is long before you ever start your company. Many people start companies arse backwards. I write about some of the lessons in my post on Startup Mistakes.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

InfoChachkie

APRIL 6, 2015

The world’s largest skateboard company, Skate One produces many of industry’s best-selling brands, including Powell•Peralta Skateboards , BONES Wheels and Mini•Logo Skateboards. George spent the first ten years of his career, gaining experience in the aerospace industry, before founding his skateboard company in 1976 at the age of 33.

Mentor 100

Mentor Pacific Palisades Startup Class 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 4, 2011

One of the things I discuss the most with the portfolio companies I’m involved with is that “you manage what you measure.”. Make them widely available inside the company and share your most important goals with your board. My experience has proven that even some well known companies are under-whelming in this department.

Metrics 346

Metrics Startup SEO Customer 346

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2018

I literally have a Google Sheet for nearly every portfolio company who is in the process of raising a round. As you work deals they might move up or down in the priority list but when you start you should have no more than 8–10 priority A’s (more is unrealistic) and no more than 8–10 priority B’s. The third-pass is geography.

Funding 215

Funding Startup Venture Capital News 215

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 4, 2011

I only later became a dual citizen having lived there for 10+ years.) I did not mean that mistake.” I invested in a company whose goal is to bring low-cost computing to inner-city schools in America. I’m actually not, but that is where I had been living and working and they suddenly realized that maybe I was British. (I

Startup 290

Startup Education Help Screening 290

Frank Addante

JULY 30, 2007

► August (1) Invest in Transparency & Active Communication ► July (1) The Fear of Success ► May (2) Optimized for Speed = 30% Waste Happy 1st Birthday Rubicon Project! Web Development & Marketing Technology) Exit: evolved into L90 (next company) Lesson: What you dont know cant stop you. We just started developing.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Outsource Development Advertising 40

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 13, 2010

After starting three companies, I've found that some widely accepted advice lead me to failure while. You work in (or run) a services company. Intrapreneurship: Embracing Disruptive Innovation Within Your Company. The last couple of years have seen a significant increase in IT and interactive companies placing be.

Guide 69

Guide Startup Venture Capital Entrepreneur 69

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

If they did they would be in constant violation because VCs often see 3-4+ companies in every market that they operation. In the video I describe how to best play this meeting and why, without a champion going into the meeting, you’re unlikely to get an investment. Bio of top 3 people in the company. Competition.

Venture Capital 340

Venture Capital Slides Doc Startup 340

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

You have cash in the bank, a monthly burn rate and a “cash out” date that few in the company truly comprehend. Start Early The single biggest mistake founders make is waiting until they have too little cash in the bank before fund raising. When you run a startup you’re always on borrowed time. So GET BACK IN FRONT OF THEM!

Funding 238

Funding Venture Capital Startup Course 238

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 6, 2015

People new to sales make the mistake of assuming that just because you have a buyer talking with you or even somebody who clearly wants to do business with you that it means you’ll get an order. Assume competition and assume within the buying organization you have enemies. Why Buy Me? Take nothing for granted.

Sales 150

Sales SaaS Startup Venture Capital 150

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

Such attorneys can also add tremendous value in your negotiations with Big Dumb Companies (BDCs), as they can ensure that you focus on the deal points that are of most significance to a small entity. He or she must be willing to fight for your company and go toe-to-toe with your investors. They make mistakes.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I’ve raised money as a “hot company” and I’ve raised capital when no one would return my phone calls. I raised money as an entrepreneur, like you, in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005 for two different companies. Partners make investment decisions. ” But focusing on too many is a mistake.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2010

Sometimes a company presents at a partners’ meeting that has been well vetted and thoroughly discussed prior to the meeting so all partners know a great deal about the presenting company. Either way, don’t assume that the entire room is up to speed on your company.

Venture Capital 318

Venture Capital Startup Sales Writing 318

Frank Addante

APRIL 16, 2007

► August (1) Invest in Transparency & Active Communication ► July (1) The Fear of Success ► May (2) Optimized for Speed = 30% Waste Happy 1st Birthday Rubicon Project! Web Development & Marketing Technology) Exit: evolved into L90 (next company) Lesson: What you dont know cant stop you.

Google 40

Google Advertising Startup Venture Capital 40

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

► August (1) Invest in Transparency & Active Communication ► July (1) The Fear of Success ► May (2) Optimized for Speed = 30% Waste Happy 1st Birthday Rubicon Project! Web Development & Marketing Technology) Exit: evolved into L90 (next company) Lesson: What you dont know cant stop you. Leaving 10.

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2010

When you are selected you share the stage with 49 other companies (in the case of TechCrunch50. Most people pay attention to the first 5 companies. Maybe 10. By company 22 it’s hard to remember what any of them did. Many other great companies are not. - Oh, and Demo charges the startups $18,000.

Tips 307

Tips Startup Press Blogging 307

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

► August (1) Invest in Transparency & Active Communication ► July (1) The Fear of Success ► May (2) Optimized for Speed = 30% Waste Happy 1st Birthday Rubicon Project! Web Development & Marketing Technology) Exit: evolved into L90 (next company) Lesson: What you dont know cant stop you. StrongMail Systems, Inc.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 22, 2011

I’m often asked by people what investment areas interest me. I try to invest in things that I know and that I believe I might have better knowledge and relationships than the masses of VCs. But one theme in pervasive in all my thinking about investing in Internet-based companies: Deflationary economics.

Startup 386

Startup Pricing Marketing Product 386