Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 19, 2011

CapLinked , the online platform for private investment funded by members of the “ PayPal Mafia “—announced that it is launching a worldwide pitch competition for entrepreneurs to present their business ideas to a panel of all-star judges from Idealab, Rincon, Rapidfire, and Actarus. says CapLinked CEO Eric M.

Competition 70

Competition Idealab Slides Startup 70

socalTECH

JANUARY 27, 2016

She has also served at The Associated Press and Massive Incorporated. Tongal offers up an online platform which helps brands, studios, and creators develop video content, including advertising and short films; the company says that it now has powered more than 1,000 campaigns.

Marketing 100

Marketing Press Advertising Sites 100

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. Each new customer, each mention in the press or online adds to the feeling of early accomplishment. There is nothing quite as thrilling in business as igniting a startup and watching it blossom.

Hollywood 120

Hollywood Writing Press Startup 120

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2013

It has even gone so far that we now have evocative headlines in the tech press such as “ Buy or Die ,” which is what got me thinking about this post. But the press (and I suspect many of the senior execs of these companies) don’t really explore the corrosive downside of these acquisition. So I thought I would.

Press 357

Press Startup Yahoo Venture Capital 357

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

If there are burnout or communication problems on a founding team those problems can hijack a company's progress. Techstars has continued to expand its global footprint with 48 accelerator programs around the world and the first company from our portfolio (Sendgrid) to IPO in late 2017 and then be acquired by Twilio in 2018.

Startup 124

Startup Press Commerce Southern California 124

Jason Nazar

JULY 1, 2016

Entrepreneurs often lament big companies, but most of us hope we’ll create just that. Add in public company demands, lawsuit targets, & millions of customers to continually satisfy, and you have to have great respect for those doing it well. Decisions that take entrepreneurs an hour, often take months at large companies.

Entrepreneur 55

Entrepreneur Company Companies Outsource Development 55

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 22, 2015

But the bigger truth is the competition is important. We will have two well-funded companies educating the market on why this market opportunity for the $24 billion US storage market is ripe for disruption. Healthy competition keeps you on your toes. Everybody reads the tech press. I still believe in competition.

Funding 150

Funding Competition Marketing Summary 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. Of course you need to discount any investor competitive positioning, but local investment group leaders will quickly tell you the strengths and terms of active investors in your area.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about The Silent Benefits of PR in which I pointed out that most young companies I encounter don’t fully grasp the benefits of PR because they are less measurable than product milestones or customer acquisition analyses (like CAC/LTV). In a startup this is a mistake.

Press 319

Press Startup Writing Training 319

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. Here’s some thoughts on the competition slide and also how to talk about it: Competition.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Slides Competition Education 313

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 1, 2010

Although the plot was obviously devised for comic effect, it serves to illustrate that non-conventional methods of infiltrating Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) are often effective. Entrepreneurs constantly have to capture the attention of larger companies. Eventually, you will reach someone at the target company.

Company 124

Company Companies Email Press 124

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Are you cynical about their chances in the market just because they seem to be hot in the press and that bugs you? I’m a news junkie and love to watch the Sunday morning talk shows like Meet the Press, This Week with Christiane Amanpour or Shields & Brooks on The News Hour on Fridays. I hear views like this all the time.

Startup 313

Startup Press Writing News 313

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

But succinctly this press places a marker in the ground for your company. Yes, you could tell them in a private internal meeting but nothing builds confidence more than their buddies all telling them, “wow, you work for a great company. But in 2013 it can also simply be, “Company X raises $2.2 ” Why?

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

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

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

So they create a task list of all the marketing activities an organization can do: press releases, web site updates, customer case studies, blog posts, daily Tweets, Facebook fan page, attending conferences, etc. It’s actually quite hard to lay out an annual company strategy that is articulate and underpinned by facts.

Activity 164

Activity Conference Press Case Study 164

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 9, 2022

to date, the company said that it saw an 188% growth in annual recurring revenue compared to a year ago, with more than 25,000 individuals in 2,000 salons and spas in the country now using its platform. “As But at the same time, Los Angeles–based Boulevard got this funding infusion at a boosted valuation because it has been on a roll.

Help 195

Help Startup UCLA Tool 195

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 23, 2011

But some CEOs then try to have more junior people in the company take the interview. Heck, even in a big, successful company like Salesforce.com the CEO, Marc Benioff, still takes many of the interviews himself. You need somebody who is helping push out information on what is up-and-coming in the company.

Startup 349

Startup Writing Press Blogging 349

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 9, 2011

Zipcar has been inviting the press to an event tomorrow with L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti, to mark its entry into Los Angeles, the 16th market covered by the company. It looks like Los Angeles is set to get access to peer-to-peer car sharing service Zipcar , as it plans to open an office in Hollywood tomorrow.

