TechEmpower

JULY 2, 2013

We caution all readers to review the source code of each test when interpreting the plaintext numbers. In preliminary tests, we experimented with more requests per pipeline but doing so caused socket write buffer overflows. All of the other tests (JSON, Fortunes, database read and write tests) are still run without HTTP pipelining.

Framework 521

Framework Software Review Technical Review EC2 521

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. In those years I learned to properly build product, price products, sell products and serve customers. Between 2006–2008 I sold both companies that I had started and became a VC.

Venture Capital 466

Venture Capital Startup Marketing Pricing 466

TechCrunch LA

JULY 19, 2022

Josh Kaplan and Dee Murthy, both founder and co-CEO of the Los Angeles–based company, started Ghost in 2021 after previously working together at Four Five Group, a men’s apparel business. Ghost is not alone in developing technology focused on inventory. Last week, Syrup Tech raised $6.3 Syrup Tech bags $6.3M

Product 191

Product Funding Technical Review Equity 191

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

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

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

It’s very common for startup companies to have COO’s. So I know I’m getting myself into a bit of trouble by writing this. In a mature company it’s often like a presidential chief of staff. Many times they also pick up product and tech, too. And I decided that his startup company was not MY deal.

Startup 325

Startup Technical Review Sales Report 325

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 30, 2012

James (chairman of the Althea Foundation) and appointed Adam Sroka as Senior Vice President of Technology in a move to make business transactions simple and secure. . Jackson , “This financing round, coupled with hiring Adam Sroka as our head of technology, puts CapLinked in a position to further enhance our enterprise product offerings.”.

Technical Review 88

Technical Review Software Review Bertelsmann Technology 88

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. Customer-facing services, like call centers, should rarely be outsourced.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

InfoChachkie

AUGUST 10, 2010

However, to a Big Dumb Company (BDC), a startup’s IP is a thing of beauty. As such, they are hesitant to acquire a company which has not sought formal protection of their IP for two reasons. One is obvious, without protection, such IP might prove to be of little worth, as other companies can mimic the technology without recourse.

IP 256

IP Patents Company Companies 256

Eric Greenspan

MAY 29, 2010

Using social media to increase your company’s touch and reach with each of your customers may be the most important reason to jump in to this game changing strategy. Social media can help bridge a long standing gap between customers and the companies they trust with their hard earned cash. Eric Greenspan.

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

A good early-stage CEO needs to be accessible, to be accountable for producing results and should be establishing the cultural norms of the company through direct leadership at all levels. But issues do arise as your company grows. I see two common mistakes in companies (not just in startups, in fact).

Startup 308

Startup CTO Coach Technical Review CTO Hire 308

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Guy’s latest book, Enchantment , was released in March of 2011, to overwhelmingly upbeat reviews. Of the 225 customer reviews currently posted on Amazon, over 90% are highly positive. I enjoyed the book as well, as evidenced by the review I wrote at the time of its release, which you can read HERE. That doesn’t work.”.

Santa Barbara 262

Santa Barbara Technical Review Social Media Startup 262

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Who's the customer? What are related products/companies? What's you believe is your biggest technology risk, if any?

CTO Hire 264

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 264

SoCal CTO

MARCH 3, 2011

Many of the founders of these companies are surprised to learn that I'm willing to review what they are doing (maybe an hour) and get on the phone for an hour with them and provide free advice. Who's the customer? What are related products/companies? What's you believe is your biggest technology risk, if any?

CTO Hire 259

CTO Hire Startup Technical Review Development Team Review 259

socalTECH

AUGUST 6, 2012

Santa Monica-based Demand Media (www.demandmedia.com) has seen its share of ups and downs as one of the highest visibility technology and media companies to come out of Southern California's technology ecosystem in recent years. But, they could not write, and did not know what to write from the travel perspective.

Demand 240

Demand Media eHow Content 240

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 12, 2011

Chris Dixon is one of my favorite people in tech and writes one of the few blogs I read religiously. If you don’t read it and you care about tech & entrepreneurship, you should. If you like the quick summary notes, please check out Adam’s blog on tech, entrepreneurship & VC as a thank you.

Technical Review 281

Technical Review Venture Capital Startup Artificial Inteligence 281

socalTECH

JULY 22, 2016

Rufus Labs is one of a number of hardware startups which have started to proliferate in the community, due to low cost hardware, 3D printing, and crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Gabe Grifoni: At Rufus Labs, we are focused heavily on building wearables and technology in a wearable platform for the enterprise.

Technical Review 100

Technical Review Startup Software Review CTO Hire 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2010

If I’m interested I get to spend more time with them, if I’m not I don’t have to – A few companies per month come in that have fascinating business ideas that warrant my spending more time trying to understand their people, company, technology and market. I will obviously be judged on my performance.

