Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

More than ever, the banks and lenders today require personal guarantees from entrepreneurs, and even from CEO’s of angel or some VC funded businesses. Starting and running a small or growing business can be a challenge to the most confident and optimistic entrepreneur. A novel reward for the entrepreneur from the board.

Company 156

Company Companies Venture Capital Entrepreneur 156

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

How many entrepreneurs do you know that “almost” made it big? Surveys show that entrepreneurs are among the happiest people in the world, despite the challenges. As an advisor to many entrepreneurs and startups, I’m always looking for early signs that usually lead to an “almost” success, but I have found them hard to pin down.

Entrepreneur 95

Entrepreneur Startup Custom Customer 95

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

Raising capital for a female-led startup can be very diffiult--which is what Justine Lassoff and Melinda Moore found out when they started their own company, LovingEco, in Los Angeles. Justine and I were on Sand Hill Road, raising money for LovingEco, and we realized that there really wasn't enough money flowing to female founders.

Help 224

Help Entrepreneur Capital Startup 224

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 13, 2021

Once you are able to achieve some real “traction” with your business (paying customers, revenue stream), it may seem the time to relax a bit, but in fact this is the point where many founders start to flounder. Most founders form very close relationships with the small team that gets the startup off the ground, and that is important.

Entrepreneur 169

Entrepreneur Startup Coach Mentor 169

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2022

With the cost of entry at an all-time low, and the odds of success equally low, more and more entrepreneurs are starting multiple companies concurrently. Other prolific entrepreneurs, like Richard Branson and Elon Musk , simply have several startups on the table at any given moment. Optimize your advisers and investors.

Entrepreneur 145

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Course 145

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. ” Of course we all go into businesses expecting to be aligned with our co-founders but over time life changes. Equity for the future?

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 10, 2020

In response to VCs’ sudden rush to invest in more Black founders , Black venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have penned a bunch of advice on the best way to tap into talent. It’s why some doubt the intentions of companies and firms newly promising to increase diversity, beyond the opportunistic lip service.

Equity 220

Equity Technical Review Venture Capital Blogging 220

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 8, 2019

Just weeks after Canoo took the wraps off of its electric vehicle , the Los Angeles-based startup and co-founder Stefan Krause has been accused of gender and marital discrimination, harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination in a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Nine of those became co-founders.

CTO Hire 198

CTO Hire Startup Los Angeles Design 198

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Contrary to what you might guess, the highest rate of small business and entrepreneurial growth over the last few years is not Gen-Y upstarts, but Boomers over the age of 50, now called encore entrepreneurs. One new incentive is the falling transaction costs and barriers to entry for entrepreneurs of every age. In the U.S.,

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Technical Support Entrepreneur Startup 126

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

If you haven’t yet heard about Female Founder Office Hours it is an initiative you should be aware of whether you’re male, female or any other gender identify. Female Founder Office Hours gives founders the mentorship and the role models to see that it is in not only possible but also to have a plan to make it a reality.

Venture Capital 256

Venture Capital Examples Screening Help 256

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Most aspiring entrepreneurs look to their alma mater, or any university, as a source of classes that can help them, but neglect to think outside the box or take advantage of all the other resources to be found there. Attract a co-founder and key team members. Access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, business mentors.

Entrepreneur 110

Entrepreneur Class Startup Resource 110

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2011

I spoke at Stanford last year about starting a tech company. I covered what I call “the co-founder mythology.&# Here is a quick summary of my POV: When you start a company a 50/50 partnership seems obvious. Either you’re not technical and you think you need a technical co-founder or vice-versa.

Startup 393

Startup Equity Funding Summary 393

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

Relationships are the key to survival and success for entrepreneurs, and first impressions usually turn into lasting impressions. As an advisor to many early-stage entrepreneurs, I caution them to always be prepared for that chance meeting with a famous investor, a potential partner or an industry guru.

