Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Invest Patents 174

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2016

For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. Some argue to simply eliminate software patents, while others put their hopes in U.S. Every business is global, but patent rules differ around the world.

Patents 53

Patents Software Review Software Technical Advisors 53

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 21, 2023

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Skip the acronyms, history of the company, and the colorful autobiography.

Slides 147

Slides Funding Technical Review Startup 147

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Last week a company we enthusiastically backed, uBeam , led by a very special entrepreneur, 25-year-old Meredith Perry , announced a $10 million round of financing. uBeam’s tech does work and I have safely seen it demo’d in the real life many times. It’s just being driven by people working on it and being ambitious ” .

Technical Review 417

Technical Review Startup Software Review Course 417

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In my role as a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs, I find that most have the technical challenges well understood, but many are a bit short on some basic street smarts , or basic business realities. Although Elon Musk doesn’t talk about it very much, he owns over 350 patents through Tesla, just one of his many companies.

Entrepreneur 173

Entrepreneur Patents Startup Technical Review 173

socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Krisztina Holly: We are an early stage fund, known for our ability to discovery and cultivate very complex science and technology deals. We just launched a third, $100M fund focused on seed to Series A investments in transformative science and technology companies. They have built 18 companies now, worth billions in value.

Southern California 124

Southern California Capital Technical Review Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 19, 2015

I usually envision a 50-50 ownership split for their efforts, but every engineer believes the technology side deserves the majority share. If you consider yourself a technologist, you probably believe and may be propagating one of the following myths: The first priority for funding should be to develop the technology.

Technical Review 101

Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur Customer 101

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 12, 2013

This was the same company, whose product I’d used years before, solely on design aesthetics. Their video claims a patented easy flow system that creates a stream of water through the filter tube. I think they’re the first company doing this.” He showed me this video. “Wow”, I thought.

Technical Review 92

Technical Review Design Product Patents 92

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Startup 83

Startup Technical Review Invest Patents 83

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. If the company has been around for more than a couple of years, and still has no product or revenue flow, there better be a good explanation.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Invest Startup Patents 103

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Every year, we feature the year end reflections of founders, CEOs, investors, and others in Southern California's high tech community. What was the biggest news for you/your company this year?  It's been a tough year for many due to the pandemic; how have you or your company adapted to the business environment?

Southern California 113

Southern California Technical Review Santa Monica Invest 113

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

If we’ve seen a company present where we feel that the CEO is shady. Another CEO presented to us from a company that was growing at a tremendously fast clip. We were super excited by their offering – they had patented technology in a field that we believe will continue to grow massively.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Entrepreneur Startup Funding 284

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. Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Don’t let leading edge become bleeding edge.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2015

Professional investors and advisors, on the other hand, usually refuse to sign these agreements today due to the risk of litigation and administrative workload, and will walk away. Disclosures relative to patents. Potential investors don’t need this data, except perhaps as part of a final due diligence after agreement on terms.

Ideas 106

Ideas Technical Review Patents Entrepreneur 106

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 29, 2017

They seem shocked to learn that most professional investors and advisors, myself included, routinely decline such requests, due to costly litigation and administrative nightmares. Get an NDA before detailed patent disclosures. Some entrepreneurs avoid the patent process, since patent details become public once a patent is issued.

Technical Review 61

Technical Review Patents Ideas Social Media 61

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2012

For the last week of the year, we're featuring the thoughts and reflections of some of the movers and shakers of Southern California's high tech community. We asked the same four questions of a variety of top technology entrepreneurs, investors, and others, to hear what they're thinking about, and are sharing it here over the next week.

Technical Review 223

Technical Review Southern California Incubator High Tech 223

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 25, 2012

Companies often employ a U.S.-based This presentation will cover: A review of strategies for positioning patent applications for foreign markets. An overview of patent litigation in foreign countries, especially Europe. An overview of patent litigation in foreign countries, especially Europe. See [link] (more)

OCTANE 100

OCTANE Patents Marketing Develop 100

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Building a strong tech industry to rival that of Silicon Valley is definitely no easy feat, but the overall feeling within Cal Tech’s Baxter Hall at last week’s event certainly bodes well for the year. Crowd Seats came up first to give their two minute breakdown of the company.

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Idealab Startup Mobile 94

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 29, 2020

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Skip the acronyms, history of the company, and the colorful autobiography.

Startup 118

Startup Slides Technical Review Research 118

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 12, 2009

They are issues, though, that your VC would certainly find out during due diligence or at a minimum you’d be ethically obliged to tell them. Some examples: A large company has told you that you need to change your brand name or they’ll sue you for trademark infringement (this is a real world, recent example).

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Examples 311

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

In my role as a Professor of Practice within UC Santa Barbara’s entrepreneurial Technology Management Program (TMP), I have worked with approximately 8,000 students over a ten year period. Additionally, independent organizations, such as Pitchbook, compile annual lists of the number of VC-backed companies launched at US Universities.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Technical Review Class Patents 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2017

We talked with CEO Marcus Filipovich to learn more about the company and its product. For the first time, in a long time, traffic deaths and crashes are rising, due to drunk and drugged driving. How did the company and its technology come about? What does Ocular Data Systems do? It's really a big problem out there.

