Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 29, 2010

Competitiveness - One attribute that I believe most VCs look for in entrepreneurs is competitiveness. If you stumble on to a really good idea believe me it will get competitive really quickly. I know that people who aren’t competitive always find competitive people slightly distasteful. I had to say it.

Competition 296

Competition Entrepreneur Startup GRP Partners 296

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 19, 2020

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over twice as many companies, according the Crunchbase. Of course, every new direction has some challenges, so the super angel model isn’t perfect. Super angels sometimes drive up valuations.

Funding 125

Funding Venture Capital Startup Class 125

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

The most important advice I could give you before you set out in fund raising mode is to understand that fund-raising a sales & marketing process and needs to be managed. Of course there’s no exact number of VCs you should meet?—?these The first in the series is “ Lemons Ripen Early ,” which also has a link to other posts.

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Venture Capital Funding Startup Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 26, 2013

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. Is Funding a Worthy Announcement? There are reasons you may delay funding announcement but rarely reasons not to announce. But trust me on this.

Startup 355

Startup Funding News Press 355

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

leadership, mentorship, competitiveness, communications, relationship-building?—?and and of course a relentless pursuit of helping founders succeed. I’ve become fond of saying “if I had a dollar for every person who told me just how much they loooooved Kara Nortman, I’d have a 10x fund.” So What Does All This Mean? I’m only 52!

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 30, 2014

In order to support all of these teams, there are several on-campus startup competitions every year, from the Silicon Beach USC competition to the New Venture Seed Competition, with prize funds to help build the companies. The post HipTraveler | Taking Startup Competitions by Storm appeared first on TechZulu.

Competition 104

Competition Startup USC Southern California 104

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

We have global opportunities from these trends but of course also big challenges. Of course we can’t. There are of course many Seed VCs who take board seats, don’t over-commit to too many deals and try to help with “company building” activities to help at a company’s vulnerable foundations. of the fund.

Venture Capital 471

Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

Over the course of the first few months I saw a few people out on the street taking Birds and then a steady uptick in riders. Capital of course drives scale advantages and when you have “winner take most” markets it also has a way of scaring away some investors from investing in the 3–5th “me too” competitors. Are the scooters safe?

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

TechEmpower

AUGUST 7, 2023

Increasing competitive advantage? Getting something to market and getting funding override any other concerns. This is a safe choice, of course - but is it the best choice? Exploring new technologies? The answer is: it depends. The role of a CTO varies as the company matures. Is it the best path to profitability? It might be.

CTO Hire 260

CTO Hire Develop Development Fractional VPE 260

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. A sample of three views is adequate.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Startup Innocal Offshore 138

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Upfront Ventures was created 20 years ago as one of the original VC funds in Los Angeles. https://medium.com/media/d9fa90bfcfd8c4a9fdce54b16c47e2e8/href In addition to all the great companies being created here another often overlooked feature of Los Angeles is just how many great VC funds have been formed here in the past decade.

Dollar Shave Club 321

Dollar Shave Club Cornerstone OnDemand Riot Games Venture Capital 321

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

It had an influence on the people who fund our industry in a negative way as many asset managers who fund our industry read this flawed report. Now they are funding & holding. to raise “opportunity funds” to fund the prorata participation of their best early-stage investments.

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital Capital Startup Writing 362

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

million, our Seed Funds mostly between $200–300 million and have delivered median ownerships of ~20% from the first check we write into a startup. Of course our execution against the strategy has had to change but the strategy has remained constant. Across more than 10 years we have kept the size of our Seed investments between $2–3.5

Venture Capital 416

Venture Capital Marketing Technical Review Seed Funding 416

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2010

The University of Southern California and wealthy engineer Fariborz Maseeh , now a hedge fund manager in Newport Beach, is announcing this week a $1M endowment, which will fund an annual, $50,000 prize for a business plan competition for the school's engineering students. affiliated event focused on spreading innovative ideas.

USC 214

USC Southern California SoCalTech Competition 214

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 26, 2022

In fact, most employee training courses recommend the distance if the work relationship crosses management levels, and most management policies strictly forbid fraternizing with the team. Can be a competitive advantage. Of course, all these things can happen in any workship. Competition over salary, promotions, and position.

Startup 119

Startup Course Competition Social Media 119

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Rolf Winkler wrote a piece in the WSJ about A16Z’s returns in which he says they “lag behind Sequoia, Benchmark and Founders Fund.” Scott Kupor of A16Z responded with a comprehensive overview of valuation methodology in a post that while accurate feels more targeted at sophisticated Limited Partners (LPs) who invest in funds.

Venture Capital 264

Venture Capital Invest Funding Competition 264

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Of course, if you don’t yet understand all the elements, it’s time to learn. There are no guarantees, but various studies have found that entrepreneurs who create a good plan generally double their chances of securing funding and building a successful business.

Startup 102

Startup Writing Mentor Sample 102

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. You don’t have to be a heavily funded later stage startup to get access to “big data,” customer analytics, and metrics dashboards. Marty Zwilling

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Startup Social Media News 104

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 27, 2014

Venture capitalists (VCs) have long been seen as the top of the pyramid for startup funding sources, but in fact angel investors now fund over 60 times as many companies, according the Center for Venture Research. Of course, every new direction has some challenges, so the Super Angel model isn’t perfect.

