Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 20, 2014

Last year at this time I spoke at VidCon and gave this presentation in which I said YouTube was “the Walmart of Online Video” but I also commented that I felt YouTube was vulnerable to competition because their rev share to MCNs wasn’t high enough to allow MCNs to build a profitable business inside of YouTube. So Why MiTú?

Invest 291

Invest Content Media Networking 291

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 22, 2011

Feature, not a company. Whether something is a feature or a company is clearly subjective. And sometimes features (say, Twitter) turn into companies. I talked in specifics about a bunch of my investments including Factual , MongoLab , Maker Studios and Gogii (maker of TextPlus ). It has always stood out in my mind.

Company 295

Company Companies Gogii Google 295

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

Tech.Co

JUNE 1, 2017

The cannabis industry has been filled with innovation and investment in recent years. Do you play it safe and invest in industries with less baggage? As a poker player turned venture capitalist, James Conlon, a partner at Bullpen Capital knows a thing or two about risk. So as an investor, what do you do? The Ground Floor.

Invest 75

Invest Competition Training Media 75

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment. If there are financial anomalies, or someone on the team doesn’t know the current strategy, or is unhappy with you or the company, the investment will be jeopardized.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 152

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

If there are conflicts within the team, or differing views of the strategy, or evidence of missing processes and tools, the investment process will likely be terminated. Make yourself available to answer any questions, show your enthusiasm, and explain both the positives and negatives of the external investment process.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 118

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2020

And the market would still have DoorDash and PostMates duking it out as well as the potential that players like Instacart broadens its business one day or Amazon gets into food delivery. they just put up with the food delivery company fees. What is the Shopify of the restaurant industry?

SaaS 242

SaaS Customer Custom Technical Review 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 13, 2022

In these days of global competition via multiple channels, you need continuous marketing to find more customers. You may feel good when that first burst of customers arrives, but don’t assume that “ word of mouth ” and those early adopters will grow your business to match your dreams of success. They won’t find you.

Technical Review 142

Technical Review Social Media Conference Customer 142

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2015

There''s been a major, market battle in Los Angeles over the last few years, between on-demand ride services such as Lyft and Uber , not to mention local taxi and transportation companies. One of the players in the battle--Lyft--has just raised $530M more, from Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten.

Demand 100

Demand Commerce Competition Mobile 100

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 15, 2012

There are many paths into the VC world, but they can generally be lumped into two categories: (i) serial entrepreneurship, and (ii) tech-oriented investment banking. I define a "VC" as, "a professional investor who deploys third-party funds into relatively early-stage companies." A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Technical Review Invest RSS 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

If there are conflicts within the team, or differing views of the strategy, or evidence of missing processes and tools, the investment process will likely be terminated. Make yourself available to answer any questions, show your enthusiasm, and explain both the positives and negatives of the external investment process.

Technical Review 151

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Invest 151

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 26, 2010

Competition. And the reality is that if you have no competition it will likely be perceived as a negative, not positive. And the reality is that if you have no competition it will likely be perceived as a negative, not positive. where do you need to make investments to make up ground and therefore need capital?).

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Slides Competition Education 313

Tech.Co

AUGUST 22, 2016

Whether it’s Johnny Unitas’ infamously poor investment skills or Scottie Pippen’s luxury resort that cost him a whopping $27 million, being a successful athlete doesn’t translate into picking lucrative businesses. Since 2013, the two have invested in 15 companies including The Players Tribune , RingDNA , and Scopefly.

Venture Capital 70

Venture Capital Journal Competition Invest 70

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2019

What was the biggest news for you/your company this year? Given my fascination with this sector (I also happen to serve on the board of a municipal utility), I have watched with great curiosity an Idealab portfolio company Energy Vault (initially named Energy Cache) evolve over the last decade.

SoCal 140

SoCal Southern California Startup Venture Capital 140

Berkonomics

AUGUST 27, 2015

Many thought that they were starting companies for their children and grandchildren to inherit and manage. They financed their companies, to the extent possible, in a manner minimizing the cost of capital, planning for organic growth in the number of customers served and in associated revenues.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Equity Competition Pricing 120

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

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

Creating awareness for your brand and products is one of the lifebloods of technology startups yet in a world where so many companies are being created it becomes difficult to rise above the noise. Ever notice how some companies tend to be in the press all the time and your big new product launch struggled for inches? I am a VC.

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2011

I will argue that LPs who invest in VC funds will also need to adjust a bit as well. When I built my first company starting in 1999 it cost $2.5 When I built my first company starting in 1999 it cost $2.5 Specifically, Amazon has changed our entire industry in profound ways often not attributed strongly enough to them.

Venture Capital 334

Venture Capital Software Capital Startup 334

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2010

We chatted with John about Xfire, Titan Gaming, and his ultimate vision for the combined companies, and also asked him how the firm managed to get the backing of what seems like every single angel/super-angel in Los Angeles. John Maffei: Titan Gaming was originally started by two McGill students, who were hard-core, Counterstrike players.

