Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

“he quit his job and threw himself into a start-up company, which has him on the road in constantly changing environments. ” This sentiment is probably familiar to many entrepreneurs and it must certainly resonates with anybody who suspects he or she has ADD. ” I write. Often doing many things at once.

Startup 416

Startup Entrepreneur Writing Help 416

InfoChachkie

MARCH 8, 2011

John Greathouse , Entrepreneur, Investor, Professor and Freshman In The School Of Life. I write a bit more about how entrepreneurs can protect their ideas here: Spilling The Beans. When writing anything that you want people to effortlessly internalize, use simple words and avoid industry jargon. How about this one?

Writing 150

Writing Social Network Ideas Entrepreneur 150

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I wanted to also post the series here to have it as a resource on my blog for future entrepreneurs who stop by. If you haven’t spent time over there you should.

Entrepreneur 338

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital Google 338

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

I’m over-paying for every check I write into the VC ecosystem and valuations are being pushed up to absurd levels and many of these valuations and companies won’t hold in the long term. And the truth is that several entrepreneurs prefer it this way. By definition?—?I’m dot-com bonanza. Seed has become an option factory for many.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

socalTECH

MARCH 28, 2019

Earlier this month, the annual Montgomery Summit conference was held in Santa Monica, including a special portion of the conference dedicated to the Rise of the Female Entrepreneur. I got started in investment banking, focused on helping medical companies buy technology companies, and then later in the enterprise space and in the cloud.

Capital 162

Capital Entrepreneur Invest Artificial Inteligence 162

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 20, 2013

Brad Feld seems to write books faster than I can read and write about them. He teamed up with his wife, Amy Batchelor , to write about about the impact that entrepreneurship has on relationships and what to do about it. Before the accident I aspired to run a bigger company with more power, money and responsibilities.

Entrepreneur 370

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Social Network 370

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 1, 2010

I call it the entrepreneur thesis. I’m not talk about the age old debate amongst investors whether you back entrepreneurs, markets or products (or as people like to hedge – product / market fit). It’s entrepreneurs I back. It’s what I call the “entrepreneur thesis.” So what is the “entrepreneur thesis?”

Entrepreneur 321

Entrepreneur GRP Partners Venture Capital Invest 321

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 28, 2013

I am writing this article while sitting on a rooftop deck, overlooking the ocean in Baja, Mexico. Thus, the "best" place for you to start your company is the community you want to live in. The days of entrepreneurs having to move to New York, LA or Silicon Valley to ensure their startup''s success are long over.

Santa Barbara 268

Santa Barbara Company Companies Startup 268

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

John Lusk, along with his Co-Author Kyle Harrison, leveraged their humble company''s newsletter into The MouseDriver Chronicles , a New York Times bestselling book. The company''s newsletter was initially created to share their entrepreneurial journey with their family and friends. A version of this article previously appeared on Inc.

Newsletter 233

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 233

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 1, 2018

So, you are close to selling your company, and counting the profits a bit early. Some companies, especially those financed by angel or VC investors, have good, formal stock option plans with properly priced options set to reward all employees and managers in the event of a corporate sale. Well, that’s human nature.

Sales 480

Sales Venture Capital Writing Email 480

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 26, 2022

One alternative is to become an entrepreneur. As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m often asked what it takes to get satisfaction from this lifestyle. In fact, Mehta focuses on a special class of entrepreneurs that he calls disruptors. Then write them down. Set long-term goals, short-term goals, and micro-goals.

Satisfaction 153

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Writing Metrics 153

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 29, 2012

No one is born with business writing skills, and everyone can learn them. Thus, I thought a quick refresher on business writing basics might help you more than any tip on the next big thing on the business horizon: Select clear purpose and focus. Tailor writing to your audience. Develop a friendly business writing voice.

Writing 89

Writing Email Tips Startup 89

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011

Yesterday I saw a Tweet from Chris Sacca fly by that prompted me to want to write a blog post helping entrepreneurs understand why they should push back against VCs asking for “super pro-rata” rights. Obviously the situation is very different in companies where the company isn’t “killing it.”

Entrepreneur 310

Entrepreneur Venture Capital Writing Invest 310

InfoChachkie

MAY 12, 2014

I recently received an email from a former student in which he described how he was able to secure a lunch meeting with a high-profile entrepreneur who is operating multiple ventures in parallel. When I attended Startup Weekend in Berkeley, I was inspired by parallel entrepreneur Adam Cheyer''s keynote speech. Meeting Adam Cheyer.

Entrepreneur 211

Entrepreneur Santa Barbara Email Startup 211

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 8, 2015

We come to the end of this cycle of insights with a thought about how you might view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build. But what most entrepreneurs fail dramatically at is to celebrate the moment. The do as all good entrepreneurs do. Write a book; I did. Take a long breath.

Entrepreneur 120

Entrepreneur Writing .Net Sales 120

socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Wil also founded Go Big Network , an online community for entrepreneurs. He recently landed a round of funding, and shares his experience here: Before you start bitching about investors not writing checks in this economy let me just say this  bullshit. So let's get right to it -- what are investors buying?