Venture Capital 312

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur 312

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Too Techie - Tone down emphasis on the technology underlying your venture; an interested investor will perform tech diligence at the appropriate time. The Company. What does your pain reliever look like, how is it implemented by the customer and what future products do you expect to roll out? Opportunity.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2010

Burstly, a Santa Monica based company, provides an open and free ad management platform that helps mobile application developers better monetize their inventory. As I naturally get asked all the time why we invested in Company A or Company B, I thought I’d just put forth my thesis in writing. What does it do?

Mobile 282

Mobile Invest Company Companies 282

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

As noted in Pour and Stir Part I , the key to the successful execution of this strategy is managing the following equation: The cost to acquire a customer < lifetime value of a customer. Decreasing Your Customer Acquisition Costs. This is equivalent to being handed a free customer for every ten customers you acquire.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 14, 2013

They cite sources like a recent BusinessWeek story, “ Real Entrepreneurs Don’t Write Business Plans ” and this NY Times article. In fact, they are probably in such a hurry to give you money that they don’t want you to waste time writing anything down and passing it along to new investors. You need money, and plan to do crowdfunding.

Entrepreneur 100

Entrepreneur Technical Review Writing Slides 100

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

This latest round valued the company in excess of a billion dollars, entering them into the overly-hyped Unicorn Club. In contrast, low-volume, high-conviction investors like Rincon only invests in a handful new companies each year, making it much more costly (in dollars and effort expended) to invest in a loser.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Southern California 100

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Successful entrepreneurs already have a visible network of trusted suppliers, potential customers, partners, and even investors. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. Listens before answering questions.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Course Patents 109

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 8, 2014

Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. Customer-facing services, like call centers, should rarely be outsourced.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Here are some key ones they look for: Talks and writes well. Successful entrepreneurs already have a visible network of trusted suppliers, potential customers, partners, and even investors. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors. Listens before answering questions.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 25, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while and was going to use AngelList by Nivi & Naval as the basis for my example and the perfect prompt came yesterday when I read Fred Wilson’s blog post on AngelList. Before booking a hotel I always check out Trip Advisor and read reviews. So how does this apply to you?

Guide 293

Guide Funding Venture Capital Technical Review 293

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

I find it amusing when a journalist writes an article about a prominent startup (either privately held or preparing for an IPO) and decries that, “They’re not even profitable!” Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. One of them is profitability.

Startup 418

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 418

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 26, 2011

It’s the hardest thing to teach people who come out of big companies, out of conservative jobs. At the big consulting firms, investment banks and established large technology companies we’re taught to produce long reports, make sure that every document is perfect quality and that every possible bit of diligence has been done.

Startup 335

Startup Technical Review Framework Entrepreneur 335

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The company--which is in the business of operating a content delivery network (CDN) to accelerate the delivery of web graphics, multimedia, applications, and more to end users-- recently disclosed it more than doubled its revenues in 2012, and has grown to over 230 employees--all due to a huge amount of demand for CDN services by its customers.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 13, 2011

Huge thank you to Steve De Long for the write up. My initial desire to blog came from something that’s always been my approach to investing – I’m a nerd and I love to play with the technology and part of my approach has really been to understand things both at a user level and at a reasonably deep tentacle level. Brad on blogging.

Venture Capital 288

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Software Review 288

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2016

Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Leading edge technology software and manufacturing require constant course corrections and iterative restarts. Customer-facing services, like call centers, should rarely be outsourced.

Outsource Development 53

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 53

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 2, 2011

I’m sitting at my computer now at 9.00pm writing this – which is an hour earlier than I normally write (there are about 8 women at my kitchen table having a book club (aka excuse to drink wine & gossip so I’m locked in another room writing. Mostly during the day I’m in meetings or doing work.

Email 287

Email Blogging Venture Capital Writing 287

SoCal CTO

MARCH 18, 2010

I started out as screenwriter, went into local television, ran ad sales in the west for AOL and joined Facebook in the companies very early days. I also serve as CEO of a small media companies that profile “Tomorrow’s Most Exciting People Today”. I help internet companies make money. I usually.just focus on revenue.

Startup 225

Startup Los Angeles Social Network Twiistup 225

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. Nor do they exist in the investors of early-stage companies. I’ve started writing up some of those sales & marketing lessons and I plan to continue to build that section out over time. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. It’s worth a quick read. My argument is pretty simple. Look at Viddy & SocialCast.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

InfoChachkie

JUNE 4, 2012

As an entrepreneur, I helped create companies which achieved two IPOs and two trade sales totaling $385 million. Value is created through diligent hard work. Fallacy: Startup ventures tend to evolve, especially after you begin speaking with pesky customers and demanding partners. Secure Your Intellectual Property Too Early.

Entrepreneur 272

Entrepreneur Outsource Ideas Technical Review 272