Competition 154

Competition Acquisition Sites Los Angeles 154

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

This statement leaves no confusion in the minds of investors, or customers, of what the company does and how it is different (and better) than the competition. This statement leaves no confusion in the minds of investors, or customers, of what the company does and how it is different (and better) than the competition.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). Lower costs to start a business (95% reduction), many more companies created & funded by angels / seed. pre-money valuation you certainly would want to exercise your right to continue investing if you had prorata rights.

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 19, 2015

We have made 5 online video investments in total – some we will talk about later this year. YouTube takes too high of a revenue split (45% vs. 30% that Apple and many other distribution companies take – FWIW, YouTube argues this is because their costs are much higher since they host and stream the video).

SEM 150

SEM Content Platform Acquisition 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 1, 2016

That’s why it’s important to revisit your company’s mission from time-to-time. Having time to think about “leadership” at most startups feels like a luxury. The reality of most startups is about survival. But of course all of these things are intertwined. It’s a new year – 2016. A Sense of Purpose.

Startup 150

Startup Coach Course Invest 150

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

socalTECH

DECEMBER 15, 2010

For a big company, that might be through their own sales force, and for a smaller company it might be a small team which is operating the site themselves. We manage that competition through an aucton process. For instance, they might be selling ad space directly. They can sell those ads on a CPM, CPC, or CPA basis.

OpenX 242

OpenX Advertising Yahoo Pasadena 242

Xconomy

JULY 19, 2016

Has the consolidation—and creation of this enterprise security giant—put immense pressure on other industry players? In 2015, Cybersecurity startups saw 332 funding deals with investments hitting the highest ever at $3.8 Symantec Forces the Industry to Stay Competitive. billion (235 percent growth over 5 years).

Symantec 40

Symantec IBM IBM Acquisition 40

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2017

Opportunity segmentation and competitive environment. List key competitors and alternatives, highlighting your sustainable competitive advantages, such as patents and trademarks. Make sure you name your key players and advisors, and include any prior startup experience and prior leadership in the relevant business domain.

Startup 65

Startup Writing Patents Competition 65

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2013

This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment. If there are financial anomalies, or someone on the team doesn’t know the current strategy, or is unhappy with you or the company, the investment will be jeopardized.

Technical Review 97

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Summary 97

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2020

If you think about it, in a multi-player game, for example, you have a very limited vocabulary for interaction. They don't have to worry about multi-player games, sending every objects to somewhere else in the world, and things bouncing back at you, and where the complexity is really, really high. What is Croquet?

Platform 168

Platform Startup Examples Web 168

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

If you don’t know Montgomery & Co it is one of the premier technology & media focused investment banks in the country (and as Michael corrected me they also have a strong Healthcare / Med tech practice). Shame they didn’t like his suggested name for the company: DreamWorks SKG-MM. We discussed: 1.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Mission Ventures Capital Help 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 29, 2012

This is the last step of the process, where surprises in the evaluation of the management team, documentation, and personnel problems can derail the investment. If there are financial anomalies, or someone on the team doesn’t know the current strategy, or is unhappy with you or the company, the investment will be jeopardized.

Technical Review 98

Technical Review Startup Satisfaction Training 98

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. So the people who invest in VC funds have two problems.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

InfoChachkie

JULY 2, 2012

Give them conscribed assignments which compliment their talents, but minimize the degree to which they interact with the rest of the company. Some People Are Indispensable, But No One Is Irreplaceable. Reginald Martinez Jackson was also often referred to as a “hotdog” for his self-promotional antics and lackadaisical on-field play.

Startup 182

Startup Class RSS Statistics 182

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2010

Although Mr. Jackson was assuredly a superstar baseball player, he failed to realize that even though he was indispensable, he was not irreplaceable. However, unlike Mr. Jackson, Cal was a selfless, self-effacing player who routinely played with injuries and placed his team’s victories ahead of his personal statistics. Cal Ripkin, Jr.

Statistics 212

Statistics Press Product Startup 212

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Include your sustainable competitive advantage. Patents or other intellectual property are a real competitive advantage for a startup, but first to market and working harder are not sustainable. Project revenues, costs and investment expectations. Show you have a large and growing market opportunity.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2016

It’s stating the obvious to say that great teams matter and that cultivating them will drive higher company performance vs. a group of individual contributors. My observation is that many companies become Game of Thrones with warring factions and competing interests. The best leaders I work with tend to obsess about teams.

Coach 150

Coach Technical Review Framework Google 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

For much of 2013 I watched the press write articles about how the YouTube “MCNs” (multi-channel networks) were doomed and tried to square that with the data I was watching at the one I invested in, Maker Studios, who has had one hell of a year. So can you successfully build a YouTube network? ” YouTube takes 45%.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366