Los Angeles 213

Los Angeles Angel Southern California Startup 213

SoCal Tech Calendar

APRIL 20, 2011

How can you stay ahead in an increasingly competitive marketplace? LA Games Conference  now in its 4th year  features a lively and fun debate on timely cutting-edge business topics, demos as well unrivaled access to some of the most progressive companies in Hollywood, Silicon Valley and beyond. See [link] (more)

Conference 124

Conference Press Hollywood Competition 124

Berkonomics

APRIL 8, 2021

Discord is a great example of a company going viral mostly from word of mouth. That compares with a reported 330 million for Twitter which had a nine-year head start and so much more free press from famous users over the years. So, the lesson is: always find a way to make a second-generation recipient or buyer a future raving fan.

Sites 156

Sites Product Social Network Press 156

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2019

In the popular press, it’s easy to find articles that will convince you that companies with a good culture, such as Google, do it by lavishing perks and benefits , including some combination of free meals, trips and parties, financial bonuses, gyms, and a dog-friendly environment.

Competition 76

Competition Coach Case Study Statistics 76

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 21, 2014

And as I always assert, “Great companies are built in downturns. It’s when the noise stops and you can actually get customer attention, press articles and VC meetings. And it’s when mediocre companies get pulverized.” I remember, for example, when business intelligence swept through companies globally.

Marketing 354

Marketing Case Study Metrics Sales 354

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2009

Building companies is hard work. I started my first company in 1999 in London at the height of the dot com craze. We also had facilities in Dublin, Ireland where our company was initially founded. Our company was completely euphoric. We had one of the largest US software companies talk about buying us.

Startup 331

Startup Press Custom Customer 331

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 26, 2011

Especially when starting a company with personal savings or money from relatives and friends, early signs of success are intoxicating. Each new customer, each mention in the press or online adds to the feeling of early accomplishment. There is nothing quite as thrilling in business as igniting a startup and watching it blossom.

Press 149

Press Hollywood Writing Startup 149

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 31, 2014

The competition started early February with a voting and crowdfunding portion as several teams from both schools gathered votes from fans on the host crowdfunding platform. The pitch competition was split into two categories, a technology and nontechnology section. At the end of the event, the judges crowned the winners.

Startup 101

Startup USC UCLA Southern California 101

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. This revenue share comes after the YouTube split.

Networking 366

Networking Media Content Custom 366

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 19, 2015

I’ve tried over the years to write many times about the realism of the downsides of being an entrepreneur because there is a complete cognitive dissidence between what you read about yourself in the press and what you feel internally about where you’re at in the journey. Every founder knows this. The Perils of Founder Fighting.

Press 150

Press Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. Of course you need to discount any investor competitive positioning, but local investment group leaders will quickly tell you the strengths and terms of active investors in your area.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Funding Innocal Offshore 124

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. ” By that we weren’t trying to demean companies building aps, games, photo sharing, etc., Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

It’s building a product that is substantially differentiated, and, as Bill Gross, one of the most prolific tech entrepreneurs of our era says, “ It needs to be 10x better than the competition ” (because if you shoot for that then in competitive markets you might achieve 3x. Look at Viddy & SocialCast.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

Yesterday I wrote a post about “ the politics of startups ” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology. One wants to build a company that will be around in 10 years – financial outcome be damned! Those are the easy cases.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

She was leaving IAC to start a company. Competitive sportswoman. Kara on one side of the table showing me market sizes, competitive dynamics, product roadmaps, pricing plans for physical products with COGS and gross margins. She helps write press releases. Note: if you’re a parent please check out their website.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

There has always been tension between CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies and the retailers who sell their products to consumers. Think about the tension between media companies and cable operators like last year when Viacom threatened to pull Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, etc. from Charter’s subscribers. Get Physical!

Product 296

Product Course Custom Customer 296

socalTECH

MARCH 8, 2016

Once upon a time, one of the best benefits that employers could offer up an employee was a company contribution to their retirement plan. However, for an entire generation of employees�particularly, those coming out of school now�saving for retirement is completely overshadowed by the far more pressing, crushing burden of student debt.

Help 100

Help Startup Platform Santa Monica 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

We spoke with Ali Khoshgozaran , founder and CEO of the company, to learn more about the startup. You can press a button, and it scans the social media chatter and organizes highlights aroundyou, of relevant conversations around a particular location and particular time. Finally, what''s next for your company?

USC 236

USC Southern California Organization UCLA 236

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

There have been a series of tie-ups, as security-tech companies try to boost their businesses and amplify their products via acquisitions. But we’re also seeing more partnerships between security companies that aim to tie their product offerings more closely together, without going so far as combining their businesses.

Press 40

Press Symantec Organization IBM 40

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Most newspapers are written at a third-grade reading level, White House press releases average a fourth-grade reading level and the New York Times is easily digestible by the average fifth grader. The Company. Competition. Opportunity. PAIN: what painful issue are you addressing and how extensive is the issue (e.g.,

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211