Entrepreneur 128

Entrepreneur Startup Content Platform 128

socalTECH

JANUARY 29, 2020

This week, Los Angeles-based Crosscut Ventures announced a brand new effort to provide health and wellness to the founders of companies it invests in, helping those founders with well being, mental health, stress management, coaching, and leadership development. Tell us about this new program? It's a comprehensive bucket.

Invest 113

Invest Framework Coach Startup 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2022

I’m convinced that’s why most mature companies are slowing down or buying their innovation through acquisition, rather than building it. True entrepreneurs, like backpackers, are ready to explore new terrain, more open to new possibilities, and don’t get stuck in yesterday’s practices.

Competition 102

Competition Company Companies Startup 102

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2022

Every new entrepreneur has to initiate the right actions to be perceived as a leader in their chosen business domain by their team and by their customers, or the road to success and satisfaction will be lost along the way. No entrepreneur can build a business alone. Constantly strengthening your network of relationships.

Startup 127

Startup Training Entrepreneur Resource 127

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

I hear too often from business owners and entrepreneurs that they are bombarded by so many requests and problems, that they have trouble sorting out the daily crises from opportunities with a major payback for the business. Every business owner and entrepreneur has to be the role model for trust, a good moral compass, and ethics.

Coach 120

Coach Satisfaction Custom Customer 120

socalTECH

MAY 16, 2019

For our interview this morning, we caught up with Isaac Garcia , a serial entrepreneur who previously founded and sold his last company, Central Desktop, and now is working on a new startup, Sales Insider. How did you start Sales Insider from your past company, Central Desktop, after you sold it? It's very, very specific.

Sales 133

Sales Startup Software Marketing 133

SoCal Tech Calendar

APRIL 4, 2018

Friday, April 6, 2018 -- International Entrepreneur Rule. Why it matters: 51 percent of our nation's $ 1 billion + VC backed companies have at least one immigrant founder. This shows the importance of immigrant entrepreneurs to the US economy. What is it? Why does it matter? And where does it stand? See [link] (more)

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Capital Company 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 16, 2021

The ultimate compliment that any entrepreneur can get is that they can “see around corners.” Great entrepreneurs seem to all exhibit a common set of attributes which go well beyond the basic skills required to be an entrepreneur: “Larger than life” personality and presence. We can all point to the casualties from that approach.

Marketing 157

Marketing Design Entrepreneur Ideas 157

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2018

One of the best things about working at Silicon Valley Bank in Los Angeles is the access to amazing founders and companies. Since we're deeply focused on the innovation ecosystem and bank over 50% of venture capital-backed companies, I have the luxury of seeing trends across the startup ecosystem. READ MORE>>.

Mobile 113

Mobile Los Angeles Blogging Venture Capital 113

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

This blog started from a series of conversations I found myself having over and over again with founders and eventually decided I should just start writing them.It I see founders who think they can be at every conference, advise multiple companies, do side investments in angel deals, leave the office at 6pm and have a balance life.

Competition 394

Competition Startup Writing Marketing 394

SoCal Tech Calendar

JANUARY 24, 2018

Thursday, January 25, 2018 -- TCVN Workshop: Dysfunctional Teams and Founder Disputes. Fact: 62% of startup failures stem from founder or team conflicts. Learn what you can do to not fall into the same trap from an extraordinary panel of successful serial entrepreneurs.

TCVN 100

TCVN Entrepreneur Startup Company 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 3, 2023

Every entrepreneur believes in their heart that their startup is more innovative and creative than their competitors. Many companies rely on a technical expert, or team of experts, to generate a stream of creative ideas. Expert myth. Harder problems call for more knowledgeable experts. Cohesive myth. Constraints myth. Mousetrap myth.

Ideas 127

Ideas Startup Research Incubator 127

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 3, 2013

How much should Founders pay themselves and their senior team? During a company''s early stages, before it has achieved profitability, the answer is, "as little as possible.". Thus, Founders should pay themselves and their senior team just enough to make money a non-issue. The True "Cost" Of Salaries. Yes, absolutely.

