Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

The most obvious way to explain this is with sales people. If you hire 6 sales reps in January at $120,000 / year salary then you’ve taken on an extra $60,000 per month in costs yet these sales people might not close new business for 4-6 months. Are you looking to potentially sell the company in the next year or two?

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

InfoChachkie

MAY 19, 2011

As noted in parts I and II of this series, agreements with Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) can be alluring and potentially fatal. This series describes how entrepreneurs can craft company-changing agreements with BDCs, while avoiding Kiss of Death contract provisions. This is generally a straightforward and uncontested provision.

Outsource Development 193

Outsource Development IP Technical Review Entrepreneur 193

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

You’ll learn about competitive products that exist or are being built. You’ll refine your sales and investor pitch. This is going to be fairly specific to the company. The Top Five Reasons Entrepreneurs Should Learn About IP Law What Can a Well Drafted Contract Do For Your Company? How Stealthy Should You Be?

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

You’ll learn about competitive products that exist or are being built. You’ll refine your sales and investor pitch. This is going to be fairly specific to the company. The Top Five Reasons Entrepreneurs Should Learn About IP Law What Can a Well Drafted Contract Do For Your Company? How Stealthy Should You Be?

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

socalTECH

JULY 9, 2012

What goes into the thought processes of companies when they're acquiring startups and other firms? We thought it would be insightful for our readerswho are usually looking to get acquired by other companieson what the thought process of those large companies making those acquisitions are. Vic Alston: We have got to to do both.

Acquisition 173

Acquisition IP Networking Marketing 173

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 23, 2012

Technologists often insist that new things can’t be invented on a schedule, but successful companies seem to be able to do it on a regular basis. Longer-term, enhanced product value begets superior company valuation through your organization’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Accountability. Idea management.

Coach 98

Coach Ideas IP Sales 98

Xconomy

OCTOBER 5, 2016

Dominating business-to-consumer sales, Amazon seems ready to take over the world of business-to-business too. In its first year, Amazon Business generated $1 billion in sales. However, there is still room for competition. Are you a supplier that sells through another company?

Organization 91

Organization Customer Custom Study 91

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2011

MarketShare recently launched a rebranding effort for the company, and is in the midst of a major hiring and expansion phase. Wes Nichols: MarketShare is an analytics company. You mentioned that you've been growing the company recently, and made a recent acquisition? We've been expanding the company aggressively.

Social Media 235

Social Media Demand Activity Marketing 235

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Along with Greycroft Partners we were the first investors in Maker Studios 3 years ago when the company had no revenue and limited infrastructure. I agree with YouTube (that they provide more (hosting, ad sales, etc.) But we’re a technology company that produces great video not the other way around.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Customer 366

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 30, 2012

You must take advantage of those special team talents and product capabilities that make your startup superior to your competition, and do things that your competition cannot duplicate in the short term. Intellectual property (IP). Form a basis for making better decisions. No strategy leads to no decisions or poor decisions.

Startup 99

Startup Competition IP Patents 99

socalTECH

JUNE 25, 2009

It seems that every week, a new, Voice-over-IP provider firm surfaces in the market, either providing PBX services, voicemail, or other similar services. What is your VoIP service all about, and how is this different from what seems to be lots of Voice over IP service providers? Cliff Rees: We're a software as a solutions company.

IP 165

IP Pasadena Angels Pasadena Los Angeles 165

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. Consider it a sales & marketing expense for them.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2011

Technologists often insist that new things can’t be invented on a schedule, but successful companies seem to be able to do it on a regular basis. Longer-term, enhanced product value begets superior company valuation through your organization’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Accountability. Idea management.

Coach 93

Coach Ideas IP Sales 93

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. 1) Expect Independent Channel Sales Reps To Perform Missionary Sales. Rationale: I cannot afford to hire a direct sales force.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2010

You must take advantage of those special team talents and product capabilities that make your startup superior to your competition, and do things that your competition cannot duplicate in the short term. Intellectual property (IP). To form a basis for making better decisions. No strategy leads to no decisions or poor decisions.

Startup 92

Startup Competition IP Patents 92

Xconomy

JULY 19, 2016

As is typically the case in any industry, but even more so in security, larger companies with established customers and products typically innovate more slowly than startups that are not encumbered by a legacy business. Symantec Forces the Industry to Stay Competitive.

Symantec 40

Symantec IBM IBM Acquisition 40

Tech.Co

MAY 22, 2018

I’ve had many startup founders tell me that their startup literally has no competition,” said Frank Gruber, Cofounder of Tech.Co, Startup of the Year , and Established. “In What startup teams don’t realize is that having competition is good. Also be careful about exaggerating when it comes to your company’s traction. “If

Tips 70

Tips Help Slides Technical Review 70

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2010

Shame they didn’t like his suggested name for the company: DreamWorks SKG-MM. You have to be selected to present and it is typically reserved for companies that have already raised early-stage capital and are well into revenue growth. A bank can help you balance fund raising with running your company. We discussed: 1.

Venture Capital 242

Venture Capital Mission Ventures Capital Help 242

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 15, 2010

Technologists often insist that new things can’t be invented on a schedule, but successful companies seem to be able to do it. Longer-term, enhanced product value begets superior company valuation through your organization’s intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Accountability. Idea management. Observe and measure.

Coach 49

Coach Ideas IP Sales 49

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 4, 2015

In fact, there are several types of valuations and they come into play at different times in a company’s lifecycle. For example, there are the private company valuation figures that get bandied about: think the numbers people reference for Uber and AirBnB for example. Business valuations = the price of the company.

IP 40

IP Equity Examples Guide 40

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

For this morning's interview, we thought we'd try something different, and put together a virtual panel of venture capitalists to give us a few tips on pitching your company. If I've seen companies that are similar to them--or half a dozen companies--even if the area might be big and exciting, it will be hard to make an investment.

Tech Coast Angels 100

Tech Coast Angels Ideas Entrepreneur Invest 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

When I was raising money for my first company we had closed a seed round in 1999 and were working on our A round. But we weren’t optimizing for dilution – we were building a $1 billion+ company and we wanted the runway to succeed. Many companies that were in the process of raising money did not. Let me start with a story.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

A very big thanks to Alexandra Harris, the founder of FanCause , a company that aims to connect entertainment brands with their fans to raise money. B” round investors usually take a scale or product market fit risk (they bet that the company can scale and that this is going to be massive). Sounds like a noble cause.

Angel 302

Angel Startup Ideas .Net 302