Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

But what IS the right amount of burn for a company? Burn rate in case you don’t know is the amount of money a company is either spending (gross) or losing (net) per month. (it Conversely if you’re burning $600,000 per month (yes, some companies do) then you only have 5 months of cash left. Gross Burn vs. Net Burn.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 27, 2020

Many entrepreneurs are convinced that banks are not worth the effort for startups, especially early-stage ones that still don’t have a revenue stream, or collateral to back up their financing needs. Show focus and your understanding that your company is something more than just a good idea. Be concise as well as complete.

Technical Advisors 162

Technical Advisors Tips Startup Equity 162

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 105

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Startup High Tech 105

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

I had a picture in the office of my first company with the logo above and the capital letters JFDI. (In In case it’s not obvious it’s a play on the Nike slogan, “Just Do It.&# ) I believe that being successful as an entrepreneur requires you to get lots of things done. Good entrepreneurs are wrong often.

Entrepreneur 414

Entrepreneur Technical Review Slides CTO Coach 414

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

In my years of advising startups and occasional investing, I’ve seen many great ideas start and fail, but the right team always seems to make good things happen, even without the ultimate idea. Yet every entrepreneur I meet wants to talk about the idea, and rarely mentions the team. Outsourcing your core competency does not work.

Technical Advisors 57

Technical Advisors Startup Outsource Development High Tech 57

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2011

One of the biggest complaints you hear from both entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles, is the lack of a credible, visible startup accelerator in the Los Angeles area. First and foremost, we're focused on making companies become successful. How much are you investing in the companies who are part of the program?

Technical Advisors 176

Technical Advisors Startup Southern California Los Angeles 176

socalTECH

AUGUST 28, 2017

She told us about why so many Los Angeles investors are supporting the company and gave us an overview of what PartySlate is all about. I tapped my co-founder, John Haro, who I worked for at Agency.com, and at another mobile marketing company, and we talked about the idea, ideated, and I brought him on as co-founder.

Technical Advisors 100

Technical Advisors Technical Review Metrics Startup 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2018

While spending years in a big company as an employee and an executive, I heard many people talking about jumping the corporate ship, dreaming of being an entrepreneur, and totally in charge of their own destiny. I’m not saying success is rare, but the list of famous entrepreneurs who started their career in a big company is small.

Startup 52

Startup Technical Advisors Entrepreneur IBM 52

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2011

The truth is – there isn’t a “right&# answer so for your company. Most people totally advise against stealth. And these ideas have ways of seeping into board discussions with portfolio companies as in, “have you ever thought about trying A, B or C?&# You need some guidelines to make decisions.

Marketing 380

Marketing Startup Press Technical Advisors 380

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Most of the entrepreneurs I advise today are ready to declare success when they get that first surge of traction with a real customer. You need to find investors for funding, vendors for volume manufacturing, processes for repeatable execution, as well as marketing and distribution to attract customers far beyond your pilot rollout.

Technical Advisors 83

Technical Advisors Tool Software Product 83

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2009

I often have career discussions with entrepreneurs – both young and more mature – whether they should join company “X&# or not. at a startup that has already raised $5 million the chances of you making your retirement money on that company is EXTREMELY small. This is part of my Startup Advice series.

Startup 418

Startup Technical Advisors Venture Capital Santa Monica 418

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2011

I was once asked by a top executive of a major software company why we were not selling more products in Finland. He could not be persuaded to commit the funds required for localization. Companies became creative by selling and trading foreign exchange licenses. HR rules are local.

Startup 90

Startup Technical Advisors Sales Examples 90

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

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

Of course you could start your own company. As I talked about in “ Is it Time to Learn or Time to Earn ” – overwhelmingly the best economics go to those that start successful companies. Of course I’m not suggesting people shouldn’t start a company. For many people that’s the right answer.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 17, 2009

In the Beginning … This is a very important post to me because I find myself giving this advice all the time and if you don’t follow the basic advice here you can cause yourself much heartache down the line – even if your company ultimately becomes über successful. It’s hard enough to build a successful company.

Startup 365

Startup Technical Advisors IP Ideas 365

Frank Addante

JUNE 4, 2006

. ► November (1) 2 Ears and 1 Mouth: There's a Reason ► October (2) Be Best at Something Tear Down Your Firewalls ► September (3) Elements of Sustainable Companies We're Not Saving Lives. Web Development & Marketing Technology) Exit: evolved into L90 (next company) Lesson: What you dont know cant stop you.

Startup 40

Startup Venture Capital Email CTO Hire 40

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2010

A reminder that it is important for all entrepreneurs is to remember to be careful about “deal drift.” 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.

Venture Capital 301

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Technical Advisors 301

Frank Addante

MAY 15, 2006

. ► November (1) 2 Ears and 1 Mouth: There's a Reason ► October (2) Be Best at Something Tear Down Your Firewalls ► September (3) Elements of Sustainable Companies We're Not Saving Lives. Web Development & Marketing Technology) Exit: evolved into L90 (next company) Lesson: What you dont know cant stop you.

Advertising 40

Advertising Startup Chief Technology Officer Technical Review 40

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 5, 2010

The best companies are built on common beliefs and culture – a common sense of purpose. Those cultural normals are established through human connections: the night we all stayed late to get that release out the door, the day we celebrated our funding round or the day we landed our first big account.

Technical Advisors 335

Technical Advisors Outsource Development Offshore Startup 335

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

Not the successful companies themselves but the entire b t culture of swash-buckling startups who define themselves by hitting some magical $1 billion valuation number and the financiers who back them irrespective of metrics that justify it. Our firm has funded many of them. Few like to say so publicly. And I blame unicorns.

Technical Advisors 150

Technical Advisors Startup Writing Blogging 150