Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 22, 2012

Usually it’s on behalf of a portfolio company. And if you send an intro to a company once without asking – no problem. My belief – unless you know the VC really well (you’re a portfolio company of theirs, for example) I’d always ask for permission first. Helping with a Sales Lead. I do this often.

Email 359

Email Venture Capital Startup Technical Review 359

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company. Have you reference them? When I was fund raising for my second company we had agreed a company-wide deal with Salesforce.com to use our product. People call their friends. At what valuation?

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

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

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. I wanted to be sure that they knew how much all of our partners loved what they were doing with their company.

Outsource Development 333

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 333

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 25, 2010

This is an updated post from my ongoing series on Startup Advice that I learned from founding two companies. . Last year I lost a deal in a company that I wanted to invest in and that I thought I should have won. I wanted to be sure that they knew how much all of our partners loved what they were doing with their company.

Outsource Development 328

Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review News 328

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. I had seen many cycles and decided that since I was going to do it all over again I should write about it. I decided to write about my experience and to be blunt.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

I know you’re not a tech guy and haven’t done anything other than an HTML course you once took, but if you’re inspirational and a leader you’ll find somebody to moonlight for free to get your prototype built. Great companies are built by having great products. That’s OK. of people aren’t.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Eric Greenspan

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Real quickly, most companies that offer credit card processing are a middle-man (most banks are middle-man). Today, I received this email from the BBB: We’re writing to let you know that during the past month the Reliability Report that we publish on Make It Work was accessed 6 times. No Middleman means Big Savings!

Santa Barbara 265

Santa Barbara Technical Advisors Email Technical Review 265

InfoChachkie

MAY 16, 2011

As an entrepreneur and startup investor, I have helped create companies which achieved two IPOs which collectively raised over $100 million, as well as two acquisitions which totaled $385 million. Value is created through diligent hard work. 5) Allow Partners To Write Your Agreements. 4) Perform China Syndrome Market Analysis.

Startup 242

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Sales 242

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

My firm GRP Partners recently funded a young LA based company named Ad.Ly that is an “in-stream advertising&# company currently focused on monetizing Twitter. Traditional media companies published their stories on the web. See Fred Wilson’s post on Twitter referring traffic. was the “static&# web.

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 15, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series on Start-up Lessons that I learned from founding two companies. In the 2003/04 timefame I was living in the UK and running my first company. I had been competing to win a contract at Thames Water, the largest water company in the UK. We helped the write out their requirements for a system.

Startup 151

Startup Outsource Development Software Review Technical Review 151

InfoChachkie

JUNE 20, 2011

Due to their lack of practical experience, this delegation/efficiency tradeoff is especially acute with respect to hiring Interns. However, many of the characteristics of our Intern Programs were also applicable to non-technical positions, as follows: Meaningful Work – Treat your Interns as adults and magical things will happen.

Startup 244

Startup Software Review Technical Review Class 244

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 24, 2016

The Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare,” has enacted major changes for healthcare providers since it was enacted at the start of President Obama’s first term. This is doubly true due to the potential fines that employers could face if too many employees opt for marketplace plans due to factors like cost.

Startup 49

Startup Competition Study Writing 49

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 2, 2010

I’m writing this series because if you better understand how VC firms work you can better target which firms make sense for you to speak with. I’m writing this post to explain to entrepreneurs what you should be thinking about in terms of the VC’s you approach and the size and stage of their funds.

Venture Capital 269

Venture Capital Funding Invest GRP Partners 269

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 19, 2012

The industry had seen unprecedented growth in the past decade due to a combination of factors, one of which was the United States’ economic recession. Due to the combination of these factors, marketers began to more heavily fund digital platforms. At that time, digital accounted for “less than 1/10 of all coupons distributed.”

Mobile 85

Mobile Software Review Statistics Technical Review 85

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 4, 2022

Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.”

Technical Review 137

Technical Review Entrepreneur Guide Mentor 137

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Facebook just hit 1 billion active users globally and that was great but a new social payment application is set to make Facebook users across the world get more from their connections and even allowing companies to sell or receive payments from their pages. We believe we have a disruptive technology that is the next big thing.

Software Review 92

Software Review Social Network Platform Technical Review 92

InfoChachkie

JUNE 25, 2009

Yet, despite his exceptional courtroom theatrics, you would be foolhardy to hire good old Johnnie to review your software cross-licensing agreement. The reference may be well-intentioned, but the lawyer’s allegiance may be divided between the investor and you.

Technical Advisors 124

Technical Advisors Technical Review IP Patents 124

InfoChachkie

MAY 23, 2011

As noted in Contract Traps Entrepreneurs Should Avoid , exclusivity can kill a small company. Unfortunately, many Big Dumb Companies (BDCs) assume they must unfairly skew the market in their favor by precluding you from freely working with anyone you choose. As such, deals are not exclusive, they are excludesive. An Alliance Of Two.

Technical Review 183

Technical Review Marketing Sales Competition 183

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. Sincerely, Brian P.

Social Media 214

Social Media Customer Custom Media 214

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 5, 2019

Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.”

Technical Review 94

Technical Review Entrepreneur Guide Mentor 94

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

I have no reference point from which to judge whether you were higher on the y-axis 3 months ago or lower. You’ll be able to give them an update on key hires, pilot customers, key tech innovations – whatever. Like it or not – finance is a major job function in any company – startup or public company.

Invest 411

Invest Technical Review Venture Capital Startup 411

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 2, 2009

Direct Response Email and Newsletters – Although rightfully vilified due to the irresponsible actions of Spammers, targeted, opt-in email lists can be lucrative sources of customers. Several companies have aggregated smaller Internet radio stations, in a mode similar to Affiliate Networks, most notably Jetcast. I was dead wrong.

Customer 164

Customer Custom Advertising SEM 164

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.”

Technical Review 104

Technical Review Guide Entrepreneur Mentor 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2017

Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.”

Mentor 61

Mentor Technical Review Entrepreneur Guide 61

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 21, 2016

Next comes the more arduous process of reviewing every applicant, looking for key attributes including the following. On a business team, the ability to communicate verbally and in writing is more important than technical depth. For new businesses, communication inside and outside the company is critical.

Technical Review 56

Technical Review Coach Training Screening 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 9, 2013

Most startup mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Communication is not just talking, but also listening, writing, body language, and “actions speak louder than words.”

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Technical Review Guide Mentor 101

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 13, 2011

For the next four days if you’re in the tech industry you’re going to hear a non-stop stream of information about SXSW. They have fun & meet tons of interesting people and they confuse this with the need to do be at every major tech event. Write them in advance and request meetings.

Conference 289

Conference Startup Technical Review Writing 289

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 27, 2010

I believe that it’s OK for young people to learn and try different roles, companies and geographies. They come in the form of personal references. No rule is ever absolute no matter how it sounds when one writes a blog. I learned how to do a pipeline review with sales people without getting bullshitted to.

Startup 285

Startup Venture Capital Sales Software Review 285

SoCal CTO

AUGUST 3, 2010

5 Lessons from 150 startup pitches - A Smart Bear: Startups and Marketing for Geeks , July 11, 2010 I just reviewed several hundred startup pitches for Capital Factory. Many of our job postings for Engineering positions describe the company as a place “where the word ‘millions’ is used frequently and in many contexts&#.

Startup 217

Startup Venture Capital Blogging Software Review 217