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

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2011

He said, “They need an unbiased view of the fund raising environment because there is too much misinformation and everything seems to be changing fast.&#. But that doesn’t mean that people are paying rational prices as investors based on intrinsic value. – you’re very well positioned as a fund.

Pricing 309

Pricing Marketing Startup Venture Capital 309

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 31, 2014

One of the toughest decisions for a startup is how to price their product or service. The alternatives range from giving it away for free, to pricing based on costs, to charging what the market will bear (premium pricing). In this more traditional product pricing model, the price is set at two to five times the product cost.

Startup 114

Startup Pricing Customer Custom 114

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. They like a solid product, well defined pricing, good references to sell against, a clear quota and well defined competitors. By definition an MVP (minimum viable product) means there’s room for improvement. Customers seldom buy on price.

Sales 316

Sales Startup Pricing Customer 316

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

Since language and implication have changed a bit since then, I’ll restate Carnegie and Hill’s original principles here, with my own current-day commentary and recommendations added: Definiteness of purpose. This is still one of the most important competitive differentiators that you can offer. Going the extra mile. Applied faith.

Technical Review 126

Technical Review Ideas Entrepreneur Customer 126

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 25, 2013

Competitive sportswoman. Getting involved with political events and fund raisers. Kara on one side of the table showing me market sizes, competitive dynamics, product roadmaps, pricing plans for physical products with COGS and gross margins. In the most perfect sense of the definition. Stanford MBA. Kara as CEO.

Startup 398

Startup Design Downey Activity 398

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 3, 2010

I recently wrote a blog post on understanding how the size and age of a venture capital fund might affect you when you’re raising money. Because it is a “series&# I plan to get into some of the deeper complexities of funds such as “cross over funds&# and “why VC’s hate to price their own deals&# at a later stage.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Seed Funding Pricing Invest 265

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2010

The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion. The top quartile funds have performed well. VC will shrink.

Venture Capital 311

Venture Capital Startup Seed Funding Rustic Canyon 311

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 8, 2010

What is the definition of a good business plan? You really need a business plan for you own efforts, even if external funding is not a requirement. A few thousand dollars is a small price to pay for a successful business, or for that $1M investment you expect the plan to entice. No problem. Marty Zwilling.

Startup 91

Startup Funding Sample Writing 91

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

Many people bandy about the definitions of “disruptive technology&# or “the innovator’s dilemma&# without ever having read the book and almost universally misunderstand the concepts. In fact, the incumbent is usually very dismissive of this new competition as our the large buyers of the incumbent’s products.

Startup 376

Startup Framework Marketing Customer 376

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

No investor wants to wait that long for his payback, or fund the years of waiting. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

No investor wants to wait that long for his payback, or fund the years of waiting. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

The VC industry has different segments in it that have different fund sizes, different investment amounts and different risk / return expectations. We need people at all stages of the funding lifecycle and not just VCs. So I wish this separate definition would go away. Price creep hurts investors. That’s all.

Venture Capital 308

Venture Capital Training Startup Entrepreneur 308

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

If you are looking for funding and customers for your new business, you need to identify your “unique selling proposition” (USP) right up front, in 30 seconds or less, to differentiate yourself in today’s information overload. Ideally the solution embodies intellectual property that you own, giving you a sustainable competitive advantage.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 24, 2016

Hone your definition of target customer demographics. Change competitive positioning and pricing to improve traction. Many high-margin, low-volume startups are forced to consider the price-volume tradeoff. Sometimes a startup has to pivot to a new technology to stay competitive or improve margins.

Entrepreneur 57

Entrepreneur Pricing Course Competition 57

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

To do this, CADScan recently launched a Kickstarter to fund its new machine. The price for one of these machines starts off at GBP 649 or about $1,000. With its unique design, CADScan has definitely upped the ante with this machine. To this, they must reach a goal of GBP of 80,000 or about $120,000 in funding.

Design 77

Design Startup Press Pricing 77

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2015

These don’t get funded, nor bought by customers. How the solution and business model work to fund the business. Investors will impatiently expect a winning business model, customer segment definitions and volume projections. Competitor positioning and sustainable competitive advantage.

Product 103

Product Slides Customer Custom 103

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 20, 2012

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Competition analysis. Market research and competition. Don’t get me wrong. Market research. Development and rollout.

Product 92

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 92

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

As a startup this is often the one true source of strong leverage in a negotiation to: Get a better price, get a longer-term commitment, get PR commitments and so forth. The more specific you can get in your definition the better. I have often asked for funding for this accelerated development.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

But Jason is one of the smartest thinkers in our industry so while style points in his eye-poking post might be low, he’s definitely scratching at something important. If you know, VCs end up writing sizable checks into their own funds, which is important in better aligning interests. They will have to negotiate price and terms.

Venture Capital 356

Venture Capital Invest Course Technical Review 356

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 25, 2015

Since language and implication have changed a bit since then, I’ll restate Carnegie and Hill’s original rules here, with my own current-day commentary and recommendations added: Definiteness of purpose. This is still one of the most important competitive differentiators that you can offer. Going the extra mile. Applied faith.