Pasadena Angels 100

Pasadena Angels Pasadena Technical Review Southern California 100

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. Patents and Trademarks. No VC Fit - Match your venture with appropriate funding source. Opportunity. paper cut vs. bleeding artery)? Competition.

Venture Capital 211

Venture Capital Summary Technical Review Template 211

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2017

Board work does involve a lot of conflict at moments throughout the company. Sometimes conflict comes because a company isn’t hitting its expected targets and investors vs. executives have different views in the causes or the consequences of under-performance.

Startup 217

Startup Technical Review Equity Report 217

Xconomy

AUGUST 19, 2016

All those years of hard work to reach the promised land, then just as a drug owner is ready to spike it home and take a victory lap, the FDA’s hands rise over the net… OK, it’s not a perfect analogy, but it’s better than comparing the patent fight over the gene editing system CRISPR-Cas9 to table tennis. (Be

Technical Review 40

Technical Review Patents .Net Study 40

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2013

Clearly willing to provide details of weaknesses as well as strengths of the proposed venture, and the challenges ahead You must be willing to welcome the participation of the angel investor in the company, at least at the advisory level. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors.

Technical Review 109

Technical Review Entrepreneur Course Patents 109

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 6, 2017

In this article #StartupsEverywhere , I talked with Joe Wallace, CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, and Hank McCarrick, CEO and founder of Seco Sys about sustainability, emerging eco tech, and challenges in the ecosystem. Can you tell us more about your company.

Startup 105

Startup Technical Review Patents Services 105

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 6, 2017

In this article #StartupsEverywhere , I talked with Joe Wallace, CEO and Chief Innovation Officer of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, and Hank McCarrick, CEO and founder of Seco Sys about sustainability, emerging eco tech, and challenges in the ecosystem. Can you tell us more about your company.

Startup 119

Startup Technical Review Patents Services 119

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2011

Craig has recently uncloaked his stealth startup, BetterWorks (www.betterworks.com), focused on helping companies to manage and offer fringe benefits to their employees. What we're giving companies, is a platform to create, manage, and measure perks for all of their employees. Beyond that, it's really about real time recognition.

Startup 216

Startup Technical Review Software Review Platform 216

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 18, 2012

Clearly willing to provide details of weaknesses as well as strengths of the proposed venture, and the challenges ahead You must be willing to welcome the participation of the angel investor in the company, at least at the advisory level. Allows sufficient time to find capital, including due diligence time for investors.

Entrepreneur 117

Entrepreneur Technical Review Course Patents 117

socalTECH

MAY 14, 2010

A lot of people had asked me why I was taking the job, since I was a commercial guy, had been a commercial general manager, and had been running companies for my whole career. Clearly, 2009 was not a good year, from the perspective of the technology innovation ecosystem. Thanks for the time this morning. How has your first year been?

OCTANE 174

OCTANE Orange County Technical Review Southern California 174

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 23, 2013

Of course, every company needs these, in due time. In today’s Internet world, enterprising entrepreneurs have found that they can find out and do almost anything they need, from incorporating the company to filing patents, without expensive consultants, or the cost to hiring and firing employees. You need a prototype.

Startup 100

Startup Entrepreneur Technical Review Equity 100

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. Despite some recent advances, there are still some cultures which have less regard for patents and other intellectual property. Dont let leading edge become bleeding edge.

Outsource Development 95

Outsource Development Outsource Offshore Software Review 95

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2015

Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation. Equally bad is a full tutorial on your new disruptive technology. Investors are more interested in your solution and your business, rather than your technology. Skip the acronyms, history of the company, and the colorful autobiography.

Slides 105

Slides Technical Review Startup Research 105

socalTECH

JULY 31, 2013

In the world of mobile app and Internet startups, it''s not that often that you see companies who touch the hardware side of the world get funding nowadays. One of the companies that has recently is On Ramp Wireless (www.onrampwireless.com), a San Diego company in the M2M market headed by Kevin Hell.

Technical Review 213

Technical Review Software Review Networking Technology 213

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2015

Skip the fuzzy marketing terms, such as "easier to use," "lower cost" and "disruptive technology." " Investors want to buy into an entrepreneur with a startup that can provide evidence of an ability to double customer productivity, at half the cost, with patented technology.

Summary 101

Summary Patents Technical Review Competition 101

Xconomy

NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Drug company stocks got a boost with the defeat of Hillary Clinton, a vocal critic of drug prices. —Xconomy rounded up some post-election thoughts from several local tech and life science leaders , which included a mix of outrage, resiliency, hope, rationalizing, grandstanding, and some calls for calm and reason. Now, the U.S.

Patents 87

Patents Study Pricing Research 87