Writing 100

Writing Santa Monica Venture Capital Entrepreneur 100

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

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

And she didn’t start her company in Northern California. Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity. She drove her company to profitability before paying herself a modest salary. She actually IS the prototypical entrepreneur. She put all of her savings into her company. More on that later.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” It’s the most common refrain I hear from investors and even entrepreneurs these days. What is perhaps different from other regions is that we have large indigenous aerospace industry and a big high-tech import/export trade as opposed to a lot of software companies. “There’s something going on in LA.”

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Truecar 376

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 26, 2017

As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. As a startup, you as the entrepreneur are the brand, the brand builder, and the major lead generator.

Company 97

Company Companies Entrepreneur Guide 97

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 11, 2022

I started my first company in 1999 and was admittedly swept up in all of this: Magazine covers, fancy conferences, artificial valuations and easy money. Between 2006–2008 I sold both companies that I had started and became a VC. Starting in 2009 I began writing checks consistently, year-in and year-out.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup LAMP Marketing 466

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 4, 2010

I hear many executives and professionals in large corporations talking about their dream of jumping ship, and becoming an entrepreneur. Executives in an enterprise usually don’t write their own memos, contracts, and certainly don’t schedule their own meetings. In a startup, that luxury isn’t possible, so the work suffers.

Entrepreneur 92

Entrepreneur Company Companies Training 92

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). After we sold it to that public company, I founded HashtagOne. What's the theme of your investments?

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Technical Review Software Review 100

Berkonomics

JANUARY 13, 2022

How might you view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build? What most entrepreneurs fail dramatically at is to celebrate the moment. Not many founders or entrepreneurs do experience the success of a favorable sale of the business they dreamed would make them rich. Write a book.

Writing 156

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Sales 156

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 1, 2023

A common challenge faced by every entrepreneur is that they don’t have the bandwidth, interest or skills to do everything that is required to build their startup. Investors worry about a single entrepreneur getting overloaded, disabled or led astray, with no balancing and supporting partner.

Startup 99

Startup High Tech Entrepreneur Writing 99

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 5, 2010

This is part of my series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. I started the series talking about what I consider the most important attribute of an entrepreneur : Tenacity. Entrepreneurs are inherently risk takers.

Entrepreneur 293

Entrepreneur Startup Venture Capital CTO Hire 293

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2023

As a business advisor and advocate for entrepreneurs, I find myself almost always talking and writing about change. With a bit of humor, he provides some serious guidelines for struggling career professionals looking to move up, and new entrepreneurs looking to build a company. Business is not rocket science.

Startup 106

Startup Writing Entrepreneur Screening 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2014

As a mentor to startups and new entrepreneurs, I continue to hear the refrain that business plans are no longer required for a new startup, since investors never read them anyway. For aspiring entrepreneurs, or if your last startup failed, it’s all about standing out above the crowd of others like you. Written business plan.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Startup Writing Slides 108

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 29, 2023

While the market isn't short of spritely, innovative entrepreneurs, harsh economic headwinds combined with a pullback in investor spending have made it harder than ever for budding businesses to break through. The startup was listed in TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2023 too, alongside industry heavyweights like Nvidia and SpaceX.

Startup 213

Startup Generative AI Newsletter Tool 213

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

There is much discussion online and also in small, private groups, about why the price of technology companies – public and private – are falling. Valuing any company can be difficult because it requires a degree of forecasting future growth & competition and ultimately the profits of the organization.

Startup 150

Startup Company Companies Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

I thought I’d try to look at it from a different lens, that of the entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur you should assume that. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. So what is an entrepreneur to do? I sometimes ask entrepreneurs.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

You don’t need to invent an innovative product to be a real entrepreneur. Many of these new entrepreneurs were regular employees a few years ago, focused on a skill specialty. Writing specialists. The days when these roles were stable careers for company employees are gone. We are becoming a society of entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Services Search Engine Optimization Startup 106

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2019

Most entrepreneurs I know admit to a poor first media interaction, and many are still waiting for the instant replay. People judge you and your company in the first few seconds. Even the most experienced executives write down what they need to say, and practice for every event. Handling different media formats.

Press 96

Press Entrepreneur Social Media Training 96

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

Back in November I agreed with Nivi over at VentureHacks to do a series on the ten most important attributes of a successful entrepreneur. Unfortunately, I don’t believe it is perfectly correlated with what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. If we’ve seen a company present where we feel that the CEO is shady.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Funding 284

InfoChachkie

JUNE 3, 2013

John Lusk, along with his Co-Author Kyle Harrison, leveraged their humble company''s newsletter into The MouseDriver Chronicles , a New York Times bestselling book. The company''s newsletter was initially created to share their entrepreneurial journey with their family and friends. A version of this article previously appeared on Inc.

Newsletter 133

Newsletter Startup Entrepreneur Writing 133

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 31, 2014

One obvious alternative is to become an entrepreneur. As a mentor to many aspiring entrepreneurs, I’m often asked what it takes to switch and get real satisfaction from this lifestyle. In fact, Mehta focuses on a special class of entrepreneurs that he calls disruptors. Then write them down. Marty Zwilling.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Satisfaction Startup Writing 100

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2010

I originally conceived it as the Top 11 things that I believe “all entrepreneurs need to succeed.&# If it stuck to this theme then I would stand by my top 11. There’s one attribute (coming soon) that I need to have in order to write a check but I don’t believe is vital for success.

Entrepreneur 267

Entrepreneur Startup SaaS ASP 267