Entrepreneur 108

Entrepreneur Ideas Customer Custom 108

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2011

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Competition analysis. Market research and competition. Don’t get me wrong. Market research. Development and rollout.

Product 93

Product Entrepreneur Outsource Development Competition 93

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Below are five common questions an entrepreneur will encounter when seeking venture funding. Consider the situation in which the entrepreneur wants to accept a financially life-changing offer to sell her company which is vetoed by the investor because the price does not meet its minimal investment return criteria.

Entrepreneur 253

Entrepreneur Google Invest RSS 253

socalTECH

JUNE 23, 2009

Semiconductor startups seem to be quite rare in today's environment, with few companies being funded or launched, due both to the difficulty of bringing products to market, lack of investment capital, as well as lots of established, large companies in the industry. We're now funded by a bunch of angels. Mike Neshat: I'm broke now.

Patents 100

Patents Sample Technical Review Pricing 100

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Often if it’s a bigger firm (say 4 partners or more) and it’s a super small investment for their fund size (let’s say $250-500k when they normally invest $5-7 million) they will just require 1 or 2 partners to decide. And if they asked me for money in their next fund I would definitely say “yes.”

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Capital Startup Invest 150

Tech Zulu Event

APRIL 10, 2014

Allon showed me a variety of hereO watches in different colors and compared them to the competition. The bright colors and cute looks will definitely catch the eyes of children. The price point starts at $149 and comes with a six-month subscription at $4.95/month, month, a small price to pay for the safety of your child.

Startup 89

Startup HTML Pricing Organization 89

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 17, 2014

Since language and implication have changed a bit since then, I’ll restate Carnegie and Hill’s original rules here, with my own current-day commentary and recommendations added: Definiteness of purpose. This is still one of the most important competitive differentiators that you can offer. Going the extra mile. Applied faith.

Entrepreneur 104

Entrepreneur Ideas Startup Customer 104

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2013

What is the definition of a good business plan? You really need a business plan for you own efforts, even if external funding is not a requirement. A few thousand dollars is a small price to pay for a successful business, or for that $1M investment you expect the plan to entice. No problem. Marty Zwilling.

Sample 92

Sample Writing Startup Summary 92

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Since language and implication have changed a bit since then, I’ll restate Carnegie and Hill’s original rules here, with my own current-day commentary and recommendations added: Definiteness of purpose. This is still one of the most important competitive differentiators that you can offer. Going the extra mile. Applied faith.

Technical Review 53

Technical Review Ideas Entrepreneur Customer 53

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

So eventually you have your company funded but only 2 of the 5 people who started the company are still around. Your contractor wrote a great V1 of the product and it helped you get angel funding. If you make this cut then they will usually defer the payment until your funding. Shame about that pesky FAS 157 ruling.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 21, 2012

What is the definition of a good business plan? You really need a business plan for you own efforts, even if external funding is not a requirement. A few thousand dollars is a small price to pay for a successful business, or for that $1M investment you expect the plan to entice. No problem. Marty Zwilling.

Sample 96

Sample Writing Summary Startup 96

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

So, definition: when I talk about a business plan I’m not talking about a 40-page Word document outlining your market approach. What about your competition – how much do they charge? They are not just for fund raising. Or do you need to raise prices? Short answer: absofuckinglutely. Do so at your peril.

Web 2.0 334

Web 2.0 Venture Capital Web Technical Review 334

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

No investor wants to wait that long for his payback, or fund the years of waiting. It always amazes me how an entrepreneur can define his market opportunity so broadly, and then assess his competition so narrowly in the next breath. Competition and sustainable advantage. Asserting you have no competition is not credible.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 29, 2012

Below are five common questions an entrepreneur will encounter when seeking venture funding. Consider the situation in which the entrepreneur wants to accept a financially life-changing offer to sell her company which is vetoed by the investor because the price does not meet its minimal investment return criteria.

Entrepreneur 145

Entrepreneur Google Invest RSS 145

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 9, 2010

It’s definitely positive to have a product plan. Equally important, marketing and sales people should be able to identify benefits and marketing strategies, set prices, and validate a business model. Competition analysis. Market research and competition. Don’t get me wrong. Market research. Development and rollout.

Product 48

Product Outsource Development Competition High Tech 48

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2009

A few years ago it became fashionable for large VC’s to do seed funding. But I’m no longer an entrepreneur – I’m a VC at a $200 million fund called GRP Ventures , the largest active fund in Southern California. I think they definitely qualify as a VC and not a seed fund.

Seed Funding 283

Seed Funding Venture Capital Funding Software Review 283

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I now observes the fund raising process as a profession. This is the fund raising perspective from both sides of the table. Fund raising (as is much of life) is a sale – pure and simple. Every company is different so it’s hard to listen to advice from the uber-successful fund raisers. Executive Summary.

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366