Angel 104

Angel Funding Startup Venture Capital 104

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2023

If you ask them for a reason, most will insist that they couldn’t get funding, or they ran out of money too early. It’s tempting to believe that one more new platform will win for crowd funding or video games, like Indiegogo and Wii. A smart entrepreneur learns to embrace failure as a badge of learning that provides a competitive edge.

Entrepreneur 125

Entrepreneur Netflix Social Media Startup 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2022

Most startups and investors I know don’t have unlimited funds, so the first question they should ask and do ask today, is “When is your company going to be profitable (self-sustaining)?” Of course, growth is implied in that equation, and is also required for maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Marty Zwilling.

Platform 118

Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2018

One of the hardest things about the fund-raising process for entrepreneurs is that you’re trying to raise money from people who have “asymmetric information.” I thought I’d write a post about how to talk about valuation at a startup and give you some sense of what might be on the mind of the person considering funding you.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Pricing Startup Invest 324

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 7, 2022

Of course, someone with more operating experience may be brought in once the new venture has been successfully launched. Commit a source of internal or external seed funding. There is no point incubating an innovative new venture if you don’t have the funds to launch and expect quick self-sustaining revenue.

Incubator 143

Incubator Seed Funding Metrics Customer 143

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Of course, this path involves some risk, but you never get anywhere unless you take a chance. In many cases, the products from competitive companies are complementary, or many customers are natural candidates for both. They also manage internal venture funds that may be your growth lifeline. You can do the same.

Startup 173

Startup Outsource Development Examples Custom 173

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The rise of “micro VCs” or seed-stage funds. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). ” The new narrative is “will my seed funds be able to fund the prorata of their winners?”

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 7, 2021

The basic alignment framework of strategy, customers, people, and processes hasn’t changed, but the pace of technological, competitive, and social change has increased at an amazing rate. Make sure the inspiration that launched your vision isn’t lost in the course of a pivot or market change. Revisit your startup vision and values.

Social Media 143

Social Media Startup Framework Course 143

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 30, 2013

Every investor expects to see some business traction, both before and after a funding event. If you have neither, and choose to approach an investor, you will get no attention, and probably never again get a shot at funding with that investor. Now investors will pay attention, since scale-up funding is less risky and has a time frame.

Funding 112

Funding Entrepreneur Startup CTO Hire 112

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

This led to massive funding rounds at Bird, Lime and others. There was seasonality, theft, tough unit economics and slowing funding rounds. This is only true when: 1) there is funding available to finance short-term losses and 2) when there is a lucrative positive unit-economics business when you become the winner.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Venice Competition Software Review 250

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision.

Education 151

Education Customer Custom Sales 151

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 29, 2020

Kleiner Perkins , one of the most storied franchises in venture capital, has already invested much of the $600 million it raised last year and is now going back out to the market to raise its 19th fund, according to multiple sources. Kleiner Perkins gets back to early-stage with its $600M 18th fund. We went out to market to LPs.

IBM 164

IBM IBM Venture Capital Invest 164

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

Of course, that’s both the good news and the bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs, since it means more competition, and the business landscape is changing faster than ever. You don’t have to be a heavily funded later stage startup to get access to “big data,” customer analytics, and metrics dashboards. Marty Zwilling.

Tips 161

Tips Startup Social Media News 161

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2022

Every startup needs a sustainable competitive advantage. With no competitive advantage, startups with new ideas gaining traction are never feared, and are usually eaten for lunch as sleeping giants wake up. Treasure – Most entrepreneurs assume that treasure means funding. If you want to be feared.

Startup 112

Startup News Framework IBM 112

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2022

For example, if you are working on a great social networking idea to replace Facebook, and need funding, you probably won’t find any interested and focused VCs or angel investors in Arizona, where I live. Of course, there are always exceptions, but how much added risk do you need for your startup? Exposure is another key ingredient.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Oracle Software Review Ideas 123

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 3, 2022

billion company in the brutally competitive beauty industry, especially one with such broad appeal. allocate 98% of their funding to startups helmed by men. million for her app, placing Squad in the mere 0.34% of companies funded last year with a Black woman founder. The idea of the “girlboss” today is shrouded in privilege.

Startup 280

Startup Netflix Los Angeles Innocal 280

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 29, 2022

Here are six results that you can achieve by building a prototype, which are really the reasons that investors and partners will give you a whole new level of credibility as they evaluate your startup for potential funding: Something you can touch and feel helps validate opportunity.

Outsource Development 110

Outsource Development Ideas Tool Outsource 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2023

If you need investors, it’s important that you understand their filters, and even if you are funding your own efforts, you need to recognize the red flags. Passion and commitment can overcome many risks, and these will also drive you to expand your scope of options for funding and implementation, leading to success.

Invest 98

Invest Technical Review Sites Social Media 98

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 23, 2021

Of course, if you wait for the perfect time, you may never start. Yet, I find that most of us don’t have the financials for that option, so we must share the equity, control, and reward, and rely on funding from family, friends, and professional investors. Timing is critical for every startup.

Startup 159

Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur Equity 159