Journal 231

Journal Capital Entrepreneur Marketing 231

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2022

Some people are not cut out to be entrepreneurs. How do you know if you should be running your own company, or concentrating on that queue of work that someone else has built for you? I’ve hit this before, but I still hear from too many unhappy entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have a "never, never, never quit" attitude.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Organization Ideas 124

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Most entrepreneurs relish being their own boss, but find the transition to “ownership thinking” to be more difficult than anticipated. Incidentally, if you never thought of yourself as being an A-Player employee, you probably will struggle even more in the competitive entrepreneur world.

Entrepreneur 159

Entrepreneur Custom Customer Competition 159

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2022

When you have been on the startup firing line, you quickly learn that any insight from experts and entrepreneurs who have been there before you can make the difference between failure and success. Yet, many new entrepreneurs brazenly assume they are bulletproof, and march blindly into the fray. Manage growth wisely.

Summary 147

Summary Entrepreneur Activity Resource 147

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Southern California startup founder Isaac Saldana --who co-founded SendGrid --is hoping to help other entrepreneurs create companies , after the $3 billion, all-stock acquisition of SendGrid by Twilio in October. Saldana is based in Irvine, where he co-founded SendGrid in 2009. READ MORE>>.

Help 133

Help Chief Technology Officer Entrepreneur Southern California 133

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2018

In a study which belies the opt-cited preference for "young" entrepreneurs in the startup and venture capital industry, a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology find that the mean age of the founders of the 1,000 fastest growing new ventures in the U.S. is actually 45.0.

Study 147

Study Venture Capital Resource Sales 147

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

I was at a dinner recently in Chicago and the table discussion was about building great companies outside of Silicon Valley. I then got my MBA at University of Chicago so I secretly pull for local entrepreneurs as long as they don’t make me visit in the Winter any more. But wouldn’t it want to be great PLUS have Facebook?

Company 369

Company Companies Startup Snapchat 369

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 29, 2014

This week I wrote about obsessive and competitive founders and how this forms the basis of what I look for when I invest. I had been thinking a lot about this recently because I’m often asked the question of “what I look for in an entrepreneur when I want to invest?” My first response mentally was, “Of course!”

Startup 409

Startup Invest Venture Capital Writing 409

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2020

As an angel investor in startups, I’m a believer that smart investors invest more in you as the entrepreneur than the next billion dollar solution you are pitching. Even if you are still in school, and never started a company before, strong entrepreneur candidates can point to projects they initiated, led, that produced significant results.

Entrepreneur 124

Entrepreneur Startup Examples Metrics 124

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

For today's interview, we sat down to catch up with Jon Waterman, the founder and CEO of Ad.net, to understand what the company's business is nowadays, how the company has evolved over the years, and how the company has adjusted to life during a pandemic. The company was founded in 2001, as Findology Interactive Media.

Advertising 203

Advertising Startup Google Commerce 203

SoCal Tech Calendar

JUNE 17, 2019

Saturday, June 22, 2019 -- LAVA First Time Entrepreneur Workshop. LAVA is extremely pleased to announce its next First Time Entrepreneur training program. The program is open to entrepreneurs that are starting companies in areas that are likely to draw venture capital investment. See [link] (more)

LAVA 100

LAVA Entrepreneur Screening Patents 100

InfoChachkie

MARCH 9, 2019

Even when it was published on Netflix, I had no desire to see The Founder movie, as it was clear from the film’s preview that it was yet another, “businessperson gone bad” film. Michael Bloomberg, American Entrepreneur and Politician. When an entrepreneur selects a venture, the idea should be all consuming.

Startup 100

Startup Netflix Entrepreneur Metrics 100

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2014

In a bid to boost the Los Angeles economy and create new jobs in the city, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Friday that he has created a new "Entrepreneur-in-Residence" program, which will help the city in developing initiatives and policies aimed at growing, assisting and sustaining entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. READ MORE>>.

Entrepreneur 232

Entrepreneur USC Los Angeles Mentor 232